- City:
- Alpine, TX
- Site Type:
- Education and Health, Parks and Recreation, Colleges and Universities, Amphitheaters and Bandshells
- New Deal Agencies:
- Civil Works Administration (CWA), Work Relief Programs
Description
Among the numerous construction and improvement projects undertaken at Sul Ross State University during the Great Depression was the construction of the original outdoor theater at Kokernot Lodge by the Civil Works Administration (CWA). Per the El Paso Herald-Post:
Earliest of relief projects on the campus ,a CWA program o[f] 1934, and one of the most interesting in background is the outdoor theater at Kokernot Lodge, a park site presented to the college in 1929 by the: L. G. Kokernot heirs of Alpine. The stage is of native stone with seating capacity for 1200. It is flanked by dressing rooms and is equipped with motion picture booth and concealed lighting.
The lodge is the center of many outdoor social functions and dramatic presentations of the college …
Living New Deal believes this project to be the modestly-sized amphitheater north of the Kokernot Lodge. A new theater was inaugurated in 1970 to the south and east of the lodge.
Source notes
"SUL ROSS RANKS HIGH," El Paso Herald-Post, Nov. 6, 1939 (pg. 76): https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/797737000/ (accessed Apr. 9, 2022)
"$100,000 SPENT FOR PROJECTS AT SUL ROSS," El Paso Herald-Post, Sept. 24, 1934 (pg. 3): https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/796619108/ (accessed Apr. 10, 2022)
"Big Bend Theatre Tells Season Plans," El Paso Times, May 31, 1970 (pg. 107): https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/434421008/ (accessed Apr. 10, 2022)
Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on April 9, 2022.
At this Location:
- Museum of the Big Bend - Alpine TX
- Sul Ross State University: Lawrence Hall - Alpine TX
- Sul Ross State University - Alpine TX
- Sul Ross State University: Men's Dormitory and Band Home (demolished) - Alpine TX
- Sul Ross State University: Rock Cottages (demolished) - Alpine TX
View all sites at Sul Ross State University - Alpine TX (6 Sites)
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