Flushing Sites

The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: " moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street ... Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and executing murals for the state W.P.A. program. He went on to become assistant state supervisor in charge of the other muralists in the agency. By the time the federal W.P.A. closed in 1943, Mr. Lenson had created six murals and supervised the execution of 15 more in New Jersey by other artists. He also made one mural in West Virginia." "Three of Mr. Lenson's...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed to the development of what of 35th Avenue, extending it from Prince to College Points Boulevard (then known as Lawrence Street), in anticipation of the 1939 World's Fair in Flushing.

Parks acquired this property by condemnation in the mid 1920s. In December, 1935, the Department of Parks announced the opening of a new playground on the site. The press release announcing the opening explained that it, and the other 12 playgrounds opened on the same day, collectively contained: “88 small swings; 72 large swings; 36 seesaws; 14 playhouses; 15 large slides; 11 sand tables; 10 garden swings; 7 small slides; 7 small tables; 6 handball courts; 6 jungle gyms; 5 shuffleboard courts; 5 wading pools; 4 parallel bars; 3 horizontal bars; 3 horizontal ladders; 3 horseshoe pitching, etc.; 2 basketball...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed to the development of what is now College Point Boulevard, prior to the advent of the 1939 World's Fair. Then called Lawrence Street, WPA efforts involved "the widening and paving of important approach to Whitestone Bridge." The New York Times: "The Lawrence Street improvement, which will employ fifty men for the next two months, will create a street eighty feet wide from building line to building line between Northern Boulevard and Thirty-second Avenue, where Lawrence Street joins Willetts Point Boulevard at the north end of the West Bridge," since redeveloped as the Whitestone Expressway,...

"The Flushing Armory is a historic National Guard armory building located in the Flushing section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is a brick and stone castle-like structure built in 1905–1906, designed to be reminiscent of medieval military structures in Europe. ... Throughout the armory's history it has been used for the National Guard, as a homeless shelter, and a gymnastics center. It is currently used by the New York City Police Department's Queens North Task Force." The WPA provided resources to conduct repairs at the Flushing Armory (14th Infantry Armory) in Flushing during the 1930s.

Flushing High School was built in the early 20th century. In 1938, the school received four murals funded by the WPA's Federal Art Project.

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to conduct repairs and alterations to several civic buildings in Queens as part of a $300,464 project begun in 1935. Buildings improved included the historic Flushing Town Hall on Northern Blvd., which at the time was serving as a local courthouse.

Francis Lewis Park sits at the base of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge in Queens. The park was named after an American "merchant, patriot, and signer of the Declaration of Independence"(nycgovparks). Researcher Frank Da Cruz has compiled evidence of the WPA's key role in developing this park: Like Ferry Point park, Francis Lewis Park was part of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge construction project, 1937-41. A New York Parks City Department press release on April 25, 1940, confirms that it was built by the WPA: The Department of Parks announces that exercises in connection with the dedication of Francis Lewis Park, Third Avenue and 147...

The Jackson Heights Station post office of Flushing in Queens, New York "is a historic post office building located at Jackson Heights ... The original section was built in 1936-1937, and was designed by architect Benjamin C. Flournoy (1876-ca. 1939) as a consultant to the Office of the Supervising Architect. The original section is a symmetrically massed one story brick building with a nine bay wide principal facade in the Colonial Revival style. It features a three bay entrance pavilion with four simple brick Doric order pilasters which support a limestone triangular pediment. The building was extended four bays to...

The historic Jackson Heights Station post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Development of Jackson Heights," a Section of Fine Arts-commissioned mural by Peppino Mangravite.

The sign on this park says Josephine Caminiti Playground. The NYC Parks website also refers to it as Alstyne Playground and notes that it was formerly known as Corona Playground. The land for this park was purchased by the City in 1930. The press release announcing its opening in October 1934 described the new facilities: "A new playground for small children will be opened at Corona Avenue and 102nd Street in the Borough of Queens. The area includes a recreational building outdoor play apparatus. A unique feature of this playground is its oval, concrete surfaced roller skating rink around the...

In 2002 New York City's Parks Department wrote: "March’s Capital Project of the Month is the restoration of Kissena Lake. It will be undergoing a $1.77 million restoration project, funded by Council Member Julia Harrison, beginning this spring. It is said that the lake and park are named after the Chippewa word "kissina," meaning "it is cold." This capital project is necessary because of construction done to the lake sixty years ago. The WPA drained the lake in 1943 and filled it with a concrete liner, giving it the nickname of a "bathtub lake." While originally this project was meant to improve...

The extensive Kissena Park was first established in the early 1900s and now forms part of the "Queens Corridor" park system. In addition to building a golf course at the east end of the park in the mid 1930s, in 1941, the WPA completed extensive work on the main section of the park surrounding Kissena Lake in 1941: "Included in the new improvement is a new modern one story brick boat house and boat landing constructed on the east shore of the lake replacing the old outmoded frame boat house and dock formerly located on the south bank adjacent to the...

This golf course at Kissena Park in outer Queens was one of several golf courses created with federal funding under Robert Moses' tenure as Parks Commissioner. The Department of Parks first announced the opening of the course in August 1935. Another Department press release in May 1936 announced the opening of the Kissena Park golf course again, suggesting that there was likely further work done in the meantime. The 1936 release further noted that the work was completed "with relief funds provided by the C.W.A., T.E.R.A. and W.P.A."

Construction of New York's LaGuardia Airport was among the largest undertakings of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA) and included both today's main airport (then the "landplane field") and what is now the Marine Air Terminal (then the "seaplane division"). The airport was constructed on the site of the former North Beach Airport between 1937 and 1939. Under Mayor LaGuardia the city began expanding the site with landfill from Rikers Island. At the time of its completion, LaGuardia was among the most advanced airports in the world. The 1939 WPA Guide to New York City (p.567) describes the new...

The New York City Parks Department website details the history of Lawrence Triangle, a 0.14-acre park in Flushing, New York. "In July , the Flushing Garden Club presented the land to the Flushing Hospital to be used by hospital patients as an outdoor retreat during their stay. The hospital then granted the park to the City of New York in July 1939. The WPA (Works Progress Administration) worked to improve the park for general use by planting trees, grass and flowers, paving the paths, and removing an old gate. A local law named the park in honor of Lawrence in 1951."

The post office contains a massive set of murals by Vincent Aderente that wrap around the interior of the lobby. The murals depicts scenes from the early history of the twelve communities served by the Flushing Post Office. Some sources suggest that the murals were funded by the Civil Works Administration through the Public Works of Art Project, administered by the Treasury Department, in 1933-34, though further confirmation of this is needed.

Construction of New York's LaGuardia Airport was among the largest undertakings of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA) and included both today's main airport (then the "landplane field") and what is now the Marine Air Terminal (then the "seaplane division"). The airport was constructed between 1937 and 1939 and dedicated in March 1940. At the time it was among the most advanced airports in the world. The 1939 WPA Guide to New York City (p.567) describes the new project: "The seaplane division is designed to accommodate regular transaltlantic airplane travel and will be used by Pan American Airways, Air France Transatlantique,...

The Marine Air Terminal contains the largest WPA mural ever painted. "Flight" measures 12 feet (3.7 m) in height and 237 feet (72 m) in length. Artist James Brooks completed this mural depicting the history of flight in 1940. "It was completely painted over by the Port Authority of NY and NJ in the 1950s during the Red Scare, but was restored in 1980 and in 1995 the building was declared a historic landmark."   (kermitproject.org) Flynn and Polese report that the mural was completed in 1942.

The Memorial Field of Flushing opened in November, 1934 in a ceremony attended by Mayor LaGuardia. The press release announcing the event described the extensive work carried out with New Deal support: "The land for the Flushing Memorial Playfield was given to the City by the Memorial Field of Flushing, Inc., for the development of a playground. Labor and material were supplied from Work Relief funds. A one-story field house of Colonial design is located in a corner of the playground. Eight tennis courts, eight handball courts and two basketball courts are provided in addition to swings, seesaws, sand tables and other...

The building housing FDNY Engine 274/Battalion 52 in Murray Hill, Flushing, was constructed in 1939 by the Work Projects Administration.

The original part of the current P.S. 2 school building on 21st Avenue in East Elmhurst, Queens, was constructed during the mid-1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The building bears a 1935 cornerstone, and a plaque cites the construction dates as 1935-6. Funding for the school was part of a larger PWA grant allotted for the building of three schools and a hospital wing in Queens and the Bronx. PWA Docket No. NY 7582.

This photo shows WPA Federal Art Project artists giving members of the Paragon Boys' Club a lessons in mural painting.

The WPA undertook a $940,000 project aimed at improving the campus of Queens College during the 1930s. The description for the project is as follows: "landscaping; draining; constructing roads, sidewalks, parking areas, athletic fields, field house, bleachers, and tennis and handball courts; and performing incidental and appurtenant work."

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included the stretches of: Delaware Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 147th St. Cherry Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 149th St. Beech Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 147th St. Nearby improvements were also made at 41st Rd. and...

New York City's Parks Department writes: "Once known as the “Pauper Burial Ground”, “Colored Cemetery of Flushing” and “Martin’s Field”, this site was renamed in 2009 “The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground”. "The Queens Department of Parks acquired this property on December 2, 1914 at which time the land served as a ‘town commons’ or ‘green’ for the neighborhood. ... During the excavation , WPA workers came upon evidence of the site’s previous use as a burial ground, including pennies placed upon the eyes of the dead—an archaic burial practice that was also observed in excavations of the African Burial Ground...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a "seventy-five-acre parking field ... for the city north of the World's Fair grounds." 1,950 men worked on the parking lot project, which occupied land north of Roosevelt Ave. The site was on what is now the parking lot for Citi Field.