Home Community Lava Gym Wins State Historic Preservation Office’s “Gym State March Madness”

Lava Gym Wins State Historic Preservation Office’s “Gym State March Madness”

April 5, 2023

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April 5, 2023 (Cover photo credit: ISHPO Facebook page)

Every year, the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office celebrates March with “March Madness: Idaho Historic Places Edition.” This year’s contest featured gymnasiums from across the state.

This week, the championship gym was announced via social media: the Lava Hot Springs High School Gymnasium!

The post on the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office’s Facebook page reads:

Totally Lava-ble…

After more than 8,000 responses in the Championship Round of our Gym State March Madness, we have a winner! The historic Lava Hot Springs High School Gymnasium scorched its competition the Payette High School Pirate’s RADome. Though the Radome went from fad to rad, Lava Hot Springs held off the geodesic gem.

The Lava High School gymnasium was one of two structures in Lava Hot Springs constructed under the Public Works Administration as part of the New Deal. Built in 1934, the gym was designed by Miles E. Miller of Salt Lake City in a simplified Classical Revival design. Above the entry are four unrefined bas-relief panels depicting athletic scenes including track and field, football, and basketball. The gym was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

The Marsh Valley School District is determining whether the Lava Elementary School adjacent to the gym will continue to serve the children and citizens of Lava Hot Springs, we hope that the almost 90 year old gym continues to be a mainstay for the community.