• California Woods Nature Preserve - Cincinnati OH
    During the Great Depression factory jobs were sparse, and unemployment was high because not many could afford consumer goods. Therefore, F.D.R. created programs, including the Works Progress Administration (WPA), to put people back to work through the development of public works projects. Physical labor was employed for the construction and landscaping of public roads and parks facilities, among others. One such location of WPA labor efforts in Cincinnati was the California Woods Nature Preserve. This 113-acre site required a large amount of manpower in order to get it to the beautiful and rich preserve it is today. This allowed hundreds to...
  • Groton State Forest - Groton VT
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop Groton State Forest and multiple state parks attendant with the state forest, including New Discovery, Kettle Pond, Stillwater, and Ricker Pond State Parks. The CCC conducted reforestation work, developed trails and roads, and constructed campgrounds and shelters. According to a 1988 Groton State Forest History Guide, the CCC road started the construction of the main forest road (Route 232).  
  • Benjamin Franklin Middle School (former) - Norwalk CT
    Originally constructed as a high school, what is now Norwalk's Benjamin Franklin Middle School was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. contributed a $407,676 grant for the project, whose total cost was $909,689. Primary construction occurred between Dec. 1935 and Nov. 1937. The building also houses examples of New Deal artwork installed soon after the building's completion. P.W.A. Docket No. CT 1128 This school has closed and it is now the Crystal Theatre. Arrangements to see the murals can be made by calling the Crystal Theatre at 203-847-4850.
  • Department of Purchase Warehouse (demolished) - Brooklyn NY
    In 1937, the Works Progress Administration built a "low art moderne warehouse for the New York City Department of Purchase, directly under the Brooklyn Bridge and opposite Pete’s Downtown. Approved by the New York City Art Commission, it was designed by Michael J. Mongiello as a long, sleek piece of streamlining with strip windows and orange brick. The roof was specially designed to resist damage from debris falling from the bridge." The building took 18 months to construct, with $635,000 in Federal funds. The Warehouse was built in the Fulton Ferry district at the Brooklyn Bridge. The 1939 W.P.A. Guide to New York City,...
  • Bakers Island Lighthouse Wharf - Salem MA
    The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) completed a project in 1937 that involved "building of a new wharf bridging and steps at the Baker's Island lighthouse," a project intended to improve safety at the lighthouse for both visitors and the keeper. The W.P.A. replaced 82-year-old rotting timbers at the wharf. Workers were transported via daily water taxi from Salem.
  • Edward F. Knapp State Airport - Berlin VT
    Located between Montpelier and Barre, what is now Edward F. Knapp State Airport in the Town of Berlin, Vermont was developed as a New Deal project in conjunction with the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). Wikipedia: "Originally called the Barre-Montpelier Airport, the airport opened on April 5, 1929. At the time of its construction, the airport was a primitive field with a grass surface. Depending on the wind, planes could take off in any direction. For its earlier years, this worked well, but as larger planes started to use the airport, longer paved runways became a necessity. In October 1935, the field...
  • Duchesne High School (former) - Duchesne UT
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded a new Duchesne High School in 1936, near an earlier structure built in 1907 that the school had outgrown. It was expanded in 1965 and then demolished in 1980, to be replaced by the present structure.
  • Fire Drill Tower (demolished) - Fitchburg MA
    Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers constructed a fire drill practicing tower in Fitchburg, Mass. The drill tower was located at 28 Oliver St in Fitchburg. It was built behind an already existing fire station. The drill tower along with the fire state were demolished in early 2017.
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum: Boulton Murals - Washington DC
    Dacre F. Boulton painted two oil-on-canvas murals, "Industrial" and "Winter," for the U.S. Department of Labor in 1933-1934 with funds provided by the Public Works of Art Project of the Treasury Department (PWAP).  The Smithsonian American Art Museum received this and other artworks in the 1960s when they were transferred from federal offices that had previously displayed them.  The Boulton murals are not on display.
  • Adams Elementary School - Logan UT
    Adams Elementary School was built in 1936 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The design was by local architect K.C. Schaub. It is a long, single-story, brick Moderne structure with subtle bas-relief columns and minimal decoration. The Adams School is still in use today.