Completion Year: 1940

The 3.3-acre Watson Gleason Playground, located in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx, was constructed with WPA labor. New York City's Parks Department writes: "In 1938 the City of New York acquired the entire block bounded by Watson, Noble, Gleason, and Rosedale Avenues. Designed by the Parks Department and built with labor provided by the Work Projects Administration (WPA), the playground opened one-and-one-half years later. Parks Commissioner Robert Moses presided at the dedication ceremony, which featured Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, Borough President James J. Lyons, Acting WPA Administrator Major Edmond H. Leary, and President Roderick Stephens of the Bronx Borough of Trade. The...

This striking two story Art Deco building in Beatrice was constructed by the PWA in 1939-40. The National Register form for the building states: "Compared to other WPA/PWA Art Deco auditoriums in Nebraska..., the Beatrice auditorium is quite exuberantly decorated with Art Deco detail. In place of the more common geometric and stylized motifs such as zigzags and chevrons, the motifs for the auditorium focused on agricultural motifs of corn cobs and sheaves of wheat to more artistically represent themes important to a medium-sized farming community, and reminiscent of the agricultural motifs found throughout the Nebraska State Capitol." (NRHP)  

"A c. 1940 poured concrete dam with metal gates and fixtures. Built with federal funds during the Depression era to help control drainage, flooding on Deer Creek" (Embree, 2004, p. 12).

The Colonial Revival building that served as the county health office was constructed in 1939-40 by the WPA. Part of the Macon Historic District, it currently is used as the county justice court (Barrow, 2001).

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.

The Pasadena Avenue Bridge over the Arroyo Seco Parkway and Flood Control Channel in Los Angeles, CA was constructed in 1940 by the California State Division of Highways with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding. Originally built prior to 1890 and replaced in 1904, the PWA's 78-foot concrete tee beam bridge survives today. When the first two stages of the Parkway were completed in 1943, 26 new bridges had been built along its 8.2-mile length, many with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor. The Division of Highways Bridge Department supervised construction. “ridges were needed for safe and easy crossings, and were deemed necessary to...

Several New Deal murals were painted for URI's Green Hall (the library and administration building), but they have since been lost.

The Ontario post office contains a pair of complementary oil-on-canvas murals painted by Nellie G. Best in 1940 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. "The Dream" shows Ontario founder George Chaffey and his team of surveyors. "The Reality" is a present-day view of the town, with people gathering on the Euclid Avenue median.

This 1940 Section of Fine Arts oil-on-canvas mural by Lance W. Hart, "Construction of a Skid Road in the 80's," was painted for what was then the Snohomish post office. The mural remains in the original location, which is now the Snohomish city hall. “Artists like Hart were required to submit a series of sketches or designs for their murals before final approval. To see a sketch of “Construction of a Skid Road” that is housed in the National Archives, click here.” (depts.washington.edu)

The New Deal mural "Rural Arkansas" was painted for the historic Paris, Arkansas post office, where it is still mounted today. "Joseph Vorst was commissioned for $740 to create this 4'x13' oil on canvas mural for Paris, Arkansas based on his winning entry in the 1939 48 States Competition. "The competition selected 48 winning artists to compose a mural for a each of the 48 continental states. Vorst's initial composition for Rural Arkansas was rejected due to the town's contention that it showed their community as both stereotyped and backward. Vorst thus redesigned his composition into the image that extolled the...