• Eighteenth and Nineteenth Street Improvements - Washington DC
    A September 17, 1936 article in the Washington Post reported that Public Works Administration (PWA) funds had been allocated for roadway improvements in the city's southeastern quadrant: "The program calls for the widening and repaving of Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets between C and E streets and the north and south sections of E Street between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets. Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets will be widened to 56 feet, or about 20 feet broader than at present."  This project was part of a massive New Deal program of street paving and upgrades around the city of Washington DC.  Most such work is...
  • Fort Reno Park Improvements - Washington DC
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) and Federal Works Administration (FWA) both funded improvements at Fort Reno Park in 1942. In October 1942, the Washington Post reported that the FWA would demolish a 5 million gallon reservoir to construct a 20 million gallon reservoir in its place. PWA work reported by the paper was not specified. The park is no longer a working reservoir. After WWII, it was a White House Army Signal Agency facility, and it is now best known for hosting a yearly free summer concert series. There are several play fields at the park and it is unknown if...
  • Merritt Middle School (former) - Washington DC
    Merritt Middle School was built in 1942-43 with funding by Public Works Adminstration (PWA) (part of the Federal Works Agency) to the DC Commissioners for the Board of Education.  It is unknown if the district government paid a portion from its own funds. The school closed in 2009 and the site has been retrofitted as a district police headquarters.   The look of the present building – 1960s brutalism – suggests that the school had been rebuilt since the New Deal.
  • Dalecarlia Pumping Station Addition - Washington DC
    In 1942, the Federal Works Agency (FWA) paid for the installation of a ten-million-gallon-daily pump to improve the performance of the Dalecarlia Pumping Station.  The pump project cost about $16,200 .  The work was most likely done by the Army Corps of Engineers, which had previously upgraded the Dalecarlia reservoir and pumping station. Later that year, the Washington Post reported approval of funding for "... more than 2 ½ miles of 54 inch water main for filtered water from the Dalecarlia Pumping Station to a connection with the gravity system near the south end of the Georgetown Reservoir and approximately ¼ mile of...
  • Hyde State Memorial Park - Santa Fe NM
    From Elmo Richardson, Natural Resources Journal, April 1966: The construction of Hyde State Park afforded the first, as well as the best, example of the role of the CCC in state recreation programs. Activities and problems encountered in constructing Hyde State Park were illustrative. Of work projects elsewhere in the New Mexico and in the five-state CCC area. During the first two years, the shortage of local enrollees kept the company at the Hyde site short of the desired 200 total; not until 1938 was that figure attained. Two years later these boys were combined with a company of workers...
  • Beltsville Airport (former) - Beltsville MD
    In 1941, the Works Progress Administration  (WPA) conducted improvement work on a grass airstrip at Beltsville MD. The Washington Post reported in April that “clearing, grubbing, grading, draining, construction of runways, seeding and installation of lighting facilities" had begun.   Two hangars were slated to be constructed, as well, but probably were never built – since they were still not present at the site in 1945, according to Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields website. In 1980, the airfield was decommissioned and bulldozed. The site is now part of the giant Henry Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Station and occupied by USDA Animal and Plant Health...
  • New York Avenue Playground Improvements - Washington DC
    In 1936, the Washington Post reported that Works Progress Administration (WPA)  crews had done work on the New York Avenue Playground.  This would have been part of a  nearly $1 million WPA program of park and playground improvements in 1935-36. It is unclear whether the existing field house dates to this period, but it shares a general form with other New Deal playgrounds in the area. In 2012, the playground and recreation center were renovated.
  • Raymond Recreation Center and Playground Improvements - Washington DC
    In 1936, the Washington Post reported that Works Progress Administration (WPA)  crews had done unspecified work at the Raymond Recreation Center, which was likely constructing the playground. This work was part of a  nearly $1 million WPA program of park and playground improvements in 1935-36. In 2013, the playground was renovated again; the image shows this construction underway.
  • Park View Playground Improvements - Washington DC
    In 1936, the Washington Post reported that Works Progress Administration (WPA) crews had done work on the Park View playground. This would have been part of a  nearly $1 million WPA program of park and playground improvements in 1935-36. The playground had been built in 1932 using district unemployment funds, prior to the New Deal but in the same spirit.  The attached photo dates from its original construction, not the WPA work.
  • Post Office (former) - Morehead KY
    Constructed as the Morehead post office, Morehead's police building (previously the Municipal Building / city hall) was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds ca. 1936. The building houses an example of New Deal artwork.