- City:
- Long Beach, CA
- Site Type:
- Schools, Education and Health
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding
- Completed:
- 1934
- Designer:
- Edward L Mayberry
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Marked:
- Unknown
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Will Rogers Middle School was built in 1934 with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding. Edward L. Mayberry designed Building A in PWA Moderne style. He also designed the Boys and Girls Physical Education Buildings in 1935, but it is unclear whether this too was a New Deal project.
The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. “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
Long Beach Unified School District Master Plan Update, 2016
Cultural Resources Assessment for Long Beach Unified School District, January 2017
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