- City:
- Oakland, CA
- Site Type:
- Education and Health, Schools, Gymnasiums
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding
- Started:
- 1938
- Completed:
- 1939
- Contractor:
- Carl N Swenson Company
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- No Longer Extant
Description
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.
Source notes
"Ground broken for new gym," Oakland Tribune, November 29, 1938.
"Fremont gym to be dedicated," Oakland Tribune, October 13, 1939, p. 40.
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I heard that this property was being torn down and a new school is currently under construction. Do you know if Oakland’s Planning Department took the historic nature of this property into consideration?