Johnson Gym - Then and Now

 Circa 1960

The two photos taken show the similarities as well as the differences between what Johnson Gymnasium was and how it compares to now. The first photo shown is from around the 1960’s when Johnson Gym was the gym where the University of New Mexico’s Basketball team played their home games. The second photo shows the same angle in the present day. There have been major changes since the gym’s construction. Johnson Gymnasium had a parking lot directly in front of the building, right off Central Street, which is now a passage to either side. The UNM Lobo statue that is in front of the building is in the same place as it was when the Johnson Gym opened, despite the drastic change in surroundings. The area surrounding the building has changed nominally, but there has not been much physical change to the actual building itself. Instead, the university constructed other buildings around the original Johnson Gymnasium and attached them alongside the gym. Many of these changes were made to accommodate the increasing population, such as the nearby parking garage that this entrance now primarily leads to. Similarly, when the basketball team moved from the gym on campus to The Pit in order to expand the athletic program, it finalized the change for Johnson Gymnasium to become a facility for students and staff more than a public face for the University.

UNM Johnson Gym October 2017

Jacinto Montoya, history, ‘21

Jake Weber, psychology, ‘19 

Further Reading:

Kammar, David. "Buildings Designed by John Gaw Meem, 1925-1959." New Mexico Office of    the State Historian. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://newmexicohistory.org/people/buildings-designed-by-john-gaw-meem-1925-1959.