- City:
- Delano, CA
- Site Type:
- Education and Health, Schools
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding, Federal Works Agency (FWA)
- Started:
- 1939
- Completed:
- 1939
- Contractor:
- Frank Wynkoop - Architect
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Delano High School was built with the aid of funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The name of the school at the time of construction was Delano Joint Union High School.
The building design is elegant Streamline Moderne, on three levels. In the last decade, the classic white exterior paint (probably repeated since the building’s origin) has recently been replaced with more eye-catching colors, name, logo and images. Still, the New Deal era school appears to be largely intact. The one-story classroom building with pillared breezeway and the quonset-hut gymnasium also look to be original.
There are plaques on the building indicating its provenance as the PWA under the reorganized Federal Works Agency (FWA). The share of financing between the local school board and the federal government is unknown to us.
Source notes
Plaques on school building.
David Gebhard and Robert Winter, A Guide to the Architecture in Los Angeles and Southern California (Santa Barbara and Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith Inc., 1977) p. 605.
Site originally submitted by Douglas Dodd on April 5, 2009.
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