The Blood Fitness Center gives students and faculty members a beautiful space to burn off late-night diner breakfast and Opus chocolate chip cookies. The ground floor houses both a cardio and weight training room, fully equipped with treadmills, elliptical trainers, stair-masters, free weights, resistance machines, and a matted stretching area. At peak hours, the gym can get fairly crowded, but there is enough equipment that it's rare to wait for a machine. There is an additional set of machines specifically for varsity athletes located upstairs. In addition to the fitness center, the Alumni Gymnasium includes Bristol Swimming Pool, Sage Rink, Scott Field House, two weight-lifting rooms, an additional basketball court, brand new squash courts, tennis courts, and an indoor track.
Hamilton College is planning a new student center in the old Emerson Literary Society building (ELS), but for the time being, our student center is Beinecke Village. Beinecke Village is really pretty to look at, but seems to be the victim of an architectural experiment. It’s been called “one long corridor” by students, and it isn’t a major campus hangout. It does house the mail center, the Diner, the Barn, and the Annex. Late-night diner socializing is very popular, and a lot of student tables are set up around the mail center and diner area. Musical groups come to the Barn on Thursday nights as part of the Acoustic Coffee House series that brings smaller indie singers/bands to perform on campus. On weekends all-campus parties are thrown in one of four large social spaces: The Annex, The Hub, ELS Basement, and Bundy Dining Hall. Otherwise, the real student hangout on campus is Café Opus. The Café sells an assortment of baked goodies, lunch, and enough caffeine to keep students awake all night. In the lounge area around the café, a number of couches, loveseats, and huge armchairs make for quality studying or comfortable conversation. Classes are sometimes held there during the day, people meet their professors and friends for a tasty lunch, and students study or chat together all day.