• Central Heating Plant - Washington DC
    Description from General Services Administration Web site: "The Central Heating Plant in Washington, D.C. was designed by the architect Paul Philippe Cret for the Procurement Division of the U.S. Treasury Department. The project was managed by James A. Wetmore, Acting Supervising Architect and Louis Simon, architect, both of the Procurement Divison. The cornerstone was laid in 1933, construction was completed and the plant commenced operation in 1934. The work of an important American architect whose aesthetic philosophies significantly affected Federal design, and as a carefully conceived and well-executed example of the Art Deco style, the Central Heating Plant is a significant...
  • Duke Ellington (Calvert Street) Bridge - Washington DC
    The Calvert Street bridge was built in 1935 as part of the completion of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway project of the 1930s. It was later named for Duke Ellington. It replaced a streetcar bridge built in the 1890s. Plans for a new bridge were submitted by architect Paul Cret and Modeskji, Masters and Chase engineers in 1931-32, but work was held up by disputes over the proper design (between a single steel arch or multiple concrete arches) and opposition from an architect who had another design approved before World War I.   The concrete design finally won over the Civic Arts...
  • Federal Building/Post Office - San Antonio TX
    Today this building is known as the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building, but a small post office branch is still operating in the building. The building was completed in 1936 and opened in 1937. It was built under the auspices of the Federal Works Program with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funding; the design process was under the direction of the Office of the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department. "Its construction accomplished several goals--generating employment, housing all federal agencies in a single building, and streamlining San Antonio's quickly expanding postal needs. A skillful example of Beaux-Arts classicism, the U.S. Post Office...
  • University of Texas at Austin: Andrews Dormitory - Austin TX
    The student body of the University of Texas increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. The university added Andrews Dormitory for women and Roberts Dormitory for men in 1936. The Public Works Administration provided a grant of $114,000 and a loan of $354,000 for these two buildings of which $239,000 went to build Andrews. The university named Andrews Dormitory for Jessie Andrews, the first woman to graduate from UT (1886). Andrews was the third dormitory built for women on-campus. It opened in September 1936 to house approximately 118 students. The building...
  • University of Texas at Austin: Hill Hall - Austin TX
    Beginning in 1939, the university housed its athletes in Hill Hall. The five story building (including basement) is of Spanish Renaissance style with red roof and tan bricks. The Public Works Administration provided a grant of $46,636 and a loan of $57,000 to cover the cost of construction. When originally opened the building housed 84 men. Hill Hall is named for Dr. Homer Barksdale Hill of Austin who volunteered to treat UT athletes from 1893 until his death on July 18, 1923. As its athletic programs grew, the university added Moore Hall in 1955, just south of Hill Hall and connected to...
  • University of Texas at Austin: Main Building and Library - Austin TX
    The University of Texas opened on September 15, 1883 with the completion of its Victorian style main building. The university was funded by a combination of state appropriations and annual distributions from the Permanent University Fund (PUF), an endowment of 2.1 million acres of land in West Texas. Initially, the PUF provided minimal income from leasing the land for grazing cattle, but when the first oil was discovered on the land on May 28, 1923, the university was set to receive a windfall. However, it was not until 1930, that all the details were worked out on how the money...
  • University of Texas at Austin: Prather Dormitory - Austin TX
    Due in part to the growing number of men returning to college after World War I, the student body of the University of Texas at Austin increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. Plans for Prather Dormitory for men were approved by the Board of Regents in September 1935. The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the building with a grant of $110,454 and loan of $135,000. The cornerstone of the building marks the building as "Project No. 9229-Y of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works." Now called Prather Residence...
  • University of Texas at Austin: Roberts Dormitory - Austin TX
    The student body of the University of Texas increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. The university added Andrews Dormitory for women and Roberts Dormitory for men in 1936. The Public Works Administration provided a grant of $114,000 and a loan of $354,000 for these two buildings of which $220,000 went to build Roberts. The university named Roberts Dormitory in honor of Oran Milo Roberts who served as Governor of Texas from 1878 to 1883. The building is of Spanish Renaissance style architecture with cream bricks and a red tile roof...
  • University of Texas at Austin: Texas Memorial Museum - Austin TX
    As part of the planning for the 1936 Texas Centennial, academics, citizens and other politicians desired to create a state museum for Texas. They wanted the museum to contribute to the conservation of the historic treasures of Texas and also to the educational system of the state. The American Legion Texas Centennial Committee, The University of Texas at Austin and Texas Congressman James "Buck" Buchanan worked together to secure $300,000 from the Public Works Administration for the Texas Memorial Museum. In addition, the Legislature of the State of Texas appropriated $225,000 for furnishing and equipping the museum and for gathering and...