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Summary
Eau Claire Vocational School
1300 1st Avenue, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Date of Construction: 1891/Remodeled: 1941
Architect: R.C. Melby
What three-story Eau Claire building housed companies that manufactured trunks, dress suit cases, telescope cases (1901-1918), phonographs (1918-1919), served as a warehouse (1920s and 1930s), and was then transformed by the National Youth Administration in 1941? Answer: the Eau Claire Vocational School located at 1300 1st Avenue. This manufacturing building was remodeled prior to World War II with National Youth Administration (NYA) funding into a school which served the City of Eau Claire and the surrounding region, providing vocational education until 1967.
The National Youth Administration is one of the lesser known New Deal programs and in Eau Claire, it provided vocational and technical training - from machine shop and diesel engineering for young women during World War II to barber classes after the War for young men. This school is unique in the history of vocational training in that it was inclusive of young women. The 1950s witnessed men and women studying a variety of vocational-technical educational subjects from business English and radio and television repair, to automated processors (predecessors to today's computers) in response to Russian technological advances symbolized by the Sputnik space program.
By 1967, the Vocational School had outgrown its space in the building and moved to West Claremont, and became what is known today as Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC). Subsequently, the city of Eau Claire's Parks and Recreation Department occupied the building until recently.
Listing in the National Register of Historic Places recognizes this property’s direct link with the vocational movement in Wisconsin, with Eau Claire's vocational education system (one of the state's earliest), and with Depression-era vocational education in Wisconsin and the National Youth Administration (NYA), one of President Roosevelt's Depression relief agencies.
Property Details
| Criteria | Event |
|---|---|
| Area Of Significance | Education |
| Period of Significance | 1942-1967 |
| Architectural Style | Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements |
| Architect | R. C. Melby |
| Resource Type | Building |
| Historic Use | School |
Resources Within The Property
| Contributing Buildings | 1 |
|---|---|
| Contributing Sites | 0 |
| Contributing Structures | 0 |
| Contributing Objects | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Buildings | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Sites | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Structures | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Objects | 0 |
Designations
| Historic Status | Listed in the State Register |
|---|---|
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | Aug 15, 2014 |
| Historic Status | Listed in the National Register |
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | Nov 12, 2014 |
State & National Registers of Historic Places
The State Register and National Register recognize buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that are significant in national, state, or local history. The State Historic Preservation Office in conjunction with the National Park Service maintains the list for Wisconsin and makes the data available to the public for research and education.
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Email UsAttribution
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402-436 and 401-421 Water Street
07001086
Located in Eau Claire, Eau Claire County
1615 State Street
11001027
Located in Eau Claire, Eau Claire County
Eau Claire Vocational, Technical and Adult School
1963
Aerial view of Eau Claire Vocational, Technical and Adult School campus. Postmark is May 4, 1982. Mailed to U.S. Representative David Obey in Washington, D.C. from Frank Csongedi, 1521 Fenwich Ave...
314 Doty St.
83003379
Located in Eau Claire, Eau Claire County
