 Design work on a larger gymnasium was started in the early 1940s by university architect Rudolph Weaver, but the project was postponed during World War II.Plans were completed by Guy Fulton after the war, and the Florida Gymnasium finally opened in 1949, soon after the university became co-educational.The original University Gymnasium became the Women's Gymnasium, and the "New Gym" was converted into a rehearsal space for the university's marching bands.