- City:
- Oakland, CA
- Site Type:
- Education and Health, Schools
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Description
The old Piedmont Elementary School burned on July 24, 1938. Federal aid was sought for building a new school, which was dedicated April 12, 1941.
This Art Deco school building is complete with auditorium, library, kindergarten classroom, kitchen, offices, and regular classrooms.
There is also a WPA sidewalk marker in front of the school.
Source notes
"Oakland school, 48 years old, ruined by arson," Oakland Tribune, July 25, 1938, p. ll.
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I believe that the WPA marker date was merely the date it was installed. According to my dad, who attended the school (and I think my great-aunt was a principal at one point), it opened when he was around 8 years old. That would have been 1939. My dad passed a couple of years ago, so I can’t confirm that with him, but other sites seem to agree with the ‘39 date.
Piedmont Avenue was a wonderful place to grow up near during the Depression. You had the school, Fenton’s (what kid wouldn’t want to live a block from there?) and the Piedmont Theater which charged something like a dime or a quarter for a double bill. My great-aunts lived in the old home on Entrada, and I got to grow up visiting one of the sweetest small towns in the area.