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  • Abbeville Museum Mural - Abbeville LA
    This mural "The Harvest" was originally painted for what was then the Abbeville post office by Louis Raynaud in 1939. Presently, it hangs in the Abbeville Museum downtown. "The Harvest shows men and women harvesting cotton, sugarcane, and muskrat hides.  Men gather cotton and tend the cane.  A couple prepares hides for drying.  Two male children do what children have always done when they were not pressed into premature labor to support mill families or sit for younger siblings-they hang around.  A man prepares to cut a clump of cane, and one woman waits, holding a bucket of water for the...
  • Alvar Street Library - New Orleans LA
    Built by the WPA in 1940. The library flooded during Katrina, but has since reopened.
  • Anseman Avenue Bridge - New Orleans LA
    As part of a massive $12-million project to improve New Orleans’s City Park, the WPA built nine concrete vehicular bridges between 1936 and 1939 throughout the expanded grounds. Spanning Bayou Metairie near the southwest corner, the Anseman Avenue Bridge replaced one of the oldest bridges in the park. Constructed in 1938, it crosses the bayou by a 114’-long, single-span, reinforced concrete, closed-spandrel arch. In elevation, its low elliptical arch is highlighted by the recessed extrados and the heavy, angular cutwater abutments. The bridge carries two lanes of traffic over a 28”-wide concrete roadway; 5’ sidewalks are provided on both sides. Approach spans, flanked...
  • Audubon Zoo - New Orleans LA
    "The Audubon Zoo is a zoo located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Audubon Nature Institute which also manages the Aquarium of the Americas. The zoo covers 58 acres (23 ha) and is home to 2,000 animals. It is located in a section of Audubon Park in Uptown New Orleans, on the Mississippi River side of Magazine Street. The zoo and park are named in honor of artist and naturalist John James Audubon who lived in New Orleans starting in 1821... During the Great Depression a $400,000 expansion of the zoo was conducted by the Works Progress Administration. Many...
  • Audubon Zoo, Monkey Hill - New Orleans LA
    "Perhaps the highest return on investment ever earned on a few thousand federal dollars came in the form of a pile of dirt in a rather forlorn park at the depth of the Depression. The agency behind it was the Civil Works Administration, the park was Audubon, and the dirt is now known as Monkey Hill. Contrary to popular belief, the Works Progress Administration did not build Monkey Hill; the mound was nearly complete before the WPA came into existence with the 1935 Emergency Relief Appropriation Act. Nor was the hill a primary goal of the project, much less a designed landscape...
  • Banks Street Sidewalks - New Orleans LA
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed sidewalks in New Orleans, including along Banks Street in Mid-City. WPA workers often marked their work with "sidewalk stamps" pressed into the fresh concrete -- a common practice by private contractors in the early 20th century.
  • Barksdale Air Force Base - Bossier City LA
    “WPA workmen improved 15 miles of gravel roads, 25 miles of dirt roads, cleared 15 miles of bayous and drainage canals, rehabilitated 43 wooden bridges which cross bayous and drainage canals on the reservation.”   (NARA)
  • Bayou St. John Improvements - New Orleans LA
    "In the early 20th century, commercial use of the Bayou declined, and the Carondelet Canal was filled in. A number of New Orleanians started living in houseboats on the Bayou. Complaints from people in nearby neighborhoods and sanitation concerns led to this being outlawed in the 1930s. A Works Progress Administration cleaned up and beautified the Bayou. A lock was installed near the Lake Pontchartrain end of the Bayou. In the summer of 1955 the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board temporarily drained the Bayou, to clean out debris and material that was causing foul odors. The Bayou then took on...
  • Beauregard Regional Airport - DeRidder LA
    According to the Beauregard Tourist Commission, “This project in a stump littered field provided employment for about 400 men, who worked to clear what had once been a densely wooded region. They constructed two earthen runways on 160 acres of land leased from the owner.”
  • Booker T. Washington Courts - Lake Charles LA
    The Booker T. Washington Courts was one of two rural public housing projects constructed in Lake Charles in 1939-1941. Architects G. Lewis Dunn and Gustave G. Quinn designed the complex initially as barracks-type housing, which was rejected for one-story duplexes. T. Miller and Sons constructed the project at a cost of $238,397. The 72-unit complex was demolished in 2013 and replaced.
  • Braithwaite Park - Braithwaite LA
    Braithwaite Park is "a 32-acre WPA-built recreation area containing picnic grounds, a bathing beach, tennis courts, a baseball diamond, and a dance pavilion." The park, with different amenities, is still in use today.
  • Burr's Ferry Bridge - Leesville LA
    The Burr's Ferry Bridge is built over the Sabine River where Texas State Highway 63 and Louisiana State Highway 8 meet. The bridge consists of three Parker though truss spans and 34 concrete girder spans. At the time the bridge project was under consideration, the road was an "improved dirt road," reportedly impassable much of the year with a toll ferry across the Sabine River. Congress passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act on April 8, 1935. This act gave Texas and Louisiana grant money for road and bridge construction. Projects funded under this act were subject to special labor provisions. Among...
  • Cabildo (Louisiana State Museum) Renovation - New Orleans LA
     The Cabildo has a long and notorious history. It was constructed in 1795-99 as the seat of the Spanish municipal government in New Orleans. The name of the governing body who met there was the "Illustrious Cabildo" or city council. It was site of the Louisiana Purchase Transfer in 1803.  The building later served as the home of the Louisiana Supreme Court and was where  the nationally significant Slaughterhouse and Plessey vs. Ferguson cases were heard before they went up to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Cabildo became the home of the Louisiana State Museum in 1911 and remains the flagship of that institution.
  • Caldwell Parish Courthouse - Columbia LA
    This parish courthouse was undertaken during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The two story jail courthouse, "...modern structure to be constructed of concrete, brick, and hollow tile, with stone trimmings" (1937, p. 10) was completed in 1937.
  • Calliope Street Public Housing - New Orleans LA
    The Calliope projects were constructed as the fourth of six housing projects developed for New Orleans, 1939-1941. The original boundaries were South Dorgenois Street, Erato Street, Calliope Street (now Earhart Boulevard), and South Prieur Street. The George A. Fuller Company was awarded the contract for construction of the 690 apartment units. The $2,497,000 bid covered demolition of existing buildings, construction, plumbing, heating, electrical work and site improvement. As with the other pubic housing complexes, the units were demolished with the exception of two residential buildings and the former administration building. The administration building faces Earhart Boulevard and the residential buildings...
  • Cameron Parish Courthouse - Cameron LA
    The historic Cameron County Courthouse in Cameron, Louisiana was constructed with the aid of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. "Further testimony to the structures' solidity can be found in Cameron Parish, where its courthouse was one of the few buildings in town to weather Hurricane Audrey in 1957 without serious damage. In 2005 Hurricane Rita leveled almost the entire town, but the courthouse is still standing."
  • Canal Street Branch Library (former) Mural - New Orleans LA
    An exceptional mural, "History of Printing," was painted by Edward Schoenberger for the Canal Street Branch Library in New Orleans.  The library building was a pre-existing structure from the early 1900s, in a quirky Caribbean style of uncertain origins. The mural occupies the entire back wall of the main room on the second floor and is approximately 30 feet long by 10 feet high. The branch library has been closed, probably after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the building sold to private owners.  The mural was covered and damaged after the building was repurposed, but has been restored to its full glory...
  • Charity Hospital (derelict) - New Orleans LA
    Charity Hospital was constructed between 1936 and 1940 in central New Orleans, about a mile north of the downtown by today's Interstate 10.   Charity Hospital was one of two teaching hospitals which were part of the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans. For decades it served one of the country's largest populations of uninsured citizens. At the time it was built, Charity Hospital was the second-largest hospital in the United States. The cornerstone lists the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (later called the Public Works Administration) as the building funder. The architects were Weiss, Dreyfous & Seiferth, who were also...
  • Chemin-a-Haut State Park - Bastrop LA
    "The park’s history is tied to Camp Morehouse, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp that was located nearby, and a company of young men who began construction of the park in the 1930s. The Morehouse Enterprise reports June 8, 1933 that CCC Company 1491 under the command of U.S. Army Capt. Ralph L. Ware had arrived in Bastrop via train from Camp Beauregard. The company included 188 enrollees from Morehouse and surrounding parishes. The men would be stationed at Camp Morehouse about 12 miles north of Bastrop  on land owned by the Crossett Lumber Co., where they planned to build a lighting plant,...
  • Chicot State Park - Ville Platte LA
    "One of the older Louisiana parks, the park was added to the Louisiana State Park system in 1939. Under the direction of the National Park Service, the Civilian Conservation Corps significantly developed the area." (Wikipedia)
  • City Hall - Gueydan LA
    Gueydan's city hall was constructed by the WPA in 1936.
  • City Hall - Winnfield LA
    This building was constructed by the WPA in 1936-1937 as the Winnfield City Hall. It still houses the City Clerk's Office.
  • City Hall (former) - Lafayette LA
    This stunning art deco building replaced and modernized an older city hall building. It was constructed by the PWA in 1939. The building is now the Centre International de Lafayette.
  • City Park Improvements - New Orleans LA
    The Wikipedia entry on City Park provides a good summary of park history, including the role of the WPA in making improvements to the park: "City Park, a 1,300 acre (5.3 km²) public park in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the 6th-largest and 7th-most-visited urban public park in the United States. City Park is approximately 50% larger than Central Park in New York City, the municipal park recognized by Americans nationwide as the archetypal urban greenspace... City Park was established in the mid-19th century on land fronting Metairie Road (now City Park Avenue), along the remains of Bayou Metairie, a former distributary of the...
  • Concordia Parish Courthouse and Jail - Vidalia LA
    The Concordia Parish Courthouse was undertaken in Vidalia, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The "Greco-Deco" courthouse in Vidalia was erected due to the need to relocate the town for flood control of the Mississippi River. The WPA relocated businesses and houses, as well as constructed the new parish courthouse. Constructed for a cost of $109,950, the building remains in use as the parish library and records storage.
  • Delta Music Museum - Ferriday LA
    The historic Delta Music Museum, located at the southeast corner of Louisiana and S. 3rd St. in Ferriday, Louisiana, was originally constructed as the post office. The building was constructed with U.S. Treasury Department funds ca. 1938.
  • Delta Music Museum Mural - Ferriday LA
    The "Southern Pattern" was painted by Stuart Purser in 1941. It is located in the lobby of the town's post office, which presently houses the Delta Music Museum.
  • Denham Springs City Hall (former) - Denham Springs LA
    Constructed by the WPA in 1939-1940. It was used as the city hall until the 1980s. The building was restored and rededicated in 2008 and now serves as a tourism office.
  • East Carroll Parish Courthouse and Jail - Lake Providence LA
    The courthouse was undertaken in Lake Providence, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The building was erected for a cost of $100, 589 (Leighninger, 2007).
  • East Carroll Parish Training School - Lake Providence LA
    This parish training school for African American students was undertaken in Lake Providence, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The funding was allocated as part of a joint project with the construction of an elementary and secondary school in Lake Providence and a bond was issued for the construction of the parish training school in 1937. The school was destroyed by fire in a suspected arson in 1959 (Leighninger, 2007). The exact location of the school is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • F. Edward Hebert Federal Building - New Orleans LA
    The F. Edward Hebert Federal Building was built from 1935 to 1939 and is still in use. At the time it was built, the Treasury Department was responsible for all federal buildings. Formerly home to the New Orleans Main Post Office, the building still houses a post office station inside.  It is decorated by three groups of New Deal era sculptures on the exterior. The state of the interior of the building is unknown to us.
  • F. Edward Hebert Federal Building: Lang Sculpture - New Orleans LA
    This limestone sculpture "Flood Control" by Karl Lang was created for the F. Edward Herbert Federal Building with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds.  It still graces the southeastern corner of the building.
  • F. Edward Hebert Federal Building: Proctor Sculptures - New Orleans LA
    This marble eagle statue  -- one of four at the entrances to the F. Edward Herbert Federal Building -- was produced with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds by Gifford Proctor.
  • F. Edward Hebert Federal Building: Scheler Sculpture - New Orleans LA
    This limestone sculpture "Harvesting Sugar Cane" by Armin Scheler was created for the F. Edward Hebert Federal Building and paid for with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds. It still graces the northeastern flank of the building.
  • Farm-to-Market Road - Covington LA
    "Construction of a three-mile long farm-to-market road in St. Tammany parish was completed this week by the Works Progress Administration. Sponsored by the St. Tammany Parish Police Jury, employing approximately 22 men and costing $15,300, the project included the moving and rebuilding of fences, construction of two wooden bridges, and repairing the road which will serve as a fire line in case of forest fires" (WPA builds road, p. 1). Exact location and current status of the road is unknown to the Living New Deal.
  • Ferry Boat - Avoca LA
    Bartlett, Texas's Tribune and News in mid-1939 noted an "unusual" PWA-financed project under construction in Avoca, Louisiana: a ferry boat.
  • Fire Station - New Orleans LA
    Constructed in 1939-40, the former New Orleans Fire Department Station Number 2 is one of three firehouses built by the WPA in the Crescent City in the late 1930s. Located in the Lakeview neighborhood, south of Lake Pontchartrain, it consists of a brick-clad, cross-gabled, house-type plan containing one bay. Modest regional influences are expressed through the wrought-iron porch supports and a balconette at the top of the front gable. At the rear is a lower gabled addition holding sleeping quarters. Hurricane Katrina devastated this section of the Lakeview commercial district. The fire station is one of a few buildings pre-dating...
  • Fontainebleau State Park - Mandeville LA
    "On the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain, this 2800-acre park encompasses the remains of a nineteenth-century plantation, Fontainebleau, named after the Parisian forest... The plantation was converted to a park beginning in 1938, one of Louisiana’s first state parks. Originally called Tchefuncte State Park, it opened in 1943 as Fontainebleau State Park. The State Parks Commission hired landscape architect William W. Wells to design the master plan, which was partially implemented by the Civilian Conservation Corp. The plan included group campsites, numerous Creole-influenced brick and rustic wood buildings, a beach, and a picnic area with an open-air shelter. An access road...
  • Fort Pike Restoration - New Orleans LA
    WPA photos and captions from the 1930s show that the WPA helped restore the historic Fort Pike site in the 1930s. The 1938 WPA guide to the city of New Orleans describes the site: "Fort Pike, 36.1 m., occupies the site of a fortification built by Spanish Governor Carondelet, in 1793. The present fort was constructed under Andrew Jackson (1814) and later occupied by Confederates, but so far as is known no engagement ever took place here. Massive ramparts and winding passages lend a feudal atmosphere. Fort Pike was rehabilitated in 1935 and is now maintained as a State park." (New...
  • Fountain of the Four Winds, Lakefront Airport - New Orleans LA
    One of the results of the 1936 Works Progress Administration (WPA) airport beautification project was the Four Winds fountain and bas-reliefs by sculptor Enrique Alférez. The airport, originally Shushan Airport, was renamed New Orleans Municipal Airport, and then Lakefront Airport after the new airport was constructed. The airport was restored in a 4-year project following Hurricane Katrina damage, at which time Alférez' bas-reliefs and murals by Xavier Gonzalez were uncovered. Alférez served as the director of the sculpture program for New Orleans WPA artists.
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