Friday, December 20, 2013

Saved! Clock Auditorium, Redlands High School, California


Clock Auditorium at Redlands High School is an imposing concrete monolith. Located at 840 E. Citrus Avenue, Redlands High School is the oldest public high school in California still in use on its original location (according to Wikipedia). The city dedicated the auditorium to a long-term school official, Mr. Fred H. Clock, on May 12th, 1940.


But despite its massive poured concrete construction, it does not come across as bunker-like. The cream-color paint and red clay tile roof soften the facade.


The city built Clock in 1928, a time when California was in ascendancy and future prosperity looked unstoppable. The nation had not yet descended into the Great Depression, and city fathers wanted their children to benefit from the arts.


Ascend the stage and look back, and you see what an imposing space this is. This was built for a high school? In a small town at the east end of the Los Angeles valley? The orchestra seating has been replaced with modern padded units.


The view is just as impressive from the balcony.

Clock Auditorium ceiling with reinforcing rods.

The roof is made of impressive timbers. Sometime in the 1960s, engineers retrofitted it to be more earthquake resistant. Steel tension rods were run across the rafters to hold the structure together during tremors. 

According to the web page of the Redlands High School Drama club, the auditorium was scheduled for demolition in the early 1980s. The demolition company tested a wrecking ball against the south wall, and it bounced off, leaving only a minor dent. At that stage, the school department decided to renovate the structure. I suspect there is more to the story, but at least it was saved. Since then, the electrical system has been renovated, theater machinery replaced, and a new fire curtain installed.


The balcony still has its original wood seats. Ouch, imagine sitting in these for a 4+-hr production of Tristan und Islode. 

Unused spotlight in Clock Auditorium
Stair to balcony, Clock Auditorium.

Some of the hallways up in the attic are a bit spooky.


The auditorium gets regular use. This was the inaugural concert of the Redlands Community Orchestra, and the audience numbered over 300. This town still supports the Arts.

Costume storage, Clock Auditorium.


The basement area under the stage is pretty interesting, with hundreds of costumes, props, and sets. Part of the stage can be removed for certain performances. Again, notice the impressive timbers.




The builders molded interesting decorative elements into the pillars. I am not sure if these are concrete or plaster. Even the toilet stalls were the best possible - marble walls and chrome-plated fittings.

Clock Auditorium is an example that good architecture can be preserved and used for its original purpose decade after decade. It takes work and community spirit, but it is possible. Why won't more American communities follow this example? Who really benefits from erecting new schools, auditoriums, municipal buildings (and, worst of all, convention centers) - often at a compromised budget? Do you suppose there may be some corruption involved? (You know the answer to this!)

The Redlands High School Performing Arts Department has a web page with a short description of Clock Auditorium.

I took the interior photographs with a Panasonic G3 digital camera, tripod-mounted. The two exterior scenes are from an iPhone 4.

12 comments:

Mark said...

Beautiful!! So glad Redlands saved this!

Anonymous said...

Me too. We've had 3 generations of our family be apart of this building @ Redlands High School!!

Anonymous said...

Love this beautiful building. Such a great theatre. Wonderful memories

Anonymous said...

Spent many hours in this building. I love it still.

Mike Staples said...

Me too, since it was named for my great grandfather.

Thomas Rosell said...

Neat post. I really do enjoy the slip form concrete buildings of this era that are in California.
Those column capitols might be made of a material referred to as "compo" short for composition ornament. Essentially it is just glue and whiting. It is great for packing a mold that will have fine details.

John Leach said...

I loved being in the theater class at RHS and spent a lot of time in Clock Auditorium.......beautiful and classic !

Kim said...

The building may be saved but it is in horrible disrepair. The school district gets money for its use, but none of that is given back to care for the building. These photos were taken only 4 years ago, and already so much has rotted away. The school district better wake up, or the building will be gone...but I don't think they really care.

MDC said...

Boy as someone who was all in the drama dept in the 80's and used to run sound and lights for summer dance recitals there as well, it sure is great to see these pics! It was ultimately a great experience!

Anonymous said...

I sure wish this person would stop associating Redlands with Los Angeles. Growing up here in the 60's & 70's was great, but Los Angeles? It was a world away.

Anonymous said...

This is a wonderful post about a timeless Redlands building. Thank you for writing this. Both as an alum ('92) and a current Redlands resident, I enjoyed your photos and comments. Brought back HS and community memories!

Gregg said...

Nice to see Clock Auditorium highlighted. That story about the wrecking ball bouncing off a school building goes back to the demolition of Redlands Junior High School across the street, in the mid-1960s. I've never heard the story that Clock was slated for demolition in the 1980s - after retrofitting in the late 1960s. What's the source? Agreed that Redlands is a far cry from Los Angeles, so that connection feels forced.