Public Works Administration (PWA) Sites

Western Michigan University's Walwood Hall was constructed during the Great Depression with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant money (PWA Docket No. 1590). The PWA supplied a grant of $128,160; work occurred between 1938 and 1939. "Western still had no dormitories, so it was decided to build a combination Union building and girls' dormitory, which was finished by the fall of 1938 and named Walwood Hall. A men's dormitory, Vandercook Hall, was also built plus a student health and personnel building. Both of these were partly built with Federal money as P.W.A. projects." (Yearbook)

The PWA built the Physical Education building at what was then the Western Washington College of Education (docket #W1049-R). From the WWU Library Special Collections site: "The Physical Education Building, designed by Bebb and Gould of Seattle, was completed in 1936 by the Henrickson-Alstrom Construction Company. It included a 90 x 100 feet gym, a pool, offices, classrooms and shower rooms." The building is now known as "Gym D." The complex is undergoing extensive renovations, but the original building is slated to be preserved.

In 1938, the New Deal’s Public Works Administration (PWA) awarded a grant for the construction of additions to Bruce High School (present-day Westernport Elementary School) in Westernport, Maryland. George F. Hazelwood of Cumberland, Maryland won the contract to build the additions with a bid of $79,940. We don’t know the exact amount of PWA money that went towards the project, but the additions were part of a larger school improvements initiative in Allegany County, where the PWA put about $491,000 (45%) towards the total $1,092,000 required. Thus, the amount of PWA grant money that went towards the Bruce High School additions...

The no-longer extant (demolished and since redeveloped) Westfield Acres was a public housing project constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the New Deal. The first families moved in on May 1, 1938 and the project was demolished in 2001. The Federal Writers' Project wrote: "Westfield Acres, N. side of Westfield Ave. between Dudley and 32nd Sts., was financed with $3,000,000 of PWA funds. The model housing project covers 25 acres and includes 18 units with a total of 514 apartments of 3 to 5 rooms. The buildings are three-story brick structures of simple design, with many large, steel-framed windows....

The historic former police station for Weymouth, Massachusetts—now the Weymouth Teen Center—was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1936. The building housed law enforcement operations until 1996. The PWA provided a $12,735 grant for the project, whose total cost was $38,769. PWA Docket No. MA W1236

Improvements to the wharfs at the harbor in Kawaihae, Hawaii were made with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1937. The PWA provided a grant of $24,829 for the project, which provided seven and a half months to complete. The total cost of the project was $88,454. PWA Docket No. HI 1047.

WPA crews built the Wheeler Street fire hall in Tonawanda in 1938 for Niagara Hose Company #3.

"A Public Works Administration grant of $42,545 was allocated for a pool at Wheeling Park to replace the obsolete facility that dated to the early 1900s. The grant was matched locally by a gift of $52,000 from businessman W.E. Stone. When the pool opened in 1937, a couple of months before the Oglebay pool, it was hailed by the local press as “...the largest and most modern in this section” (this pool was replaced in 1968)." "When it opened, the Wheeling Park pool was the largest and most modern in the area, attracting hundreds of thousands of bathers over a thirty-year...

Municipal reports for the town of Concord document extensive New Deal improvements in White Park. In 1935, the entrance to White Park at the corner of Center and High streets was remodeled. In 1936, the PWA completed a cement bathing pool in White Park. In June of 1937, the WPA completed a new administration building for the park, "furnished and equipped so at the end of the year the City of Concord has the foundation for one of the best service bureaus in tree surgery, insect control, tree and flower preservation and propagation in this section of the country. The new...

Between 1935 and 1937, a six-mile long sewer tunnel was constructed between the Los Angeles County Sanitation District's former Joint Disposal Plant in Carson, CA, and an ocean outfall at White Point on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The project received funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). According to an October 1933 article in the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News: "Definite action toward construction of a main outfall sewer, generally known as the White Point outfall project, to drain the district south of Los Angeles, was taken yesterday when an application for $2,820,000 was filed with the state advisory board of...

Below are scenes from the PWA construction of this sewer system.

Whitney Elementary was a PWA project (docket #1084R). It was demolished in 2009 and the current Whitney elementary was built in a different location on the same parcel. The original structure was designed by Wayland and Fennell Architects, and subsequent additions by Tourtellotte & Hummel Architects.

Whittier High School—perhaps best known as Hill Valley High School in the film Back to the Future—was rebuilt with New Deal funds after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. The funding almost surely came from the Public Works Administration (PWA), which had made school reconstruction in Southern California a priority.  This needs to be confirmed. The Wikipedia entry on the school says that, "The Science Building was rebuilt in 1934; a Boys' Gym in 1935; dressing rooms and Cafeteria in 1936. The Auditorium stood idle for almost 20 years and then was renovated into the present Library. In 1938, the District approved bonds...

"This new reinforced-concrete reservoir replaces a privately owned and outmoded 1 5.000-gallon tank which had become insanitary and which was at an insufficient elevation to serve the community at a proper water pressure. The new structure is approximately 38 feet in diameter, averages 50 feet in height, and houses the reservoir in the upper 21 feet. Underneath the reservoir are booster pumps, pipe lines, and other appurtenances for the distribution of the water. It was completed during 1934 at a construction cost of $17,849 and a project cost of $17,961." The reservoir pictured here appears to be still extant and located...

'Whittier School was built as the University Elementary Demonstration School and is among Berkeley's outstanding Classic Moderne buildings. The school building was designed to incorporate the most up-to-date educational facilities for 600 students as a 'hall of health,' full of natural light and fresh air. It is a late example of 'progressive' American school architecture in the period between World War I and II.' From the City Landmark sign: "The structure is notable for its molded detailing, fluted columns, curved balconies, and rooftop sun deck. Spacious classrooms with large operable windows expressed an early 20th-century emphasis on the healthful benefits of sunlight...

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge began in 1901 when part of the Comanche-Kiowa-Apache Indian Reservation was set aside as a National Forest. The area was transferred in 1935 to the Bureau of Biological Survey to become a wildlife refuge under the New Deal.   The 59,020 acre refuge hosts a rare piece of the past - a remnant mixed grass prairie, an island where the natural grasslands escaped destruction because the rocks underfoot defeated the plow.  It  provides habitat for large native grazing animals such as American bison and Rocky Mountain elk – both of which had been exterminated in this area...

Originally called the Auditorium and Commons Building, this 553-seat auditorium was built in 1938 with Public Works Administration funding. It's named for George Wilner, the first head of Wichita State's speech and theater department. It is still in use.

Wildcat Creek bridge was built during the New Deal as part of the Big Sur highway project (former state highway 56, now state highway 1 or the Cabrillo Highway). It is one of several New Deal aided bridges and highway segments along the route.  Wildcat Creek bridge was probably begun just before the New Deal but was completed in mid-1933. The California coast highway was an ambitious project begun in the early days of automobiles and state highway building, in which California was a leader.  The first efforts to build the road took place in Southern California in the early 1910s....

Wildwood Elementary School in Piedmont CA was expanded under the New Deal, with the addition of new classroom buildings and an auditorium. Prior to that, about one-third of Piedmont students were being taught in temporary buildings (derisively called 'shacks' by the locals). There had been three previous efforts in the 1920s to replace temporary school buildings in Piedmont but the bond issues lost (Tribune 1942).   After the school board sought and gained a promise of $83,000 in funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1933, a new bond issue for $233,000 passed in December of that year.  Of the...

"Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma is a fine example of Public Works Administration (PWA) Art Deco architecture. PWA was established under U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to boost public building programs during the 1930s depression. Architects Joseph R. Koberling jr, Leon B. Senter and A.M. Atkinson collaborated to design the Will Rogers High School which was opened in 1939. The school consists of a two story brick building with two large square towers marking the entrances. There is a large amount of detailed decoration on the building facade. Under the classroom windows there are blue-grey panels with intricate decoration. Above the windows...

"At the time of the Centennial Exposition held in Fort Worth in 1936, the city officials determined to erect several permanent buildings that would maintain their civic usefulness after the closing of the exposition. Among the most important of these were the Coliseum and the Memorial Tower. The Coliseum provides an area 125 by 250 feet in which horse and stock shows can be held, as well as rodeos and athletic exhibitions. The building is 232 by 405 feet in over-all dimensions. The arena is surrounded by tiers of seats under which is a concourse 17 feet wide extending around the...

A massive long-term project undertaken with PWA funding was the construction of a waterworks and irrigation system in Willacy County, TX. The $4,853,000 PWA allotment aided nearly 75,000 combined acres in Willacy and Hidalgo counties. The work included "a pumping plant, settling basin, canals and distributing pipe line." (The Orange Leader)

Among several school projects proposed for Clackamas County in 1935, the Willamette Grade School project moved ahead to construction with approval of a grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The federal contribution was approximately $30,000. The school opened in September 1936 and served the Willamette neighborhood of West Linn until destroyed by fire in 1949. The New Deal era school consisted of eight classrooms, a cafeteria, kitchen, and playroom. The collegiate-Gothic style building was red brick building with stone trim.  Portland-area contractor W. A. Hunt directed construction of the building. The local newspaper the Oregonian reported that eighteen men were...

Battle Creek, Michigan received "a $25,000 improvement project for the Willard library building ... financed by the schools and the PWA." The P.W.A. supplied an $11,700 grant for the project, whose total cost was $25,850. Work occurred between Sept. 1938 and Jul. 1939. PWA Docket No. MI 1411

The former Willard Parker Hospital received an addition to its laboratory during the 1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The hospital was located at E 16th St. along the East River. The hospital closed during the 1950s and has since been demolished.

1 of 4 schools including Monterey Vista, John Marshall, & Emerson that were rebuilt following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake by the Garvey School District of Los Angeles and L.A.C.R.A (Los Angeles County Relief Agency). Listed at Project #1 B3 469 LACRA Labor - $13,160.00 Sponsor - $9,028.00 Project dates: Sept. 25, 1934 to Feb. 25, 1935.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of a public school in Gary in 1939. The structure was altered with an addition in the 1960s.

The Paterson Courts is a 158 unit housing complex that was one of 50 slum clearance and low income housing projects the PWA was tasked with in the 1935-36 period. Its one and two story group houses, covers 7 acres, and cost $472,000. Its named after William Burns Paterson, a Scottish immigrant that spent 45 years from 1870 in efforts at negro education. The sponsor of the project was the Montgomery Advisory Committee on Housing. It was launched to replace an "objectionable slum area" and was designed with 14 two room, 89 three room, 40 four room, and 15 5 room...

The original parts of this school were constructed in 1915 with a cut rock base, brick and cut rock accents. The north side of the school, which faces the paved playground/parking area, is the main entry to the school. In 1939, the Public Works Administration (PWA) completed additions on the south side of the building, which has a predominately brick façade.  

The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of what was then the University of Arkansas-Little Rock's medical school; construction occurred from 1933 to 1935. The building now houses the William H. Bowen School of Law.

Foote Homes public housing opened in 1940 with 900 units designated for African American families. Foote is the last remaining public housing facility in Memphis and occupies 46 acres near downtown Memphis. It was one of several public housing complexes in Memphis built with PWA funding. It is currently a 426 unit facility following a restoration/renovation in the mid-1990s. Located in a historically prominent African American neighborhood, the complex has been the target of differences between the city's public housing authority, who seeks to demolish it and disperse the residents into the community, and the residents of the complex who...

The William H. Robinson Science Building at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, was constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. A National Register of Historic Places nomination form states that the building bears a plaque stating that the building was "designed by Federal Works Agency architect John M. Carmody."

William J. Gaynor Junior High School, I.S. 49, in Brooklyn, New York, was constructed during the 1930s with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA docket number was NY 1075R. The building is still in use today.

William Jones Building, formerly Albert Lewis Turner Hall, at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, was constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. The building has since been expanded. A National Register of Historic Places nomination form states: "Completed in December, 1937, this tall T-shaped and hip-roofed one-story building with a mezzanine and a raised basement is part of the campus building campaign sponsored by the Public Works Administration. Brick elevations in English bond are punctuated by tall windows with splayed brick lintels and limestone keystones. Limestone also is used for the...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Civic Auditorium, now known as William L. White Auditorium, in Emporia KS. The structure's current usage is mostly as a basketball arena, but it also houses graduations, shows, concerts, etc.

The PWA completed this stone fire observation tower atop Mt. Penn, overlooking Reading, PA and the surrounding area, in 1939. From the Literary and Cultural Heritage Map of Pennsylvania interactive website: "When President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal created the Public Works Administration in the mid 1930s, Reading had found a way to create jobs. On September 15, 1938, the city received $15,091 in Federal grant money for the tower. This amount was combined with the city's $18,445 and in the wintry months that followed construction began. G.C. Freeman designed the tower, incorporating cosmetic and functional elements from over a half-dozen towers...

A Public Works Administration grant, along with local tax revenues, funded the construction of Sherman Elementary School at West 51st Place and South Morgan Street in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. It replaced the former Sherman School, built in 1884, that was located on the same site. The new, two-story, brick structure cost approximately $125,000 and included ten classrooms and a gymnasium. It was designed by Chicago Board of Education architect John Charles Christensen. The architectural style of the building, characterized by a low horizontal profile, wide window openings, and geometric brickwork patterns, is similar to that of many...

This handsome brick building was originally the William Travis Elementary School. It was constructed by the PWA in 1936. It is now the William Travis Student & Family Education Center.

The city hall of the small Sacramento Valley town of Williams was built in the Spanish Revival Style, presumably with a Public Works Administration grant. It includes a fire station on the side.

Williams Middle School in Sturgis, South Dakota was constructed as Sturgis High School during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $46,000 grant; the total cost of the project was $108,625. Construction occurred between March and December 1936. (PWA Docket No. SD 1005)