Olney-Margolies Athletic Center

The Olney-Margolies Athletic Center was dedicated on October 31, 1981. Named for two principal donors, both members of the Class of 1936, Joseph Olney and Moe Price Margolies, it is sometimes called the “Joe-Moe Building.” On the rooftop is a 1.8 acre playing field named for Warner Communications, Inc., another major donor, which is used for field hockey games and soccer, lacrosse, and football practice. The center, designed by Daniel F. Tully and built by Creative Building Systems, has 86,000 square feet of space devoted to basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts, a six-lane 200-meter track, batting and golf cages, and long jump, high jump, and pole vault pits, all contained under a “column-free concrete hyperbolic paraboloid roof.” At the dedication, honorary degrees were awarded to sportswriter Red Smith, featured speaker at the exercises, and famous Brown football player Fritz Pollard 1919, who was prevented by illness from attending.