• Beach Elementary School - Piedmont CA
    The original Beach School was built in 1913 but declared an earthquake hazard and torn down in 1934.  It was replaced in two phases: the main wing in 1936 and the rear classroom wing and auditorium in 1940 (PHS 2007). The new school included 8 classrooms, a kindergarten, offices, a health room and an auditorium. There had been three previous efforts to replace schools and temporary buildings at schools in Piedmont in the 1920s, but the bond issues lost.   After the school board sought and gained funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA), a new bond issue passed in December...
  • Hampton Park Preparation - Piedmont CA
    In the late 1920s, the city of Piedmont was outgrowing its schools and many classes were being held in temporary buildings.  In the 1930s, voters passed a bond issue and the school district undertook a major rebuilding program.  It took the assistance of the New Deal to get the job done, however.   One planned new school, in the St. James neighborhood, was never built.  Instead, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built retaining walls and leveled the site in anticipation of the new school.   The extensive concrete retaining walls, with Art Moderne touches, are still there at the corner of Hampton...
  • Havens Elementary School Additions - Piedmont CA
    Frank C. Havens Elementary School was originally built in 1910 and expanded under the New Deal with the help of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding and Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief labor and materials.  A new five-classroom wing and an auditorium were built on the eastern edge of the school grounds. The lovely auditorium, renamed the Ellen Driscoll Community Playhouse, survives. There had been three previous efforts to replace temporary buildings at schools in Piedmont in the 1920s, because about one-third of Piedmont students were being taught in temporary buildings (derisively called 'shacks' by the locals). All the bond issues lost (Tribune 1942)....
  • Piedmont High School Additions - Piedmont CA
    Piedmont High School was expanded under the New Deal with the help of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding.  A new library and classroom building were built, 1937-39. There had been three previous efforts to replace temporary buildings at schools in Piedmont in the 1920s, because about one-third of Piedmont students were being taught in temporary buildings (derisively called ‘shacks’ by the locals). All the bond issues lost (Tribune Dec. 1933).  After the school board sought and gained a promise of $83,000 in funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1933, a new bond issue for $233,000 passed in December of that year....
  • Piedmont High School: Mosaics and Murals - Piedmont CA
    Piedmont High School was graced with four New Deal artworks in the 1930s, two of which have disappeared. They were commissioned by the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which also constructed a new library and a classroom building.  This work was done c. 1937-39. Edgar D. Taylor created two mosaics for the school: "Modern Education" was on the wall in the library; "Ancient Education" was in the corridor behind the library.  These works are evidently still in the current library. Two other works are reported as missing and any information on their fate would be greatly appreciated: •Joseph Sheridan...
  • Wildwood Elementary School Additions - Piedmont CA
    Wildwood Elementary School in Piedmont CA was expanded under the New Deal, with the addition of new classroom buildings and an auditorium. Prior to that, about one-third of Piedmont students were being taught in temporary buildings (derisively called 'shacks' by the locals). There had been three previous efforts in the 1920s to replace temporary school buildings in Piedmont but the bond issues lost (Tribune 1942).   After the school board sought and gained a promise of $83,000 in funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1933, a new bond issue for $233,000 passed in December of that year.  Of the...