Civil Works Administration (CWA) Sites

McGhee Tyson Airport was constructed by the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program. Tennessee Encyclopedia: "Some of Tennessee's largest WPA projects reflected the arrival of the age of flight. WPA workers ... built major airports in Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, and at the Tri-Cities." Van West: "In its brief existence during the winter of 1933-34, the CWA began planning for the development of a major airport between Knoxville and the company town of Alcoa in Blound County. Officials in both Knoxville and Blount County wanted a rural location so the airport could easily expand in the future; the Alcoa Highway (U.S....

"The pool at Silver Spring Park (now McGovern Park) was built by the CWA. The WPA built the new bathhouse."

Restoration and preservation of the John McLoughlin House, dating from 1846, advanced in several ways during the New Deal era. The Civil Works Administration (CWA) funded local architects to document the house in 1934 as part of the first Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Over the course of several years, CWA and Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers provided the labor for house restoration efforts and landscape improvements at its site on Center Street.  Public Works Administration (PWA) funds supported the effort as well. Subsequently, the Secretary of the Interior designated the McLoughlin House a National Heritage Site on February 19,...

"A dirt road through eighteen miles of wilderness between and Oquossoc had been visualized by business men of the section for many years, and the need and feasibility of the road had been presented to the Highway Commission as early as 1930 and their favorable reaction received. With the start of the CWA program in November, 1933, the municipal officers of Rumford, Mexico, Roxbury and Byron presented to the CWA Administrator the idea of building this road as a joint CWA project of these towns. The project received the approval of the administrator primarily because it presented an opportunity to...

Multiple New Deal agencies: the C.W.A., F.E.R.A, and W.P.A. funded labor for the improvement of Framingham's Memorial Building. The C.W.A. painted the offices and corridors of the Memorial Building in 1933. "The improvement in the looks of the building is marked," town officials wrote that year. Painting and varnishing continued in 1934. The W.P.A. relaid the floors at the banquet hall in Nevens Hall in 1938, while constructing new exits to conform with safety standards. (Additional painting took place this year as well.) The W.P.A. even constructed a wartime airplane-spotting Observation Post atop the building in 1942!

In 1934, town officials resolved to use $2,500 of CWA money for constructing bleachers at Memorial Athletic Field. In 1940, more bleachers  from nearby were moved and set up at Memorial Field.

The Memorial Field of Flushing opened in November, 1934 in a ceremony attended by Mayor LaGuardia. The press release announcing the event described the extensive work carried out with New Deal support: "The land for the Flushing Memorial Playfield was given to the City by the Memorial Field of Flushing, Inc., for the development of a playground. Labor and material were supplied from Work Relief funds. A one-story field house of Colonial design is located in a corner of the playground. Eight tennis courts, eight handball courts and two basketball courts are provided in addition to swings, seesaws, sand tables and other...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted an improvement project at Memphis National Cemetery, providing work for about 35 laborers.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) supplied labor for the widening of Merrimon Avenue in Asheville, North Carolina. The cost of the project was $17,297.14, which was mostly borne by the federal government. "In Asheville, Biltmore Street, Merrimon Avenue, and Broadway were widened by taking off fronts of all stores, setting them back, and rebuilding, work requiring expert skill."

In 1933, the Portland Water District moved its meter shop from its Casco Street office in Portland office to its main facility on Douglass Street. The Portland Water District was able to complete the new meter shop with C. W. A. (Civil Works Administration) funds made available by the Federal Government under its plan to relieve the unemployment situation by granting funds to public agencies so that they could complete projects approved by the Federal Relief Authorities.

Like Lodi Lake and other parks in Lodi, Micke Grove Park had cemented rock curbs and gutters built by the CWA 1934. Some have been replaced but many still exist. In addition, seventy men employed by the WPA built and installed: five concrete picnic benches, a new baseball diamond, a caretaker cottage, two comfort stations, a wading pool, a water system, five acres of lawns, six horseshoe courts, six softball courts, two double tennis courts, three bocce ball courts, four volleyball courts, and one mile of fencing. In the years since the 1930s, many of the original features of the park have been...

The Middle Intervale School was one of several schools that were improved with Civil Works Administration (CWA) funds in Bethel. The work consisted of painting the interior and exterior of the building, and the labor was paid for the most part with CWA funds. The CWA expenditure was $1236.00 for all school improvements in Bethel. The exact location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal. Excerpt from the Annual Reports of the Officers of the Town of Bethel: "1933 Superintendent of Schools Through the funds furnished by the Civil Works Administration milk has been provided each school day to meet...

The Middlesex Fells Reservation spans multiple towns north of Boston. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Civil Works Administration (CWA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA) were each active in developing the area. Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission annual reports detail the work of the New Deal over time. 1934 report: "During the first eleven weeks of this year about 2,800 men were employed on Federal Civil Works Administration projects. Most of these men were employed in the Blue Hills and Middlesex Fells Reservations. A large amount of necessary work was accomplished in the various divisions, which consisted mainly of cutting and burning brush, removing dead and...

W.P.A. Bulletin, 1937: "At the north end of the former swamp, WPA raised the level a half dozen feet and built William A. Miller Athletic Field in honor of one of Winthrop's sons killed in action in France during the world war. Clay from Winthrop Highlands and sand from Point Shirley formed a firm basis for Miller Field in the days of CWA and ERA when Howard Shattuck, superintendent of the Winthrop water department, doubled in brass, so to speak, and directed work relief activities without pay in addition to his regular job as water department superintendent."

The Milwaukee Public Library opened in 1898 in a building combining French and Italian Renaissance styles at a cost of $780,000 (mpl.org). In 1936, Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers assisted, according to museum director Samuel Barrett, in “completely overhauling the building, redecorating it from cellar to garret, installing a new lighting system, repairing the mosaic floors, repainting and relining exhibition cases, reinstalling a large number of exhibits, restoring photographic negatives and prints and other study and research collections, and in myriad ways improving the conditions of the institution and increasing it usefulness to the 2,500,000 people it serves annually.” ("Milwaukee Journal.")...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) relocated and reconstructed the former United States Mint Building in Charlotte, North Carolina: now the Mint Museum. The project was completed at a cost of $46,724.75. "Between 1932 and 1935 communities throughout North Carolina, including Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, benefited from a broad array of public works funded primarily by Washington.  These included the reconstruction in Eastover of the former United States Mint Building ..." Furthermore, the FERA improved and graded the grounds at the site.

The Civil Works Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Miraflores Ave. in San Juan.

In this small village of 600 (1930 population) in Penobscot County the New Deal performed minor work. The 1933-34 town report mentions an unspecified C.W.A. project, of which the town share was less than $100. The 1934-35 town report lists an E.R.A. road repair project, of which the town share was $277 and the federal contribution was $1,000. The project employed 7 people. The 1938-39 town report has a request to the W.P.A. for assistance in Blister Rust Control efforts. The 1940-41 town report has a request for the P.W.A. to grade the yard at the Village schoolhouse. "The school lunches have been supplemented by...

This manufacturing city on the Androscoggin River received Federal assistance for various projects, between 1933 and 1942. In 1933, part of the $281,433 spent by the Civil Works Administration in this city of 34,948 (1930 census), was assistance to the public library: "Miss Doris Linehan has done valuable work repairing books and filing documents employed as a federal CWA assistant." Report of the Health Officer, Robert J. Wiseman, Jr., M.D. CHILD HEALTH EMERGENCY RELIEF PROGRAM—The Child Health Emergency Relief Program was made possible thru an order of the Federal Government, with the cooperation o f the local physicians, five nurses employed thru the Civil...

Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo was first established in 1720, moved to another site briefly, and then was reestablished at this location in 1740. The site is near a ready source of water, later known as the San Antonio River. Franciscan priests came on behalf of the Spanish government to establish missions among the Coahuiltecan Indians. The Mission was four miles south of Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo). Three more missions would be relocated nearby in 1731. San Jose would later be known as the "Queen of the Missions" due to the ornate carvings and...

Mississippi utilized a number of federal work relief and infrastructure opportunities to repair, improve, and construct the levee system at various locations along the Mississippi River from Gunnison in Bolivar county south through Greenville in Washington county to Fitler in Issaquena county Agencies included Civil Works Administration, Works Progress Administration, and Army Corps of Engineers, expended a total of $227,634, employed at least 675 men, and were carried out between 1933 and 1940.

Multiple New Deal agencies were involved in the development of what is now known as Mobile Regional Airport. The Works Progress Administration built runways; and the Civil Works Administration oversaw the construction of terminal buildings and hangars.

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...

"President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided a work force, which pushed the Modoc Forest development work years ahead. A special camp was built at Hackamore in 1933 and maintained there almost until the abandonment of the Corps in 1942. Spike camps from this main camp were established when necessary but the gentle nature of the Modoc terrain allowed workers from the main camp to reach out much further than in the average forest area... ...By the end of 1933 there were some thirty sizeable CWA crews working out from their homes on Modoc Forest projects. A large number...

The Civil Works Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on the Mona Island Road on Mona Island.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration funded improvements at the Monroe Playground in Washington DC in 1934-1935. The work consisted of the following improvements: “Graded, moved and remodeled shelter-house, relocated equipment.” (Report of the Government of the District of Columbia 1935) FERA, 1934-1935, “Retaining wall 72 feet long.” (Report of the Government of the District of Columbia 1936) WPA, 1937-1938, “Additional fencing; reconstruction of toilets.” (Report of the Government of the District of Columbia 1938)

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed a 27-foot span carrying a road over Moon Creek near Americus, Kansas. "The Moon creek bridge, 1 1/2 miles west and a half mile north of the Ruggles schoolhouse, has been completed." The exact location of the former school (and, thus, this bridge project) is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

“Work was started on the Morristown Municipal Airport this morning by an engineering party ….It is expected that about 100 men will be put to work tomorrow and Wednesday will see the balance of the men at work… The money that is being allocated to Morristown is an outright grant from the Federal government through the Department of Commerce and has no conditions accompanying it except that at least eighty percent of it be spent for labor….this money…had been designated for airport development and can only be used for such work. Morristown is especially fortunate in securing this grant, which...

Mosholu Golf Course is in the southeast corner of Van Cortlandt Park is a public golf course built with 9 holes rather than 18. It specializes in children and teenagers. It opened in 1914. A New York City Parks Department press release from May 7, 1936 described New Deal improvements to the golf course: “Van Cortlandt and Mosholu in the Bronx ... have been reconditioned and remodeled to some extent. All this work has been done with relief funds provided by the C.W.A., T.E.R.A. and W.P.A.”

The community Moth Inspector for the town of Oxford, Massachusetts received aid from multiple New Deal agencies beginning in 1933. The Civil Works Administration (CWA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA) each provided funding for the endeavor during the 1930s.

Mound City National Cemetery was improved as part of Federal Project F-87 by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA). The work done "included the resetting, realigning and cleaning of headstones ... as well as the filling-in of sunken graves."

Mount Rose Elementary School is one of two remaining Mission Revival style schools the other being McKinley Park School. The school was built in 1912 and designed by local architect G Ferris. Work was done under the new deal projects to improve the playgrounds.

"The Historic Adobe Building, also known as the Mountain View Adobe, is a multi-purpose structure in Mountain View, California. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 28, 2002. The land under the structure was purchased by Mountain View in 1929 for $10 from Wallace and Alice Angelo; it was used for a pump station and reservoir and served as the town's primary water source. Several years later, the city wanted to create a meeting place between downtown Mountain View and the Navy's Moffett Field; the land's location at the corner of Moffett Boulevard and Central...

Multiple New Deal agencies worked to develop and otherwise improve Pueblo, Colorado's historic Mountain View Cemetery during the 1930s. "Major improvements to the Mountain View Cemetery began with 1933-1934, CWA Projects. The CWA crews enclosed the ornamental iron fence on Beulah, Sprague and Northern Avenues within a cobblestone wall, built four large arched entrances on Northern Avenue and cobblestone walls around the cemetery and orphanage properties. This work was done in conjunction with other CWA and WPA, street, sidewalk and sewer improvement projects. They also remodeled the Sexton’s home and provided a small addition that served as the cemetery office. WPA crews...

Ocean City Municipal Airport in New Jersey was constructed as a New Deal project, with the aid of Civil Works Administration (CWA) labor, in 1934. The facility officially opened in 1935, and it is still in service.

Two Civil Works Administration murals were installed at the Municipal Auditorium Murals in San Antonio TX. Titled, "Texas Basket Maker Indians at their Daily Tasks," the murals were painted by Harry Anthony De Young and Gilbert F. Neumann. The murals for the auditorium walls were removed in 1935 by the mayor after the American Legion complained they had communistic symbols.  

Circa 1933 to 1935, FERA and CWA workers (and possibly WPA workers) constructed this golf course. From the City of Schenectady website: The course opened in 1935. It was designed by A. F. Knight (the inventor of the "Schenectady Putter") and Jim Thompson, and largely funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and the Civil Works Administration (CWA), both predecessors of the well-known Works Progress Administration (WPA). Schenectady Municipal Golf Course stretches to 6600 yards (6000 m) and features fast, undulating greens and tight fairways blanketed within grasses and native vegetation. Schenectady Municipal Golf Course was ranked by Golf Digest...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) conducted improvement / development work at Casper's municipal golf course, also known as the Casper Community Club. The work was described in a newspaper article as "municipal golf club-house and fairways." Casper Star-Tribune, March 3, 1935: "The new Casper Community club golf house was built at a cost of $21,047. In addition, nine supplementary greens were constructed on the course." Based on recent imagery Living New Deal believes the clubhouse is no longer extant.

"Constructed in 1933-1934 as a Civil Works Administration project, the two-story building, of painted concrete housed the police station, fire department, and town clerk. Community dinners, school activities, and various other family gatherings took place in the building. No longer used as a town hall, the building is in use as the Northern Drylands Museum (2008.)"

The Lewiston Evening Journal reported that by 1935, a combination of the CWA, FERA, and ERA had completed numerous work projects in Auburn Maine: A two mile hiking trail along the Little Androscoggin River called the Baker Mill Trail was started. An athletic field was built at the Walton Elementary School along with shrubs and landscaping. The interiors of the Webster Grammar school, Webster Jr. High, Lake Street school, & Washburn school were painted. The roof was repainted at the Chamberlain school. At Edward Little High School, the windows were replaced. The roof of the city building was repaired, floors refinished, & both the interior and...