- City:
- Avalon, CA
- Site Type:
- Education and Health, Schools
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Funding, Work Relief Programs, Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Started:
- 1935
- Completed:
- 1936
- Designer:
- Harold C. Wildman
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- Unknown
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. Originally built in 1924, Avalon School on Catalina Island—a part of the Long Beach Unified School District—was rehabilitated by Harold C. Wildman in 1935/36 with New Deal funding. Classes were held in tents while construction was underway.
“On August 29, 1933, Long Beach citizens approved a $4,930,000 bond measure for the rebuilding of schools. Applications for approximately thirty-five schools were filed with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Public Works Administration (PWA); federal grants up to thirty percent of labor and material costs were obtained. To minimize costs, building materials were salvaged from damaged buildings, some schools were rehabilitated, and new schools were constructed with basic amenities without cafeterias, libraries, auditoriums, swimming pools, or gymnasiums. Four years after the earthquake, school construction totaling $3,281,000 was completed or under contract” (Cultural Resources Assessment for LBUSD, p.26).
Source notes
Cultural Resources Assessment for Long Beach Unified School District, January 2017.
Site originally submitted by Natalie McDonald on January 17, 2024.
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