O’Harra Memorial Stadium – Rapid City SD

Description

CCC and WPA crews constructed this football stadium for the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City. From the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Quarterly:

“With the help of Works Project Administration (WPA) laborers and a $50,000 WPA grant, development continued from 1932 through 1936.* The Alumni Association raised the remaining funds to finish the field by contacting the school’s 750 alumni through meetings held in 26 alumni regions around the country. With the successful fundraising drive, the $132,000 O’Harra Memorial Stadium was dedicated on September 16, 1938.

Black Hills businesses and government agencies also provided valuable help in completing the stadium field. Northwestern Railway Company donated cinders for the track and Homestake Mining Corporation gave 4,000 feet of cable for a running track fence. The Forest Service allowed timber to be harvested from the Black Hills National Forest for guard railings and posts. Government officials authorized limestone to be quarried from federal land for “rip-rapping the upper tier” of the stadium field.”

*Note: This statement is misleading and invites additional research, as the WPA did not operate until 1935. The CCC was founded in 1933.