Larkins Hall hosted a walkthrough yesterday for the Ohio State community to pick and choose items they might want to purchase at an auction being held in June.

“We had gotten a lot of requests from users of Larkins to buy items to remember the building,” said Erik Riha, a spokesman for the Department of Recreational Sports. “It’s a great way for people to grab a piece of history and remember the building.”

An increasing number of students and staff were asking to buy items, said Dave DeAngelo, assistant director of Recreational Sports. People have requested purchasing everything including old clocks, pool tiles, basketball hoops, doors, exercise equipment and the floor of the basketball court, DeAngelo said.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Sheena Riepenhoff, a student at the walk through. “I think it’s nice that someone can buy a piece of history.”

Potential buyers were asked to fill out a form on the items they wanted to purchase. The forms do not obligate anyone to purchase the items they specified, but it will give us an idea of what items we will be selling, DeAngelo said.

Almost everything in Larkins is up for bidding but DeAngelo said there are no promises. Items that are not for sale have been marked and will be moved to the new recreational facility or to the warehouse for storage.

“We can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to get everything down and make it available,” DeAngelo said.

Some items, such as office furniture, will be going to the new Recreation and Physical Activities Center or back to the university warehouse, Riha said.

Items that are not purchased or moved to the warehouse will be demolished with the building, DeAngelo said.

“This is a good idea for people on our staff to get rid of a lot of stuff they don’t need anymore,” DeAngelo said.

Beginning in June, the department’s Web site will have specific information on the items that will be available to purchase, DeAngelo said.

About two weeks ago, the department invited the regional campuses and held a draft for some of the treadmills and elliptical machines, DeAngelo said. These items were specifically marked not for sale.

Specific plans for the June 11 auction have not been finalized yet, Riha said.