Public Works Funding Sites

The current Castro County Courthouse was constructed in large part with labor provided by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). Text from the state historical marker reads: "This site was set aside as the Dimmitt town square in 1891, the year Castro County was formally organized. Temporary court facilities were set up in J. N. Morrison's office while the first courthouse was built. An ornate two-story structure, it burned in 1906 after being hit by lighting. A brick courthouse with a central dome, built in 1908, was dedicated at a community picnic. It served until the 1930s, but was razed to make...

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of a catch basin, part of the new waterworks in Alma CO.

A new auditorium/gymnasium was added to the existing Catchings school as PWA project 1288. Architects Hull & Drummond designed the alterations and additions. A $9,000 loan and a $9,163 grant were provided. Approval was received 9/13/1938, and construction began 12/8/1938. The additions were completed 11/2/1939 for a total of $20,386. The name of the town was changed to Delta City sometime during the late 1940s.

The historic Cato-Meridian Central School building was constructed ca. 1939-40 with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds.

Elementary school built in 1935 with funding from the Public Works Administration and Proximity Manufacturing Company for the White Oak New Town mill village community founded by the Cone Mills Corporation, then among the largest denim manufacturers in the world. Still in use as an elementary school today.

The groundwork for a new, enlarged courthouse for Cecil County was put in place in 1935, when the General Assembly of Maryland authorized the county to "expend $5,000 for a lot of ground on which to build a new courthouse whenever it was needed," which the county "visualize to be built with the aid of Federal funds".  A site on East Main Street, about 200 yards east of the then-courthouse, was selected for the new building. In December 1938 the contract for the construction of the Cecil County Courthouse was awarded by the PWA to Laachi Construction Co., a Baltimore contractor,...

Contracts for the construction of two high schools in Cecil County (Cecilton and Chesapeake City) were awarded to the Lang Brothers of Baltimore by the PWA in December 1938.  The $136,190 contract for the Cecilton high school called for "a two-story and part basement semi-fire proof, consolidated school building to accommodate 450 pupils." According to The Cecil Democrat, the contract called for "modern heating, plumbing, and electrical work." The facilities were as follows: Basement: A cafeteria, kitchen, boiler room, fuel storage room, and storage room. First floor: Six classrooms, a teacher room, an auditorium with stage and dressing rooms, and bathrooms. Second floor:...

The historic Cedar-Central public housing complex in Cleveland, Ohio was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds during the 1930s. "The Outhwaite Homes Estates, along with the Cedar Apartments and Lakeview Terrace, were the first three public housing projects to be completed in Cleveland. The three projects were also among the first in the nation to receive approval and funding from the federal government's newly-created Public Works Administration in 1935."

The Cedar Avenue Complex was constructed in 1938 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). It began life as a county civic center in Lancaster CA, forty years before that city was incorporated (1977).   It included a library, memorial hall, courthouse and sheriff's office, as well as an older jail from the 1920s.  The simple Art Moderne (Art Deco) design was by Los Angeles County architect Edward C. M. Brett.   The Cedar Avenue Complex was successfully nominated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1990s. The entire complex was renovated by the city in 2014 and...

The Cedar Avenue railway station was rebuilt as a concrete structure during the mid-1930s as part of a massive grade separation project along what was then the South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. The station was located around Cedar Avenue, at about Jackson Ave. and Retner St. Long since abandoned (as the line was discontinued in 1953), the structure has since been demolished. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $1.46 million grant for the $6 million grade crossing elimination project, which included work elsewhere in Staten Island and even in Manhattan. PWA Docket No. NY 4926.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Cedar City High School in Cedar City, Iron County School District. Docket # 1033-R (Utah).

Th Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Cedar County Courthouse in Stockton, in 1938. According to information published by the University of Missouri Extension, "Cedar County Courthouse is the third for the county in the first of this particular site. The courthouse was constructed beginning in 1938 using the matching funds grant from the Public Works Administration. The courthouse was designed by James D Marshall and M Dwight Brown, an engineer and architect for Kansas City. The architects recommended a monolithic cement building as it would be fireproof. W. F. Edgell and Son from Leavenworth Kansas were contracted to...

"A vacant site of approximately 22 acres was purchased for the Cedar Springs Place low-rent housing development in Dallas, Texas. It cost $66,149, or about 7 cents per square foot. The structures cover 15 percent of the land area and contain an average of 27 rooms to the acre. The development consists of a series of 2-story apartment buildings and 1-story row houses with no basements. All buildings are fireproof. There are 598 rooms divided into 181 family-dwelling units, approximately 13 percent of which are arranged in 2-room, 51 percent in 3-room, 28 percent in 4-room, and 8 percent in 5-room...

Cedarhurst's old sewage treatment plant and its sewer system were constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration project during the 1930s. The plant was located at the northwest corner of Peninsula Blvd. and Hanlon Dr., and is next to Lawrence's present high school. The plant has been (if not fully) largely decommissioned; "flow was diverted from the Villages in 2011." (Nassau County) The "buff-color" brick plant building and its adjacent treatment tanks still stand as of 2014. The PWA project, which was completed November 1935, replaced an "outdated septic tank" and the total construction cost was $445,474. The...

Municipal reports from 1933-1942 detail PWA and WPA work on several local cemeteries. In 1933, the PWA spent nearly $5,000 on the following: Fencing Blossom Hill Cemetery. Crematory Blossom Hill Cemetery. Drainage Blossom Hill Cemetery. Grading Blossom Hill Cemetery, Maple Grove Cemetery, Pine Grove Cemetery. Water systems Maple Grove and Woodlawn Cemeteries. The report states, "This work required a vast amount of time, as the federal government is very exact in detail and text." A 1939 report stated further that: "With the assistance of the WPA, the pond at Blossom Hill Cemetery was restored after many years of disuse. To further beautify this area, azaleas and rhododendrons were...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Centennial Building in Port St. Joe FL. Past Use: Auditorium/Gymnasium. Present Use: Civic Center. The 1996 National Register documentation notes that the Centennial Building has been the site of centennial celebration of the signing of Florida's first constitution, which ran from December 7th to December 10th, 1938. The building was dedicated on December 7, 1938. It was also used for other political events and civic functions. Also fund raising events, such as the Fireman's Ball and the March of Dimes President's Ball, have been held in the building. It has sometimes been used for community Fourth of July and...

Originally constructed as a training school, what is now the Center for Hospitality Management at East Stroudsburg University was one of four buildings constructed as a New Deal project. Work was sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA).

Originally constructed as Thomaston's high school, what is now the Center School was constructed between 1938 and 1939 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. contributed a $129,375 grant for the project, whose total cost was $286,068. P.W.A. Docket No. CT 1019

The PWA carried out construction work for Center-Line Road in St. Croix between 1933 and 1934.

A 1200-seat auditorium in the Public Works Administration (PWA) Moderne style built primarily as an addition to the facilities of Central Junior High School, but also served the Nampa community for many years as a venue for concerts, sporting events, and other large public gatherings. According to the Idaho Statesman, "The structure was built as a PWA project at a cost of $88,725.88. It is at the corner of Fourteenth avenue and Sixth street south. All intermural sports for the entire system will be played in the new building. Opera seats arranged on three sides of the hard maple center floor...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant for the construction of a bridge to carry Central Avenue over the train tracks in Clark, New Jersey ("Picton"). The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. The PWA provided a grant of $26,230 for the project, whose total cost was $118,963. PWA Docket No. NJ 4162

The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds for the grade separation of Central Avenue and the Central Railroad of New Jersey, in Westfield. New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners: "A "Works Program-State Highway Department" project on which the Board initiated proceedings and on October 2nd, 1935, issued an order to eliminate the grade crossing. Construction started April 13, 1936, and the project was opened to traffic October 9, 1937. Funds from the Bureau of Public Roads were allotted to meet the entire cost of construction. Costs of property acquired and of property damage are shared equally by the State and Railroad Company."

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the central electric substation for the City of Alameda, which has its own municipal electric power system.  It cost over $200,000, a considerable sum at the time.  It also served as the central fire alarm switching center for the city. It is a steel-reinforced concrete building in Moderne style, rather narrow and high.  It has two large plaques on the front, one honoring the city's board of public works and one the PWA (which was originally called the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works).   Short & Stanley-Brown (1939) provide more detail about what the building...

Central Elementary School in Union City, Tennessee was undertaken by the Public Works Administration (PWA) during the Great Depression. The PWA Moderne building, with a distinctive blend of classicism and Art Deco style, was designed to stand out from the more conservative architecture of Union City. Local reformers celebrated its "fireproof construction, circulation flow, ample light and air, structural insulation, sound proofing, sanitary floors, attractive furniture, drinking fountains, modern plumbing, and its auditorium," (Van West, pg. 114). The total federal cost for school construction reached $105,000, while student workers trained in wood- and metalworking by the National Youth Administration (NYA) furnished...

The Central Fire Station in Ada, Oklahoma, was constructed by the Public Works Administration (PWA), under the supervision of architect Robert F. Ferguson, consulting engineer George Taylor, and contractor Arney Harbert. It is a two-story stone block building with four overhead door vehicle bays. A tall hose tower is located on the building's south side.

"This building is part of a project which also included the addition of two new wings of approximately 16,500 square feet to the existing city hall, its renovation, the wrecking of an old fire station, and the construction of concrete walks and drives. The fire station occupies one fourth of a city block and is provided with wide entrances on two streets. It is two stories in height and contains space on the ground floor for fire trucks and equipment, a recreation room, and offices for the fire chief, fire marshal, and the radio broadcasting unit. The second...

Greenwich's Central Fire Station was constructed in 1937-9 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $119,250 grant for the project, whose total cost was $326,788. PWA Docket No. CT 1274. CTHistory: "In February 1936 the Board of Selectmen recommended “the appointment of a paid fire chief who shall have charge of all fire departments within the town, the appointment of a 15-man force to be on duty at all times in the Central Fire Station, installation of an automatic fire alarm system to be housed in the Central Fire Station.” In addition $45,000 (over $700,000 today) was approved...

Hilo, Hawaii's Central Fire Station was constructed during the late 1930s with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA contributed nearly half the project cost by way of a grant of $35,100; the final cost of the project was $71,919. Construction on the station began in November 1938 and was completed September 1939.

The Central Fire Station at 104 Beretania Street, in Honolulu, Hawaii. This firehouse was built with the assistance of funds from the New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA), 1934-1935. P.W.A. Docket No. T. H. 2633-7

Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the historic former Central Fire Station in Saco, Maine was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. contributed a $27,000 grant toward the project, whose total cost was $60,928. Construction occurred between Aug. 1938 and Mar. 1939. PWA Docket No. ME W1022. "he Central Fire Station has been a significant landmark in the Saco community from the very beginning. The brick firehouse, designed to reflect an ongoing heritage from an earlier tradition of civic service and public safety, well served its role from its construction until January 2011, when a...

This two story brick high school building was constructed with funding from the PWA in 1936. It was designed by architects Knecht, McCarty, and Thebaud, Inc. of Grand Rapids, and Ralph L. Bauer, Architect of Traverse City. It now houses Central Grade School.

"During the depression years (1938-39) the Central Grade School in Anchorage was built in Art Deco design, as a PWA (Public Works Administration) project of the Roosevelt Administration." (ed.gov) The building was located on Fifth Avenue between F St. and G St. It is no longer extant. PWA Docket No. AK W1023.

The present Central High School building in Philadelphia was constructed as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $1,084,950 grant for the project, which was undertaken in 1937-1938. PWA Docket No. PA 1549. C.W. Short and R. Stanley-Brown: The first Central High School in Philadelphia was built in 1838 and was the oldest high school in the United States outside of New England. It was replaced in 1844 and in 1900. This project replaces that erected in 1900. The building provides an extensive administration suite including a doctor's office, an infirmary, 28 classrooms, a lunch room for 1,000, a faculty...

The addition of an auditorium and gymnasium, since demolished, was completed for the 1924 Central High School building, along with improvements to the athletic field and athletic building. Architects N. W. Overstreet and A. H. Town designed the additions in 1936. Public Works Administration project 1148 was approved 7/21/1936 for $34,363 grant. Construction began 12/21/1936 and was completed 11/18/1937 for a total cost of $78,366.

"This little building provides elementary school facilities for the township of Manor, which is an agricultural district lying along the Susquehanna River. It is one story in height with a partial basement and provides four classrooms. The project included the construction of an approach drive and the landscaping of the site. The building is nonfireproof. The exterior walls are red brick, the trim, porches, shutters, cupola, and gable sheathing are wood, and the roof is slate. The floors of all rooms are maple and those of the corridors are asphalt tile. The project was...

Syracuse's Central New York Regional Market was built during the Great Depression. Its construction was enabled by funds provided by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA supplied a $450,000 loan and $486,728 grant for the project, whose final cost was $1,124,783. Construction started in December 1935; the market opened in 1938. PWA Docket No. NY 5438.

The Central School in DeRuyter, NY was originally known as the Central Grade and High School. This PWA project (Docket No. NY 6983) was completed during the 1930s. The building has since been expanded. The school was designed by Carl W. Clark of Cortland, NY and constructed by Kirkpatrick & Chappell of Binghampton.

The Downsville Central School in Downsville, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $108,245 grant for the project, whose total cost was $232,607. Construction occurred between Nov. 1938 and Nov. 1939. PWA Docket No. NY 1634

Romulus Central School was constructed as a New Deal project during the Great Depression. Funding was financed in part by the federal Public Works Administration, which contributed a $129,681 grant toward the project's $289,095 final cost. Construction occurred between 1938 and 1939. The facility has since been greatly enlarged. PWA Docket No. NY 1500

The Central School in Salem, New York was constructed during the 1930s with the benefit of federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. 1505-DS). The original building is now part of an expanded educational facility.