Memphis Sites

Built by the Works Progress Administration used to hold high school games and major football games, such as Memphis State Tiger games. It was an estimated to hold 28,000 spectators before it downsizes in 2006.

One of Memphis' first two public housing ventures was Dixie Homes, built for African American residents, after the Memphis Housing Authority was established in 1935. "Memphis became the second city in the nation, following New York, to establish a local housing authority" following the establishment of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1934. Consisting of 633 units, the project cost $3,400,000 for both facilities--the first was constructed for whites in keeping with the South's segregation policies. Dixie Homes was constructed following demolition of the Quimby Bayou swamp area slums, and was designed in the two-story, commons area block-style meant to encourage...

The one-story elementary school was completed in September 1936 for use by African American children in Memphis. The building had two inner courtyards. Construction cost was $157, 627 and project cost was $175,692. The school was combined with another school to form Cypress Middle School following integration.

The John Gaston Hospital was constructed during the Great Depression in Memphis, Tennessee with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). "With the Gaston inheritance, $300,000 from the city , $100,000 from the county , and a grant from the Public Works Administration, the Memphis City Hospital generated $800,000" (Regional One Health). The new Gaston Hospital was opened in 1936 to replace the Memphis General Hospital, and demolished in 1990 in order to expand the newer facilities of the Regional One Health Medical Center.

Lamar Terrace was the second low-cost housing project for white families in Memphis. It contained 478 units, and cost $2,500,000. It was demolished in 2005.

Lauderdale Courts was one of the first public housing projects undertaken under the New Deal, and one of the few housing developments originated under the New Deal that is still standing. The Market Street slums were cleared in order to build the apartments near downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The one, two, and three story group homes contained 66 buildings, 449 units, and held one-through-five-bedroom apartments. The project was one architecturally designed to "promote a sense of community" through a central mall/courtyard which connected apartments to the open shared space. One of the most famous tenants was Elvis Presley, who lived there from...

Located on 26 acres, containing 60 buildings and 500 apartments, and with a cost of $1,446,043, the facility was constructed for occupancy by African Americans. In 1942, $1,500,000 was expended to add 100 2-story units encompassing an additional 15 acres to house African American war workers.

Memphis International Airport was developed in part by the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program. Tennessee Encyclopedia: "Some of Tennessee's largest WPA projects reflected the arrival of the age of flight. WPA workers ... built major airports in Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, and at the Tri-Cities."

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted an improvement project at Memphis National Cemetery, providing work for about 35 laborers.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) enlarged worked to improve Memphis Zoo during the Great Depression. Federal labor installed a pair of stone lions at the entrance; constructed a metal cage for bird flight; built Monkey Island and Ibex Mountain; pools for sea lions and swans; and stone cages for large animals. Monkey Island was occupied by 55 Simians in seven-unit quarters at opening, and was completed at a cost of what was then $14,764.

The concrete Art-Deco influenced WPA Moderne armory was completed as part of a 3 building complex. Cost was $200,000. The building is currently used as the Memphis Children's Museum.

Currently known as Levitt Shell, in recognition of funding that saved it from demolition, the Overton Park band shell was constructed by the WPA and City of Memphis in 1936 for $11,935. It has almost been demolished twice.

The building contains three murals by artist Burton Callicott in 1934, commissioned under the CWA's Public Works of Art Project. The murals are titled "Conflict with the Indians" (left panel), "Coming of De Soto" (center panel), and "The Discovery of the Mississippi River" (right panel). "For over fifty years, few visitors to the original building of the Memphis Pink Palace Museum have failed to notice the three large murals over the staircase in the lobby. There, in bold oranges and greens and in a dramatic style, is depicted the coming of Hernando De Soto to West Tennessee. The first mural...is filled...

Numerous and widespread street paving and improvement projects in Memphis, Tennessee were undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the Great Depression. (PWA Docket Nos. TN W1111, W1112, W1113, W1114, W1115, W1224, W1225, W1228, W1239)

"T.O. Fuller State Park is a state park in the city of Memphis in West Tennessee. It consists of 1,138 acres (4.6 km²) of mostly forest located in South Memphis on Mitchell Road. It is the only state park within the city limits and is one of the few locations within the city suitable for wildlife. The park is named in honor of Dr. Thomas O. Fuller, who spent his life empowering and educating African Americans. The park facilities were originally built for the use of African Americans in the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was the second...

Construction of new additions to the 1884 US Marine Hospital in Memphis began in 1933, although the majority of the work was completed by WPA crews after 1935 (Van West, 2001, p. 94). Buildings added by WPA were the 3-story neoclassical hospital building, a nurses dormitory, and junior officers quarters (Metal Museum). The hospital closed in 1965 and currently houses the Metal Museum.

Foote Homes public housing opened in 1940 with 900 units designated for African American families. Foote is the last remaining public housing facility in Memphis and occupies 46 acres near downtown Memphis. It was one of several public housing complexes in Memphis built with PWA funding. It is currently a 426 unit facility following a restoration/renovation in the mid-1990s. Located in a historically prominent African American neighborhood, the complex has been the target of differences between the city's public housing authority, who seeks to demolish it and disperse the residents into the community, and the residents of the complex who...