• Camp New Brighton - Capitola CA
    A Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was established at Capitola, just east of Santa Cruz,  for the purpose of working on nearby California beach state parks, such as New Brighton, Capitola, and Sea Cliff.  The California state parks system had only been created c 1930, so all these beach parks needed work on recreational facilities.  It was officially camp SP-24 (for State Parks) and was active in the late 1930s, but we do not have exact dates.  We know that Company 5447 arrived there in late 1937, when the camp already existed, and worked there for some time on local parks....
  • Capitola Sewer Outfall Plant (demolished) - Capitola CA
    "In 1929, one of Capitola's biggest goals was to 'carry the present sewer outfall much farther out into the bay.' Work on a new sewer outfall, built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, was completed in 1933 on the site of the old Capitola Hotel bathhouse under the Depot Hill bluff. The WPA plant was praised for its efficiency but gradually became an eyesore that was located too close to both the beach and a favorite local surfing spot - known for years as 'Sewer's.' Esplanade Park replaced it in the 1980s."
  • New Brighton State Beach Development - Capitola CA
    Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp SP-24 was established at Capitola, just east of Santa Cruz, for the purpose of working on nearby California beach state parks at New Brighton and Sea Cliff. The California state parks system had only been created c 1930, and all parks existing or purchases in the 1930s needed work on recreational facilities.  The CCC was active in state parks all over California.  New Brighton Beach was purchased by the state in 1933. Camp SP-24 was active in the late 1930s, but we do not have exact dates.  We know that the CCC enrollees of Company 5447 worked...
  • Santa Cruz-Capitola Airport (demolished) - Capitola CA
    "An airfield coincided with the establishment of the Camp McQuaide military base on what had been known as Hihn's eastern field. Camp McQuaide was a summertime coast artillery training camp located on twenty-seven acres east of Depot Hill from 1922 to 1936...The airport was dedicated in November 1934. Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers graded the field and laid two runways..." The airport closed in 1954. No structures remain.
  • Stockton Avenue Bridge - Capitola CA
    "Replacing an old bridge built of iron and wood, the thirty-foot-wide concrete bridge was built by a crew of fifteen Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers in approximately 150 days at a cost of $25,000. The bridge covers a span of 135 feet and consists of ninety yards of concrete and fifteen tons of steel. When it opened in May 1934, news reports noted its significance 'because it is a new connecting link with the new road which is to follow the old Union Traction Company right-of-way.' Following the catastrophic fire that burned a major portion of the village in 1933,...