| Address: | Jefferson and College Streets, Seminole, Oklahoma | County: | Seminole |
| Started: | Completed: | 1939 | |
| Agencies: | WPA | NRHP: | No |
Current Usage:
Wading pool and Bathhouse no longer at site
Description:
Chase Park includes a WPA-built wading pool and bathhouse. The bathhouse is a rectangular (32′ x 14′) structure constructed of uncut and uncoursed native sandstone. The building has a gable roof with intersecting center gable and projecting eaves. The front entry lies under the center gable and is framed by a lintel and pilasters. A single entry doorway with concrete lintel is located on each end of the building. Three windows in the rear of the building have been bricked in, an alteration that does not compromise the integrity of the structure. The wading pool is constructed of poured concrete and is 161 feet in circumference. Surrounded by a concrete apron, it has adjacent concrete benches stamped “WPA 1939.” Three additional benches are found elsewhere in the park.
The WPA work in Chase Park is significant because it was part of a program to employ unemployed workers on jobs that would benefit society. The workers who built the bathhouse and pool were drawn from the relief rolls and had lost their jobs due to the economic depression. Their labor supplied the city of Seminole with recreational facilities that have been of benefit to many children on the hot summer days of southern Oklahoma. The facilities are unique to Seminole for their type and materials. They also demonstrate the variety of construction undertaken by the WPA.
VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: The west 1/2 of lots 5 through 16 and the north 90 feet of Lots 1 through 4 in Block 12 of the Southwick Addition to the Seminole original
Sources:
- Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
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