1937 Cleland 1952

Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1937, 1933, 1930s

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     " . . . In 1937, when the Santa Monica High School building was being remodeled, the metal case that held these documents was opened. The contents were examined, resealed in another metal case, and place in the new cornerstone. [57. Santa Monica Evening Outlook, July 8, 1950, p. 8G.]

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     . . . in recent years that the geographical boundaries of the Santa Monica School District have been reduced to the area of the city, with the addition still of a stretch of twenty-six miles of seashore and mountains lying between Topanga Canyon and the Ventura County Line, with the exception of the Decker Elementary School District which is only a part of the Santa Monica High School District. [1. School District Organization in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles: Office of the County Superintendent, 1937, p. 47.]

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The Campus Expands

     During the reconstruction period, following the earthquake of 1933, the high school campus acquired three new buildings: an auditorium, the boys' gymnasium, and a wing for the art department. The five other main buildings were reconstructed to meet earthquake standards set up for school buildings. All of the buildings were structurally braced to withstand shocks greater than those occurring in 1933 at the quake's center, the Long Beach area. The high gabled roofs were replaced with modern shockproof, deck-type roofing. By removing much of the dangerous "gingerbread" and reinforcing all of the bearing walls with steel then coating the outside with stucco, these buildings took on an appearance of modern architecture. [66. Beach Cities Labor Journal, Santa Monica Schools Edition, Oct. 1937, p. 2.]

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     Prior to 1937, vocational classes were included in the program of the Evening High School; but upon the establishment in that year of the Santa Monica Technical School, such courses were offered there.

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     "An appraisal of the work accomplished by the Board of Education and the W.P.A. would certainly reveal many values to Santa Monica and its schools. Total expenditures reached nearly $3,000,000, of which the Board of Education supplied less than $950,000, or about 32 per cent of the total cost. [31. Beach Cities Labor Journal, Santa Monica Schools Edition, October, 1937, p. 3.]

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 Kelyn Roberts 2017