Harry Devine Sr.

Although the drawings for the project display a Charles Dean title block, it is not known at this time the extent of each individuals design involvement of the project. A review of their varied projects appears to indicate the architects chosen would have been among the more forward thinking designers of that time, and the New Helvetia Historic District complex is an important architectural statement of the era in Sacramento.

New Helvetia has recently been nominated by Historic Environment Consultants for historic preservation due to its architectural and cultural significance to Sacramento history.

Text and images contained in this blog were used from the report done by Historic Environment Consultants and the Center for Sacramento History.

The Clunie Community Center, designed by Sacramento-based architect Harry Devine Sr., in association with the architectural firm of Stark and Flanders was built in 1936. On the pool’s opening day, in August of the same year, 2,500 visitors were expected and 4,500 showed up to see a beauty contest and an exhibition of “fancy and comic diving.” The facility was financed by a 150,000 dollar bequeathal from Florence Turton Clunie and bears her name.

The main building houses the McKinley Library in the North and the South wings while the upper stories house the main hall with rooms available to the community for rent. The facility also includes a pool and clubhouse.

When the City of Sacramento proposed in 2011 to close the Clunie community center, the Friends of East Sacramento stepped forward with a proposal to manage the building.

Picture courtesy of the Sacramento Library.