| Address: | Ivanhoe & Thirteenth Streets, Perry Oklahoma | Country | Noble |
| Started: | 1937 | Completed | 1939 |
| Agencies: | WPA | NRHP: | No |
Current Usage
School band and arts building.
Description:
“In 1937 the public school system was in serious need of a building program, but the two previous bond issues were not yet paid off and, because of the Depression, the valuation of the district had dropped drastically. These circumstance would allow for only a small bond issue. However, with the help of government funds made available through the W.P.A. and small bond issue, several major building projects were completed; the Manual Arts building in 1937, the Band building in 1939. ” (http://perry.k12.ok.us)
The current Perry High School has several new buildings. These WPA buildings are still standing, but it is not clear whether they are at the current Perry High School, or whether the names of the schools have been changed since the 1930s.[1]
The Perry School is a single-story, multi-roomed, rectangular (135′ x 95′) structure constructed of rusticated and cut native stone arranged in a random coursed ashier pattern. The roof is flat with parapets capped with concrete blocks. The southeast entry is a single door recessed beneath a protruded stone round archway at the top of a stone stairway. The southwest entrance is a doorway recessed behind perpendicularly-placed stone round archways. Fixed metal windows with stone lintels and concrete continuous sills are spaced in twos, threes, fours, or singly. Unfortunately, a section of the structure has been removed and a red brick wall inserted.
SIGNIFICANCE: 1939-1940; builder/architect: unknown
The Perry School building, still in use today, was important in expanding the educational facilities of this north-central Oklahoma community. Moreover, the construction of the school provided temporary employment for jobless workers during the Depression and created a sense of optimism in the local citizenry. Moreover, it poured wages from some 70,000 man-hours of labor into the local economy. As a WPA structure, the building is significant as an example of the educational projects sponsored by the program. Architecturally, the school is notable in terms of its type, unique style, superb workmanship, and construction materials.[2]
VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: From the intersection of Ivanhoe and Thirteenth Streets, go 60 feet north, 60 feet east to point of beginning, then 100 feet east, 140 feet north, 100 feet west, and 140 feet south to point of beginning in Block 31, designated “Academy Reserve,” North and West Perry original.
Source Notes:
“The Oklahoman: Jan 1, 1939
http://www.cherokee-strip-museum.org/Beers/Beers-19970425.htm
Sources:
- The Living New Deal
- Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
- Perry Public Schools Website, access June 18, 2018
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