Coweta School and Gym/Auditorium – Coweta

Address:	North Broadway Street, Oklahoma 040, Wagoner County 145	County:	Wagoner
Started:		Completed:	1938, 1939
Agencies:	WPA	NRHP:	No

Current Usage:

School Property

Description:

Constructed of uncut and unrusticated native sandstone and laid with beaded mortar, the Coweta school classroom and gymnasium is L-shaped (309′ x 58′ section vertical to a 108′ x 59′ section, the latter the gym) with a flat roof except over the gym where it is arched. Both roof lines are parapeted. Wall caps and window sills are of pre-formed concrete. Window openings in the classroom wing have been reduced in size with wood inserts and metal sash windows installed, while in the gym the original metal casement windows are intact (except in the rear where openings have been enclosed with inserts of wood). Two entryways on the front of the classroom section, recessed behind arches, are symetrically placed. Pilasters at these entries and along the exterior walls of the gym, wall extensions and angular lines in general give the building a faint art deco style. A wall enlarging an enclosed passageway connecting the gym with the educational facility has been added, but it no way affects the architectural integrity of the building.
SIGNIFICANCE: 1937-38 (gym), 1939 (classrooms); architect/builder: unknown
The Coweta educational facility is unique in that its uncut and unrusticated native stone exterior is unusual for WPA buildings of such size and urban setting. It is especially significant that the classrooms and gym are still in use, indicating that education in Coweta would over time have been seriously handicapped without them. Architecturally, the buildings are notable for their style and workmanship. The size of the structures and that they were under construction for almost three years meant that a number of workers long unemployed were given meaningful jobs and economic security. Moreover, the local economy ws infused with the wages of more than 100,000 man-hours of labor.

VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: Lots 13-17, Block 30, and Lots 18-22, Block 37, New Coweta