Trees Hall
Encyclopedia
Joseph C. Trees Hall is a multipurpose student, staff, faculty recreational facility on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

 in the Oakland
Oakland (Pittsburgh)
Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland...

 section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

. Designed by the architectural firm of Deeter & Ritchey, Trees Hall first opened in 1962, and a second phase of construction was completed in 1965. Trees Hall's pool serves as the home to Pitt's varsity men's and women's swimming and diving teams and the facility also houses the training facility for Pitt's women's gymnastics team. Trees Hall previously served as the primary home to the Pitt women's volleyball team
Pittsburgh Panthers volleyball
Pittsburgh Panthers women's volleyball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate volleyball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt volleyball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games in Fitzgerald...

 from 1974-1981 until they moved into Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House is a 4,122-seat multi-purpose athletic venue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald, a past chancellor of the university....

 starting with the 1982 season. Trees also contains a dance studio, weight room, racquetball and handball courts, three basketball/volleyball courts, a gymnastics area, climbing wall, golf practice area, classrooms, and a computer lab and also serves as the home of the athletic training program at the University. Trees Hall underwent significant renovations in 1999 when the gymnasium floors were resurfaced to provide a secondary practice facility for many of the Panthers teams, a $5.1 million renovation in 2004 when gymnastics and other training facilities were added, and a $2 million renovation to Trees Pool in 2008.

Trees Hall is named for Pitt alumnus, trustee, benefactor, and prominent athletic supporter Joseph Clifton Trees
Joe Trees
Joseph Clifton Trees was a college football player at the University of Pittsburgh, the first athlete to receive an athletic subsidization at the school, and, possibly, an early professional football player. He later made millions of dollars in the oil industry and became a trustee and significant...

 (M.E. 1895) who donated $100,000 for the construction of the original Trees Gymnasium in 1912 which, now demolished, sat near the site of the present day Veterans Administration Hospital in Oakland. While at Pitt in 1891, Trees became Pitt's first subsidized athlete as a star 210 pound tackle on Pitt's football team
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...

.

Trees Pool

Joseph C. Trees Pool, housed in the left wing of Trees Hall, is home of the men's and women's University of Pittsburgh Swimming and Diving teams and features a 75-by-165 foot (23-by-50 meter) Olympic-size swimming pool with a 770,000 gallon capacity. This main pool has the dual capability of an eight-lane, 50-meter course or a 20-lane 25 yards (22.9 m) course. When completed in 1962, it was hailed as the largest indoor pool in the country. Although it was one of the last 55 yards (50.3 m) pools constructed in the United States, it was also one of the first pools with a 10-meter high-dive tower, underwater windows, underwater sound system, and heated deck and benches. Along with the 10 meter diving platform, it also has 5 and 7 meter platforms. An additional 6-lane 25 yards (22.9 m) pool was added in the summer of 1963. In 2002, a Daktronic scoreboard was installed and dedicated the Ben Grady, a former Pitt head swimming coach. In 2003, a Panthers' Wall of Fame was unveiled that featured plaques of every Pitt Swimming and Diving All-American as well as conference and meet championship trophies. Currently, the diving area is equipped with two one-meter and two three-meter durafirm stands with maxiflex boards, in addition to multiple diving towers with a 16 feet (4.9 m) water depth. Trees pool is underwent a $1.92 million major renovation completed in September, 2008 which includes a new bottom logo, new 1-meter diving platforms, new pool deck, new deck heating, new water heating, filtration and circulation systems, and a reduction of the pool length from 55m to 50m. Trees Pool is also the home of Team Pittsburgh youth and masters swimming program.

Notable Trees Pool Events

  • 1963 Amateur Athletic Union
    Amateur Athletic Union
    The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

     (AAU) Championship
  • 1982 Women's College Nationals AIAW Championships
  • 16 (1983–1996, 1998, 2010) Big East Swimming and Diving Championships. Trees Pool will host its 17th Big East Championship in 2012.
  • Numerous Eastern College Athletic Conference
    Eastern College Athletic Conference
    The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...

     (ECAC) Championships (including 2004, 2008, and 2011)
  • 2003 Long Course Eastern Zone Championships
  • 2005 Senior Olympics
    Senior Olympics
    The National Senior Games or "Senior Olympics" is a sports competition for seniors from the United States. It is a multi-sport event specifically devoted to adults aged 50+ . It is composed of regional competitions held yearly in all American states...

     (swimming, Trees Hall also hosted badminton and volleyball)

Gymnastics Training Center

Completed and official opened on October 23, 2004, the Gymnastics Training Center provides 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) of gymnastics training space to the University of Pittsburgh women's gymnastics team. The second-largest training facility in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League
East Atlantic Gymnastics League
The East Atlantic Gymnastics League is a collegiate women's gymnastics conference competing at the NCAA Division I level. Membership comprises eight universities:*George Washington University*University of Maryland*University of New Hampshire...

, the Trees Hall gymnastics training facility has two complete vaulting set-ups (one landing into a resipit and the other into foam blocks), three sets of uneven bars (one over a resipit), a single bar over a foam block/resipit, a trench bar system, five balance beams with mount and dismount areas, low beam space, stack beams and beam dismounts into pits, a full floor exercise including tumbling pits, a rod floor/tumble trac into a resipit, an in-ground trampoline, and other amenities such as cardio equipment, lockers, and a music center. The gymnastics team holds its home meets in Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House is a 4,122-seat multi-purpose athletic venue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald, a past chancellor of the university....

, which sits across Aliquippa Street from Trees Hall and is also connected by an underground tunnel.

External links

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