Pendleton City Hall Complex: Recreation Center (Pendleton Junior High School Gymnasium) – Pendleton OR

Description

When the Public Works Administration (PWA) approved Pendleton’s request for funds to support construction of the Vert Auditorium and Helen McCune Junior High School in 1936, the school’s gymnasium completed the proposed complex of three buildings. The LaGrande Observer summarized its size and significance, reporting: “A gymnasium for Pendleton with a seating capacity of more than 1,200, of which 1,000 would be on the main floor and 208 in the balcony, has been planned in connection with the proposed Vert Memorial and auditorium, plans drawn by the architects, Jones and Marsh show.”

The Jones and Marsh referred to above were prominent Portland architects, George Howell Jones and Harold Dickson Marsh. Prior to these projects they had worked independently, each earning a reputation for excellence in public building design. Jones had an established reputation as a school architect while Marsh’s work involved a diverse record of municipal buildings. The architects chose the simple, clean style of the Art Deco/Moderne school, commonly associated with the PWA architecture of 1936-1941.

The footprint of the gymnasium, today’s Recreation Center, remains the same as does the exterior design.