Bartlett Gymnasium

This drawing by Frederic Clay Bartlett was utilized by Edward Peck Sperry while creating the Frank Dickinson Bartlett Memorial Window.

Upon its completion, the gymnasium contained a mural within the front entrance hall created by Frederic Clay Bartlett, brother of Frank. The mural depicts Athletic Games in the Middle Ages with the participants dressed in appropriate attire. The gym also included the Bartlett Memorial Window, presented to the university by William Gold Hibbard. The stained-glass was taken from Walter Scott's Ivanhoe and represents Rowena crowning Ivanhoe at the close of the second day's tournament at Ashby de la Zouch.[11] The window was designed and drawn by Edward P. Sperry, a close friend of Frederic Bartlett as well an associate of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Over 15,000 pieces of glass were used in the construction of the window. The window was placed above the main entrance of the gymnasium, facing Lexington Avenue.

In 2001, during the renovation of the gymnasium, the university removed the stained-glass with a promise to restore and reinstall it. Through an architectural firm, Brunner/Cott Associates, Inc., an art glass conservator deemed the window was in need of extensive conservation work and required its removal in order to complete the task.[12]

On Friday, January 29, 1904, the formal opening of the Frank Dickinson Bartlett Gymnasium took place in front of 1,000 friends of the university, which included members of the faculty, alumni, student body, and university trustees. The dedication ceremony took place immediately following the annual football dinner hosted by President Harper. Addresses to the attendees included: The Presentation Address by Adolphus C. Bartlett; The Acceptance of the Gymnasium on Behalf of the University by William Rainey Harper, President of the University; A Young Man's Memorial by Frank Wakeley Gunsaulus, President of the Armour Institute of Technology; Address on Behalf of the Division of Physical Culture and Athletics by Amos Alonzo Stagg, Director of the Division of Physical Culture; Address on Behalf of the Administrative Board of Physical Culture and Athletics by Eri Baker Hulbert, Dean of the Divinity School; and Address on Behalf of the Alumni and Students by William Scott Bond, Class of 1897. The presentations took place on the second floor of the new gymnasium, with the University of Chicago Military Band located on the running track above the audience. The invocation was given by Reverend Professor Edward Judson D.D., of the Divinity School followed by the previously mentioned speeches. Following the addresses, a reception, hosted by President and Mrs. Harper, was held within the gym.[13]