State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) Sites

The New Deal made major improvements to the former Alvarado Park on the east side of Richmond CA, where Wildcat Creek tumbles out of the East Bay hills. Alvarado Park was transferred by the city of Richmond to the East Bay Regional Park District in 1985 and is now the "Alvarado Area" of Wildcat Canyon Park.     The park is known for its New Deal stonework, done chiefly by Italian immigrant masons, including a massive stone arch bridge across Wildcat Creek, stone light standards along roads and paths, and picnic facilities and stone stoves. The stonework is remarkable enough for the park...

The New Deal made major improvements to the former Alvarado Park on the east side of Richmond CA, where Wildcat Creek tumbles out of the East Bay hills. Alvarado Park was transferred by the city of Richmond to the East Bay Regional Park District in 1985 and is now the "Alvarado Area" of Wildcat Canyon Park. The park is known for its New Deal stonework, done chiefly by Italian immigrant masons, including a massive stone arch bridge across Wildcat Creek, stone light standards along roads and paths, and picnic facilities and stone stoves. The stonework is remarkable enough for the park to...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded the reconstruction of the Anaheim High School after the Long Beach Earthquake of 1933. Damage to the school was not extensive but reconstructing the entire school was projected to be less expensive than merely repairing the buildings.  In 1935, State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) workers deconstructed the original buildings. Then construction of the new school began in the same year. The PWA contributed $111,000 while bonds raised an additional $275,000 The new art deco style main building, library and auditorium were dedicated in 1936. Then in 1937, a gym was built and financed partially by the...

One of the oldest freeways in the United States, the Arroyo Seco Parkway (today’s Pasadena Freeway) is an 8.2-mile road connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, CA. It was built by the California State Division of Highways (today’s Caltrans) in three stages between 1938 and 1953, with the first two stages completed during the New Deal. The first 6-mile stage was built between 1938 and 1941; the second 2.2-mile stage (also known as the "Southerly Extension") was built between 1940 and 1943. There is some dispute about the sources of funding, but we know the federal government contributed via the U.S....

SERA crews built this small fire station in Balboa Park in conjunction with the California Pacific International Exhibition – the first structure built. It is unclear if it survives, and if so where it is located.

In 1929 the Linden Irrigation District was incorporated and established plans to divert  water from the Calaveras River at Bellota, a community about five miles east of Linden,  and create a series of percolation dams to restore the depleted ground water table in the area.  There had been an early dam in the same vicinity, built in 1905, but it washed out within a year.  A Civil Works Administration (CWA) project was authorized late in 1933 to construct the Bellota Dam and clean out the channel of the Calaveras River.  Local opposition to the plan resulted in an injunction against the project, which...

Construction on Belmont's central fire station was begun in 1935 by SERA and completed under the direction of the WPA using local labor. The station hired its first two employees in 1938. Presently, the building houses Belmont's Center for Independence of the Disabled (https://www.cidbelmont.org).

Chico's Bidwell Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. It follows the course of Big Chico Creek for several miles into the foothills.  The park land was originally donated to the city early in the 20th century by the widow of Chico's founder, John Bidwell. New Deal agencies made several improvements to the park in the 1930s. It appears that State Emergency Recovery Agency (SERA) workers did road gravelling in the park, and worked on bathhouses and repair of the superintendent's residence–SERA was funded in part by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FEMA). At the upper end of the park, the Works Progress Administration (WPA)...

In 1935, the construction of a new library was funded by the State Emergency Relief Administration (S.E.R.A) in Burbank, CA. In 1938, the city of Burbank severed its ties with the Los Angeles County Library and, on July 1 of that year, Burbank Public Library became an independent entity. When the contract was not renewed with Los Angeles County Library, Burbank's collection of 10,000 books had to be returned. In response, the Burbank community donated approximately 5,000 books by the time the Burbank Public Library opened its doors on August 22, 1938. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped catalog the...

Construction on Camp Lassen's Chico main lodge was begun in September 1935 with funds from the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) and completed the following spring. The Chico Meadows site was cleared from forest lands originally leased from the Diamond Match Association by the Mount Lassen Area Council (now the Golden Empire Council) of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The building contains a complete kitchen and dining hall, a stage for performances, administrative offices, and living quarters for the camp director and camp caretaker. While the space was originally built for the use of BSA troops, the camp was...

The first building on this campus was opened as part of the Chaffey College of Agriculture in 1885. It became the Ontario High School in 1901 and the present Chaffey High School in 1911. In 1916, the Chaffey Junior College of Agriculture was added as a postgraduate department to the high school. The junior college maintained a presence on the campus until 1959 when it moved to its present location in Alta Loma. After the destructive Long Beach earthquake of 1933, first SERA and then the WPA were extensively involved with the construction of a number of buildings on the...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed construction of the City Garage in Glendale, CA which began under the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA). As WPA Project No. 996, the project was sponsored by the City of Glendale and employed an average of 79 men for 7 months. "This building, which is located on Isabel Street adjacent to the City Hall , is for the purpose of centrally storing and maintaining city owned trucks, passenger cars and other equipment. The structure is ell-shaped, having a one story portion containing 7200 square feet of floor space, and a two story section with 10,350...

Construction of Cloverdale's joint city hall and fire station began under California's State Emergency Relief Administration; it was completed with federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor.

From late December 1934 through early spring 1935, the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) funded improvements to the Columbia Slough that involved raising and leveling a dike on the slough's channel approximately 1.5 miles east of Faloma station. While improving the Columbia Slough dike, it provided work to approximately 190 men for 70 days as part of a work relief program. The City's project description notes the following need: "Dredging operations on this locality had deposited many thousands of yards of excavated material on the banks of the slough. This material was continually sluffing back into the channel. The project consisted...

SERA Project #1E B3 737: "This project opened December 21, 1934 and consisted of the construction of a one-story frame and stucco community building with shingle roof. It also consisted of grading and landscaping the grounds around the building." The project ended on May 13, 1935.

In 1934, a community garden was built in Alhambra, CA by the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA). The 18-acre plot was worked by approximately twenty-five unemployed men in order to grow vegetables for the community in a self-sustaining manner. The community garden in Alhambra was one of thirty-five such plots located throughout Los Angeles county. The gardens are no longer extant.

Continuation of excavation, filling in low areas, constructing new roads, parking areas, garages and playground; landscaping areas in vicinity of officers' and non-commissioned officers' quarters; landscaping and fire prevention work around flying field; construction of one double tennis court in rear of quarters and one double court off east side of barracks--Mooser, p. 83.

"It started out in 1933 as the Crocker Amazon Reservoir site, 55 acres at Geneva Avenue and Moscow Street belonging to the Public Utilities Commission. In 1934, the Recreation Commission requested and received permission to develop the property for recreational purposes, and truck farmers, who had been working the land, were paid for their leases. The Recreation Commission leased 42 acres for $150 per month. From 1934-1937, workers from the WPA (Works Progress Administration) developed the playground, grading the baseball diamonds and installing a sprinkler system." - https://www.parkscan.org/parks?parkId=205 '(42 Acres) Geneva Avenue and Moscow Street. ... Excavation and placing in embankment 21,000...

"The Deerwood Auditorium is a community center in Deerwood, Minnesota, United States, built as a Works Progress Administration project. The auditorium, built in 1935, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a rare surviving example of federal relief architecture in Minnesota. ...The town first received funding for the auditorium in 1935 through the State Emergency Relief Administration, but the SERA's function was later subsumed by the Works Progress Administration. ...Despite shortages of money during the construction, the building was substantially completed in time for its first event, a lutefisk supper held on October 29, 1936. Final touches were completed in...

Although Duniway Park was founded in 1918 to serve residents in south Portland, improvements had been limited and those who used it complained of the odors associated with the landfill that originally established the playground area. In 1934, the Oregon's State Emergency Relief Agency (SERA) authorized funds to improve the park. SERA was funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) during 1934-1935. FERA operated from May 12, 1933 through 1935 when it was replaced by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as the New Deal's primary work relief program. One of the city's major newspapers, The Oregonian, reported that the SERA funded...

Hugo Ballin painted a mural, "Rudimentary Education," at El Rodeo Elementary School in Beverly Hills, CA. Completed in 1934, the mural was funded by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and—upon termination of the PWAP—the Federal and State Emergency Relief Administrations (FERA/SERA). The mural is oil on plaster and approximately 1500 square feet. "Ballin traced his design on to the wall for assistants to complete and included several symbolic references. Towards the top was the Egyptian figure of Set, inventor of numbers, and below him, Tubal-Cain, the ancient metal worker. In the center was a scene of a teacher...

In 1934, the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) recommenced road improvements to Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, CA. The work had begun under the Civil Works Administration (CWA), but was left incomplete after the CWA ended in March 1934. Improvements were made for about one mile between the north boundary of Pasadena and Mariposa Street. 

The baseball field at Perris Hill Park was built as part of more extensive improvements to the park done by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It is now known as the Fiscalini Field.  

Elise Seeds painted a mural, "Prehistoric Animals," for a school in Los Angeles, CA, with funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and—upon the termination of the PWAP in 1934—the Federal and State Emergency Relief Administrations (FERA/SERA). The mural was subsequently relocated to the George Page Museum. Elise Seeds' other New Deal work in the region is a mural, "Air Mail," at the post office in Oceanside, CA.

The State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) financed a $25,000 appropriation "which employed 65 research workers out of the Bancroft Library of U.C. Berekey and 56 additional workers put to work in the field to gather the necessary information to provide for the restoration of the old town of Columbia, in Tuolumne County." According to the Mariposa Gazette, efforts were being made in 1934 to have a local Mariposa County ghost town Hornitos being made into a state park in a similar way to what was occurring in Columbia California. Like most Mother Lode towns of the Gold Rush era gold was discovered...

New Deal relief workers were instrumental in developing the old Kern River Park – now called the Hart Memorial Park.  The workers came from the State Emergency Relief Administration  (SERA) before 1935 and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) after that. (SERA was, in turn, funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)) Kern County  bought 338 acres of the old Baker Ranch in 1921 to create Kern River Park. After 1927, John Oliver Hart took charge of improvements to the park.  The most important developments at the park occurred under federal funding in the 1930s.  As Gilbert says: "Park projects that were...

Hart Park in Orange, California, was created in the 1930s by the City of Orange with the help of the State Emergency Relief Agency (SERA) and the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). Orange City Park was the town’s first park. In 1935, a proposal was submitted for funding to build Orange City Park with $30,963 from the WPA for relief labor and $12,362 in local funds for materials, employing 66 men for 11 months. The proposal was approved in early 1936 and the work probably continued for the next two years, given the extensive improvements made. This was part...

Hart Park in Orange, California, was created in the 1930s by the City of Orange with the help of the State Emergency Relief Agency (SERA) and the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). At the time, the park was known as Orange City Park and was changed to Hart Park in 1964. SERA and WPA created several facilities at Hart Park, most likely including this area for playing horseshoes. A date stamp carved into the horseshoe pit cement shows a date of October 2, 1935.  An adjacent mission-style building for meetings was most likely built by the WPA, as well.

Hillcrest Park in Fullerton, California was originally built in 1920 and then from 1931-1940, relief funds from the Civil Works Administration (CWA), State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA), Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), and the Work Projects Administration (WPA) helped shape the landscaping of Hillcrest Park. No buildings at Hillcrest Park were created or funded by New Deal Programs.  Hillcrest Park sits on 35.6 acres and is considered the most historically significant park in Fullerton, CA. In 1920, the City of Fullerton purchased the land for $67,300. Johann George Seupelt, a horticulturist and landscape architect, was the park's first superintendent and designed the...

A swimming pool, long known as the "Perris Hill Park Plunge", was built as part of extensive improvements to Perris Hill Park in 1934-35. The pool is known today as the Jerry Lewis Family Swim Center. The pool construction was done by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA), both of which were funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), the predecessor of the better-known WPA (which  began in mid-1935).  The Works Progress Administration (WPA) did not build the Plunge, but finished off the job by adding concrete terracing around the pool. The Plunge played an important part...

In 1933, John Muir Elementary School was one of five schools in Santa Monica, CA, approved for improvement under the Civil Works Administration (CWA) following the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. With CWA funding, laborers added turf to the playground, built a brick wall, and graded the hillside of the school. In 1934, the Board of Education applied for additional aid from the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA). They also applied for Public Works Administration (PWA) funding to cover the reconstruction of classrooms. Workers converted John Muir from a two-story structure to one-story bungalows with steel in the roofs to...

Three different federal relief agencies took on the challenge of Johnson Creek’s annual flooding during the New Deal period, beginning with Oregon’s SERA (State Emergency Relief Agency) efforts. Responsibility for the project was transferred to the PWA (Public Works Administration) in 1935 and ultimately to the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in 1936. The Oregonian, Portland’s primary newspaper, noted in 1935 that the Johnson Creek flood control project would become one of the largest projects in the area as workers attempted “to curb the unruly stream” that caused thousands of dollars of damage every year. Over several miles of the...

Artist Emery Gellert painted a portrait of Principal J. A. Davis for David Starr Jordan High School (formerly David Starr Jordan High School) in Los Angeles, CA. The portrait was funded by California's State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA), which covered the cost of artwork executed between the termination of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) in 1934 and the establishment of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Arts Project (FAP) the following year. "Under this project sixty people were producing one hundred twenty hours per month mostly to producing easel works in oil, water color, pastel, and drawings. The funds ran...

The former City Park and Athletic Field (now the Ken Lindley Park) originated in 1908, but major improvements were made with relief labor provided by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in the winter of 1933-34.  It is likely that after the CWA was discontinued in early 1934, the stone work was completed under the auspices of the Arizona Emergency Relief Administration and largely funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA).   The main work done by the New Deal crews was to build the elegant stone walls that enclose the entire square block, and which serve as retaining walls on...

In December 1934, the State Emergency Relief Agency (SERA) funded a series of improvements to the La Monica ballroom, originally built in 1924,  on the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA. SERA added or improved many notable attractions at the La Monica, including the Santa Monica’s Sailing Club, a valuable amenities to the community. The ballroom featured a number of conference rooms and offices which were styled on different countries and time periods, including Mediterranean, Italian, Swiss, and English. The La Monica also featured a 4,000-pound saltwater aquarium showcasing marine life such as fish and seals. Additionally, SERA constructed...

The Mayo Plunge swimming pool in Compton, CA, was initiated under the California State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) and completed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It has since been demolished.

In December 1934, the Santa Monica City Engineer, Hal Sanborn, proposed an ambitious plan to construct a new baseball stadium with a capacity of 4,200. To help with affordability, MGM Studios generously donated lumber for the project. As enthusiasm for the stadium grew, Mayor William H. Carter designated it as an official State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) project, employing 150 SERA workers who labored diligently cutting lumber off-site and building the fences that would soon enclose the city’s baseball landmark. City Commissioner T. D. Plummer played a pivotal role in bringing council members together, negotiating directly with George L. Eastman, landowner...

The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA), along with local sources (Rotary Club and City of Anaheim), funded a sculpture of actress Helena Modjeska. The sculpture was created by Eugene Maier-Krieg in 1934 and resides in the northeast corner of Pearson Park in Anaheim, California. Modjeska was an actress who first immigrated to Anaheim, CA from Poland. She went on to stardom as a Shakespearean actress, regularly touring the country. But she returned to Orange County often for vacation and eventually purchased property in the area. The front of the statue portrays Modjeska...

The Morcom Amphitheater of Roses – originally known as the Municipal Rose Garden – is one of the grandest city rose gardens in the country.  It began as a project of the Oakland Businessmen's Garden Club in 1930 and the main force behind it (and the later Berkeley Rose Garden) was Dr. Charles Vernon Covell, a dentist and member of the Garden Club. The New Deal played a vital role in building the rose garden, but it was not the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that did the work, as commonly thought. Instead, help came from the State Employment Relief Administration (SERA),...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive improvements Morro Bay State Park, as it did throughout California's new state park system.  These included picnic areas, an entrance road, comfort staton, ranger lodge, and stone walls.  The work was continued by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and state relief workers. As Engbeck (2002) explains: "CCC Company 1916-V, made up of World War I veterans, moved into Camp Morro Bay on May 11, 1934.... Check dams were constructed on Chorro Creek above Morro Bay in order to prevent flooding of the 're-claimed lands' that were to be 'utilized as beach areas and scenic...