Steele Gym- A Community Treasure

The old Galesburg HS, located downtown.

Galesburg High School once was located downtown, where the present Public Safety Building is located. On one block stood GHS, Churchill JH, and Steele Gym.

Steele Gym was considered the second most impressive high school gym in western Illinois during its era. Only Moline’s Wharton Fieldhouse was bigger than Steele Gym. Alleman played in the gym they still used today. Rocky Fieldhouse was not built so they played in the smaller gym used by the girls’ team today. East Moline actually played on a stage at their high school on the hill.

Richwoods’ gym was not built until 1959, so there was nothing like Steele Gym in the Peoria area.

Center court at Steele Gym with lightning bolt. 

Steele is believed to have held around 2,800 people, if the fire marshall looked away. The gym was constructed like many gyms of the era, with an “arena style.” It was physically much like the old gym in the movie, Hoosiers. There was enough space on each sideline for only a team bench, then there was a wall about five feet high. The fans were right on the court but right above the benches. The structure gave players a sense that the fans were right on top of them.

Steele Gym did not have glass backboards. When the 1959 team prepared to go to State, the team went a couple blocks away to the Knox gym to get used to the glass boards. The 1959 team was the last team to play in Steele Gym. They did not lose a single game in Steele Gym in 1958 or 1959. It appears Steele Gym was a great home court advantage.

Looking down from the permanent wooden bleachers-
the wall on the far side with bleachers above. 

Jimmie Carr played on the 1959 team. When asked whether Steele Gym or Thiel Gym was loudest, he didn’t hesitate to say Steele Gym. According to Jimmie, “The fans were right on top of you and the sound just bounced around in there.” The court went north-south, and they had one set of bleachers on the south end that gave players even more of a sense of being surrounded.

An article written by Tom Wilson told about how much in demand tickets were inn 1947 when Gerald Phillips was coaching. According to the article, the Galesburg School Board decided to sell two sets of season tickets so more people could go to games. This resulted in a season ticket only getting the fans into half the games.

Metal backboard and the pre-Wilt Chamberlain lane.

Jimmie Carr talked about how when they would leave school on Fridays, adults would be lined up at the ticket office hoping to be able to purchase an extra ticket.

Steele Gym not only had one of the most impressive spectator gyms, it has two other gyms and two swimming pools. On the main floor there was a girls swimming pool and a boys swimming pool, as well as a girls gym and boys gym used for PE. Older people in Galesburg claim you had to pass a swimming test to graduate from GHS.

Fans could enter Steele Gym from one of two entrances off Simmons St., or they could go in on an alley on the south side between GHS and Steele Gym. Fans went up to the second floor to Steele Gym.

Unfortunately, shortly after the new GHS opened on Fremont St., the old GHS and Steele Gym burned in a fire. At the time of the fire, there were no plans for use of either building. Some say after the fire GHS was too badly damaged to restore but that Steele Gym had less damage and might have been restored. As we know, eventually both were demolished.