Spurrier Hall

Merle Spurrier	Women's Gymnasium

Abandoned Swimming Pool in Spurrier Gym

The Women's Gymnasium was opened in December 1955.  A tunnel connected it to the adjacent Women's Residence Hall (now Susan B. Anthony Halls).  A large dandelion was installed on the north side of the building, facing the river.  This was restored and mounted above the main entrance to the Goergen Athletic Center in 2000.

A swimming pool was included in the building, the first one for the women at the University.  The pool was named after Hazel J. Wilbraham in 1974.  She was a 1927 graduate of the University and taught Physical Education from 1927 to her death in 1967. 

The pool was abandoned in 1982 when the new Speegle-Wilbraham Aquatic Center opened in the Zornow Field House.  The aquatic center was named for Roman Leo Speegle and Hazel Wilbraham, two early physical education teachers.

Numerous proposals to renovate and/or repurpose the building have been stymied by a lack of road access to the structure, making it very difficult for the fire department to access the building. 

The Gymnasium was named after Reba Merle Spurrier in 1974.  She was born December 31, 1896 in Ohio, graduated from Ohio Wesleyan College in 1920 and was Instructor and Professor of Physical Education at the University of Rochester from 1922 until her retirement in 1961.  She then moved to New Hampshire, where she died on December 30, 1991, one day shy of her 95th birthday.

Hazel Jennie Wilbraham was born in Poquonock, Connecticut on  February 12, 1897, graduated from the University of Rochester in 1927 and taught physical education at the University until her death on June 7, 1957 in Rochester.  She is buried in Windsor, Connecticut

References
1956 "Women Hail New Gym," Rochester Review 17(4):11-13 (March 1956)

1957 "Hazel Wilbraham Succumbs at 60; U. of R. Teacher," Democrat and Chronicle, June 8, 1957, Page 12.
Miss Wilbraham died yesterday (June 7, 1957) in Strong Memorial Hospital of cancer.  She made her home here with Merle Spurrier, associate professor at the UR and head of the women's physical education department, at 19-A Prince St.

1957 "Miss Hazel J. Wilbraham," Hartford Courant, June 13, 1957, Page 11.
Died Friday in Rochester.

1957 Hazel J. Wilbraham (1897-1957) grave in Elm Grove Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut

1961 "Five UR Faculty Members to Receive Alumni Citations," Campus Times, May 19, 1961, Page 10.
Miss Merle Spurrier, since  1922 director of physical education for women, who also will retire in June as professor emeritus. Her 39 years on the faculty outranks in length of service any other current faculty member.  Among the projects she has instigated for UR women students are the co­operative dormitory system on the old Prince Street Campus, the fund drive for the women’s swimming pool, and the Outing Club. The moving-up day May Queen ceremony became a tradition under her leadership.

1977 History of the University of Rochester, 1850-1962, by Arthur J. May.  Expanded edition with notes
Chapter 23, The Changing College
"Her friendship and understanding have been an inspiration for us" declared the Croceus of 1926 with reference to Merle Spurrier, teacher of physical education and hygiene, who came in 1922. She conceived of physical training not only as a means of maintaining curricular balance but also as a method of instilling confidence and learning enjoyment of sports that would carry over into the years after graduation. In the course of her long tenure she was instrumental in planning new athletic facilities for women, after the decision was made to reunify the two colleges.
Chapter 35, Reunion of the Colleges
Even before the trustees had formally sanctioned consolidation, preliminary planning for new physical facilities on the River Campus had taken place. A women's residence center and gymnasium would be erected.
A tunnel would connect the structure with a gymnasium, fitted into the hillside to the north.
Recalling the lengthy and arduous struggle of the alumnae to raise money for a swimming pool, an Olympic-size pool in the gymnasium was named the alumnae pool.
To adorn the northern side of the gymnasium, University sculptor William E. Ehrich made an enameled "sunburst in stainless steel," a golden dandelion--symbolic of spring and defying northern winds and bleakness of winter; eventually it was transferred to a more visible location above the entrance to Alumni Gymnasium.

© 2021 Morris A. Pierce