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The Niles City Canning Plant was converted from an abandoned syrup factory in 1938, with construction continuing into 1939, by the city of Fort Worth and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building itself was constructed in 1911 and was originally the City Hall for Niles City, a small town that developed around the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company. In 1922, Niles City was annexed by Fort Worth, which was attempting to gain tax revenue. The building was vacant for several years and then it was used as a syrup factory for four to five years afterward. Work to convert the...

The Sweetwater Hospital in Nolan County, eventually renamed Simmons Memorial Hospital, was the first official hospital in Sweetwater, Texas. The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the SweetWater Memorial Hospital in 1936. Sweetwater Hospital was an L-shaped one-story brick hospital, which cost around $85,000 in bond issues. The PWA funded the construction of  a hospital with the most "modern practices'' and hospital designs. The vicinity could accommodate up to 34 patients, which was enough for the small town, and included medical rooms, maternity wards, operating rooms, and air conditioning. However, the city needed to solicit bids in January for...

Originally named the Longbow Forest Camp, the Longbow Organization Camp is a group facility constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the Sweet Home Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest (WNF).  Starting during the winter season of 1937-1938, the CCC workers completed the campground during the winter season of 1938-1939. Their work was supervised by the US Forest Service. CCC workers from nearby Camp Cascadia (Co. #2907) improved the ten-acre campground along the banks of the South Santiam. They built six sleeping shelters, a community kitchen with attached dining, an amphitheater that seats seventy-five people, and a water system...

With the provision of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding, the City of Marshfield, Oregon replaced its crowded, thirty-year-old high school in 1939-1940 on the same site. Local funds covered 55% of project costs. The New Deal era campus construction included the main classroom building, an auditorium, and a new gym. At the time, the new gym was referred to as the west gym. Portland architect Francis Marion Stokes designed the concrete Art Deco structure. Additional buildings were added later to accommodate the high school's growth and changing needs but the Marshfield classroom building and Auditorium still dominate the eastern facade. Residents voted...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the El Paso International Airport in El Paso TX. The antecedent to the El Paso International Airport, built by the WPA, was the Municipal Airport, established by Standard Airlines. This original airport was established close to the east side of the Franklin Mountains. More than 1000 men worked on landscaping, groundwork, as well as airplane and airport improvements. This original site then became a cement batching plant, and later on it became a US Army training base during WWII. It is important to consider the precedent of the original airport because it gives important historical...

The Brazoria County Courthouse had undergone much damage after the 1932 storm that hit the Houston and Galveston area, having also been used as a refugee site during the storm. After investigations about whether the courthouse should be renovated, in 1939, the Brazoria County officials and a grand jury finalized that a new courthouse would be constructed with Public Works Administration funding. The new building consisted of five stories with a county jail on the fifth floor. In addition, the project utilized $500,000 and around 100 workers. While there were countless applications sent for PWA funding, it seems that the...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made improvements to the Attica Armory in Attica IN. The armory is presently vacant. The structure is designed in the Art Deco style that is characteristic of New Deal era projects.  The DOD WPA Inventory lists 3 projects involving the Attica armory, "armory improvements" and "repair, alter, and construct armories."

The runways of Austin Municipal Airport, later known as Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, were Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects conducted in the late 1930s/early 1940s. The municipal airport was replaced by the Austin-Bergstrom Air Force Base in 1999, which became the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Robert Mueller Airport, which was then decommissioned, has since been redeveloped for mixed-use purposes, including housing and stores. The airport officially opened in 1930 with one small building, gravel runways, and a gas pump. There were only a few flights during this time because of how small it was. This WPA project was one of many to...

Hensley Field is a military base and former Naval Air Station located in Grand Prairie, Texas that was established in 1928. Originally created as an Army Aviation Center, the base became home to all military service’s aviators. In 1936, Hensley Field received Works Progress Administration funding amounting to $700,000 to improve the military base’s airport and add a new runway. The new runway would be 1000 feet long and 400 feet wide according to superintendent of WPA projects and planning, W. A. Orth. These reconstruction efforts would encourage the military to push for more reserve pilot training and refueling missions that...

Initiated by the Roosevelt Administration in 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps aimed to implement reforestation measures (for example, by planting pine seedlings) in places that suffered from the consequences of lumbering. The CCC situated camps in a rather permanent way by constructing buildings, including at Pineland. These buildings, while an architectural landmark from the 1900s, symbolize the permanence and lasting effects of the services they provided. According to the Timpson Daily Times, 40 camps were allocated to Texas and more than 16,000 men were enlisted in Roosevelt’s “Tree Army” not only to plant trees, but also to fight forest fires...