Completion Year: 1939

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed improvements at the municipal Greenbelt Golf Course in Columbus, IN. The Evening Republican, (1/12/1939) states that the funds allocated amounted to "$28,399 for improvements at city golf course." The article describes the approval of the WPA project including improvements to the golf course, flood control work—straightening the creek bed and widening the channel at the Tenth Street bridge—on the creek through the property, and construction of picnic grounds (now removed). An article in The Evening Republican (5/4/1939) describes the rescue of a swimmer near the "dam at the golf course" and notes that WPA workers from...

In 1939, George Samerjan painted a three-panel mural titled "Industry" for the post office in Maywood, CA. It was commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts (SFA). Samerjan painted "Industry" as a tribute to Maywood's working class. "The central panel depicted a group of men working with pavement breakers, in the left panel showed carpenters and on the right were plasterers." Samerjan's work was "influenced by the Mexican muralists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, whose politically charged frescos addressed issues such as labor rights and community unrest. George chose scenes for his murals that reflected on the lived realities of...

James Madison University's Carrier Library was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $63,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $140,010. Construction occurred between Oct. 1938 and Sept. 1939. JMU.edu: The library building that is now known as Carrier opened in 1939. Originally named Madison Memorial Library, it was the first standalone library building on campus. The library was only two floors at the time. The first floor for non-academic books and magazines, the second for the main circulation desk and main book collection. PWA Docket No. VA 1255

Originally the Lucy F. Simms School, the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia was constructed with the aid of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. Construction occurred between July 1938 and June 1939; the grant supplied $45,000 toward the building's $98,870 total cost. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The historic Scotland School for Veterans' Children (SSVC) received a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant for the construction of one of more buildings on its campus. The PWA grant amounted to $228,000 of the eventual $748,952 cost of the project. Construction occurred from Dec. 1937 to Sept. 1939. Abandoned for several years after "cuts closed the 185-acre campus in 2009," in "2013 the Winebrenner Theological Seminary finalized a $1.8 million dollar deal to purchase and rehabilitate the campus," and as of 2017 what is now known as Scotland Campus was up and running. The identity, location, and current status of any...

The Emergency Administration of Public Works funded the construction of the Auditorium/Gymnasium at J.U. Blacksher High School.

The newspapers of small, rural communities take us through the local debate behind New Deal projects. The Juab High gym and mechanical arts building was approved by the school board in Oct 1936 with three goals: 1) the old gym was "entirely inadequate" and would be turned over as a "ladies gym." The new one would be reserved for the men; 2) rural youth were graduating high school without skills for gainful employment, thus the mechanical arts classrooms; 3) it may be the "last opportunity to get P.W.A. funding." A series of "mass meetings" were held across the county in July...

According to the website of the General Services Administration "Young American Man and Young American Woman act as sentinels to the main courtrooms of the 1937 Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Erie, Pennsylvania. These two sculptures express the admirable qualities possessed by the young men and women of depression-era America. Kreis communicated the upstanding nature of the figures through his use of monumental, simple forms, and by leaving out any unessential or frivolous details. Further evidence of their moral rectitude is cleverly expressed by the inclusion of the man's faithful dog, which regards his human companion with complete devotion....

A new entrance bridge to Bath V.A. Medical Center over the Conhocton (or Cohocton) Rover was built in 1939, replacing an older one which had been posted as unsafe five years earlier. A lengthy detour was required to leave or enter the grounds. This 1939 bridge is still in use as of 2023. However, the New Deal agency responsible for the construction is currently unknown to Living New Deal.

In 1939, Rex Sorenson sculpted two 12-foot stone sculptures of Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington for Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, CA. Each was mounted on a three-to-four foot pedestal. Both sculptures were subsequently destroyed.