Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Dinosaur

Wright Brothers

Gettysburg

Petrified Forest

Rocky Mountain

Cecil Doty

Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Appendix IV

Mission 66 Visitor Centers Chapter 4

Building the Painted Desert Community (continued)

The School and Teacherage

Although an integral part of the plan, the school was not constructed along with the rest of the complex and remained incomplete at the dedication ceremony. An "elementary school site plan" and technical description of the 1.14-acre area had been drawn in April 1961, and the park superintendent met with the superintendent of schools to discuss the facility that September. According to annual reports, the park expected the school building and "teacherage" to be complete by June 1962. [65] The St. Johns School Board was to receive funds from the Office of Education (Housing and Home Finance Agency) to complete the project. Perhaps because of this combination of federal and local funding, the contract for the school was postponed. Neutra was still meeting with the superintendent to discuss plans for the school in January 1963. In a letter to Clark Stratton, head of Park Service Design and Construction, he expressed hope that work could begin on "the rural school building with which we had been concerned also since the beginning of our design studies." However, final working drawings dated March 11, 1963, were produced not by Neutra and Alexander, but by Robert E. Alexander, F.A.I.A. & Associates, Architects and Planning Consultants. [66] The school was under construction by Arimexal, Inc., in early March 1964, but then quickly stopped due "to non-payment of claims." The park anticipated that the bonding company would have to take over the contract.

The rectangular school building was located between the community building and the residential units, but oriented not towards the neighborhood, but the southern desert expanse as if to protect students from distractions. Other than a strip of windows, "Painted Desert School" in metal letters provided the only ornament on the concrete block of the south facade. The plan consisted of two open classrooms separated by an optional partition. Movable partitions further divided one side of the first classroom. Below the windows, built-in cabinets extended the length of the rooms. A corridor led from the central classroom to a storage area for students, a supply closet, and an office. Bathrooms were also located in this area.

Figure 49. Painted Desert School, July 1969. (Photo by Huntsman. Courtesy National Park Service Technical Information Center, Denver Service Center.)

The teachers' residences, called the teacherage in park reports, were near the corner of the school, the first in the second row of residential units. The only duplex, the teacherage consisted of two one-bedroom apartments sharing a central wall that extended into the patio area. Each unit was equipped with a small kitchen and dining area in one corner of the living room. A utility room and bathroom were located off the bedroom. As in the row houses, selected walls were exposed concrete. When the school was closed in the early 1980s, the teacherage became regular employee housing.

Final work on the Painted Desert Community's physical plant and the visitor center's interpretive exhibits continued into the spring of 1964. A contract for "covered walks and related work," including fences, was awarded to Glen D. Plumb of St. Johns, Arizona, in May, as the Packer Company finished up the "grounds improvement, headquarters area." Plans had been received for the wayside exhibits and bids were about to be advertised. Over the summer, parts of the exhibits were prepared at Grand Canyon and a contract artist completed work on some of the panels.

CONTINUED

Last Modified: Monday, Nov 6 2000 12:08:48 pm PDT
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