Completion Year: 1943

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of the O’Brien Court Parking Lot in Washington, DC, ca. 1935-1938. The lot was located in the block bounded by E, F, 20th and 21st streets NW, on the E Street frontage. Then, in 1943, the ADA and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) created the O’Brien Court Houses on the same site. These houses were called “Standard Temporary Dwellings Units,” or “TDU’s.” They were built for African American national defense workers, and were intended to be taken down after the war. It does not appear that any remnant of the homes or parking lot...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Parkside Dwellings in Washington, DC, between 1941 and 1943. This housing project was described being at Kenilworth Avenue and Barnes Lane, N.E., and “near the old Benning race track” (Evening Star, 1942). Today, that location is in the vicinity of Parkside Playground, Thomas Elementary School, Cesar Chavez Public Charter School, and Mayfair Mansions Apartments (the latter sits on the site of the old Benning race track). Barnes Lane is now called Barnes “Street.” It is unknown to the Living New Deal if Parkside Dwellings still...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Barry Farm Dwellings in Washington, DC between 1941 and 1943. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced unsafe alley dwellings in Washington, DC with more modern and affordable houses and apartments. The ADA existed from 1934-1943 as a federally controlled special authority. It then slowly evolved into today’s DC Housing Authority, an independent agency of the DC Government. Beginning in December 1941, the ADA was ordered to prioritize housing for war workers. Barry Farm...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the James Creek Dwellings in Washington, DC between 1941 and 1943. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced unsafe alley dwellings in Washington, DC with more modern and affordable houses and apartments. The ADA existed from 1934-1943 as a federally controlled special authority. It then slowly evolved into today’s DC Housing Authority, an independent agency of the DC Government. Beginning in December 1941, the ADA was ordered to prioritize housing for war workers. James Creek...

The Pentagon is America’s Department of Defense headquarters and the largest office building in the world.  It was constructed from August 1941 to January 1943 in order to centralize the administration of the U.S. armed services during World War II.   The site of the Pentagon had previously been a barren area, so the Public Roads Administration, a division of the New Deal’s Federal Works Agency (FWA), supervised a “$7 million network of highways to serve the and adjacent areas” (Sunday Star, 1942). While it may not appear to be a typical New Deal public works project, the Pentagon was built...

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense and the largest office building in the world.  It was constructed from August 1941 to January 1943 in order to centralize the administration of the U.S. armed services during World War II.  The burgeoning War Department moved from what is now the Truman Federal Building (home of the State Department), which had just been completed in 1940.  While it may not appear to be a typical New Deal public works project, the Pentagon ought to be considered as part of the New Deal legacy.  It was built for the...

The 1,300+ mile Alaska Highway was constructed in 1942 and opened in 1943.  It was built to provide an alternate supply line to Alaska during World War II, an idea the President Roosevelt had proposed to the Canadian government in 1936.  It runs through Canadian Territory but the cost was borne by the United States.   The Alaska Highway was a joint effort of the U.S. Army (Corps of Engineers) and the Public Roads Administration (PRA)—a sub-agency of the New Deal's Federal Works Agency that replaced the earlier Bureau of Public Roads.  The construction was carried out by a host of PRA-contracted...

The Jefferson Memorial was built to honor the author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Such a memorial had long been proposed, but it was only realized under the New Deal, 1939-1943.  It remains one of America's most beloved monuments to this day.   The design is based on the Roman Pantheon and Jefferson's own love of classical architecture, as shown in his design of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. It is built of white Danby marble from Vermont and is elevated on a circular platform of granite and marble, with steps...

The Arkabutla Dam and reservoir project was the second of three projects for flood control management of the Yazoo-Tallahatchie-Coldwater river systems in Mississippi. The Army Corps of Engineers directed the $10,000,000 project. In order to construct the dam and reservoir, the town of Coldwater had to be relocated a mile further south. Approximately 700 residents were relocated at a cost of $250,000. The earthen dam is 11, 500 feet long, average of 67 feet high, and 482 feet wide at the base. Contracts were let to H. N. Rodgers & Son, Forcum-James, and Pioneer Contracting. Patton-Tully Transportation was awarded a...

In 1940, Coryell County voters passed an issue for $30,000 in bonds bearing interest at the rate of not more than three percent to build a county hospital. Those bonds were issued on July 8, 1940. Designed by architects Brooks Pierson of Waco and L. S. Secrest of Gatesville, a 34-bed hospital built primarily with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor was constructed and equipped between 1942 and 1943 at a cost of around $60,000. The county renovated the building in 2013 for a mental health unit, and currently the building is the Gatesville Center for Central County Services, which provides treatment for...