The Annual Report of the Board of the Los Angeles Park Commissioners stated in their 1932-1933 report that the Arroyo Seco Parkway was at the time the third largest park in Los Angeles with 276.1 acres. “A new roadway was… read more
The old B.S. Pollak Hospital, part of the old Jersey City Medical Center, was constructed with federal funds during the Great Depression. The building is now privately owned. “The Pollak Hospital facility was formerly the site of a three-story building… read more
The US 82 bridge between Greenville, Mississippi and Lake Village, Arkansas was constructed to increase access between the two states to benefit economic development in the Delta. It was dismantled and replaced in 2011 due to increased river traffic, which… read more
From 1938 to 1939 federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers constructed a freight shed at the north end of the Bronx Terminal Market. Much of the funding for the project came from a $250,000 allocation from the New Deal Reconstruction Finance Corporation… read more
The Triborough Bridge is one of three major bridges, along with the Henry Hudson and the Bronx-Whitestone, built during the New Deal era to link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, and tie together the expanding highway system… read more
The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, officially known as the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, runs under the East River to connect lower Manhattan to Brooklyn. The tunnel was begun in 1940 with PWA and Reconstruction Finance Corporation Funds, though it was not completed… read more
Under the New Deal, the defunct Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal was acquired by the federal government and restored from Georgetown in the District of Columbia (where it enters the Potomac River) to Seneca MD, a distance of 22 miles…. read more
The Coachella Canal is a 122-mile (196 km) aqueduct that conveys Colorado River water for irrigation to the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California. It is effectively a branch of the All-American Canal, which was completed in the 1930s. … read more
The Sunrise Circle amphitheater was built between September 1933 and March 1934. It was constructed in a “natural amphitheatre” at the top of Flagstaff Mountain, which had been cleared of debris during the spring of 1933 as part of the… read more
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden had its origins in 1912 when the park board purchased a tract of land southwest of Trinity Park and named it Rock Springs Park. In his 1909 park master plan for Fort Worth, landscape architect… read more
Starting in 1933, the R.F.C, CCC, and W.P.A. initiated efforts at constructing a sprinkler system that would cover the hillsides in the park and turn on in case of wild fires. In part, the project was as a result of… read more
The CWA or the RFC (which early on in the New Deal directly hired temporary day labor) constructed a 12 court tennis complex in Griffith Park. Rubble wall construction typifies work done by the ND throughout the park.
The Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners describes federal involvement in the development of Hazard Park: “Work in this park consisted mainly in improving what is known as the west addition, or that portion… read more
The Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners describes federal involvement in the development of Hollenbeck Park: “With Reconstruction Finance corporation and County Welfare labor it was possible to improve this park by resurfacing 4,050… read more
The Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners describes federal involvement in the development of Holmby Park: “Reconstruction Finance Corporation and County Welfare workmen helped install 6100 feet of curbing along the walks as well… read more
Hoover Dam, originally called “Boulder Dam”, is the anchor of the entire Colorado River water storage and management system. It lies in Black Canyon (not Boulder Canyon) at the southern tip of Nevada, on the Arizona border, and creates the… read more
This bridge across the Mississippi River was started under President Hoover’s Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1931, and completed in 1935 with PWA funds. “Opened in December 1935 to replace the Walnut Street Ferry, the bridge was named for the extremely… read more
The New Deal provided much help in this small coastal community of 1,606 (1930 population). Between 1933 and 1939, the RFC, the WPA and the NYA undertook improvements in the town, including sewer maintenance, road work, surveying sidewalks and other… read more
Electrification of the Keystone [rail] Corridor “west of Paoli to Harrisburg came in the 1930s, after the PRR completed electrifying its New York-Washington, D.C. section (the present-day Northeast Corridor).” The total cost … was financed by government-supported loans from the… read more
Improvements to Lincoln Park (Los Angeles, CA) were carried out by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in 1932-33. According to the 1932-33 Annual Report of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners, “Two hundred lineal feet of walks were built,… read more
In addition to improvements water system, library and park improvements, town reports from 1933-1942 document the following New Deal support for town activities: 1933 RFC loan for the Welfare dept. $15,000 1934 The town budget notes $10,000 estimated for FERA… read more
Annual municipal reports show that the town of Fitzwilliam received assistance from multiple New Deal programs in the 1930s, including the RFC, the CWA (which constructed fire holes and water tanks and improved the library), and the WPA.
A municipal report from 1934 describes early New Deal work in Houlton: R.F.C. work included a High School lot project: “Mr. Brown approved the High School lot project for Houlton, and an allowance of $3,000 per month to carry on… read more
Annual reports show that the town of Hudson was helped extensively by New Deal programs. In addition to work by the RFC and FERA (which included distributing food and medicine to school children), the CWA repaired and improved schools and… read more
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the Public Works Administration funded the construction of municipal waterworks in Moncks Corner SC. Before the waterworks construction, the townspeople of Moncks Corner relied on individual electric pumps and wells for their water supply.
The rustic log cabin was the first library built in Philadelphia, Mississippi, although the library had been established several years earlier in space in two other buildings. It was a community effort spearheaded by the Twentieth Century Club. The WPA… read more
In 1933, North Carolina State College developed plans for new concrete stands to seat about 16,000 spectators at the existing Riddick Stadium on campus. That same year funding from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation allowed construction of several sections of concrete… read more
What is now the northbound span of the North Grand Island Bridge (as well as the southbound span of the South Grand Island Bridge) was constructed as a New Deal project in 1933-5, funded by a Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) loan…. read more
The [then-]North Texas State College‘s Orchestra Hall was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building (also known as Music Hall), which was located at Chestnut St. and Ave. C, has since been demolished and replaced. The P.W.A…. read more
“America’s First Superhighway” is a toll highway running through much of Pennsylvania, and it was created with the assistance of the WPA, the PWA and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. “When it opened in 1940, the Pennsylvania Turnpike made history as… read more
“Point Fermin Park is located in the San Pedro district, on the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. With the addition of the Wilder tract to this Park, we were able to use a great many R.F.C. [Reconstruction Finance Corporation] and… read more
Work on Stayman Field began in December 1932 (before the New Deal) with funding from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). The initial construction was completed in November 1933. The stadium was named after Joseph W. Stayman, the president of Potomac… read more
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation provided 22 loans to drainage districts in Mississippi in 1934, totaling $2,726,150. The Red Banks district received $26,000. From the Coldwater River, Byhalia Creek, Red Banks Creek, and a canal 11 miles long ran through the… read more
The Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners describes the role of federal funding in developing Reseda Park, which still serves the community today: “Reseda Park is one of the city parks located in San… read more
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, one of the most famous bridges in the world and the key transportation link in the Bay Area, was built under the New Deal with funding from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). The 8-mile long… read more
Saratoga Springs has been famous for its mineral waters, for bathing and drinking, for four centuries, and was known to native people long before that. The town has a rich history of tourism, horse-racing and gambling, and its many springs… read more
What is now the southbound span of the South Grand Island Bridge (as well as the northbound span of the North Grand Island Bridge) was constructed as a New Deal project in 1933-5, funded by a Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) loan…. read more
An Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners described early New Deal work in the park: “This is one of the most important parks in Los Angeles to picnickers. Practically all State Societies and other… read more
Multiple New Deal agencies, including the Public Works Administration (P.W.A.), Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), were involved in dramatically developing and transforming what was then the North Texas State Teacher’s College (now University of North Texas – Denton TX) in Denton…. read more
The Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners records extensive federal aid in developing the park: “Victory Vanowen Park is one of the largest parks in the San Fernando Valley, with an area of a… read more