The Americanization School in Oceanside, California

Oceanside, California

-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile...

, built in 1931, was intended as an assimilation

Cultural assimilation

Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...

 school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 where Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

-speaking Oceanside residents would be taught English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and civics

Civics

Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....

. Historically, it reflects a time before the rise of multiculturalism

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...

 where immigrants who arrived in the United States were more actively Americanized

Americanization (immigration)

Americanization is the process of an immigrant to the United States of America becoming a person who shares American values, beliefs and customs and is assimilated into American society...

 in assimilation programs.

The building, now known as the Crown Heights Resource Center, was designed by Irving Gill

Irving Gill

Irving John Gill , American architect, is considered a pioneer of the modern movement in architecture. He designed several buildings considered examples of San Diego's best architecture.-Biography:...

. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1994. The school was one of the last works by Gill, a pioneer of modern architecture

Modern architecture

Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 and one of nearby San Diego's most noted architects.

Building design

Late in his career, Gill had been taking fewer and smaller projects. Several were in Oceanside, where he continued to try to develop his work. The Americanization school displays hints of Art Deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 while also taking in North African–Islamic

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....

 influences that he picked up from his brief partnership with Frank Mead, another San Diego architect. Gill designed the 3550 square feet (329.8 m²) wood-frame and stucco

Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

 structure to fit its triangular, wedge-shaped corner site. With a prominent corner, Gill placed an arched entryway with a minimalist Islamic-style dome atop a short, octagonal tower. For class space, Gill planned two wings to run back from the corner, along the length of the lot in a V-shape; however, only one was ever built. To break up a potentially monotonous wall, he stepped the classes into three sections along the edge of the property. To bring in natural light, he placed clerestory

Clerestory

Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...

 windows and French doors to the south-facing side.

Conversion

By the early 1990s, the structure was not in use, rundown and boarded up. In 1992, the City of Oceanside began a $316,000 restoration, with $50,000 in city money and the rest in donated services. The Crown Heights Resource Center moved into the structure in July 2001 from a nearby house. The resource center was initially opened in 1996 in response to the high crime rate and gang activity in the surrounding neighborhood, and is operated by the Housing and Neighborhood Services Department of the City of Oceanside.