- City:
- Long Beach, CA
- Site Type:
- Schools, Education and Health
- Completed:
- 1935
- Designer:
- Earle R. Bobbe
- Contractor:
- V.W. Bullock
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Marked:
- Unknown
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Edison Elementary School was reconstructed with New Deal funding following the devastating 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. Designed by Earle R. Bobbe in WPA/PWA Moderne style, Buildings A and B were completed in 1935. A relief panel, likely executed by a WPA artist, is located over the entrance to the school.
“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
Contribute to this Site
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.
Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site
Join the Conversation