Back on Track: Iconic Yale Field House Is Re-Roofed After 80 Years
The venerable Coxe Cage field house at Yale University remains an integral part of the school’s track and field history thanks to the building’s new metal roof. Although the old cinder track and dirt floor were replaced with modern surfaces in 1982, the roof and its large, single-glazed skylight — both of which had deteriorated badly and needed replacing — had remained largely untouched for 80 years, until late 2013.
Built in 1928, the Cage was named for Charles Edmund Coxe, a hammer thrower on Yale’s squad. The story goes that Coxe, who was charged with raising funds for the new facility, offered the necessary $300,000 with the stipulation that it be named for him. Construction began on what then was considered one of the largest structures of its kind in the world. Measuring more than 350 feet long and 156 feet across with a ceiling reaching nearly 83 feet high, the building encloses more than 3.3 million cubic feet of air space.