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The modern campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was established at Bethesda MD during the New Deal.  It included the first laboratory of the newly-created National Cancer Institute, as well (the NCI came under the NIH in 1944). The NIH is the leading medical science agency of the United States, performing its own research and funding research at universities and hospitals around the country. The NIH was launched in 1930 as a reorganization and enhancement of government-funded medical research efforts that date back to 1887. NIH’s original location (1930-1938) was at 25th and E streets NW, Washington DC.   In...

The former Camp Simms in the city's southeastern quadrant housed the DC National Guard rifle range prior to World War II.  In 1936, Work: A Journal of Progress reported extensive Works Progress Administration (WPA) improvements to Camp Simms: "Transformation of the National Guard Rifle Range at Camp Sims, from an ill-equipped, obsolete military adjunct into a model rifle range, is one of the many accomplishments of relief labor under the Works Progress Administration in the District of Columbia. One of the first tasks undertaken by WPA labor at Camp Sims was that of raising the level of practically the whole site. Coincident...

The Post Office in Inglewood CA was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1935. It was needed because of damage to the previous post office in the Long Beach earthquake of 1933 and cost $210,000 (Gnerre 2022) The design of this two-story building is Classical Moderne, with clean, square lines, flat roof tall window openings and a stucco finish. There are lovely bas-relief sculptures over the recessed front entrance and in the front window openings between stories.  There is a carved wooden mural inside. (see linked pages) New Deal era post offices were all built by the Treasury Department, never by the Works...

Takoma Recreation Center is a large public recreational facility in Washington D.C., containing buildings, swimming pool, tennis courts and other facilities. New Deal agencies did extensive work on the site, 1933-36, as part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program assisted by the Civil Work Adminstration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The WPA alone undertook a million dollar program of improvements to district parks in 1935-36. The work at Takoma Recreation Center included: "Swimming pools and field house constructed; baseball diamonds, athletic fields graded and equipment installed; landscaping and lawn area at field house constructed; parking areas...

Sligo Creek Parkway is a landscaped, two-lane roadway in Montgomery County MD that runs parallel to Sligo Creek and the Sligo Creek Trail.  It begins at Maryland Route 650 in Takoma Park, travels through Silver Spring, and ends further north at MD 193.  The Works Progress Administration (WPA) did extensive work on the parkway in 1935-36, including: "building drains along existing concrete roads, ditch digging, laying storm drains, creek cribbing, footbridges, masonry headwalls; clearing, grubbing and seeding park land; building a running track, foot paths, playground equipment, drinking fountains, and shelters."   (Maryland Historical Trust)

The John Philip Sousa Bridge carries Pennsylvania Avenue across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C.  It was built in 1939-40 during the New Deal and named after the famous American marching band composer, who grew up nearby. Agitation for a new bridge began in earnest in 1934 but met continuing opposition in Congress throughout the decade (DC government is officially a creature of the federal government).  Funds for a new bridge finally won approval in 1938 and were included as part of the District of Columbia Commissioners allocation in the federal budget of that year. The first span opened in late 1939 and...

The Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial, located in Lady Bird Johnson Park on Columbia Island, is a statue honoring sailors of the United States Navy and the United States Merchant Marine who died at sea during World War I. It was designed in 1922 by Harvey Wiley Corbett and sculpted by Ernesto Begni del Piatta. The monument was not erected until 1934, when it was installed with New Deal support as part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program. It is likely that the first installation was done with the help of Civil Works Administration (CWA) relief labor. Nevertheless, lack of funds meant that...

Meridian Hill Park is a formal, landscaped park in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, with terraces, pools, balustrades and a large cascade in the Italian baroque style. It is, in many people's estimation, the jewel of the District parks system.   Land for the park was purchased in 1910 and construction began in 1912, but was never completed.  In 1935-36, the PWA stepped in to fund completion of the park by providing a grant of $145,000. A 1936 article in the Washington Daily News described the work being done: “Cascades completed and placed in operation. South terraces graded; top soiled and seeded; shrubs and...

Lafayette Park, also known as Lafayette Square, is a seven-acre public park directly north of the White House on H Street, bounded by Jackson Place on the west, Madison Place on the east, and Pennsylvania Avenue. The park was established in the 19th century and remained largely unchanged from 1872 until the 1930s. New Deal work on the park as part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program undertaken by the Public Works Administration (PWA), Civil Work Adminstration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), all working under the supervision of the National Park Service, which had been...

Franklin Park, also known as Franklin Square, was overhauled c. 1935-36.  Work on the park was part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program in the 1930s, funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA), assisted by the Civil Work Adminstration (CWA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). "By the 1930’s Franklin Park was considered one of the city’s most rundown reservations. Its walks were greatly deteriorated, its lawns overgrown, and its trees unpruned and deteriorating. In spring 1935, planning for the complete rehabilitation of Franklin Park began with the award of a $75,000 grant from the Public...