BRANCH PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE
U, S. NAVAL AIR ‘STATION
OLATHE, KANSAS

18 January 1945
DESCRIPTION OF KINNICK HALL

Located on the athletic area on the west side of the
U, S, Naval Air Station, Olathe, Kas,, Kinnick Hall houses
a large gymnasium or drill hall and wimming pool, In ad-
dition to athletic events, indoor personnel inspections
and reviews are held in the hall,

The building is named for Ensign Nile Clarke Kinnick,
Jr,, who lost his life 2 June 1943 when his carrier plane
made a forced landing in the Caribbean Sea, Ens, Kinnick
received his primary flight training as a cadet at the
U, S, Naval Reserve Aviation Brse, Fairfax Airport, )
Kansas City, Kas.--from which the Olathe Naval Air Station
evolved, As a student at the University of Iowa, in 1939
he was awarded the Heisman, Camp, and Maxwell trophies as
the nation's No, 1 football player and was selected ¢ap«
tain of the All-American team, In addition, he was a.
brilliant student and a member of Phi Beta Kapna, national
scholastic honorary fraternity, His parents, Mr, and Mrs;
N,C, Kinnick, live at Omaha, Nebr, Mr, Kinnick attended
the ceremony when the hall was dedicated 9 August 1943 by
Capt, Dixie Kiefer, USN, then commanding officer of the
Olathe Naval Air Station and now in command of a ship atsea,

The main part of the hall, housing the gymnasium, has
an over-all length of 304 feet and is 141 feet four inches
wide, The inside playing surface is 300 feet by 100 feet,
providing space for five regulation basketball courts,
badmintén and volleyball courts, gymnastic” equipment, and
punching bags,

Iwenty laminated wood arches, used to convserve steel,
support the arched roof and are imbedded at the ground in
concrete footings each 8 feet wide,

Along the lean-tos at each side are rubbing rooms,
showers, heads, athletic offices, and storage rooms,

South of the gymnasium and attached to it is a 50-
meter enclosed swimming pool, A regulation Navy pool, it
is approximately 25 yards wide and 55 yards long--making
it one of the largest in the Kansas City area, The pool
holds approximately half a million gallons of water, A
filtration plant at the South end of the pool keeps the
water pure, Here officers and men, as well as WAVES, check
out in their Navy swimming tests in addition to swimming
for sport,