|
How do you get to the MIT range, and where do you park?
This is not all that easy a question to answer, as you will see. However,
a word of caution: The City of
Cambridge has decided to turn areas such as unused “loading zones”
into cash cows. In the context, this particularly means the section of
Vassar Street alongside the Metropolitan Storage Warehouse. The
parking tickets cost $20 – personal experience….
I have attached a pdf file entitled “MIT_campus_map.pdf.”
Download and print this file. This shows the
streets and buildings in the area of the MIT Shooting Range, which is
in the basement of building W31,
the DuPont Center Gymnasium, on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and
Vassar Street. Unfortunately, the obvious doors to the DuPont Center do
not give access to the Range. There are two main entrances to the DuPont
Center; which of these you use will depend mainly on where you park.
There are also twosuggested parking areas, the West
Annex Lot and the N10 Lot. The West Annex Lot is
convenient, but very popular with users of the athletic facilities, so
it may be full. In addition, there are rumors that the West Parking Garage
is to be renovated, with part of the West Annex Parking lot to be taken
for a materials storage and staging area. For these reasons, the N10 Lot
may be a better choice.
The West Annex Lot is on Vassar
Street, west of Massachusetts Avenue; the entrance is just past the West
Parking Garage (which we cannot use); the exit is at the far end of the
lot. If you are fortunate
enough to find a parking place in this lot, walk back on the other side
of Vassar Street until you come to
the entryway just past the rounded end of the Johnson Athletic Center.
At the head of the entryway are theentry doors to the Zesiger Sports and
Fitness Center. Immediately upon entering these doors, you will see on
your left turnstiles and a desk; tell the person at the desk that you
are participating in a match at the Range and they will let you through
the gate. Follow the walkway to the end; turn right through the doors
and make a 180 degree turn to your left. You are now facing a bank of
vending machines and a windowed door in the right-hand corner. Go through
that door; about halfway down the hallway you will see on the right a
counter (assuming it is open) to the right and left of which are respectively
Women’s and Men’s locker and rest rooms. Opposite the counter
(the left side of the hallway) is an opening leading to a short flight
of stairs going down. At the foot of the stairs, to the left, is the door
to the Range Ready Room. Come on in!
The N10 Lot is behind building N9 and
N10; the entrance is on Albany Street past those two buildings. There
is a walkway out to Massachusetts Avenue at the west end of the lot. To
get to the Range from the N10 Lot, cross Massachusetts Avenue and turn
left (south). Walk down to the Stratton Student Center (building W20),
which has a large upper-story overhang. Turn right, walk up between the
right side of the Stratton Center and the DuPont center (or, a bit longer,
around the left side of the Stratton Center). At the end (down the stairs)
turn right and enter the doors to the DuPont Center; you will see turnstiles
in front and a desk on your left; tell the person at the desk that you
are participating in a match at the Range and they will let you through
the gate. You are now facing a bank of vending machines and a windowed
door in the right-hand corner. Go through that door; about halfway down
the hallway you will see on the right a counter (assuming it is open)
to the right and left of which are respectively Women’s and Men’s
locker and rest rooms. Opposite the counter (the left side of the hallway)
is an opening leading to a short flight ofstairs going down. At the foot
of the stairs, to the left, is the door to the Range Ready Room. Come
on in!
Bus or taxi: get off on Massachusetts Avenue in front of the MIT Main
Entrance and refer to the
directions for the N10 Lot, above.
Brooks Lyman, MIT Pistol & RifleClub
|
