Rec Hall

Recreation Building, or Rec Hall as it is more commonly known, is a field house located on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. It was opened on January 15, 1929 and is still in use. Previously, Penn State's indoor sports teams played in a building known as the Armory, which was razed to allow expansion of the Willard Building. The men's and women's basketball teams moved to the Bryce Jordan Center in 1996 but the gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling teams continue to compete at Rec Hall. The well-known Nittany Lion Shrine is located nearby this building. The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, commonly known as THON, was held in Rec Hall from 1999 to 2006, but was subsequently moved to the Bryce Jordan Center.The architect was Charles Z. Klauder, who had designed the University of Pennsylvania's Palestra. The Colonial Georgian design of Rec Hall was chosen to "harmonize" with other new structures on campus.Rec Hall has undergone many renovations over its history. In recent history, the drop ceiling that was installed in the 1960s was removed in the late 1990s and the building's original roof line was restored, exposing the open steel truss ceiling and upper windows. Along with this, lighting and building acoustics were also improved. In 2005 electronic LED scoreboards were installed and lower seating bowl bleachers were replaced. Renovation of Rec Hall's south wing was completed in 2006, including expansion of the student fitness center.