Oakes Field House (former Recreation Building) – South Charleston WV

City:
South Charleston, WV

Site Type:
Athletic Courts and Fields, Parks and Recreation

New Deal Agencies:
Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)

Completed:
1939

Designers:
Architect, Francis George Davidson

Contractors:
Contractor; H.R. Sago, Inspector, L. Leslie Evans

Quality of Information:
Good

Marked:
Yes

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Oakes Field House (former Recreation Building) in South Charleston in 1939.

The Recreation Building, as it was called in 1939, is a two-story brick building with gable and seven bays facing 3rd street. The central three bays have arched doorways evocative of Palladian windows. The building is about 72 feet wide and 115 feet long with a small one-story raised brick structure extending towards the Oakes Field. An addition (possibly original, date is unknown) of approximately 12 x 22 feet is on the northwest corner.

There are ten large two-story windows running along the west side of the building.  They are now all or partially covered, but the windows appear intact underneath the plywood covers.

The eastern/southeastern edge of the Oakes Field. The building faces 3rd Street to the south, Oakes Field (KA-3713, WPA 1941) to the west and the street access to Oakes field to the north and residential area to the south and east.

Oakes is named after South Charleston L.H. Oakes.

Source notes

Historic Property Inventory Form site KA-3712, West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office.

Kanawha County Parcel Viewer (https://gis.kanawhacountyassessor.com), accessed March  16, 2018.

Kanawha County Schools, “1966 Building Program Summary: Secondary and Special Facilities,” Charleston, West Virginia: Kanawha County Schools, 1966 p. 85.

Multiple Site Visits (2015-2018) by Ernest Everett Blevins

"South Charleston to Dedicate Two New Structures Thursday," Charleston Daily Mail August 20, 1939, p. 4.

Site originally submitted by Ernest Everett Blevins on March 26, 2018.

Location Info


133 Third Avenue
South Charleston, West Virginia 25303
Kanawha County

Location notes: West end of 3rd street before it terminates at the former Naval Ordinance plant (now Industrial Park). Located between E Street and F Street.

Coordinates: 38.364109750703314, -81.69720822817231

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.