IU 7th Street Fieldhouse Basketball Court Flooring Project: Update #1
7th Street (Bill Garrett Fieldhouse)
Antique Typewriter Base
Typewriter Base: Ready for Priming!
Last year, I was fortunate to acquire some of the original flooring from the old 7th Street Fieldhouse, now named the Bill Garrett Fieldhouse (pictured here). It’s been sitting in the family pole barn ever since, waiting for me to find some time to resurrect its former glory. Well…that time finally came.
When I learned the flooring was available for sale, I wanted to acquire a portion and repurpose it in practical fashion where it can be cherished and preserved for many years to come. Sadly, much of it sat in a warehouse and had been deteriorating for the past 60 years — some areas of the flooring I have is quite brittle in some areas. Most of it has stood the test of time, though.
My first project idea was to create a badass table…in my mind, that’s something functional that I can use and will also bring back some fond memories each time I do. So, I started combing local thrift stores, antique malls, and yard sales soon after bringing the flooring home to find a suitable base to my table that, much like for flooring itself, needed a little TLC. I typically like to find things made of metal that are in good shape, which I can easily refinish with a little sanding, cleaning, priming, and painting. Lo and behold, I found this older antique typewriter base at a local antique and collectible mall. It was in really good shape and I liked the fact it has covered casters under the dome feet where I could easily maneuver the table around as desired. This is what the base looked like where I found it and after I removed the wood top and got it prepped for priming. This based has the dimensions and is sturdy enough to support a 2’ x 3’ top; I’m also planning to add a bottom and middle shelf to make it even more functional. Of course, the base is going to be painted an IU crimson…and the bottom shelf will be candy striped.
That’s it for today! Check out my next post where I’ll share some updates and talk about my grand plans for the tabletop. Go IU!