Public Works Funding Sites

Cambria Union Grammar School was funded by the Public Works Administration and built between 1936 and 1937. The structure presently houses a public art gallery space, but is owned by the local district. There are no plaques regarding this construction project. The style is Mission Revival.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provide funding for the construction of Cameron Middle School in South Nashville, an historically African American school in what was then a fully segregated city.  It was one of many PWA grants for Black schools and colleges around the country, including Pearl High School and Tennessee A & I College in Nashville.  Cameron later became a high school. "Located at 1034 First Avenue South, the school was constructed with PWA funding support in 1939-40 and is important for its local significance in African-American social history. Cameron played a central community role for South Nashville’s African-American population....

The historic Cameron County Courthouse in Cameron, Louisiana was constructed with the aid of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. "Further testimony to the structures' solidity can be found in Cameron Parish, where its courthouse was one of the few buildings in town to weather Hurricane Audrey in 1957 without serious damage. In 2005 Hurricane Rita leveled almost the entire town, but the courthouse is still standing."

In 1939, the Public Works Administration funded the construction of a swimming pool in Cameron, WV.

Boca Raton, Florida's historic Camino Real Bridge was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $43,363 grant for the project, whose total cost was $94,163. Construction occurred between September 1938 and May 1939. The bridge had been scheduled for demolition and replacement, but due its historic nature it has instead been renovated and is still in use today. PWA Docket No. 1338

Canadian Middle School was built in 1939 with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA).The P.W.A. provided a $79,546 grant for the project, whose total cost was $153,323. It was designed by Voelcker and Dixon in a Spanish Gothic style and first served as the junior and senior high school from 1940 - 1976. PWA Docket No. TX 1153.

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Canal Street Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 20 living units was built for white 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 replaced...

Canoga Park 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...

The Assembly Hall at Canoga Park High School in Canoga Park, CA, was built with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA)—also known as the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. The Assembly Hall was completed in 1939 and is named in honor of Canoga High's former principal, G. Walter Monroe.  The design is a combination of Mission and Renaissance Revival, common in architecture of the interwar period in Southern California.

Canoga Park High School, which opened in 1914, 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...

Built as Canton's high school, what is now Canton Intermediate School was constructed as a New Deal project with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. supplied a $26,860 grant for the project, whose total cost was $98,402. Construction occurred between Sept. 1934 and Apr. 1935. P.W.A. Docket No. CT 4422

The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway traversing the narrow neck of land that joins Cape Cod to mainland Massachusetts. First constructed in the early 20th century, the canal was widened during the New Deal.  That work was part of a much larger project that included three new bridges across the canal (Short & Stanley-Brown 1939) The project was overseen by the US Army Corps of Engineers and funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA), circa 1933-35.  The Works Progress Administration (WPA) came in later to do work on the banks, the nature of which is not specified in the...

The Carbon County Courthouse is located in downtown Rawlins, Wyoming.  The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided $130,500 for the financing in 1938 and the building was completed in 1940.  The building is still in use today as the county courthouse.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Carver High School in Carbon Hill. The workers built several structures, such as the main school buildings, the Home Economics Building, and the vocational agriculture for the boys. The new facilities allowed the school to enroll hundreds of additional students. The school burned down in 2002.

In early 1935, PWA crews conducted renovations and improvements to the Henry R. A. Carey School, which dated to 1896. The school closed in 2010, and in 2014 was renovated again as luxury condominiums and renamed the Carey School Residences.

Philadelphia's first public housing project, the Carl Mackley Houses (also known as Juniata Park Housing), was financed by the Housing Division of the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA supplied a $1,030,000 loan for the project, whose eventual total cost was $905,379. Construction occurred between February 1934 and June 1935.

The Carlsbad Intermediate School building, also known as the P.R. Leyva School Campus—originally a high school—is identified as a project that received New Deal assistance in the form of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in an article in the Carlsbad Current-Argus. The school also features a plaque inside the front main entrance.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant of $49,090 for a new high school for the town of Idaho Springs, Colorado. Total cost of the school, which was constructed in 1937,  was $109,885. The school is a 2-story brick Moderne building, with two wings and distinctive horizontal window lines on the central portion of the building.  Near the entrance are glass bricks of the kind popular in the late 1930s and 1940s. The cornerstone gives no information on who built the school, just the name and date.  A cornerstone from a previous high school is laid against the wall below the...

The New Deal helped build Carmel High School in 1940. In 1939, the city of Carmel purchased the lot and secured a bond issue for $165,000 for the school.  Groundbreaking came in early 1940 and school opened in September.   The city put in applications for funding to both the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Projects Administration (WPA), so it is not entirely clear from the newspaper sources whether the project was done with the aid of both agencies or just the WPA. The five-building school complex was designed by Ernest Kump, Jr. of Fresno, who created a long, single-story modern...

This elementary school was constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1939. The school is still in use, although recent renovations have altered the school's original appearance. The dedication plaque at the entrance is still visible.

Public Works Administration project 1251 was for Itawamba County school construction. The project for the Carolina Consolidated School near Fulton was approved January 1, 1934 in the amount of a $4,370 loan and a $1,860 grant. Construction began June 20, 1934 and was completed September 12, 1934 for a total cost of $8,003. The former Carolina community school was destroyed in 1932. The building remains in use as the Carolina Community Center and regular activities are held in the building.

Completed in 1939, the Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary School (formerly known as J.J. Finley Elementary School) is the oldest operating elementary school in Alachua County. It was named for Jesse Johnson Finley (1812-1904 ), a brigadier general in the Army of the Confederacy, and later a US congressman from Florida. The school was designed by the architectural firm of Sanford W. Goin and Forrest M. Kelley. It is constructed of brick, and mixes Georgian and art deco styles. The school auditorium, part of the original construction, has seating for 300 people, a full theatrical stage, and a projection room. On August...

Carquinez Middle School was constructed as a New Deal project with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds.

Frank F. Carr School in Newton, MA was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds in 1934-5.

The Georgian Revival style elementary school completed September 9, 1939 was described that year as a "school of tomorrow" by the Democrat-Times. The interior was primarily Art Deco and Streamlined Moderne (MDAH) to reflect modern ideas of teaching. Funded by the city and PWA funds, estimated cost was $151,000.

James Madison University's Carrier Library was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $63,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $140,010. Construction occurred between Oct. 1938 and Sept. 1939. JMU.edu: The library building that is now known as Carrier opened in 1939. Originally named Madison Memorial Library, it was the first standalone library building on campus. The library was only two floors at the time. The first floor for non-academic books and magazines, the second for the main circulation desk and main book collection. PWA Docket No. VA 1255

Cleveland's Carter Road Lift Bridge, which spans the Cuyahoga River, was constructed in 1940 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building is still in service.

The Colonial Revival elementary school was designed by James Manly Spain as Proj. No. Miss. 1233-DS, funded by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. Construction began 12/30/1937 and was completed 9/23/1938. The Public Works provided a grant of $42,924 toward the total estimated cost of $95,454 . The "I" shaped brick featured a 1-story front and a 2-story rear portion, which contains the auditorium. Tuscan columns support the recessed front entrance, which features an arched fanlight above the wood double-leaf wood doors. It was converted to a community center in 2012 and is part of the Carthage Historic District.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Carver High School for African American students in Gadsden.

Originally constructed as Cary High School in 1938-39 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building, which replaced a 1913 school, was built at a cost of $132,000. The building now houses the Cary Arts Center.

"The building is three stories and a basement in height and houses all the county official on the first floor. The second and third floors are occupied by the courtroom, offices for the court officers, and the jail. The structure is fireproof throughout, with exterior walls of brick trimmed with stone. It was completed in June 1935 at a construction cost of $141,274 and a project cost of $152,872."

On August 19, 1933 a fire of unknown origin swept through the two-story Cass County Courthouse in Linden. A call went out to all available citizens to help fight the growing blaze. As Linden had no water system or fire truck, those who responded were asked to hand pump water from local wells and line up in bucket brigades. A call went out for assistance to Texarkana, Jefferson and Atlanta, cities with tanker trucks and more sophisticated firefighting expertise. By the time help arrived and the fire was put out, most of the second floor was gutted. During 1934, thanks to...

A New Deal federal aid project, what is now the westbound span of the Mississippi River Bridge in la Crosse, Wisconsin was constructed in 1939-1940. A plaque on the bridge reads: State Highway Commission of Wisconsin Bridge No 300 1939 Federal-Aid Project 397-G Built in cooperation with U.S. Bureau of Public Roads

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded roughly half the cost of the construction of a new courthouse for Cassia County, in Burley, Idaho. A grant of $53,000 was offered to the county in 1938 and constrution began that year. The building, which included a jail, was completed in 1939 – as proudly carved above the entrance. The County Courthouse is a substantial two and a half story brick building with a central tower, slightly recessed, jutting up another story. The design is Moderne (Art Deco) with four low-relief pillars on each side and up the central portion, each...

There is a three page history of the pool in the Castine Historical Society newsletter by Lynn Parsons (winter 2011) detailing the role of the New Deal in bringing about this fine example of public recreation. According to a Selectman's report from March 2, 1934, the town voted $1,000 for a CWA project on land donated by Warren Hooper and William Bevan. It opened July 4, 1935 under the supervision of the Public Grounds Department, receiving considerable public support and was very popular with children. In 1937 the Public Grounds Dept. suggested the construction of a bath house. $1,967.55 was...

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.