• Post Office (former) - Rochester MI
    This post office was built with Treasury Department funding in 1938, and originally held an Alexander Sambugnac sculpture. In 1988, the post office closed, and the building has been occupied by several restaurants since. From the Rochester-Avon Historical Society entry for the site: Congressman George A. Dondero secured $39,000.00 in funding for a new United States Post Office in the village of Rochester, built in 1937-38 to replace its cramped leased quarters in the rear of the Masonic Block on Main Street. Louis A. Simon (1867-1958) was the supervising architect from the Department of the Treasury and the general contractor was the...
  • Post Office (former) Relief - New Milford CT
    The former post office building in New Milford, Connecticut (which now the municipal Parks and Recreation department) still houses original New Deal artwork. This wooden relief, titled "The Post," was created under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1938 by Mildred Jerome.
  • McMillan Playground Building and Carvings (former) - Washington DC
    Works Progress Administration (WPA) records in the National Archives report that the WPA constructed a recreation building at the McMillan Playground in northwest DC and that New Deal wood carvings were installed inside. The building opened in 1938. The playground was likely in the Bloomingdale neighborhood near the McMillan reservoir. The Park View DC blog reports that in 1934, Eleanor Roosevelt participated in a tree planting ceremony at the playground, which according to the writer was located at 1st and Bryant streets NW. There no longer appears to be a McMillan Playground, but we are told that the recreation building is still...
  • Carnegie Library Building (former) Renovation - Washington D.C.
    The Carnegie Library building in Washington DC was the District's Central Library from 1902 to 1970. It was one of many libraries built with funding from the businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.  From 1935 to 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) refurbished the entire exterior of the building for the Library. As reported by the DC Government in 1938: "The W.P.A. project for cleaning, cutting out, and repointing mortar joints of exterior marble and granite stone on the central building was started in December 1935 and completed at a cost of $27,717.50 and closed out on March 20, 1938. The entire exterior...
  • Post Office - Cassville MO
    The Cassville post office was constructed in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Edward Winter's 1941 mural, "Flora and Fauna of the Region," painted for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  
  • Newlands Memorial Fountain Installation - Washington DC
    Newland Memorial fountain, located at Chevy Chase Circle on the border of Washington D.C. and Chevy Chase MD, was create to honor Francis Newlands, Congressman, author of the Newlands Reclamation Act, and developer of Chevy Chase. The fountain was designed by Edward Wilton Donn in 1933 and put in place in 1938.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. New Deal workers erected the monument as part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program.  The work was probably done by Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief laborers, who were active in parks renovations across the district in the 1930s.
  • Washington Monument Grounds Reconstruction - Washington DC
    The Washington Monument grounds – the core area of the National Mall – was substantially altered and improved, including a major reconfiguration of the streets. The work was paid for by the Public Works Administration (PWA) from a fund of over $1 million provided for an overhaul of the entire National Mall.  Labor was mostly provided by Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) relief workers. First, the Washington Monument grounds were raised and reconditioned with new topsoil, followed by reseeding of the lawns. Second, the circular roadway on the north side of Monument was eliminated and a highway in the line of...
  • Columbia Hospital (former) Improvements - Washington DC
    The Columbia Hospital for Women was established at this site in 1870. According to Works Progress Administration (WPA) records in the National Archives, the WPA did extensive improvements at the site in 1938, "working on the grounds, erecting fences, pointing up the masonry wall, lining coping on wall, and other  incidental and appurtenant work." Although the archival records only indicate that the work was approved, this project was most likely completed as described, when the WPA was very active around the District of Columbia. The extensive brick facility is now a condominium residence called "The Columbia Residences." 
  • Holly City Hall (former) - Holly CO
    "The 1938 Holly City Hall held the town's police and fire departments, library, and a multi-use community room. The Holly City Hall served effectively for over sixty years as an important center of town life. The WPA used local labor and materials to construct the hall as a town sponsored project. The building typifies the simple but dignified WPA Modernist designs used for city hall and courthouse construction." (https://www.historycolorado.org/content/prowers-county) The building presently stands vacant.
  • Central School Auditorium and Gymnasium - Monte Vista CO
    "A 1938 project supported by the school district, town leaders and a PWA grant resulted in a building used for school and sports functions as well as an auditorium for public gatherings. It is the largest auditorium in the San Luis Valley that continues to serve in the same capacity for which it was built. It is the only Monte Vista example of the work of prominent architect Charles E. Thomas incorporating Mission, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Romanesque elements. The PWA grant provided 45 percent of the building’s cost and WPA workers were involved in some aspects of the project."