The need for more space and better facilities made the decision to build the Alumni Gymnasium an easy one.  The gymnasium, which provided more room for spectators, better locker rooms and showers for athletes, and a much-desired swimming pool, opened on January 9, 1929, for a basketball game between Dickinson and the University of Pennsylvania. 

Situated on the site of Old South College and facing Old West from across High Street, the Alumni Gymnasium cost $232,621, all of which was raised through a fund drive organized by the General Alumni Association.  Following the opening of the Kline Life/Sports Center, the gymnasium was completely remodeled and converted into the Emil R. Weiss Center for the Arts in 1983.