It’s difficult to see what’s happening behind all that scaffolding, but the Red Gym is currently getting a facelift. Wouldn’t you be interested in a bit of cosmetic work, too, if you were 130 years old? Aside from aesthetic concerns, the restoration will more importantly help ensure that the armory, named a national historic landmark in 1993, is maintained for future Badgers. The project involves replacing bricks as needed, re-mortaring the whole exterior, and re-doing the asphalt-shingled roof with era-appropriate slate tile. This isn’t the first renovation that the Red Gym has gone through. Since it was built as an armory and gymnasium in 1894, the building has been retrofitted many times to fulfill the needs of a growing student body. The most recent remodel took place over the COVID-19 pandemic and focused on the building’s interior, resulting in larger and snazzier spaces for student groups and the Multicultural Student Center.