Duncan Senior High School - Duncan, OK
Posted by: hamquilter
N 34° 30.302 W 097° 57.469
14S E 595671 N 3818648
There is a good deal of WPA and PWA construction in this Stephens County city.
Waymark Code: WMG7ND
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2013
Views: 4
The Public Works Administration, one of the New Deal programs, was a large-scale construction effort which built dams, bridges, hospitals and schools. The Duncan Senior High School was PWA Project No. 8458 and was constructed in 1936.
Facing 9th Street, at Ash Avenue, this is a two-story light-colored brick building, which currently houses Duncan Edge Academy. This is a school program for students who would likely not graduate from high school. Special attention is given to learning and health needs, and the issues related to difficult family situations. It meets in the mornings.
Unlike many WPA projects where native rock is used, this building is "modern" for its day. The building is decorated by the use of rows of darker, tan-colored brick, which run horizontally and vertically on the building. The windows are narrow with some portions opaque. The main portion of the building has windows set in triplets. The windows all have metal framing. The building on the north is a large gymnasium.
The main entrance faces west and has double aluminum and glass doors with a fixed transom. Above the entrance is a semi-circular metal canopy. Sidewalks in front of the building are stamped with "WPA 1937". We noted in walking around the residential neighborhood to the north that many of the sidewalks were also stamped "WPA", and found one reading "WPA Proj. G5 G5 607" (or possibly 65 65 607).
A large bronze plaque in the main entrance recess reads:
DUNCAN SENIOR
HIGH SCHOOLBoard of Education
J.D. Cox, Jr., Pres.
Leo Howe - H.M. Wagnon
T.A. Gilbert - S.E. Legg
J.D. White, Architect
Erected 1936
PWA Project No. 8458