ROCK GYM

Navasota, Texas

Year Built:  1936

·Home Team:  Navasota Rattlers and Fangs

Architect:  RJ Burle, Navasota City Manager 

Style:  Art Deco Exterior

Materials:  Reinforced concrete and limestone rock sourced from local quarries.

In the Beginning:  During a called meeting of the Navasota School Board on January 2, 1934, trusteed gathered in the office of the city secretary to discuss the addition of an “outside gym” to be constructed with labor assistance from the CWA (Civilian Works Association; trustees agreed to supply funds for materials for the “erection of a gym 60 x 100” totaling $6000.00; construction lagged for over two years due to funding before the project was finally completed in 1936.

Notable:  The gym served Navasota High School until 1969 and then became home to the Middle School Fangs sports teams until 1983.

Bomb Shelter:  The gym’s below ground level locker rooms served as the school’s nuclear bomb shelter during the Cold War and was supplied with geiger counters, ready to eat meals and sanitation equipment.

Today:  After years of neglect, the Rock Gym will get a major renovation thanks to a $55 Million Bond Project for Navasota ISD.