Gymnasiums Sites

Construction of the Childress High School Gymnasium building was enabled by Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1939. The building is a two-story rectangular plan, front-gabled Italian Renaissance style building with two flat-roofed wings. Additional architectural details can be found at the NRHP reference below.

"The Clayton School buildings were constructed as Works Progress Administration projects in the late 1930s. The buildings are in a Pueblo Revival architectural style. There are several buildings within the complex. Within the junior high school is a museum of WPA projects. Must stop at administrative office to visit the museum." -Waymarking

On 27 October 1937, the Radcliffe-King House was pulled down for the new College of Charleston Student Activities Building/Gymnasium building. The new building was funded by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, and was designed by Simons & Lapham, a well known Charleston, South Carolina architectural firm, which participated in may New Deal projects. The building included some rooms for dorms for out of county basketball players who attended the    College of Charleston. See Blevins (2001): https://livingnewdeal.org/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/5-1524db4e8f93549db7fec5d73ae429b8/2018/01/CofC-Gym-pages-98-101.pdf In 1994-1995 the building was renovated. The gymnasium’s rubber basketball floor was removed for a modern floor, an indoor walking track was suspended from the ceiling,...

Originally built as the community's high school, one of the facilities that makes up what is now Commerce Middle School campus was constructed as a New Deal project. The 136' x 103' structure, which features a gymnasium, was "initiated by the Oklahoma Emergency Relief Administration and finished by WPA labor." It is located along S Cherry St., as opposed to Commerce St.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community building and gymnasium in Helmsburg, Indiana. Constructed of native timber, the "interior is finished in beaver board. Asphalt shingles were used as the exterior covering. Lumber used for the window and and door frames and casings and other wood trimmings was dressed by hand. The floor also was sanded by hand as electric current was not available." The location and status of the structure is unknown to Living New Deal; however, we believe it to be demolished.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community building and gymnasium in Little York, Indiana. The building, which is located at the southwest corner of N School Rd. and W Mill Rd., is now privately owned. "The Little York community building provides an example of a structure built almost entirely of native timber. Work on the building was started under a Federal Emergency Relief Administration project which was responsible for the sawing of 34,000 feet of timber. The structure, which is 90 by 50 feet, contains a basketball floor, a stage, galleries and two small...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community building and gymnasium in Wadesville, Indiana. The building was later remodeled and served as a VFW Post. Now privately owned, it has been again remodeled and better resembles its original appearance. The shop even bears its original wood floor! "The Wadesville building, dedicated recently, is typical of the structures being erected under the project. It is of one-story frame construction, 100 by 64 feet in size with a high arched roof supported by heavy steel framework. It is lised throughout with celotex. A regulation size basketball floor surrounded by bench type bleachers with a...

This one-story red brick building was completed in 1939 by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The school has long been gone. The building which is located on Douglas Avenue in the northwest part of Clearview, is currently being used as the Community Center. A porch has been added to the front, and remodeling has been done on the interior, including adding dropped ceilings, a dining area and kitchen facilities. Portions of a rock wall can still be seen which surrounded the entire school campus. A concrete cornerstone on the southeast corner has raised letters on the south side reading "WPA". The...

The gorgeous community center in Pence, Wisconsin, located on the south side of Trezona St. between Maple St. and Cedar St., was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in 1941. Lake Shore Visitor: "Last year, through a WPA project, a community center was erected. It contains a large gymnasium, a library, a meeting room, garage, and fire-fighting equipment space. A recreational program providing entertainment facilities for all age groups has been established."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community center in Strang, Oklahoma. Per The Daily Mayes County Democrat: "WPA assistance has been responsible for many community center buildings in this section of the state. Shown here is a native stone building at Strang which is used as a school gymnasium and community hall. Many large gatherings are held here which otherwise could not be accommodated in the Strang neighborhood." The location and status of the building is unknown to Living New Deal.

This rock building was constructed in 1936-1938. It was used as the gym until 1980 when a new high school complex and gym was constructed. It is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is used as a gym by the North Arkansas Youth Center.

"In the fall of 1999, the Plano City Council established a tax increment finance district in downtown Plano. Four and a half million dollars of the projected income from the district was earmarked for the creation of the Courtyard Theater. This project is an adaptive re-use of the Cox Annex, a historic structure located in Haggard Park Historic District. The Cox gymnasium/auditorium was built in 1938 as a Works Progress Administration project. Interestingly, it was constructed on almost the exact location of the Civic Auditorium (1909) which had been built by subscriptions pledged by Plano citizens. Here the Lyceum was held...

Rubble rock building with a WPA plaque. START WORK ON DUFFAU PROJECT: Construction work is under way on the $13,500 gymnasium building of the Duffau school, with Bryan Casbeer, of Lampasas, as project superintendent. The project is being financed through a bond issue of the Duffau school district and the Works Progress Administration. W. W. Stevens, area engineer, Hamilton, was in Stephenville last Monday and reported that 32 WHA laborers were employed on the project. He said that 50 men were expected to be hired by April 23, when the WPA will complete a school ground improvement project at Alexander. Laborers on...

The National Youth Administration built this 1.5 story gymnasium for De Kalb High School in 1938. The gym remains extant.

A new Mechanical Arts building was constructed for Delta High School, in Delta, Utah in 1935-36 with funding from the federal Public Works Administration (PWA).   It was part of a larger project for the Millard County School District that included a gymnasium for Hinckley High School in Hinckley and a gymnasium at Millard High School in Fillmore.  Total cost for the three buildings was $130,000.  The architects of all three were Carl W. Scott and George W. Welch. The contractors were Talboe and Litchfield. Delta High School was torn down and replaced by a new school complex in the early 2000s....

The 1938-39 Art Moderne Project Miss. 1225 is "...a rare surviving example of a university gymnasium from the period before World War II. ...maintains its interior and exterior integrity" (MDAH). The gym was expanded with a rear addition of a second gym in 1947, which was demolished in 2000. Brick veneer was added in 1964, and the building was renovated in 1975-76. It remains in use today, and is prominently located at the front of the campus on Leflore Circle.

The large gymnasium is standing by itself in a residential part of town, built on donated land that at the time was outside of the town proper. It has been in use since it was built and has been used for athletic events as well as for entertainment events by the community. Photographs were taken in a torrential downpour.

Douglass Auditorium is a two-story native stone building in Duncan, Oklahoma that was constructed by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1936. It faces east and has five distinct bays, separated by projected stone pilasters with heavy stone caps. On the upper wall of the center bay is a stone panel which reads "19 DOUGLASS 36 / AUDITORIUM". Lower on that wall is an embedded bronze WPA shield showing the year 1936. A community center is located in the adjacent school and we believe this auditorium is used as part of that operation.

The Works Progress Administration built facilities for the Dublin High School between 1938-1940. A large rock construction structure located to the right of the High School building bears a plaque that reads "Works Progress Administration 1938-1940." Across the front of the building is a sign that reads "Recreation," suggesting that it may be an auditorium with a stage as well as a gymnasium. There is a wall around the school, and across the street is another rubble rock building that does not have a plaque.

The WPA allocated $895 for reconstruction work on what was then the gym for the high school in Richey, Montana. The structure is now the gym for Richey's elementary school.

"Construct school gymnasium, including installing plumbing, heating, and electrical facilities; excavating; backfilling; and performing appurtenant and incidental work. Publicly owned property. Sponsor: Oil Trough School District #100." WPA Project No. 265-1-63-5, $11,244, application date 7-12-41, Average Employed 38. As best I can gather from talking with a few locals that were reachable, is that the current food bank is the former gym. The school district was dissolved in 1990, and the school was closed in 2005 with students going to either Newark or Cedar Ridge.

In 1939, the Public Works Administration funded the construction of a gymnasium addition to the High School in Emmett Idaho. Project Docket No. Idaho 1045D. The architect of record was Tourtellotte & Hummel. The exact location and present status of the structure is unknown to the Living New Deal.

Large building along HWY-183 in Coryell County town of Evant. It is located next to a modern school building. Building is mainly rubble rock construction with brick accents. Has Evant engraved above the entrance. Has an outside metal staircase to a second floor.

The Public Works Administration W1183 funded constructing for new buildings and improvements for five Hinds County schools in 1938-1939. Forest Hill School used funds to construct a vocational building, auditorium, gymnasium, and home for the vocational teacher. They used a $24,000 bond issue to supplement the PWA funding for a loan of 151,986 toward estimated cost of all 5 schools of $337,746, approved 6/22/1938. Bids were advertised October 1938; first contract awarded 11/10/38; construction began 11/14/1938; and was completed 12/4/1939 for a total of 322,153. The school was demolished in 1987.

An addition with full gymnasium at the community school in Forkland, Boyle County, KY. Stone came from a newly-opened quarry in Mitchellsburg, a few miles away. Final cost, $44,000. When the school was closed about 1971, residents in the Forkland area purchased it, and made a community center there. It is now the home of the Forkland Lincoln Museum, and hosts several events every year.

The gym was constructed in 1933 by the Emergency Relief Administration. It is no longer extant. An historic photograph is available at the Southern Arkansas University site or the Southwest Archives site. The elementary school was built on the former site of the gym.

The Works Progress Administration built the Frances School Gymnasium in 1938. The gym is a 102' x 60' balloon frame building sitting on a poured concrete foundation. It has steel beams supporting the roof and the exterior is clad in wood weatherboard. The building is still used by the school system and community and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 1, 1993.

Oakland's Fremont High School was destroyed by arson in 1930 and rebuilt in 1931. A new gymnasium for the school was financed with a 45% Public Works Administration (PWA) grant in 1938 and completed in 1939. The total cost was $192,000. The 1939 gym was built in a rather stern Moderne style.  It had collapsable bleachers so that it could serve both for sporting events and as an auditorium.  Carl N. Swenson Company was the builder. No trace of the old gym remains, as Fremont High is undergoing a complete renovation in 2020.    

“Because the private Goodland Academy was consolidated with an adjacent public school district in the 1930s, the Presbyterian-sponsored orphanage that was founded in the nineteenth century was given WPA funds to add buildings to its campus. A grade school building, gym/auditorium, a shop building, and a hospital were added. The school and gym are still used as intended. The buildings are unique in that  pieces of white quartz are used in a decorative manner throughout the stone work of the buildings. Although (as of 2012) Goodland is planning additional construction, the old buildings will be retained. Administrator David Dearinger estimated that...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed this building out of limestone between 1935 and 1937.

Local WPA workers used hand crow bars to dig stones from North Cadron Creek to build the gym in 1938. They hauled stone in horse-drawn wagons, and used scaffolds and chains to move them into place (Arkansas Historic Preservation Program). The gym was still in use by the Guy-Perkins School District as late as 1992.

The gym and auditorium in Throckmorton, Texas is a two-story rock building built by the Works Progress Administration.

A gymnasium construction project in Adrian, Texas was undertaken in 1938-9 with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. provided a $12,523 grant for the project, whose total cost was $28,013. The exact location and status of the facility is presently unknown to Living New Deal. P.W.A. Docket No. TX 1917

A gymnasium construction project in Amherst, Texas was undertaken in 1938-9 with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. provided a $16,200 grant for the project, whose total cost was $36,131. The exact location and status of the facility is presently unknown to Living New Deal. P.W.A. Docket No. TX 2380

The historic (former) Amistad School Gymnasium was built by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1937. The Mission-style structure is made of concrete, stucco, and metal. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

From Waymarking.com: "This gymnasium was constructed in 1935 as a WPA project. It is a rectangular building constructed of coursed and rusticated native sandstone. The building is no longer in use, and is heavily overgrown with vines and plants. It appears on the Oklahoma Historical Society's Region 3 list under the town of Okmulgee."

Pearl River County Central Elementary complex, formerly the McNeill community school, includes the 1940 WPA constructed gymnasium. The gymnasium is a Mississippi state landmark.

The gymnasium was constructed 1938-1939 as Public Works Administration project W1232. Architect E. L. Malvaney designed the gymnasium with a seating capacity of 1000, offices for athletic officials, dressing rooms, and a band hall on the second floor. It was converted to use as the Girls' gymnasium when a new one was constructed 1946 for boys. A grant of $16,930 was provided toward the total cost of $37,827. The project was approved 6/22/38, started 9/33/38, and completed 4/17/39. The building was demolished July 2019.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a gymnasium in Crossville, Illinois. The facility was dedicated in November 1937. The location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

A gymnasium in Darrouzett, Texas was undertaken in 1938 with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal. P.W.A. Docket No. TX 1644