UH history blocks gym's way

Preservationists are against plans to raze old buildings to build a recreation center

Better fitness, recreation and campus life for students? Or preserving the University of Hawaii's history?

That is the dilemma facing administrators at UH-Manoa after plans for a new $38 million fitness center and gym next to the Campus Center ran into opposition from historic preservationists who say the university should not destroy the second-oldest building on campus in the name of progress.

But to build the two-story 56,000-square-foot facility, the university also plans to tear down the four old Engineering Quad buildings, including the Beau Press building, which was built in 1915.

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