Mohave Union High School Gymnasium

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Mohave Union High School Gymnasium
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Location 301 First Street
Kingman, Arizona
Coordinates 35°11′29″N114°3′27″W / 35.19139°N 114.05750°W / 35.19139; -114.05750 Coordinates: 35°11′29″N114°3′27″W / 35.19139°N 114.05750°W / 35.19139; -114.05750
Built 1936
Architect J. Harve Kester; P. W. Womack
Architectural style Moderne
MPS Kingman MRA
NRHP reference # 86001142 [1]
Added to NRHP May 14, 1986

The Mohave Union High School Gymnasium is the original gymnasium of Mohave County Union High School, now the site of Lee Williams High School, at 301 First Street in Kingman, Arizona. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its lamella roof, which gives the building "exceptional merit". [2]

Lee Williams High School is the second comprehensive high school in the town of Kingman, Arizona, operated by the Kingman Unified School District. It opened on August 9, 2012, a year later than originally planned.

Kingman, Arizona City in Arizona, United States

Kingman is a city in and the county seat of Mohave County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 28,068. The nearby communities of Butler, and Golden Valley bring the Kingman area total population to over 45,000. Kingman is located about 105 miles (169 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada and about 165 miles (266 km) northwest of the state capital, Phoenix.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

History

The gym was built in 1936, in the Moderne design, by the Works Progress Administration, and is one of three Moderne buildings in Kingman. P. W. Womack was the contractor from Phoenix and J. Harve Kester was the WPA inspector. It cost $50,000 to build.

Moderne architecture

Moderne architecture, also sometimes referred to as "Style Moderne" or simply "Moderne", describes certain styles of architecture popular from 1925 through the 1940s.

Works Progress Administration largest and most ambitious United States federal government New Deal agency

The Works Progress Administration was an American New Deal agency, employing millions of people to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It was established on May 6, 1935, by Executive Order 7034. In a much smaller project, Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. The four projects dedicated to these were: the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), the Historical Records Survey (HRS), the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), the Federal Music Project (FMP), and the Federal Art Project (FAP). In the Historical Records Survey, for instance, many former slaves in the South were interviewed; these documents are of great importance for American history. Theater and music groups toured throughout America, and gave more than 225,000 performances. Archaeological investigations under the WPA were influential in the rediscovery of pre-Columbian Native American cultures, and the development of professional archaeology in the US.

In 1986, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1994, after the high school moved onto a new campus, the gym became the home of the Boys and Girls Club of Kingman and was also used by the new middle school using the high school site, White Cliffs Middle School.

In 2012, the gymnasium regained a high school when the new Lee Williams High School opened. A new auxiliary gymnasium has since been built alongside the old one.

Architecture

The gymnasium measures 200x90 feet. It is made of concrete brick with a concrete foundation and stucco walls. Later additions to the site included replaced entry windows and doors and an addition to the rear.

Stucco material made of aggregates, a binder, and water

Stucco or render is a material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture. Stucco may be used to cover less visually appealing construction materials, such as metal, concrete, cinder block, or clay brick and adobe.

There are two architectural oddities about the gymnasium. It uses buttresses, the only structure in Kingman to do so, and also has Kingman's only lamella roof, which is described as "an unusual method of construction in Arizona". Only one other gymnasium in the state used a lamella roof, the gymnasium at Phoenix Union High School, built circa 1940 and demolished in the late 1980s.

A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (sideways) forces arising out of the roof structures that lack adequate bracing.

Phoenix Union High School

Phoenix Union High School was a high school that formed part of the Phoenix Union High School District in Phoenix, Arizona.

The building additionally has Art Deco-style detailing. [2] It is one of three Moderne style buildings in Kingman.

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References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 The nomination form for the building, not available through NPS Focus


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