But the committee soon decided that the Quincy gym needed more than just a new treadmill. Gross said that the gym was cluttered with extraneous furniture and dilapidated machines, and added that the stained carpet and walls needed to be replaced. Once the committee determined that it would use limited House and council funding to update the gym, Gross solicited student opinion about the specific equipment that would be added to the gym.
During the summer, Kirshner discovered that Quincy was not the only house with a gym in need of improvements and began talking to other House Masters about the possibility of renovations.
Once the College decided to fund all House gyms, Quincy was able to realize its plans. Quincy has led the way with gym refurbishment—all of the other Houses have not yet used up their grants.
Assistant to the Quincy House Masters Suzanne Watts said that Quincy House Masters and residents set their eyes on renovating the House gym even before they learned that the University would foot the bill.
“We spoke with representatives from New England Fitness, the company which supplies the machines to the MAC, the day before the University grant was announced,” said Watts. “That’s why we were able to finish before anyone else.”
Gross speculated that another reason Quincy completed its gym renovation before the other Houses is that other Houses were waiting to order equipment simultaneously.
University President Lawrence H. Summers encouraged all Masters to order equipment together at the end of the spring term in order to take advantage of lower shipping costs, Gross said. But since Quincy, she said, had already been discussing renovating its gym for months, the Masters did not want to wait another six months to revamp the Quincy gym.
Kirshner said that the renovation took place this January in order to minimize inconvenience to students.
“I had hoped we would have the gym ready during reading period,” said Kirshner. “But at least we have a great facility now.”
Yesterday, a few dozen Quincy residents meandered down to the basement to investigate the gym’s new offerings.
“I will definitely exercise more now that the House gym has reopened,” said Quincy Resident Elizabeth W. Carlisle ’06, who tested the new elliptical machine.
“No one wants to trudge to the MAC, especially with the cold weather,” said Brendan F. Buckley ’04. “[The MAC] really is a madhouse. It’s difficult to get a treadmill or bike, and God help you to find an elliptical.”
Quincy Tutor David M. Thompson marveled at the relative silence of the new treadmill as he ran.
“The old treadmill made a sound that was a combination of a screech and a large freight train. This one is quiet. I don’t need earplugs,” he said.
Gross said that she hoped Quincy would be able to raise enough money to buy a second new treadmill, a desire of the majority of students to whom she has spoken.
“Now that the gym is so nice, I can see it getting really crowded and there being a wait for the treadmill,” Gross said.
Quincy House residents will enjoy the renovated facility free of charge and can access the room via key card. “This fitness center can do stuff that you would have never thought possible, or even desirable,” Kirshner said. “You’ll have muscles upon muscles!”
—Staff writer Alan J. Tabak can be reached at tabak@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Elena P. Sorokin can be reached at sorokin@fas.harvard.edu.