Charles C. Glover Memorial (Massachusetts Ave) Bridge – Washington DC

The Massachusetts Avenue bridge was built in 1940-1941 by the Army Corps of Engineers with federal funds provided by Congress to the District of Columbia Commissioners.  It was a final step in the completion of the Rock Creek and Potomac… read more

D.C. Armory and East Capitol Street Recreation Area – Washington DC

The DC Armory was paid for by a congressional appropriation (part of the District’s general funding bill for fiscal year 1940), and probably also through local revenue sources such as real estate taxes and parking fees. The DC Municipal Architect’s… read more

Daly Building (former DC Municipal Center) – Washington DC

Daly Municipal Building - Washington DC

The Henry J. Daly Building is the former District of Columbia Municipal Center, built in 1939-41 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) (which was incorporated into the Federal Works Administration in 1939 in a major government reorganization).  The… read more

Northeast Boundary Sewer Extension – Washington DC

On August 22, 1933, Public Works Administration (PWA) chief Harold Ickes announced a grant of $1,759,500 for various DC sewer projects. These included an extension of the Northeast Boundary Sewer “intended to eliminate a pollution nuisance in Kingman Lake in… read more

Recorder of Deeds Building (former) – Washington DC

Recorder of Deeds Building - Washington DC

The old Recorder of Deeds Building is a three-story structure built 1941-1943 by the municipal government of the District of Columbia.  Funding was provided in 1940 by the Public Works Administration (PWA), which was by then part of the Federal… read more

Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway: Shoreham Hill Bridge – Washington DC

The Shoreham Hill bridge was constructed in 1938 as part of the completion of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway project of the 1930s.  It lies just south of the large Connecticut and Massachusetts Avenue bridges.  It is the third… read more

Scott Circle Underpass – Washington DC

Aerial view of Scott Circle Underpass - Washington DC

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) aided in the construction of the 16th Street underpass beneath Scott Circle NW.  A 1941 Washington Post article reported that: “First steps to remove one of the District’s worst remaining bottlenecks were underway at Scott… read more

Washington Channel and Southwest Waterfront Redevelopment – Washington DC

The Washington Channel is a two-mile long body of water that sits between East Potomac Park and the Southwest Waterfront. There had been a decades-long attempt to improve and modernize the area, but little had been done before the New… read more

Washington Marina – Washington DC

The Washington Marina was originally called Yacht Basin No. 1 and was part of a multi-million dollar improvement program for the Washington Channel and Southwest Waterfront, funded by both the Army Corps of Engineers and the District Commission (DC government). … read more

Water and Sewer Authority Carpentry Shop – Washington DC

Garage/shop group at the foot of First Street, Water and Sewer Authority site - Washington DC

Works Progress Administration (WPA) records in the National Archives report that in 1937 WPA labor was used to “erect a brick building in the city to be used as a combination carpentry and blacksmith shop by the Sewer Department.” The… read more