City Man Builds Own Gymnasium

GYMKHANA: Gymkhana is the name of the body-building, exercising establishment shown here under construction. This picture, taken from inside, illustrates the Unistrut roof construction. The business is being opened by Donald T. Botsford on S. Maple Rd. Gymkhana means literally a series of athletic contests, such as racing.

City Man Builds Own Gymnasium

Don T. Botsford of 342 E. Madison St. for the past seven years has thought that Ann Arbor lacked proper physical fitness emporiums and that the University could not satisfy this need for the community.

He finally decided to start such a building himself. Today, he can be seen working on the construction of his 33x66-foot block building with its Unistrut ceiling at 415 S. Maple Rd.

Gymkhana is what he plans to call his business. The Gymkhana will feature trampolines, tumbling, weight-lifting, body-building, reducing, hand-balancing and juggling.

Botsford said he will work alone at first, but that he hopes to eventually build a staff to aid him. He started his building in June and he hopes to open around Sept. 1. But, he doesn’t think he will make that date.

As to the potential success of such a business, Botsford’s optimism can be summed up in his statement, "I bet I can get kids on a trampoline faster than on a dance floor.”

The dictionary defines gymkhana as a place where athletic contests are held.