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Established in 1875, in a Creole neighborhood northeast of the French Quarter, St. Roch Market is one of several public markets improved by the WPA in New Orleans in the late 1930s. By that time, the city supported 19 public grocery markets, many of which had fallen into disrepair and were threatened by demolition. The city turned to the WPA, which financed the improvement of eight public markets under the Market Rehabilitation program. This included making interior and exterior upgrades to six neighborhood markets and building two new ones. For the St. Roch Market, the WPA gutted the interior, replacing...

The St. Helena Parish Courthouse was undertaken in Greensburg, Louisiana during the Great Depression with assistance of funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The Greensburg courthouse was one of two Louisiana courthouses built with WPA funds instead of support from the Public Works Administration (PWA) (Leighninger, 2001).

Frank W. Long painted the oil-on-canvas mural "The Rural Free Delivery" in 1939 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work is housed in what was originally constructed as the Morehead post office, is now a municipal building. The mural is viewable in the lobby. From contributor Charles Swaney: "Interestingly, even though Frank Long painted as many murals or more than any other New Deal muralist, his initial sketch was rejected by Ed Rowen, the head of the section.  Rowen objected to the obesity and unattractive woman in the center of the mural and the contrast with the very attractive...

Todd Grove Park is a 16-acre park located on Ukiah’s west side, adjacent to the Ukiah Valley Golf Course. Amenities include groves of mature trees, lawns, walking paths, children's playground, picnic areas, and a bandstand. In 1940, Works Projects Administration (WPA) relief crews built a low, native stone wall around the park’s perimeter. The wall is 2’ high and 15” thick, made of rough stone bonded with thick cement mortar. At approximately 25’ to 28’ intervals, the wall is interrupted by 33”-high, 17”x17”-wide stone posts. Concrete stamps denoting “WPA 1940” are placed at intervals on each wall. A stone gate at the...

A substantial street improvement and paving project was undertaken in Flagstaff, Arizona during the Great Depression with the assistance of federal Public Work Administration (PWA) funds.  It covered 86 blocks in the central area, now the historic district of the city, and included curbs and gutters.  The start date for the project is uncertain but the major work was done in 1938-39. "A major improvement that would have been long delayed without federal assistance was installing curbs and gutters and paving streets. The project began with a $30,600 PWA grant matching a city 10-year, 3 percent bond issue of $22,000 for curbs and...

This mural, "Early U.S. Post Village", painted by Karl Oberteuffer under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, was completed in 1938. It was transferred to the new McKenzie post office building in 1988. Upon its installation, Oberteuffer wrote an acquaintance, "There were many who saw the mural, and all seemed to be pleased with it. All comments seemed to be favorable and the postmaster was obviously proud of it." (Tennessee Post Office Murals, p. 109)

Anne Poor painted this mural, "Gleason Agriculture" under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1942. It was one of the last murals painted in Tennessee for the Treasury Section. "The theme of the painting is the sweet potato industry of Gleason. Workers are preparing baskets for shipping. At the extreme right of the picture is a generalized portrait of the late 'father' of sweet potato culture, Mr. W. R. Hawks. The picturesque building in the background is the Gleason railroad depot…. As a final tribute to sweet potatoes, the entire painting is framed with a border of lush green leaves...

The elementary school in Basalt, Colorado was originally built as the town's high school in 1937-38. The school was paid for, in part, with a $20,970 federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant, which covered nearly half of the $46,504 total project cost.  Alterations to the building were undertaken in 2000, and the original structure is now a part of a larger elementary school complex.  

In 1934, the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) financed the construction of the first continuous highway across the city of Santa Barbara (roughly six miles), taking through traffic off city streets.  The route followed the Southern Pacific tracks. Along the new route, Mission Creek was channelized and several new bridges were built. At the time, it was called "the Roosevelt Highway", but was an extension of what was then commonly known as the Pacific Coast Highway.  Although Gibson (1934) attributes the funding to the NIRA, it was almost surely the Public Works Administration (PWA) – which was created as one part...

The Massachusetts Avenue bridge was built in 1940-1941 by the Army Corps of Engineers with federal funds provided by Congress to the District of Columbia Commissioners.  It was a final step in the completion of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in the New Deal era.  The new bridge replace a low earth-fill causeway over the creek, built in 1901, and a tunnel under the causeway that impeded traffic on the new Rock Creek parkway.  Congress appropriated $360,000 for the bridge under the District of Columbia act of 1939.  Additional funding was added in 1941 to dynamite the old bridge and...