L'ouverture Gymnasium/Auditorium - McAlester, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 34° 55.548 W 095° 45.053
15S E 248717 N 3868269
Built by the CWA, this gymnasium/auditorium brought recreation and entertainment to the black community of McAlester.
Waymark Code: WMWT92
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 10/10/2017
Views: 3
Pre-Statehood, in the days of segregation, L'ouverture High School opened in 1906, with a brick building which has since been demolished. The school had graduating classes from 1910 to 1968, when schools in McAlester were integrated. In 1933-1934, the Civil Works Administration (CWA), succeeded by the Emergency Work Relief Program (EWRP)constructed this gym/auditorium with local unemployed workers. Though preceding the WPA, the building used the same style classification known as WPA Standardized Style.
The building has a barrel roof, however, it is heavily damaged and in risk of collapsed. A group of local citizens is exploring the possibility of restoring the building for current use, however, at the present time, it is vacant. Constructed of rusticated, roughly coursed sand stone, the building has a stepped parapet on the north, with stone pilasters and a continuous concrete belt course under four small windows. On the upper wall of this facade, a panel is inscribed "L'ouverture Auditorium".
The east wall has six bays, separated by stone pilasters. The single windows have all been boarded up. They have concrete sills, and a continuous concrete lintel formed by the belt course extending around the building. The section on the south is two-story.
Along the entire west side is a newer brick addition constructed in 1956. The entrances to the stone auditorium were filled in with stonework at this time, and a new entrance was located in the addition.
There is a low rock border wall located at the curb on the north, east and west sides of the property, along 14th, Chickasaw, and 15th Streets. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Project type: Government building (non-park)
Date built or created: 1933-1934
City: McAlester, OK
Condition: In great disrepair
Website for additional information: [Web Link]
Location: Not listed
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