West San Jose School

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West San Jose School

West San Jose School, Albuquerque NM.jpg

West San Jose School, February 2013
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Location 1701 4th St. SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Coordinates 35°04′06″N106°39′19″W / 35.06833°N 106.65528°W / 35.06833; -106.65528 Coordinates: 35°04′06″N106°39′19″W / 35.06833°N 106.65528°W / 35.06833; -106.65528
Built 1937
Architect Louis G. Hesselden
Architectural style Pueblo Revival
NRHP reference # 96001385 [1]
NMSRCP # 1645 [2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP November 22, 1996
Designated NMSRCP September 27, 1996

West San Jose School, also known as Riverview School, is a historic former elementary school in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built in 1936–37 as a Works Progress Administration project and operated as a school until 1975. It is now part of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. The building was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties [2] and the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. [1]

Barelas Neighborhood of Albuquerque

Barelas is an inner-city neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico, located immediately south of Downtown. It consists of the triangular area bounded by Coal Avenue, the BNSF railroad tracks, and the Rio Grande. Originally a separate village, it was absorbed into Albuquerque during the railroad-fueled growth of the 1880s but still retains a distinct identity. The settlement was formally established in 1662, predating even Old Town as the oldest neighborhood in the city. Although it was long one of Albuquerque's most economically distressed areas, Barelas has seen significant development since the opening of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in 2000 and may be starting to experience gentrification.

New Mexico State of the United States of America

New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States of America; its capital and cultural center is Santa Fe, which was founded in 1610 as capital of Nuevo México, while its largest city is Albuquerque with its accompanying metropolitan area. It is one of the Mountain States and shares the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona; its other neighboring states are Oklahoma to the northeast, Texas to the east-southeast, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua to the south and Sonora to the southwest. With a population around two million, New Mexico is the 36th state by population. With a total area of 121,592 sq mi (314,920 km2), it is the fifth-largest and sixth-least densely populated of the 50 states. Due to their geographic locations, northern and eastern New Mexico exhibit a colder, alpine climate, while western and southern New Mexico exhibit a warmer, arid climate.

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.

Contents

History

West San Jose School was built in 1936–7 by the now-defunct Bernalillo County school district. The existing school in the area, South Second Street, was a converted church with only three classrooms and was in a bad location adjacent to the railyard. Due to the inadequacy of this facility, many of the neighborhood students had been forced to attend the similarly crowded Barelas School, or the East San Jose School (the latter requiring a dangerous railroad crossing). The county superintendent, Margaret Easterday, wanted to replace the Barelas and South Second Street schools with a large new facility, but had only $2,500 available for the project. [3] Nevertheless, the district purchased land for a new school in February 1936. [4]

Easterday initially planned to build a small two-room school as a stopgap measure, expanding it when funds allowed. However, this turned out to be unnecessary thanks to the unprecedented public works funding available from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs. With assistance from Governor Clyde Tingley, the school district was able to secure a grant of $53,000 from the Works Progress Administration to build the school. The construction project, using adobe bricks and traditional building methods, lasted ten months and employed 70 workers. [3] The school opened to students in the fall of 1937, after which the South Second Street and Barelas schools were closed. [5]

Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd president of the United States

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A member of the Democratic party, he won a record four presidential elections and became a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. As a dominant leader of his party, he built the New Deal Coalition, which realigned American politics into the Fifth Party System and defined American liberalism throughout the middle third of the 20th century. His third and fourth terms were dominated by World War II. Roosevelt is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in American history, as well as among the most influential figures of the 20th century. Though he has been subject to substantial criticism, he is generally rated by scholars as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

New Deal Economic programs of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt

The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1936. It responded to needs for relief, reform, and recovery from the Great Depression. Major federal programs included the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Farm Security Administration (FSA), the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). They provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth and the elderly. The New Deal included new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re-inflate the economy after prices had fallen sharply. New Deal programs included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term of the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Clyde Tingley American politician

Clyde Kendle Tingley was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the 11th governor of the State of New Mexico. He was a children's healthcare advocate.

In 1949, West San Jose was absorbed into Albuquerque Public Schools along with the rest of the county system. [6] In the late 1950s the name was changed to Riverview Elementary. Both Riverview and the nearby Coronado Elementary were closed in 1975 when a new school, Dolores Gonzales, was built. [7] In 1977 the unused school was converted into a job skills center under the control of the Technical Vocational Institute (now Central New Mexico Community College). [8] The school was renovated in the early 2000s and now houses the library and archives of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. [9]

Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) is a school district based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, APS is the largest of 89 public school districts in the state of New Mexico. In 2010 it had a total of 139 schools with some 95,000 students, making it one of the largest school districts in the United States. APS operates 89 elementary, 27 middle, and 13 high schools, as well as 10 alternative schools. They also own the radio station KANW and co-own the TV stations KNME-TV and KNMD-TV along with the University of New Mexico.

Coronado School (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

Coronado School is a historic elementary school in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Built in 1936–37 as a Public Works Administration project, it is the city's third-oldest operating elementary school. Coronado School was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Central New Mexico Community College

Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), formerly Technical Vocational Institute (TVI), is a community college based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1964, CNM offers Associate degrees, professional certificates and training options.

Architecture

West San Jose School is a one-story adobe building designed in the Pueblo Revival style by local architect Louis G. Hesselden. The floorplan is H-shaped with projecting wings on either side of a central block. The roofline is stepped, with a curved parapet above the projecting main entry, and the walls are stuccoed and buttressed at the corners. The classrooms are illuminated by large 9/9 sash windows, with smaller 4/4 and 2/2 windows elsewhere. The entrances to the building have double doors with transoms and sidelights. [3]

Pueblo Revival architecture

The Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from the Pueblos and the Spanish missions in New Mexico. The style developed at the beginning of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, though it is still commonly used for new buildings. Pueblo style architecture is most prevalent in the state of New Mexico.

Sash window made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes"

A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes", that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by glazing bars, also known as muntins in the US. Although any window with this style of glazing is technically a sash, the term is used almost exclusively to refer to windows where the glazed panels are opened by sliding vertically, or horizontally in a style known as a "Yorkshire light", sliding sash, or sash and case.

Transom (architectural) transverse horizontal structural beam, bar of crosspiece; also short for transom window/ transom light

In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member. Transom or transom window is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece. In Britain, the transom light is usually referred to as a fanlight, often with a semi-circular shape, especially when the window is segmented like the slats of a folding hand fan. A well-known example of this is at the main entrance of 10 Downing Street, London.

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References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "Listed State and National Register Properties" (PDF). New Mexico Historic Preservation Commission. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: West San Jose School". National Park Service. November 22, 1996. Retrieved April 4, 2017. with two accompanying photos
  4. ↑ "Site purchased for new Barelas school building". Albuquerque Journal. February 11, 1936. p. 7. Retrieved April 4, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Two school houses in county system lose their pupils". Albuquerque Journal. December 21, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved April 4, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "County schools office 'dies' tonight with merger in effect". June 30, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved April 4, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Physical school change on agenda". Albuquerque Journal. April 27, 1975. p. E10. Retrieved April 4, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Remodeled center plans open house". Albuquerque Journal. August 3, 1977. p. D3. Retrieved April 4, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "San Jose School (Former) – Albuquerque NM". The Living New Deal. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
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