School Gymnasium – Holly CO

Description

This building is still in use and appears to be part of what is now the Holly joint Jr./Sr. High School.

“Built under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration, the building is associated with the federal relief programs administered in Eastern Colorado during the Great Depression. Providing employment and increased job skills for the area’s unemployed, construction began on the Holly Gym in 1936 utilizing a locally quarried chalk-like stone—Niobrara. The WPA created an opportunity to provide the town with a more “progressive” educational facility. This was the first school gymnasium in Holly, which not only functioned for athletic education, but was also used for music classes and the hot lunch program. This building was the community’s first modern recreational facility. The Holly Gym reflects the functional design and use of local materials that is characteristic of WPA buildings. Some of the largest examples of New Deal resources in eastern Colorado were the prominent auditorium/gymnasium buildings.”   (www.historycolorado.org)