Waterville - Making an easy basket has a different ring to it here.

"You can almost hear the applause of the people from the forties and fifties and the players."

And for one self-proclaimed basketball junkie, it's as if they've been resurrected.

"You know, it has that feel of you could just almost look up into there and see the people sitting and you know the cheerleaders in their poodle skirts and the basketball players wearing their belts."

It's exactly what Lenny Holmes had in mind when he signed on for the gym's restoration project more than a year ago.

"This is the exact same space where in the forties those Waterville High School teams that won New England championships, this is where they played," said Holmes

And now a new generation of players will get to take the court as members of Holmes' Gilman Street Basketball club.

"It's just like the atmosphere of the gym is just like you want to be here," said one member.

"My son actually played here when he was in middle school. He's in college now. He was sitting in the bleachers with me just reminiscing about what wonderful times they had and he said what a great historic place this is."

And with touches like the old Waterville scoreboard and original seating, Holmes has created a place that's as much a tribute to the past, as it is home for players in the future.

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