Managers

West Point, N.Y.

The new buildings now completed or far enough along to be used are the bachelor officers’ quarters, across the road east and a little south of old Fort Clinton; Cullum Memorial Hall, a gift accepted by Congress, a little further south; the officers’ mess, still further south; the Administration Building, across the road east of and facing the cadet mess hall; the power plant, a little further east; the cadet hospital, a little north of the old one that is now used for married officers’ quarters; the Academic, on the site of, but much larger than the old one; the North Cadet Barracks, in Professors’ Bow, and a little north of the old, now called the South Cadet Barracks, to which some years ago two divisions were added to the east end of its west wing; a second guard house, in rear, i. e., west of the North Cadet Barracks; a Catholic church, built, with permission of Congress, by Catholics, on high ground some distance west of the old north gate that was removed years ago; many married officers’ quarters, some northwesterly of the old north gate and some south of the old south gate, that was also removed years ago—these quarters are built facing the river in two tiers; the artillery and cavalry barracks and stables are upon two sides of a new artillery and cavalry plain that adjoins the village of Highland Falls; the Observatory, on the Hill, now called Observatory Hill, near old Fort Putnam; lastly, the Cadet Chapel, a beautiful cathedral-like building on Observatory Hill, crowns the group of handsome buildings. The reservoir on the west slope of Observatory Hill has been enlarged and a filter plant added to it.

The new gymnasium and riding hall are now well under way. The gymnasium is west and a little north of the west wing of the north cadet barracks; the roof of the old (and but a few years ago the new) gymnasium has been taken to cover the swimming pool part of this large new building. The riding hall nearly fills the space between the officers’ mess on the north and the power plant on the south; in fact, the riding hall and power plant will join, and on the south-east corner of this building there will be a tower to correspond with that of the Administration Building.

The following buildings will soon be razed to the ground, to-wit: the old Cadet Chapel (to be rebuilt in the cadet cemetery); the old, and but a few years ago the new Administration Building, from a little south of the old chapel; the old power plant, from the area of the old cadet barracks; the old, and but a few years ago the new, cadet sink or water closet building, from the area of the old cadet barracks; the old gymnasium, from a little west of the angle of the South Cadet Barracks; the old riding hall, that is now nearly surrounded by the walls of the new one; and the officers’ quarters in front of the new gymnasium, as the latter stands well back of but fronts east on Professors’ Row.

While the Military Academy was the first educational institution in this country to recognize (in 1817) the value of a uniform system of physical training it was not till 1890 that the Academic Board allowed cadet teams to play against teams of other institutions. The first contest being a baseball game with an Annapolis midshipmen team, then came other contests with teams from other colleges. Now contests are held annually—and since 1908 under official control—with outside teams in baseball, football, fencing, basketball and hockey. The present system of indoor gymnastics dates from 1882 and track work, tennis, golf, polo and wrestling are indulged in. Most of the contests are held at West Point—many of them being played on the beautiful green infantry parade ground—and seats arranged in tiers like the bleechers at professional ball games are put up in sections on the plain to accommodate the thousands of spectators that now witness these contests. There being no admission fee the seats are assigned by tickets to the cadets and their friends, and to officers and friends of the Academy who voluntarily contribute to the financial support of cadet athletics.

Certain cadets who excel in athletics, i. e., those who have actually played on an Academy (first) team for a year are entitled to wear a large A, (the initial of Army) on the sweater, jersey, jacket, cap or other article of athletic uniform, subject to the following:

1st. In football they must play in two-thirds of all games played with outside teams or in a Navy game.