Ustler Hall, Historic academic building in Gainesville, Florida, United States
Ustler Hall is a historic building on the University of Florida campus built in 1919 as the university gymnasium and designed in the Collegiate Gothic style. The brick structure features a narrow, tall design with pointed arches and traditional college details that define early campus architecture.
Designed by William Augustus Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style, it opened in 1919 as the University Gymnasium, the first home court of the Florida Gators men's basketball team. It became the Women's Gymnasium in 1948, the year the university became fully co-educational. Slated for demolition in the 1980s, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1979, and restored in 2004–2006 after a donation from alumna Kathryn Chicone Ustler.
The building honors UF alumna Kathryn Chicone Ustler, whose 2000 donation funded the conversion; it was the first academic building on campus named for a woman. Since 2006 it has housed the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies and the Center for Women's and Gender Studies Research, and at its dedication it was the only freestanding U.S. campus building devoted solely to Women's Studies.
The building is located on the main university campus and is easily accessible on foot; it features modern classrooms and offices but operates as an academic space that may not be open to visitors at all times. Respect campus operations and check university guidelines before visiting to ensure access.
The 1918 construction ran over budget, so President Albert A. Murphree raised money from the local community; fundraising closed when the New York Giants held spring training in Gainesville in 1919 and rented the new University Gymnasium as their headquarters. The 2004–2006 restoration was named a "Project of Regional Impact" by the Florida Heritage Foundation in 2008.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,607 contributors worldwide.