Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) Sites

The PRRA built rural schools across the Island through its Program of School Construction. Between 1937 and 1938, "The Federal government authorized the expenditure of $3,000,000 by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration for school buildings. Of the original grant, $1,000,000 has been spent.” The exact location and status of this facility are unknown to Living New Deal.

Between 1936-1937, the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) built the Carite hydroelectric plant no. 3, located North of Guayama.

"Located between the low hills and marshy bay shore of Guaynabo," what was known as the Cataño cement plant by government sources was constructed with federal funds administered through the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA), a New Deal agency. Completed in 1938, the large facility (renamed Puerto Rico Cement Corporation in 1940) was immediately able to produce 1.5 million bags of cement a year changed the course of infrastructure development and even the social fabric of Puerto Rico for years to come. Geoff G. Burrows, pp. 114-115: Puerto Rican civil engineers envisioned the construction of a lasting “hurricane-proof” infrastructure, and labored to...

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) work relief division efforts included "an athletic field and recreation park to mark the site where Columbus landed in 1493" in Aguadilla, ca. 1937. Known as Colón Park, the area lies just inside Municipio de Aguada, just outside Aguadilla. The images shown on this page are general scenes of Colón Park; it is unknown what connection, if any, the facilities shown on this particular page have with PRRA efforts.

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) work relief division efforts included the reconstruction of an 1893 monument commemorating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's landing, at the site where he landed in 1493. The PRRA made improvements to what is now known as Colón Park, an area that lies just inside Municipio de Aguada, just outside Aguadilla. The monument resides inside a traffic circle within the park. A plaque faces north, and says the following (in Spanish as well as English): To Commemorate the Landing of Christopher Columbus on November 19, 1493. This monument was erected on November 19, 1893 by the Board of...

Dos Bocas Dam, a hydroelectric generation facility, was constructed as part of a large rural electrification plan undertaken by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, a New Deal agency. Construction began in 1937 and was completed in 1942. The plant is located in the north central part of Puerto Rico, on on Lago Dos Bocas and the Rio Grande Arecibo. The work “consisted of a concrete dam and two generation units directly below the lake measuring a combined 12,450 horsepower of electric power, enough to generate more than 30 million kilowatt hours per year.”

The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) built El Falansterio, a new public housing development located in Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, between 1936-1937. PuertaDeTierra.info: In Puerta de Tierra a neighborhood house would be built between Matías Ledesma streets, San Juan Bautista, Fernández Juncos avenue and the train track (today the exclusive lane of the Authority Metropolitan Buses); cataloged as Tenement Group Project A, today known as El Falansterio. The inauguration of El Falansterio took place on November 7, 1937 at a cost of in 110,708 square meters and 216 apartments. The foundation work cost about $130,000, as there was a need...

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration work relief division efforts included "the remodeling of the old 'Manicomio'" in San Juan, in 1937, "to render it available for the motorized transport of the Sixty-Fifth United States Infantry." The facility now houses Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico (the School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico).

In October 1936 -- two years after the First Lady visited Puerto Rico to assess social and economic conditions -- it was announced that the New Deal’s Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) was taking bids for the construction of the Eleanor Roosevelt housing development.  We don’t know which firm won the bid, but by 1939 about 472 homes were completed and about 1,500 more were planned.  The Eleanor Roosevelt neighborhood still exists today – it is a subbarrio of Hato Rey Norte, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico had been plagued by hurricanes, poverty, sub-standard housing, and a lack of...

Garzas Dam, a hydroelectric generation facility, was constructed as part of a large rural electrification plan undertaken by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, a New Deal agency. Construction began in 1935 and it included "the reservoir, hydroelectric plant, and three minor river diversions.”

Grants from the Federal Government helped build healthcare facilities across the island. “The outstanding achievement in the field of public-health this year was the extension, after twelve years of endeavor, of health services to every municipality in the Island. Twenty-four new buildings, made possible by grants from the Federal Government, have been completed and occupied by health units in twenty-three municipalities. These buildings have not only improved conditions under which the work is done but will mean a substantial saving in rentals, which may now he used for further expansion of the service. Four District General Hospitals, with a capacity of...

The PRRA carried out slum clearance work and built hurricane-proof housing developments in Arecibo and Ponce. “The PRRA located nine parcels of land available to purchase in Ponce, and two in Ponce Playa, and began construction on 4,290 concrete houses in Ponce and Ponce Playa. Built to house over 21,000 people, the PRRA also constructed an nearby incinerating plant, concrete storm sewers, new water supply system, and temporary workingmen's residencies (for PRRA construction workers) as part of the Ponce slum clearance project.”1 The PRRA created housing programs across the Island, as described in the 1938 Annual Report of the Department of the Interior: “The development...

The PRRA built housing across the Island, as described in the 1938 Annual Report of the Department of the Interior: “The development of that part of the urban housing program of the P. R. R. A. originally aimed for the elimination of unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions, for the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings for families of low income, and for the reduction of unemployment and the stimulation of business activity, was continued during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938. Inasmuch as the funds originally allotted were not sufficient to accomplish the demolition and clearance of the existing slum areas,...

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration forestry division efforts included reforestation work on Isla de Mona during the 1930s. Dept. of the Interior report: Mona Island—lying in the Mona passage separating Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic—some 25 square miles in extent, formerly rich in tropical timber, and virtually a deserted island, with two cave-dwelling families and three lighthouse keepers as its sole inhabitants, is now being reforested.

The work relief division of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) conducted "extensive repairs to the patio" of La Fortaleza, the 16th Century governor's mansion in San Juan, capitol of the territory of Puerto Rico, ca. 1937. In 1940-1 the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) conducted extensive restoration work on La Fortaleza. Improvements included utilities upgrades, new roof, replacement of floor and ceiling beams, elevator installation, modern bathtubs & showers installation, and more.

Lago Dos Bocas was created upon completion of the Dos Bocas Dam, a Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration project, in 1942. It primarily serves as a reservoir.

Municipal Jail under construction in Utuado.

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration work relief division efforts included the modernization of the municipal power plant on Vieques, ca. 1937.

Part of the Program of School Construction, this one-room school building in Camuy was built by the PRRA. The program focused on increasing enrollment, literacy, and expanding school facilities across the Island. "During the school year 1937-38, 275 buildings were added to the number available last year, an increase of 479 rooms." The exact location and status of this facility are unknown to Living New Deal.

This school dining room was built by the PRRA in Guayanilla. The Program of School Construction focused on creating school facilities in rural areas. “During the school year 1937-38, 275 buildings were added to the number available last year, an increase of 479 rooms. The Federal Government authorized the expenditure of $3.000.000 by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration for school buildings. Of the original grant, $1,000,000 has been spent.” The exact location and status of this facility are unknown to Living New Deal.

This school dining room was built by the PRRA in Luquillo. The Program of School Construction focused on creating school facilities in rural areas. "During the school year 1937-38, 275 buildings were added to the number available last year, an increase of 479 rooms. The Federal Government authorized the expenditure of $3.000.000 by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration for school buildings. Of the original grant, $1,000,000 has been spent.” The exact location and status of this facility are unknown to Living New Deal.

This rural school was built by the PRRA in Fajardo. The Program of School Construction focused on creating school facilities in rural areas. "During the school year 1937-38, 275 buildings were added to the number available last year, an increase of 479 rooms. The Federal Government authorized the expenditure of $3.000.000 by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration for school buildings. Of the original grant, $1,000,000 has been spent.” The exact location and status of this facility are unknown to Living New Deal.

The PRRA established the Program of School Construction to create facilities in rural areas. "During the school year 1937-38, 275 buildings were added to the number available last year, an increase of 479 rooms. The Federal Government authorized the expenditure of $3.000.000 by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration for school buildings. Of the original grant, $1,000,000 has been spent.” The exact location and status of this facility are unknown to Living New Deal.

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration work relief division efforts included "reconstruction of the ancient Santo Domingo barracks, one of the island's historic edifices dating from the early sixteenth century" in San Juan, in 1937. Also known as Convent of the Dominicans, located with the Galería Nacional / del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña.

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration work relief division efforts included "a concrete landing pier ... at Sein Bay, Culebra, where naval vessels and marines assemble for winter maneuvers." The exact location and status of the project are unknown to Living New Deal. Seine Bay is located "just to the eastward of Scorpion Point" (Navigation, pg. 383), which itself is at the southeast side of Target Bay (Results, pg. 248).

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration work relief division efforts included construction of "more than a mile of storm sewers" in Mayagüez, ca. 1937.

The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) enlarged the Toro Negro hydroelectric plant, located north of Villalba. The work consisted of “new turbines, penstock pipes, canals, transformers, switches, and other control equipment."

Between 1936-1937, the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) built the Toro Negro hydroelectric plant no. 2, located at the headwaters of the Toro Negro River.

The expansion and development of Puerto Rico’s education system was central to the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration’s (PRRA) agenda. The agency earmarked $2,062,954.40 for the development of the University of Puerto Rico, which remains the most important higher-education institution on the Island. The new buildings built by the PRRA included the Home Economics Building, Library Hall, Teachers’ College Hall, Normal School, the Biology Building, and an auditorium. “With these funds the following buildings have been constructed at the University of Puerto Rico: an auditorium with a capacity for 2,000 persons; a library with room for more than 50,000 volumes; a home economic...

The main campus of the University of Puerto Rico was founded in 1903 in Río Piedras.  Part of the campus, including the athletic field, was built with the help of the PRRA. "In 1924 the Chicago firm of urbanists Bennett, Parsons and Frost were contacted to design a master plan for the future development of the University. It wasn’t until 1935, with the establishment of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) and the large sum of federal funds that it invested for public works in Puerto Rico, that the partial design and construction of the so-called Plan Parson began. Under the supervision...

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration work relief division efforts included "repairs, reconstruction, and additions various municipal water systems and filtration plants, including the laying of several miles of piping" in Mayagüez, ca. 1937.

Municipalities across Puerto Rico asked for the PRRA’s help with improving existing water systems and building new ones. The municipality of Isabela benefited from this help—between 1937 and 1938, the PRRA improved and built waterworks and irrigation systems in the community. Geoff Burrows writes that, "From Adjuntas to Utuado, the PRRA repaired, modernized, and constructed drinking water systems, sewer systems, and storm drains across the island. By 1938, the PRRA had: repaired 15 municipal waterworks; built new water systems and filter plants in Comerio, Isabela, Patillas, and San Lorenzo; built eight water systems for rural housing and eight for vocational schools; and one...