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  • Angell St. Sidewalk - Providence RI
    The sidewalk along Angell Street connecting Wayland Square to the Brown University campus through the Historic Wayland Square neighborhood is WPA-built.   Angell runs adjacent to the Brown athletic facilities and the Wheeler School, and is heavily trafficked by joggers and runners from the local community, university, and area schools. This plaque is located on the north side of Angell St. halfway between Governor St. and Ives St.
  • Apponaug Post Office - Warwick RI
    This standard, Colonial Revival post office was built as a New Deal project. Examples of this building can be seen all over the country. This building serves as the central post office for the city of Warwick, and is notable for its 1942 mural by Paul Sample depicting local shellfishers.
  • Apponaug Post Office Murals - Warwick RI
    Completed in 1942, this mural “Apponaug Fishermen” by artist Paul Sample depicts local shellfishers in Apponaug Cove. It resides in the Apponaug Post Office, dedicated in 1940.
  • Armory (former) Improvements - Newport RI
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted an improvement project consisting of "general repairs to armory" at the former armory in Newport, Rhode Island. As of 2023 the building is home to the Sailing Museum and City of Newport Maritime Center. WPA Project No. 65‐16‐1100
  • Armory (former) Improvements - Pawtucket RI
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted an improvement project that included painting and varnishing the former armory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. As of 2023 the building serves as the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center. WPA Project No. 165‐16‐2022; cost: $11,299. Sponsor: Adjutant General, State of Rhode Island
  • Arthur E. Platt School Addition - East Providence RI
    The PWA built an addition of several classrooms onto the rear of the original 1920s building. The building is in an abstracted Colonial Revival style. The addition was designed by Traficante & Niebuhr of East Providence. After being retired from school use, in housed administration offices, but is now vacant.
  • Bain School Addition - Cranston RI
    The PWA funded this addition to the Bain School in Cranston.
  • Beach Avenue Sidewalks - Warwick RI
    Sidewalks lining Conimicut's Beach Avenue. Parts have been replaced and removed over the years, but WPA stamps remain.
  • Blackstone Boulevard Sidewalk - Providence RI
    The WPA installed improvements off the Blackstone Boulevard as well, displayed by a plaque found in a manhole cover at the intersection of Mount Avenue and Slater Avenue, Providence. "One of my favorite places in Providence is Blackstone Boulevard, the tree-lined, two-mile stretch of road on the East Side that is a popular destination for joggers, walkers, readers and painters. At both ends of the boulevard, there are tiny plaques in the sidewalk that credit its construction to employees of the Works Progress Administration, the New Deal jobs program that funded everything from highways to playwrights."  
  • Blackstone Park - Providence RI
    The waterfront area of Blackstone Park in Providence was a WPA project. However, the photograph below comes from an archive of FERA projects, indicating that agency's potential involvement as well.
  • Blackstone River Stone Wall - Pawtucket RI
    The WPA-built stone wall runs 1000 feet along the Blackstone River through Pawtucket, adjacent to Pawtucket City Hall and Historic Slater Mill. Both of those sites are located on Roosevelt Ave and are on the National Registry of Historic Places. The wall runs from behind 137 Roosevelt Ave to 67 Roosevelt Ave, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 02860. It was built in 1940 and is still in excellent condition.
  • Bliss Grade School Addition - East Providence RI
    The PWA built a two-story addition to the original 1922 building. Both the addition and original building have been demolished. The addition was designed by East Providence architects Traficante & Niebuhr.
  • Bourne Avenue Drainage System - East Providence RI
    Under the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), "a large drainage system was built along Bourne Avenue" in East Providence.
  • Brenton Point Sea Wall - Newport RI
    "At the southern-most tip of Aquidneck Island lies a WPA sea wall that helps protect the historic seaside city of Newport, Rhode Island. Just feet inland from the 10-foot-high concrete sea wall that runs over a mile sit some of the largest and most historic mansions in the country. The Mansion District extends up through town and includes the homes of some of the wealthiest industrialists in the US at the turn of the 19th century, including coal baron Edward Julius Berwind whose house and "servants quarters" you can now tour. Newport's Mansion District and wealthy community relied, in part, on the 2,229...
  • Bristol County Courthouse (former) Renovations - Bristol RI
    "During 1934-35 the building was refurbished as a PWA project under the direction of Bristol architect Wallis E. Howe, a partner in the firm Howe & Church. The original Tuscan-columned portico was replaced with a "Gothic" design of clustered colonettes, a ball-frieze design used by Russell Warren on the cornice of Hey Bonnie Hall was replicated, and the courthouse was painted a Colonial Revival scheme of yellow with white trim and green shutters." The building is still standing and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Burlingame State Park - Charlestown RI
    "During the 1930s, taking advantage of the public works programs offered by the Depression-era New Deal, Burlingame became home to the 141st Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was the first, the state headquarters, and one of five such camps in Rhode Island. Beginning in 1933, out of work young men, in their late teens and early twenties were put to work making roads and trails. In addition they built fire places, camp sites, and picnic areas, while making recreational improvements to the beaches of Watchaug Pond. Forest management activities went on throughout Rhode Island, particularly in the aftermath of...
  • Cardines Field - Newport RI
    "Cardines Field, "a small urban gem of a ballpark" is a baseball stadium located at 20 America’s Cup Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Wikipedia: "Stone and concrete bleachers were built along the third-base line by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1936-1937. The plaque at the entrance that reads "1937" refers to this date. The current grandstand was built by the WPA following the devastating hurricane of 1938. The distinctive curving grandstand section behind home plate was built in 1939. Over the coming decades, the park continued to grow through construction projects to increase capacity, eventually creating the patchwork, overlapping stadium seen...
  • Carey School Renovations - Newport RI
    In early 1935, PWA crews conducted renovations and improvements to the Henry R. A. Carey School, which dated to 1896. The school closed in 2010, and in 2014 was renovated again as luxury condominiums and renamed the Carey School Residences.
  • Cass Avenue Sewers - Woonsocket RI
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted a sewer installation / improvement project along Cass Avenue in Woonsocket.
  • Cass Park - Woonsocket RI
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed greatly to the development of the park system in Woonsocket, R.I. Cass Park benefited as the result of multiple improvements. Woonsocket, RI: A Centennial History, states: The Woonsocket Call of September 28, 1935, reported that "work was started on the first five WPA projects in Woonsocket, giving employment to 300 men. ... Cass Park athletic fields were completed. In addition to other landscaping improvements and the construction of picnic areas and fireplaces, "a swampy area was filled in and rustic bridges built" across a brook (Allaire).
  • Chepachet School (former) - Glocester RI
    A small brick school building, built to replace a wooden school on the same site. It was designed by Albert Harkness of Providence, who also designed the Harmony School at the same time. The school replaced five one-room schools in the town. It is today the Glocester Town Hall.
  • City Hall - Cranston RI
    After winning the mayoralty in 1934, Ernest L. Sprague "called for the building of a new city hall because the existing one in Knightsville was a 'fire hazard' ... Within a few months ... Sprague had secured a federal grant from the Public Works Administration to build a new city hall."   (Frias) A 1939 survey of PWA projects describes the still intact city hall as follows: "The new city hall, which houses all of the municipal offices, replaces the old frame town hall built in 1885 which was considered to be a firetrap, and, in addition, made it possible to eliminate...
  • City Hall - Pawtucket RI
    "The new city hall provides quarters for all of the municipal departments and is part of a civic center group which includes the Central High School and the Memorial Bridge. Its over-all dimensions are 285 by 90 feet and the tower is 156 feet high. It was completed in March 1936 at a construction cost of $393,460 and a total project cost of $448,042."   (Short and Brown) "The main body of the structure, dedicated in 1936, is four stories high, built of yellow brick and stone in modern design. The whole is surmounted by a high tower, an imposing mass of vertical...
  • Cliff Walk Sidewalk - Newport RI
    The W.P.A. constructed sidewalks in Newport, Rhode Island, including at what one photographer calls "Cliff Walk Beach."
  • Cold Spring Park Improvements - Woonsocket RI
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed greatly to the development of the park system in Woonsocket, R.I. Cold Spring Park benefited from landscaping improvements and the development of athletic fields.
  • Cranston Calvert Elementary School Addition - Newport RI
    New Deal-funded crews built an addition to the Calvert School, now Cranston Calvert Elementary. The school closed in 2013, though the building remains standing as of May 2015. The Newport Mercury, linked below, suggests that funding was through the PWA: "Official approval 0f Ray E. Wilson. Jr., as plumbing contractor for the Cranston-Calvert school improvements now being carried on through PWA funds has been received by Superintendent of Schools Lowe. Mr. Wilson has started work at Cranston. Superintendent Lowe said today that he expected to receive approval from the PWA office on the Humford plans any day."
  • Cranston Field - Cranston RI
    A large, vaguely classical styled structure, built by the WPA as Cranston's main stadium. It was designed by Providence architects and engineers Frank P. Sheldon & Son. It is mainly used for high school athletics, but also occasionally hosts larger events.
  • Cranston Street Armory (former) Improvements - Providence RI
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted multiple improvement and development projects at the former Cranston Street Armory in Providence, Rhode Island. Projects included: "paint and varnish armory," "install wall board, finish interior, and paint mess hall," "construct garage and repair shop," "improve armory," "construct parking ground and motor park," "various repairs to armor," and "repair sidewalks and roof, and paint."
  • Dawley Memorial Park Improvements - Richmond RI
    "Dawley Memorial Park a 200-acre tract of woodland that was given to the State in 1933 by Mrs. Mary W. Dawley of the village of Wyoming. It is a memorial to her husband, Amos J. Dawley, a descendant of one of the early Colonial families. The area left of State 3 has suffered heavily from fire. Nothing was done to develop the park until 1936 when members of the C.C.C. camp at Beach Pond cleared the burned area and planted about 70,000 seedling trees. Truck trails and water holes have been constructed to aid the control of forest...
  • Department of Public Works Equipment Terminal - Warwick RI
    A two-story International Style building, intended to house the city's Department of Public Works, built by the WPA in 1936.
  • Dunn Park Improvements - Woonsocket RI
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed greatly to the development of the park system in Woonsocket, R.I. Dunn Park benefited from landscaping improvements and construction of a 600-foot stone boundary wall.
  • Dunn Park Wall - Woonsocket RI
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a 600-foot stone wall along the Mason Street and Asylum Street edges of Dunn Park. As of 2016 the wall remains in great condition. The wall bears four WPA stamps; see map provided for locations and images. It appears that this project took at least one year to finish and was completed in 1939.
  • Eagle Mill Demolition - Woonsocket RI
    Woonsocket, RI: A Centennial History, states: "some of Woonsocket's relief workers were involved in the demolition of a long-time textile operation in the city, the Eagle Mill below Court Street Bridge, which had been in operation for 105 years."
  • East Ferry Waterfront Upgrade - Jamestown RI
    "In 1939, ... there were thirty-two men employed , eight of them on the East Ferry waterfront upgrade." Work included construction of a seawall, in which are embedded "Built by Work Projects Administration; R.I. 1940" shield plaques.
  • East Providence High School Addition - East Providence RI
    In 1934 the PWA built this third floor addition to the existing high school building, which was completed in 1908. The Colonial Revival building was later occupied by the junior high, which itself later moved out. It is currently elderly housing known as Taunton Plaza. The architects of the addition were William R. Walker & Son of Providence.
  • Elmwood Avenue Widening - Providence RI
    "Elmwood Avenue, which connects the Boston Post Road to I-95 and is Route 1 in Providence, was widened by WPA workers."
  • Fields Point Development - Providence RI
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted an extensive improvement and development project at what was then an army-managed facility at Fields Point in Providence, Rhode Island. Description: "Rehabilitate building for additional offices, improve storage area, grade and place slabs, surface, realign and replace railroad tracks, provide ramps and drains at the U.S. Army Air Corps Storage Department at Fields Point." WPA Project No. 265‐2‐16‐23; $523,720. Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Fields Point, U.S. Army
  • Fire Department - Smithfield RI
    Smithfield, Rhode Island's Fire Department building in Greenville was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project between December 1938 and June 1939. The PWA supplied a $14,040 grant; the total cost of the project was $31,427. (PWA Docket No. RI 1165)
  • Forest Ave. Sidewalk - Pawtucket RI
    The W.P.A. constructed sidewalks in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, including along West Forest Ave. There is a Works Projects Administration 1941 medallion embedded in the sidewalk in front of 238 W. Forest Ave.
  • Fort Adams Improvements - Newport RI
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted numerous improvement and development projects at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island. The projects collectively cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and included building repairs, the construction of a hospital, and plumbing and road improvements. Additional details, Official Project Numbers, total project costs, and sponsor information relating to the more than 16 W.P.A. projects undertaken at Camp Adams can be found in the DoD Heritage Assessment identified as a source, below.
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