• Newport Bay Harbor Improvements - Newport Beach CA
    In 1933, the Federal Emergency Relief Act funded 65% of extensive Newport Beach Harbor improvements in Newport Beach, CA. As part of the project, sandbars were dredged and jetties were extended to improve sailing conditions and increase Newport Harbor’s allure as a commercial and naval auxiliary harbor. These improvements made the harbor one of the best in Orange County, if not in all of California.  Today it serves mainly as a leisure harbor (as opposed to a commercial harbor) and if you walk to the end of the Balboa Peninsula you can visit a plaque that commemorates the Newport Harbor Improvements...
  • Newport Beach Elementary School - Newport Beach CA
    One of many schools rebuilt with PWA funds after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.
  • Newport Beach Sewage Disposal Plant - Newport Beach CA
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded a major improvement of the sewer system of Newport Beach, California, including a sewage treatment plant and several miles of sewer lines. It was completed in 1937. "This treatment plant is one unit of a project which also included three pumping stations and several miles of sewers. The plant comprises the two concrete Imhoff tanks, the gas tank, and one pumping station..."
  • Newport Elementary School Murals - Newport Beach CA
    The Federal Art Project (FAP) funded artist, Jaine Ahring, to create two murals for Newport Elementary School. Ahring created the oil-on-canvas murals Alice in Wonderland and Mother Goose in 1937. In The New Deal in Orange County, California (The History Press, 2014), Charles Epting writes, “Given the scarcity of New Deal public art in Orange County, Ahring’s paintings are quite remarkable” (p. 38). Alice in Wonderland depicts various characters from Lewis Carroll’s novel such as the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter. Mother Goose depicts characters from tales such as the Cat and the Fiddle and Miss Little Bo Peep.  Both murals...
  • Newport Harbor High School Murals - Newport Beach CA
    The Federal Arts Project funded two murals to be placed in Newport Harbor High School’s courtyard. These two mosaic murals made of unglazed colored body tile were "crafted from thousands of tiny tiles by Arthur Ames and his then-fiancee Jean Goodwin in 1937" (https://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/14/local/me-murals14). The mosaics are called Three Women Gathering at the Sea Shore and Three Fisherman. Each piece is nine by seven feet. Both are regional artworks having a focus on maritime themes. These artworks took more than sixteen months to finish - from design to completion. When the original Newport Harbor High School Building was torn down and rebuilt...