Santa Monica High School – Santa Monica CA

City:
Santa Monica, CA

Site Type:
Schools, Education and Health

New Deal Agencies:
Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs

Started:
1935

Completed:
1937

Quality of Information:
Good

Marked:
Yes

Site Survival:
Partially Extant

Description

The Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) modernization of Santa Monica High School between 1935 and 1938 represented the largest reconstruction project undertaken by the Santa Monica City School District following the devastating 1933 Long Beach earthquake.

The WPA remodeled and retrofitted the school’s two-story Academic & Administration Building (later the History Building), Manual Arts & Commerce Building, Fine Arts & Household Science Building, Library/Student Center, and Girls’ Gymnasium. Their “‘earthquake-resistive construction’ [was] designed to withstand shocks greater than those felt in Long Beach. Bearing walls were reinforced with steel and coated on the exterior with stucco. Gabled roofs were replaced with shock-proof, deck-type roofing. Ornamentation was removed, resulting in a more stripped-down or modernistic look” (HRG Report, p. 43).

The WPA also constructed a new auditorium (Barnum Hall Theater), boys’ gymnasium, and wing for the Art Department. “The high quality of design of the new auditorium building, in particular, suggested not only the importance of this facility to the growing high school, but also the degree of civic pride associated with this new community amenity” (HRG Report, p. 43).

Most of Santa Monica High School’s historic buildings were demolished in 2021 as part of a 25-year modernization project funded by 1.138 billion dollars in bonds. Demolition was widely opposed, with both the school’s extensive alumni community and the Santa Monica Conservancy advocating for the School District to preserve/rehabilitate the campus’ “historic academic core.”

Source notes

Donald H. Connolly and G. I. Farman, Report of Accomplishment of the Operations Division, Works Progress Administration, Southern California, Jan. 1, 1939.

Historic Resources Group (HRG), Santa Monica High School Campus Plan: Historic Resources Technical Report, July 2018.

Site originally submitted by Natalie McDonald on July 1, 2011.
Additional contributions by Shaina Potts.

Location Info


601 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Los Angeles County

Coordinates: 34.0119, -118.4867

Site Details

Federal CostTotal Cost
$831,257 $1,081,029

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2 comments on “Santa Monica High School – Santa Monica CA

  1. Change.org/savesamohihistory

    These buildings are at risk. Demolishing 2021 summer. Please help.

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Contribute to this Site

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2 comments on “Santa Monica High School – Santa Monica CA

  1. Change.org/savesamohihistory

    These buildings are at risk. Demolishing 2021 summer. Please help.

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.