Unlocking of the gate during the Pratt Field opening ceremony (1910)
Description:
This photograph shows the unlocking of the gate to International YMCA Training School's (now Springfield College) Pratt Field during the opening ceremony, which took place on November 12, 1910. The entrance way consists of a gate, large white pillars and a sidewalk leading up to it. Herbert L. Pratt is unlocking the gate, with three other men nearby, including the college president, Laurence L. Doggett. Many spectators are surrounding the entrance as the gate is unlocked. Pratt Field was a gift of Mr. Herbert L. Pratt. It consisted, originally, of a quarter-mile track, 220 yard straightaway twenty-four feet wide, eleven runaways and pits for jumping and vaulting, seven tennis courts, a football field, and a baseball diamond. An eight-foot high reinforced concrete fence surrounds the field. The entrances were designed by Edward Lippincourt Tilton, who also designed Springfield's Judd Gymnasium and the Marsh Memorial Building. Part of Pratt field is still used today for track and field, however the name was changed to Blake Field.
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