Washington School – Sapulpa – Oklahoma's New Deal

Address:	Lee Street, Sapulpa, Oklahoma	County	Creek
Started:		Completed	1937
Agencies:	WPA	NRHP:	No

Current Usage

Was declared unsafe and rebuilt(2017).[3]

Description:

This school of 15 rooms or more is a three-story, rectangular (60′ x 218′) building constructed of cut, coursed, and rusticated rock on the lowest level, and of red brick on the remaining portions. The masonry of the red brick portion is running bond. The roof is flat with parapets. The entrances have stone stairways and brick pilaster strips. The windows are grouped by fives with single window arrangements in between and paired windows above each entrance. The continuous sills have rounded corners, which in combination with the pilasters, display the art deco architectural style of the school. There is also a stone fence, built by the WPA, in front of the structure. There are additions attached to the back, but this does not impeach the integrity of the structure.
As a WPA building, the school is notable for its definite art deco style and for its scale. The size, style, and workmanship of the structure also suggest the relative “prosperity” of the urban school districts as opposed to the rural areas. It is a significant project because it provided useful work for unskilled and unemployed laborers in Sapulpa and infused wages of some 100,000 man-hours of labor into Sapulpa’s economy. In addition, it greatly enhanced educational possibilities in this area.[1]