Pinal buildings as works of art remembered through time

Casa Grande Woman’s Club

Located at 407 N. Sacaton St., the Woman’s Club of Casa Grande had long been the dream of a group of 15 women who had started meeting regularly as early as 1913 to establish the “Current Events Club.”

Eventually renamed, the club incorporated in 1923 with the goal of building a clubhouse and library on a section of club-owned property at the corner of Florence Boulevard and Sacaton Street. Group members financed the construction of the building through loans from local residents, fundraising efforts, card parties, fruitcake sales and donations.

The building was designed by Henry O. Jaastad, who would later design another CG building and, eventually, become mayor of Tucson.

Records from The Museum of Casa Grande show that Jaastad drew plans for the building, first characterized as a “Hopi Indian style structure built predominately of dark-colored stone.”

But the women of the club did plenty of the heavy lifting.

Club members and families were the ones who collected the ample rocks featured all throughout the building’s design, says Arlo Cairo, museum archivist.

The first load of rocks used for the building were collected by none other than the Surrey, England-born Gertrude Hager, who moved to Casa Grande from Michigan with her husband, Henry, in 1916.

Rough rocks and stones were hauled from areas near Casa Grande Mountain, and the club asked each individual member to contribute a load of stone or sand for the construction of the clubhouse.

And while Jaastad came up with the overarching design, the club hired Michael Sullivan as the contractor. Known for his exceptional work in stone masonry, Sullivan worked on a number of buildings throughout Casa Grande and Pinal County — some that share close similarities to the clubhouse.

Sullivan’s work, according to Cairo, is characterized by the use of uncoursed field stones, stones that have not been flatted or shaped, into the designs of area buildings.

Sticking to their original vision to develop a library in the community, the clubhouse would eventually serve as a local library as well and would house the city’s first library until 1958.

Central School

Although Central School no longer stands, the remarkable design of this once-historic building is still emblazoned, and cherished, in the memories of many Casa Grande residents who were students on its campus.

At the time of its construction, Casa Grande’s population totaled about 1,500 people and the $25,000 needed to fund the project was a hefty sum to secure. Central School was opened on Jan. 10, 1914, a year before Casa Grande incorporated, and for years stood proudly as a testament of the community’s dedication to education.

Records from the Casa Grande Dispatch indicate that Principal W.J. Magaw and board members Ramon Cruz, Thomas R. Peart and Charles F. Bennett weighed in on the two-story brick building’s design.

Located directly across the street from the Woman’s Club at the corner of Sacaton Street and Florence Boulevard, Central School would have been one of the few buildings in that area at the time. The site is now home to a commercial complex and the Neon Sign Park.

The school’s expansive ground floor featured four classrooms designed to accommodate 200 students, along with an auditorium that could seat 300 and a principal’s office. More rooms were located in the building’s half-basement, which were used more frequently as the school expanded.

In tandem with its spectacular size and remarkable design, Central School was considered revolutionary for another reason: The school was considered “hygienic” because it featured indoor plumbing.

Electrical wiring and lights, however, wouldn’t come along until 1918.

By that year, overcrowding was already a problem, with some lessons taking place in the auditorium to accommodate the growing student body. The school served as the epicenter of education in Casa Grande for students in all grades, starting from first grade and going up to 11th.

After the first high school class graduated in 1919, high school classes were moved to a separate building before eventually being moved altogether to the newly constructed Casa Grande Union High School down the street.

Central School continued to be an educational hub for Casa Grande youth for nearly six decades. By the early 1970s, however, the years had taken a toll on the mission-style brick building.

The structure was showing signs of ample wear, like sagging doors and weakening floorboards, and began experiencing problems with its waterlines, wiring and heating system.

The school was deemed unsafe and officially closed on June 3, 1971. The structure served one last purpose in 1973 when the building, at the time abandoned, hosted the annual Haunted House Benefit, organized by the Hoemako Hospital Auxiliary, on Halloween.

The following year it was demolished. But evidence of the structure’s formerly magnificent design can still be found around the CG community.

Former students collected roof tiles, bricks and other items from the property as cherished keepsakes, some of which are now on display at the Grande Central Station information center, which overlooks the Neon Sign Park at 408 N. Sacaton St.

Before its demolition, the school’s bell and cupola were moved by the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society and are now housed at The Museum of Casa Grande.

Heritage Hall

The old stone church that sits on Florence Boulevard is home to The Museum of Casa Grande. But it wasn’t always that way.

The Mission Revival-style building was originally constructed as the second permanent home of the First Presbyterian Church in Casa Grande. It was designed by California architect Robert Orr.

The congregation’s first church, known as the “Little White Church” for its size and color, had been built sometime in the 1890s at First Avenue and Florence Street.

By 1919, however, the congregation had outgrown the church, which at the time featured several tent annexes around it — evidence of the church’s expansion. With the help of the Rev. N.R. Curtis, plans were made to build the new church on property at Florence Boulevard and Sacaton Street.

The estimated cost for the construction of the new facility was $25,000. Construction began with a frame house facing Park Avenue, which served as the manse. Later, the house served mostly as a space for Sunday school as well as a nursery.

The first walls for the new church building went up in March 1926, and construction of the entire structure, known for its unique stone facade and its copper-plated dome, was completed later that same year.

But the first church service wouldn’t be held until more than a year later in January of 1928.

The church would eventually leave the massive structure, later renamed Heritage Hall, for another large-scale building on Cottonwood Lane. The complex was taken over by Casa Grande Mortuary in 1971 before it was purchased by the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society in 1977 for $125,000. It was converted into The Museum of Casa Grande with a meeting space in the former sanctuary, which officially opened its doors on Feb. 14, 1978. A few short months later, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Michael Sullivan was the contractor behind Heritage Hall, and as with the Woman’s Club, members of First Presbyterian Church were asked to haul stones from the desert to be used in the construction.

Heritage Hall, like the clubhouse across the boulevard, is also known for Sullivan’s approach of using uncoursed field stone in its exterior design. According to Cairo, Sullivan was a stone mason who had the ability to flatten and shape the stones if he wanted. However, he made the stylistic choice not to do so.

Sullivan passed in 1927, making Heritage Hall one of the last buildings he worked on.

But there are other structural elements of the building that are specifically unique to the hall. One of these features is a massive pearlescent crowned window on the second floor, which is also featured in smaller magnitude at the front of another Sullivan building — a stone home that was built in 1927 on Florence Boulevard belonging to the family of area businessman Richard Vasquez.

And though the building has always featured a cupola, the structure has never housed a bell.

Coolidge Woman’s Club

The unique Spanish Revival style of the Coolidge Woman’s Club, 240 W. Pinkley Ave., was designed by Phoenix architect C. Lewis Kelly.

Built in 1928, the Coolidge Woman’s Club was the first building constructed to host public activities within the then-newly founded community. Though founded in 1925, this burgeoning community wouldn’t incorporate until 20 years later.

In 1990, the building was named in honor of Ina Reed, a longtime member of the woman’s club, after she was tragically killed in her home.

That very same year, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places due to its historical significance. It was deeded to the city one year later on July 19, 1991.

Records from the National Register show costs to construct the building, originally rectangular in design with a rock foundation and adobe walls, were approximately $3,500.

The Coolidge Woman’s Club fell short of that needed sum; club members were unable to pool more than $2,800 for the project.

The remaining $700 needed — a hefty sum at the time — was donated in the form of in-kind services. The lot where the clubhouse was built was donated by Coolidge founder R.J. Jones, the adobe bricks were created onsite by George Laymon and the building’s iconic iron-grilled front door was donated by Hammond Lumber Company out of Los Angeles.

There was one area, however, where the Woman’s Club’s tight budget for the project impacted the design of the clubhouse. Available funds were insufficient to cover the cost of adding a stage, originally planned for the end of an expansive meeting room.

Though included in the original plans, the stage would never be built.

While the building no longer serves its original function as the clubhouse for the Coolidge Woman’s Club, it remains a space where Coolidge activities are hosted.

Groups and individuals can rent out the facility for public and private functions from the city, and the building is often where the Coolidge Cotton Patchers host their annual quilt show, held the first weekend in March during the annual Cotton Days celebration. PW