Shooting Hoops

The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball

by Adam Lipper

When Mikaelyn Austin's plane touched down in Philly on a chilly February day in 2000, a blizzard had blanketed the city in snow. To Austin, a San Diego native on a two-day basketball recruiting trip to the University of Pennsylvania, the entire 269-acre campus was concealed, except for one building: the giant, industrial Palestra. Opening the gymnasium's doors, Austin took in a wave of heat, laced with the scent of hot dogs, popcorn, sweat and, of course, basketball. Even before viewing her first Big 5 doubleheader, Austin was sold. This was where she wanted to be.

Now, seven years later, after clinching the Ivy League championship in her last game at the Palestra and receiving a fine arts degree from Penn's School of Design, the 25-year-old filmmaker has completed a documentary titled The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball.

"I think the reason the Palestra stands apart, it has the tradition, the fans, the atmosphere, but it really was the place where college basketball turned into the amazing beast that it is today," says Austin, who began working on Palestra three years ago. "The Philadelphia area was one of the main places basketball was taking off, and the Palestra was the womb of that."

The film, which was written, produced and directed by Austin, explores the history and evolution of college basketball from the opening of the 8,700-seat arena in 1927 to the present. Narrated by former Phillies' announcer Harry Kalas, the documentary also features distinguished sports figures such as Temple's John Chaney, who reminisces about catching "free" trolley rides to the Palestra as an underprivileged boy; and Philadelphia sports commentator Al Meltzer, who comments that, "If you were a sports fan, this was Mecca."

Austin hopes that the film, which premiered at this year's Philadelphia Film Festival and won the "Fest Favorite" award, will serve as nostalgia for seasoned Palestra patrons and be compelling to those who've never stepped inside. "It will be a nice walk down memory lane," she says, "but more importantly it will grab the attention of college basketball fans across the country who may have heard of it and say, 'You know what, let me check out the schedule and go see a game.'"

(adam.lipper@citypaper.net)

The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball, airing on ESPN Thu. and Sun., July 5 and 11, 10 p.m.; also July 16, July 27 and Aug. 4. Austin will be at Chickie's and Pete's (1526 Packer Ave.) July 5, 9 p.m., www.palestradocumentary.com.