Completion Year: 1937

Now part of the Adult Enrichment Center run by the city of La Mesa, this self-designated "clubhouse" was built by the WPA in 1937.

Among its many projects at the zoo, the WPA built these aviaries.

Federal support was critical to restoring Pasadena City College (formerly Pasadena Junior College, or PJC) after it sustained extensive damage in the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. Immediately following the earthquake, the college received part of the $919,654 granted to the Pasadena school system by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Three damaged buildings were demolished and fifty steam-heated tents were erected, coming to be known as "Tent City." "Classes were conducted in Tent City for three long, long years, during which time both students and teachers experienced many hardships" (Dodge, p. 30). In the meantime, Public Works Administration (PWA) grants—alongside the sale...

Roosevelt High School (now Middle School) was originally opened in 1924 but was closed in 1934 (probably because of earthquake hazard) and replaced by temporary classrooms.  It was then rebuilt by the Oakland Public Schools (Department of Architecture and Engineering) with aid from the Public Works Administration (PWA), reopening in 1937.  The funding shares are unknown to us, as is the date on which construction began. The Art Moderne building still stands.  Like so many of today's schools, it is entirely fenced off.   An addition on the back covers up the old south facade and a new gymnasium has been...

Anthony Chabot Elementary School was originally built as the Claremont Annex School in 1927, but it was renamed in 1930 for Anthony Chabot, an early settler in Oakland who built the first city water works by damming nearby Temescal Creek. The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded a new addition to the school in 1935 and it was built in 1936 and completed in 1937.  It was called the Assembly building at the time, but now serves as the library and is known as the Annex.  It stands on the east side of the original school; both face north. We have not found...

George Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, CA was rebuilt following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Construction between 1935 and 1937 totaled approximately $300,000 and was partially funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). In 1935, the administration, liberal arts, science, cafeteria, shop and art buildings were all rebuilt for $222,116. The following year, a single story boys' gym was built for $36,845; William Richards was the architect and Walter F. Olerich the contractor. The auditorium was also rebuilt for approximately $60,000. It appears all eight of these PWA Moderne style structures survive with few alterations. The reconstruction and renovation of...

Hollenbeck Middle School (formerly Junior High School) was remodeled with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1936-37. Architect A. F. Rosenheim designed administration, classroom, and shop buildings, as well as a gym and auditorium. All were built by contractor Herbert M. Baruch for $617,721. The reconstruction and renovation of Los Angeles schools damaged by the 1933 Long Beach earthquake was the single largest PWA funded program in the country, totaling ~$34.7 million (LA Times, May 23, 1937).  It was overseen by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and proceeded in two cycles, 1934-35 and 1935-37. The first cycle began...

University High School in Los Angeles, CA was renovated in 1935-37 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The brick Gothic revival campus—designed in the style of nearby UCLA—is distinctive among Los Angeles schools, which were primarily (re)constructed of reinforced concrete following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Today, University High is a charter school. In 1935-36, the H. M. Baruch Corporation oversaw the reconstruction of the main building—extant at the corner of Texas Ave and S Westgate Ave—for $135,418. In 1937, a new girls' gym and shower building were built, while the boys' gym was rehabbed. Charles J. Dorfman oversaw...

The original buildings at Ralph Waldo Emerson Community Charter Middle School (formerly Junior High School) in Los Angeles, CA date to 1935-37. Two were designed by internationally renowned architect Richard J. Neutra. Construction totaled $319,494 and was partially funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). In 1935, contractors Brunzell and Jacobson built 16 frame and stucco bungalows as well as a studio craft building at the brand new junior high school in the rapidly expanding Westwood Hills development near UCLA. It is unclear whether these bungalows survive. The following year, work began on Neutra's 26-room administration/classroom and 10-room physical education buildings. Both...

Kagel Canyon is a "populated place" located within the boundaries of Angeles National Forest. In 1934, the Canyon acquired the land for Dexter Park. Between 1936 and 1939, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped install a water system in the canyon including two wells that served sufficiently until after World War II. By 1937, the WPA had constructed stone and masonry retaining walls and stairways. There is still a WPA plaque in one of the park walls, though some of the buildings were recently destroyed in an earthquake.