History in Evanston
Sports

2145 North Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois

First NCAA Championship Game

The first NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament was played in Patten Gymnasium, which was located at 2145 North Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois in 1939, but which is no longer located here today.  Funding for the construction of the Gymnasium was secured largely through the generosity of former Evanston mayor James Patten, who wrote a check for $150,000 to get the ball rolling. 

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