Brick, two-story “restrained Colonial Revival style” (Van West, 2001, p. 148) housing for whites was completed at the same time as the Riverview Apartments for African-Americans. Both complexes were constructed for a total of $607,000. Robert E. Lee contained 128… read more
By the early twentieth century, the area that would become the Robert Mills Manor site consisted of a large assemblage of dilapidated late-19th and early-20th century residences and tenements surrounding the county’s jail on the corner of Franklin and Magazine… read more
The school was constructed as part of the original Resettlement Administration settlement. Parts of the original school have since been added, but portions of the building are still original. The building houses the town’s beloved Ben Shahn mural, as well… read more
On September 1, 1937, President Roosevelt signed the United States Housing Act of 1937. This created the United States Housing Authority (USHA) and provided $500 million for subsidies to be paid from the U.S. government to local public housing agencies… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of the Ruppert’s Court Automobile Repair Shop in Washington, DC between 1935 and 1936. In 1943, the building became a woodworking shop for the ADA, It is unknown to the Living New Deal… read more
The first Mississippi county approved for rural housing loans from the United States Housing Authority was Lee County. Loans represented 90% of the construction and 10% was locally supplied for the $790,000 program. “America’s first ‘economy wall’ unit of brick… read more
Sabine Farms was one of 200 New Deal Resettlement Administration communities and one of only thirteen set aside for African Americans. “Sabine Farms was built on nearly 12,000 acres of land. ‘They built about 80 homes – half in Harrison… read more
“In the 1930s, the Waverly area once again was to be the site for newcomers seeking a better life. Henry Gestefield, a German immigrant, worked as a Farm Management Specialist for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) Resettlement Division to develop… read more
On September 1, 1937, President Roosevelt signed the United States Housing Act of 1937. This created the United States Housing Authority (USHA) and provided $500 million for subsidies to be paid from the U.S. government to local public housing agencies… read more
Although the State’s initial acquisition of land for the park occurred in 1931, the early development of Silver Falls State Park can be credited to several of the New Deal programs. A significant portion of the land for the park… read more
The early development of Silver Falls State Park can be credited to several of the New Deal programs. A significant portion of the land for the park was purchased by the federal Resettlement Administration (RA) c. 1935, and developed for… read more
“In 1936, through a federally financed work program, the National Park Service bought portions of the land surrounding Singletary Lake for a recreational demonstration project. One of two projects in North Carolina, the federal government purchased the land at an… read more
St. Bernard Projects were constructed 1940 as one of New Orleans’ “Big Four” high-density urban public housing projects. Initially comprised of 744 units in 74 buildings constructed on 30.9 acres, the project was bordered by St. Bernard Avenue to Gibson… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority funded the construction of the St. Mary’s Court Apartments in Washington DC between 1935 and 1938. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced unsafe alley dwellings… read more
St. Thomas was one of six public housing projects constructed under the Housing Act of 1937. It was constructed 1938-1941 and contained 920 units of two or three story brick buildings. The architect’s rendering for the St. Thomas Street project… read more
“Standing Stone State Park is a state park in Overton County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of 855 acres (3.46 km2) along the shoreline of the man-made 69-acre (0.28 km2) Standing Stone Lake. The 11,000-acre (45 km2) Standing Stone… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of the Stanton Court Garages in Washington, DC between 1935 and 1936. This project consisted of seven 1-car garages located in the area bounded by L, M, 23rd, and 24th streets NW, probably… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Stoddert Dwellings in Washington, DC in 1942. Today, the DC Housing Authority manages “Stoddert Terrace,” in the same general area (and perhaps the same exact… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Syphax Houses in Washington, DC in 1942. The Syphax Houses were located at 1st and R streets SW, and it does not appear that any… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of a community building for the Syphax Houses and surrounding area, ca. 1942. It is unknown to the Living New Deal if this building still exists. The ADA was one of the… read more
The Farm Security Administration established a resettlement project called the Ladelta Co-operative Association at Thomastown, Louisiana in 1938. The project was for African American families who had been sharecroppers. The project included 147 individual farmsteads, with five-room house, barn, smokehouse,… read more
Construction of Tillery Farms began in 1935 in Halifax County, North Carolina as an experimental farm resettlement that included segregated sections for black and white farmers, possibly the only New Deal-era planned community of its kind. The project was constructed… read more
In 1934, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided about $400,000 for a homestead project in Putnam County, West Virginia, “Red House Farms” (soon-to-be called “Eleanor,” and not to be confused with the nearby town of Red House). Red House… read more
“Greenhills, Ohio is one of only three ‘Greenbelt Towns’ built in the United States. The other two are Greenbelt, Maryland and Greendale, Wisconsin. The three towns had their start during the Depression Era. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created a program… read more
A cooperative community founded under the New Deal’s Resettlement Administration: “The town of Roosevelt was established by the federal government—one of the many planned cooperative communities created under President Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression. Originally called Jersey Homesteads,… read more
Triangle Homes for African American families was constructed 1940-1941 by W. J. McGee and Son for a base bid of $325,866. Two-story row houses are still in use in the triangle formed by South Maple Street and South 4th Avenue…. read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Tunlaw Road Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 92 living units was built for white national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly… read more
A 35-unit subsistence homestead community, located 5 miles north of Tupelo off the Natchez Trace consisted of modest, one-story frame houses. Twenty of the units remain, and are owned by the National Park Service since transfer in 1940, and were… read more
“The Tygart Valley Homesteads was a project of the Federal Subsistence Homesteads Corporation, created by the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression. The idea was to provide a new start for unemployed farmers, miners, and timber workers. This was one… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of the V Street Houses in Washington DC between 1936 and 1938. It appears that the V Street Houses no longer exist. They were described as being constructed “in the square directly west of… read more
The Williamson Housing Authority built the Victoria Court Housing Project with aid from the Federal Housing Authority. The development consists of a complex of seven, two-story brick buildings laid in rows of three providing a central court (now a modern… read more
San Antonio’s Board of Commissioners created the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) on June 17, 1937. On September 1, 1937, President Roosevelt signed the United States Housing Act of 1937. This created the United States Housing Authority (USHA) and provided… read more
The small, rural community of Bosque Farms lies about 18 miles south of Albuquerque and was one of the New Deal resettlement communities. The community’s own website describes that history: “…In the 1920s, Otero sold his land in small lots… read more
“WPA workers leveled sites for 750 homes in the Village of Greendale, an experimental “garden” community built from 1935 to 1938. The WPA’s labor intensive work using horses, carts and plows contrasted with the modern technology used by skilled craftsmen… read more
“Originally called “Westmoreland Homesteads”, Norvelt was established April 13, 1934, by the federal government as part of a New Deal homestead project. With 250 homes, Norvelt provided housing, work, and a community environment to unemployed workers and their families during… read more
Norvelt is located in southwestern Pennsylvania. “Originally called ‘Westmoreland Homesteads,’ Norvelt was established in 1934 by the Federal government as part of a New Deal Homestead Project. With 250 homes, Norvelt provided housing, work, and a community environment to unemployed… read more
Architects Raymond Marlier, Edward B. Lee, William Boyd, and Bernard Prack designed the 3 public housing units constructed 1938-1940 in the Hill District. The USHA loaned 90% of the cost of the 3 projects. Terrace Village No. 1 was the… read more
Under the authority of the Housing Act of 1937 (Wagner-Steagall Act), Washington Square (80 units) was one of three federal housing developments in Huntington opened in 1940. Washington Square was developed at the “Colored” section and recorded as such on… read more
Preliminary plans for White Acres for white tenants was planned for South McComb in January 1940. The proposed unit was project Miss. 3-2, comprising 15 residential buildings and one administration/service building, and housing 84 families. Construction was by J. K…. read more
“In 1934, under the Resettlement Administration, federal and state agencies united to buy 5,000 acres of this submarginal land to develop a recreation area. The Civilian Conservation Corps, as well as the Works Progress Administration, helped construct the site while… read more
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
