Public Works Funding Sites

The Public Works Administration funded improvement work at the Alcatraz Prison on Alcatraz Island. The cost of the project was $1,100,000. The funds for the modernization were earmarked through a PWA program in 1938. The modernization plans were temporarily suspended after the Attorney General suggested the prison be moved away from San Francisco’s “doorstep.” The work restarted in 1940, when Attorney General Jackson took office, inspected the site, and approved the modernization project. James V. Bennett, the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, declared in 1940 for the Fresno Bee that he expected the construction to finish by July of 1940. He also...

PWA approved project X1373 for a college dormitory for the HBCU Alcorn State University 9/16/1938. Construction began 12/18/1938 and was completed 8/19/1939. The Colonial Revival brick building is extant and remains in use. Architects Carl L. Olschner and Edgar Lucian Malvaney designed the dormitory and Flint-Jordan Construction Company erected the hall. The cost was $63,636.

"The Alcova Dam is designed for storage and diversion of the river flow into an irrigation canal which irrigates the land around Caspar, Wyoming. The dam is earth fill with a rock surface on the reservoir side. Its height above the foundation is 265 feet, its base thickness 1,250 feet, its crest thickness 40 feet, and the crest length 763 feet. The reservoir formed by the dam has an area of 2,200 acres. The gate structure contains three gates, each 26 by 40 feetm and electrically operated, The project was completed in July 1938 at a construction cost of $2,754,698...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed approximately $5,400 toward the construction of the Aleknagik Schoolhouse Inn in 1938. Built as a territorial school in 1933, the facility initially consisted of a log cabin. In 1938, the PWA built a two-story structure. The facility included a teacher's apartment, which is still in use today and serves as an inn. The structure is located on the south shore of Lake Aleknagik, near the Wood-Tikchik State Park.  A contemporary description of the structure states that "this historic two-story territorial schoolhouse overlooks the south shore of Lake Aleknagik and the Wood River. The Inn has three guest...

Alford St. in Boston, Mass. underwent reconstruction as part of a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project.

On October 14, 1938, the Daily Pacific Builder reported that a PWA contract of $63,840 had been awarded for the construction of a boys' gym at Alhambra City High School. The plans had been prepared by architect John Walker Smart, and Steed Bros. won the construction contract.

"Alice E. Carlson Elementary was named in honor of the first woman who served on the school board. It originally opened as a 4-room school in 1926. The 1-story polychrome brown brick building was designed by Wiley G. Clarkson and constructed by A. J. Howard in a Mission Revival-influenced style. The rapid growth of the surrounding TCU neighborhood called for the enlargement of the school in 1935 under the PWA program. This addition, designed by Joseph R. Pelich and erected by Harry B. Friedman, tripled the size of the school and included an auditorium wing. The front entrance was altered slightly...

The Allamakee Courthouse has helped its communities by educating, protecting and preserving the county. The courthouse serves as a spot with many departments that improve the life of those who live in the county. There are many services the courthouse offers, this include ASAP, a department that helps educate people about drug and alcohol abuse. Assessor’s office which helps estimate the value of one’s property. Along with the most well-known treasures office which is where one’s property tax and vehicle registration occurs. The courthouse has become an important site for all of Allamakee county residents. The courthouse is important because...

The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied funds to enable additions to what was then the Allegheny County Home and Hospital, later Woodville State Hospital.

"The construction of this hospital plant was begun in 1929 but work was discontinued in 1931 due to financial difficulties. It was resumed in 1935 with the aid of the P.W.A. and when completed covered most of a site of 4 1/2 acres and included a 20-story hospital building, a 9-story nurses' home, and a power-house supplying the entire institution. The hospital building contains 1,200 rooms of which 162 are for private patients, and it increases the total bed capacity of the institution by more than 50 percent. In the plan, all of the departments which are related in service permit...

Pittsburgh's then-new Allegheny River Road (as extended through Oakmont and Verona) was one road paved as part of New Deal efforts: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $212,472 grant for one Allegheny County highway improvement project undertaken in 1937, whose total cost was $466,667. PWA Docket No. PA 1366 STEEL: "Unstated tonnage, construction of county road, Oakmont-Verona boroughs, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania; estimated cost, $472,160. Federal allotment of $212,472 granted." Pittsburgh Press: "Among the six miles of roads to be paved by PWA are the Allegheny River Blvd. extension, Ingomar Road, Buttermilk Hollow Rd., General Logan Blvd. to South Park, and part of the Ohio River Boulevard through...

This building was originally the Alma School. The school was built in 1925. The PWA funded building additions in 1936. The building now serves as the town hall, library and police department.

The bridge over Alsea Bay (mouth of the Alsea River) in Oregon was constructed with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934-36.  It was one of five PWA-funded bridges over Alsea Bay, Coos Bay, Siuslaw River, Umpqua River, and  Yaquina River that completed the Oregon Coast Highway. All but the Alsea River bridge still stand. The coast highway was developed after 1914 by the state and county highway departments, but money ran out in the Great Depression before the job could be finished.  With the advent of the New Deal, the PWA offered $1.4 million and a loan of...

Alta Loma Elementary School, which opened in 1915, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

Amagansett, New York's then-new school building was constructed in 1936 with the aid of a $76,000 PWA grant. The building opened Jan. 1937 and it is still in use today.

Ordway Hall at Amarillo College was constructed as a New Deal project. Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), it was the Public Works Administration (PWA) that provided a $73,116 grant for the project, whose total cost was $162,547. Construction occurred between 1936 and 1937. P.W.A. Docket No. Tex. 1499 "Architect Guy Carlander designed this administration building for Amarillo College. It was built in 1936-37 and later named for George Ordway, who with James Guleke obtained legislative authority to establish the school; Ordway later became the first president. The L-plan building consists of an auditorium and a two-story classroom and office wing with 19...

The Russell Gymnasium at Amarillo College in Amarillo, Texas was undertaken with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA) during the Great Depression. Text From the state historical marker reads: "The administration building and the gymnasium were the first two permanent structures built for Amarillo College. Originally known as Badger Gymnasium for the school's athletic teams, this facility was renamed to honor Dr. Natalie Russell, who fostered women's physical education at the college. Architect Guy Carlander designed the building, erected in 1937-39 with Public Works Administration funding. The steel and brick gymnasium includes a two-story central space surrounded...

The Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (Public Works Administration) funded the construction of the Ames High school. Today, the building serves as the Ames City Hall.

Amherst Central High School was constructed by the PWA in the early 1930s.

This was one of five monumental senior high schools built in Fort Worth with the aid of New Deal programs. It was designed by Fort Worth architect Wyatt C. Hedrick in an eclectic Spanish Baroque style and features yellow brick and a clay tile roof. Funding for the building came through the Public Works Administration (PWA). The grounds of the school were landscaped by Hare & Hare of Kansas City, Missouri, with the work implemented by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The heavily-treed campus includes a band shelter with stage that was built by the WPA.  The school has been...

Anacostia Drive, which runs through Anacostia Park and alongside the Anacostia River, was almost certainly worked on during the New Deal – more than once – though the evidence is not conclusive.  According to a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project card on file in the National Archives, the WPA office approved a project to grade Anacostia Road (now Drive) in 1935. This work has not been confirmed, but since the WPA did almost $1 million worth of road work in the district in 1935-36, including roads like Good Hope SE, and also did extensive work on Anacostia Park during that time, it...

In fiscal year 1934, the DC Government reported that the Public Works Administration (PWA) had allotted $1,759,500 for five sewer projects in the District: northeast boundary sewer, Piney Branch relief sewer, outfall sewer, upper Potomac interceptor, and upper Anacostia main interceptor and pumping station. The initial PWA allotment for the Anacostia Interceptor and pumping station was $231,000. This was significantly reduced, however, after Maryland decided to limit its pollution into the Anacostia River by building treatment plants in the general area of the proposed Anacostia Interceptor. In March 1934, the Peter D’Amato Construction Company was awarded a contract for $47,504 to install...

The present day Anacostia Pool & Recreation Center was constructed at the very end of the New Deal, as it overlapped with the country's entry into World War II.   On May 15, 1942, the Evening Star newspaper reported that “A $69,000 recreation center for servicemen to be erected in Anacostia and operated by the United Service Organization has been approved by President Roosevelt… the new center will include a large social hall, refreshment stand, reading, writing, and game rooms and other facilities. The hall will be used for dances, movies and sports.” The Federal Works Agency (FWA) was to plan...

In 1936, the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided $69,036 for the construction of a swimming pool in Anacostia Park (about $1.3 million in 2020 dollars). The pool was built by the BZ Contracting Company of New York and completed in early 1937. It was reported that, “The new pool will accommodate about 500 swimmers” (Evening Star, January 24, 1937). In 1949, Anacostia Pool was the scene of fighting when black youths attempted to use the facility, which was formally not segregated but, in practice, used exclusively by whites. A pro-segregation group was irritated when white members of the “Young Progressives” handed...

In 1942, the Washington Post reported the approval of funds for the Federal Works Agency (FWA) to construct a major water main from 18th Street and Minnesota Avenue to Firth Sterling Avenue and Stevens Road, to serve the Fairlawn, Anacostia and Barry Farm neighborhoods of the district's southeast quadrant. This project was part of a much larger program of water, sewer and road projects in the District in the early 1940s.

Federal Works Agency (FWA) built the City of Anamosa, Iowa Post Office. The Cornerstone of the building lists John Carmody, the Administrator of the Federal Works Project.

Andes Central School in Andes, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $90,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $209,677. Construction occurred between Nov. 1936 and Oct. 1937. PWA Docket No. NY 8577-D

The Andrew Jackson Courts public housing complex was undertaken in Nashville, Tennessee  following the passage of the Housing Act of 1937 and establishment of the United States Housing Authority (USHA). The USHA worked in conjunction with the Public Works Administration (PWA) in providing funds for local housing development projects, two of which were the segregated communities of Cheatham Place and Andrew Jackson Courts. The rowhouse appearance, clustered two-story houses were constructed for African American residents. The 398 unit buildings cost $1,890,000. They remain in use today.

Andrew Jackson Elementary School was rebuilt by the Public Works Administration in 1935. It was one of 27 schools in the Pasadena Unified School District to be either rebuilt, demolished, or reinforced by the PWA or the Works Progress Administration (WPA) following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  

The presently multi-campus Campus Magnet High School(s) was constructed as Andrew Jackson High School during the 1930s. The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) provided more than $1,000,000 in financial assistance to enable the project to move forward. The PWA Docket number was NY 8024-R. The exterior of the school consisted of brick and limestone. "Most of the doors and windows are wood, and the Main Entrance doors are bronze," a PWA report said. "The building has three stories and a basement. The plan is a combination H and E in shape. Its frame is built of steel with reinforced concrete arches....

In 1938, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners applied to the Public Works Administration (PWA) for funding to expand the Angela Boulevard Bridge, a critical link for motorists traveling to the Notre Dame stadium for football games. After receiving $45,000 and starting construction, however, faulty work in the original bridge necessitated a new structure, contractor, and additional funding. In 1939, the commissioners appealed again to the PWA and were awarded $76,500, with the county paying the rest of the $152,000 total cost. Remnants of the first bridge were destroyed with explosives that shook the entire neighborhood, but that was...

Angeles Mesa Elementary School, which opened in 1917, was renovated with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

The former (since demolished) historic Angier School building Newton, MA received an addition using federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds in 1936.

"Cooperating with the PWA which provided 45 percent of the cost ... construction work was started on additions to the Ann J. Kellogg school ...," in Battle Creek, Michigan.

The Annadale station of the Staten Island Railway was redeveloped during the late 1930s, as one link in a large grade crossing removal project sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA). Work included construction of a new station house on Annadale Road, which is still in use.

The bridge carrying Annadale Road over the newly sunken Staten Island Railway was built in 1938, as one link in a large grade crossing removal project sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA).

Originally built as Ansonia High School, what is now the Ansonia Middle School was constructed in 1937 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building has since been modified. "The plan of this building is a departure from the customary school plan. The auditorium is separated from the classroom wing by an open porch, above which are classrooms. The building contains 24 classrooms, administrative offices, a small clinic, a gymnasium, and an auditorium seating 752 students and having a well-equipped stage. The shape of the structure allows extensive playing fields on the property.   The construction consists of...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Anthony Bowen Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 86 living units was built for African American national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly segregated at the time). It is unknown to the Living New Deal if any of the structures still exist, but it is not likely since these homes were classified as “demountable,” i.e., intended to be taken down and salvaged sometime after the war. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It...

The Battle of Antietam took place on September 17, 1862, and is known as the bloodiest day of the Civil War.  General George B. McClellan and his Union forces faced off against General Robert E. Lee and his Confederate Army at Sharpsburg, Maryland.  When the fighting was done, well over 3,500 men were dead, and another 19,000 wounded. Throughout the New Deal period, Antietam National Battlefield received a large amount of attention, funding, and work from the CWA, PWA, and WPA.  The CWA placed a historical survey group there, circa 1933-34; the PWA funded restoration of large buildings and monuments, such...

Appalachian State University, then known as Appalachian State Teachers College (A.S.T.C), was substantially improved and developed as part of infrastructure and building construction projects on the institution's campus. Numerous New Deal organizations, including the Civil Works Administration (CWA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Public Works Administration (PWA), provided labor or funding for the numerous projects undertaken at A.S.T.C. during the Great Depression. At A.S.T.C the CWA: conducted landscaping work; provided office help and laborers; repaired buildings; and installed a chlorinator (presumably for a pool). The FERA: constructed a gymnasium and a library; repaired a basement at...