Barnes Center

In 1907, the SU Trustees agreed to erect a gymnasium. To fund construction, the university placed a $200,000 mortgage on the University Block, however, the estimated cost was later revised to $300,000. The gymnasium was not constructed until John D. Archbold gave the University $300,000 to cancel the mortgage on the University Block. The Archbold Gymnasium contained a swimming pool, rowing tank, baseball cage, an indoor track, and a bowling alley. The original building is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1947, the building was almost completely destroyed in a fire and only the front outer walls from the original structure remained after the reconstruction.

Steven W. Barnes (Class of 1982) and his wife Deborah provided a generous gift to transform the Archbold Gymnasium into the Barnes Center, a world class health, wellness, and recreation center. Steven Barnes explained that his family wanted to provide students with a place for “extracurricular activities that ignite their passion, plus health and wellness opportunities to balance the rigor and demands of higher education.” The Barnes Center opened in the fall of 2019. By having all of the university’s health and wellness services in one location, the Barnes Center epitomizes Syracuse University’s modern and holistic approach to the student experience. During the renovation, the goal was to maintain or restore as much of the original 1908 building as possible. The northern portion of the original building was kept, the neoclassical exterior of the original Archbold Gymnasium was maintained, and the original brick and terracotta was reused where possible as well as materials of similar colors and textures.

John D.Archbold, son of a Methodist preacher, was born on July 26, 1848, in Leesburg, Ohio. At the age of sixteen, during the oil boom in Pennsylvania, he went to pursue a job in the oil fields and worked his way up to a refiner and buyer. Archbold became a close associate of the Rockefellers starting in 1875 until his death. He was elected Director of the Standard Oil Company in 1892 then in 1899 appointed Vice-President and finally President in 1911. He was a close friend of Rev. James Roscoe Day, the pastor at St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church in New York. Day recommended Archbold become a member of the Board of Trustees of Syracuse University and in 1886, Archbold accepted. He was later elected President of the board in 1893. From 1893 to 1914, Archbold contributed almost $6,000,000 for eight buildings, including Archbold Stadium , Sims Hall , Archbold Gymnasium, and the oval athletic field.

Steven W. Barnes, originally from Central New York, earned his B.S. in 1982 from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. He is currently Head of Private Equity for the Americas and the Chairman of Global Private Equity at Bain Capital, a leading global private investment firm. Barnes credits the University for opening the world to him and giving him options far beyond his humble background. Barnes is a member of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management Advisory Council. He recently completed his tenure as chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2015-2019. He was founding co-chair of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families and a founding investor in the Orange Value Fund, a $4.1 million student-run portfolio. Outside the University, he is involved with many philanthropic activities. Including serving as the former chairman of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and a member of the trust board of Children's Hospital Boston. Barnes is also a member of ownership and the Board of Directors for the Boston Celtics. Steve and Deborah Barnes, his wife, have generously supported the Whitman School, where they endowed the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities and the Barnes Professorship in Entrepreneurship. They also made a $5 million gift to create the Barnes Center at The Arch, a state-of-the-art health and wellness complex expanding onto Archbold/Flanagan Gymnasium.

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