Knoxville WPA Athletic Field Historic District - Knoxville, Iowa - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

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Knoxville WPA Athletic Field Historic District - Knoxville, Iowa

in U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Posted by:  BruceS

Assisted by:  SecurB

15T E 490857 N 4574138

Football stadium built by WPA in Knoxville, Iowa.

The Knoxville WPA Athletic Field now known as Ken Locke Stadium was built WPA in the late 1930's on the site of the former city reservoir. The first part of the construction began in 1922 with the construction of the city water tower thus making the city reservoir unnecessary. The WPA built a brick bathhouse and pool at one end of the site in 1938. The stadium with stone entrance towers and stone concession stands was built beginning in 1939 and completed in 1940. The stadium is located in the basin of the old reservoir which was drained in 1938. The stadium has since that time been the site of home games for the Knoxville High School Panthers. The stadium was called Knoxville WPA Athletic Field until 1965, when it was renamed Ken Locke Stadium in 1965 after Ken’s untimely death from head injuries he received during a football game. In 1988 the ownership of the field was transferred to the Knoxville School District from the City of Knoxville. Over the years repairs were done to the stadium but it continued to deteriorate faster than the repairs. Beginning in 2007 the stadium has been under a four year multi-phase restoration plan to be completed in 2010. This restoration plan retains the historic nature of the stadium yet brings its safety and compliance to current standards.

Street address: Bounded by Lincoln St., Robinson St., Stadium St. and Marion St. Knoxville, Iowa County / Borough / Parish: Marion Year listed: 2007 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949 Historic function: Recreation And Culture Current function: Recreation And Culture Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/30/2011 biscuitt bunch visited it