Civil Works Administration (CWA) Sites

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) constructed runways at Raleigh Municipal Airport south of Raleigh, North Carolina. The field closed in 1973 and the property has since been thoroughly redeveloped.

In January 1934, an ambitious project of opening up the vast forested area of northern Maine by the construction of a 94 mile road connecting Ashland Maine and Lac Frontier Quebec Canada and called the Brann Scenic Highway was launched. By February, there was unanimous endorsement by the towns of Northern Maine and a survey launched by the Civil Works Administration. Governor Louis J. Brann was the honorary chairman and Maine CWA Executive John McDonough was project director. The Bangor Daily News reported that 125 telegrams from business, civic leaders, and individuals were sent in in support of the project....

The Civil Works Administration completed a series of reclamation projects around the Mokelumne River in 1934 and made plans to clean the by-pass between Reclamation District No. 1002 and the McCormack - Williamson tract under the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) program.  

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided labor for the construction of multiple facilities at Recreation Park in Asheville, NC. The CWA constructed a barracks at the park, as well as developing a skating rink. The FERA improved roads at the park. The status of these structures is unknown to Living New Deal.

Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915 to preserve a spectacular section of the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains.  Several new additions to the park have been made over the years, until it reached its present size of 415 square miles. The park saw considerable recreational development in the 1920s under the National Park Service (NPS), but it benefitted enormously in the 1930s from the New Deal.  Most notable of the New Deal agencies was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), but the \ park also gained funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA), road work by the Bureau of...

Red Hook Park in Brooklyn was one of several major parks and hundreds of playgrounds created in New York City with Federal funds in the New Deal era. In this 1938 text, Robert Moses describes the work accomplished in New York City parks, including Red Hook, by relief workers: "There are today 372 playgrounds, ranging from small neighborhood plots of a quarter acre to large developments such as Macombs Dam Park in The Bronx, Red Hook and McCarren Parks in Brooklyn, and Randall's Island, adjacent to the East Harlem section of Manhattan, all developed to take care of every type of recreation for both children and...

Delaware utilized substantial federal resources in developing and improving its road network during the Great Depression. Among the dozens of projects undertaken by the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) during 1934 was construction at Red Lion to Porter Rd. An average of 1,410 were put to work each week during 1934 as a result of the CWA’s road, sidewalk, bridge, and other related infrastructure efforts in Delaware.  

Delaware utilized substantial federal resources in developing and improving its road network during the Great Depression. Among the dozens of projects undertaken by the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) during 1934 was construction along a road from Redden to Milton. The thoroughfare likely includes what is now known as E Redden Road. An average of 1,410 were put to work each week during 1934 as a result of the CWA’s road, sidewalk, bridge, and other related infrastructure efforts in Delaware.  

The small town (1,400 population, per 1930 census) of Lunenburg, Vermont received assistance from multiple New Deal relief agencies. 1933 “Several Federal Aid projects are at present under way in the district, including an Adult Education group, a Kinderarten group, School Nurses, and Noon Lunch projects. The real value of these will depend largely on the length of time they are maintained, and at CWA Projects. When I submitted my last report several Federal Aid projects were under way in the district. A Kindergarten school was established at Gilman. This school was maintained through the summer and is being conducted through the present...

The 1933 - 1934 town report mentions an Emergency C.W.A. project costing the town $173.22 as their share and 4 men employed which was probably a road project. The school superintendent reported that "Several of the unweight children are receiving a half pint of milk daily from funds received from the C. W. A. This seems to be one of the most worthy projects and a great deal of credit is due the authorities, who have made these funds available." The 1934 - 1935 town report mentions Emergency C.W.A. Work costing the town $19.73 and employing 2 people. The School Superintendent reported...

In 1933, acting under the leadership of Mayor Thayer, the local C.W.A. administrator, various actions were taken to stabilize the finances of the town and reemploy as many people as possible. Reconstruction Finance Corporation Grant Received during 1933: $19,820.75 Among the various project launched: 1-H Sewing project "supervised by Mrs. Blye Drew. Clothing of all kinds has been furnished, through the Poor Department, for the relief of needy persons. More than 400' mackinaws have been made and distributed to minimum paid 'Civil Works employees engaged in outdoor work, in this, the most severe winter we have experienced in a generation." (Thayer) No. 1 J -...

In the Dec. 6 1933 issue of the Daily Illustrated News; "Seventeen new county projects, under which 1400 men will be employed under the Civil Works Administration (CWA) program were approved yesterday by the county civil works committee, among them being the construction of a 5,000,000-gallon reservoir in Pomona at a cost of $99,440."

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) supplied labor for the development of a "Rhododendron Gardens Park" in Asheville, North Carolina. The project cost was $4,089.29, all footed by the federal government. The location and status of this project is unknown to Living New Deal, although there was a Rhododendron Park reputedly located in West Asheville. A 1936 USGS map places Rhododendron Park at the coordinates shown.

The municipal building at 101 S. Franklin St. in Richwood, Ohio has seen many functions over the years and was the site of New Deal work relief efforts during the Great Depression. Est. in 1890 to function as the seat of the Village Government, house the police force and jail, house the fire department, and an Opera House. From 1933 to 1935 the building was gutted as part of Project B-1618 of the Civil Works Administration and Project 80-B4-4 of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. The local government stayed in place, an addition was built to house the fire department, the Opera...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted the following work at the former Ridge Avenue school in Darby, Pennsylvania: "grade the grounds on the Tenth street side of the Ridge avenue school grounds and ... enlarge the cement court to the Tenth street fence and the line of the property of the Friends' Meeting." The school, which was located at the western corner of Ridge Ave. and N 10th St., is no longer extant.

The Civil Works Administration and the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Rio Abajo Road in Ceiba.

The Civil Works Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Rio Arriba Road in Fajardo.

The Civil Works Administration and the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Rio Lajas Road in Dorado.

An article in the Independent Reporter August 24, 1933 reports of 7 CWA projects for Somerset County, of which is $3000 for work on the River Road connecting East and West New Portland "as far as it will go".

CWA retaining wall project at the River Street ramp of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge was approved in 1933 and construction began in January 1934. In addition to the retaining wall, the roadway was rebuilt "to provide proper drainage" (Projects, 1935, p. 18). Northampton County experienced delays in a number of CWA projects approved in 1933, and the Hill-to-Hill Bridge work was one of the two (other was City Hall project in Easton) that were priority resumptions when others were delayed. River Street is located on Sands Island.

The March 1934 issue of California Highway and Public Works magazine notes: "Pajaro River. It is expected that work will be commenced within the next few days on clearing in the channel of the Pajaro River under CWA Project No. 502, with a crew of 60 men supervised by this office."

"Mokelumne River. Clearing in the channel of the Mokelumne river from New Hope bridge to Woodbridge in San Joaquin County has continued under the direction of this office with a San Joaquin County CWA crew of 100 men."

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) completed improvements at Riverbank Park in Westbrook ME. "Riverbank Improved by C. W. A. Project The C.W.A. project for improving Riverbank, and greatly appreciated by the Trustees, consisted in the closing of the unsightly dump on the bank of the river and establishing of a new city dump at the foot of Foster Street. A large amount of filling required was moved by trucks in the winter to grade the river bank, also to build a road-way across the gully at the new city dump. The grading, fertilizing and seeding of the improved section was done by...

A CWA project in March 1934 rebuilt an irrigation ditch to go around the Riverdale High School athletic field. $2,937.05 was the amount provided for the project as part of the employment of 262 men that month in Fresno County. When this researcher visited the site last month, it appeared to have be recently filled in, even though it is still listed on Google Maps.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted work at what Living New Deal believes is Riverside Cemetery (a.k.a. Cody Cemetery) in Cody, Wyoming. Cassity: "Several cemeteries were fenced and improved, such as that in Cody, and the old cemetery at Green River was removed and the graves transferred to a site at the new cemetery—all with CWA workers."

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) each worked to develop Riverside Park in Greenville, Pennsylvania during the 1930s.

Riverside Park is a 6.7-mile long waterside public park in Manhattan's Upper West Side, running between the Hudson River and Riverside Drive. Its origins go back to Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux,  the designers of Central Park in the 19th century.  In the 1930s the park was completely redeveloped and expanded, in part in conjunction with the Henry Hudson Parkway, with the help of the New Deal. Researcher Frank da Cruz describes New Deal involvement in the park: "By 1934, the park was in terrible shape; Robert Moses and the NY City Parks Department, using New Deal funding, designers, and labor completely...

This charming stone overlook and the surrounding steps in Riverside Park at 106th St. were built with New Deal funds and labor during the massive overhaul of the whole park area from 1934 to 1941. The work was supported mainly by the PWA, CWA, and WPA. The overlook marks the split between the park's upper and lower levels and houses trains that go hurtling by just beyond the arches pictured here. The overlook structure has been turned into a cafe/concession area.

Located along the Henry Hudson Parkway, the 79th Street Boat Basin is a marina, restaurant and still popular Manhattan destination. It was built in the 1930s with extensive New Deal support: "In a way, we owe the existence of the entire Riverside - Fort Washington Park complex to the 79th Street Boat Basin. In 1934, Robert Moses wanted to build a whole new park from 72nd Street all the way to the top of Manhattan but he needed to find the money. He already had funding for the Henry Hudson Parkway. Since the Parkway was to have an exit and entry...

Researcher Frank da Cruz explains that: “By 1934, the park was in terrible shape; Robert Moses and the NY City Parks Department, using New Deal funding, designers, and labor completely leveled the original park and replaced it with a new one in which the railroad ran beneath ground level and which, unlike the original park, was full of playgrounds, ball fields, and game courts… The construction of Riverside Park…was a mammoth undertaking supported mainly by PWA, CWA, and WPA from 1934 to 1941, such a huge undertaking that the records don’t even bother to mention individual features like specific playgrounds, ballfields,...

A great number of improvements to the General Grant National Memorial ("Grant's Tomb") were undertaken by the WPA between 1935 and 1939. As the National Park Service's David Kahn (1980) explains: "Thirty-eight years after the tomb opened, the initial restoration project began in December 1935, when the Works Progress Administration's laborers laid down new marble flooring in the atrium. In 1935-39 WPA cleaned marble (interior and exterior), replaced floors, replaced roof, electric lighting, heating, built curator's office, new stained glass, painted over dirty plaster walls, screens, display racks, brass sculptured busts of five Union generals by WPA artists, installation of eagles...

Researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that a major part of the New Deal creation of what is now Riverside Park involved completely re-shaping the land itself. The park was re-engineered from its natural rather steep slope "into two relatively flat areas separated by a retaining wall... The train tracks run behind the retaining wall and under the upper level of the park. The lower level...is on the same level as the river and contains a vast amount of parkland and numerous ball fields, athletic fields, game courts, and playgrounds." In addition to shaping the land itself, New Deal workers...

Researcher Frank da Cruz explains that: "By 1934, the park was in terrible shape; Robert Moses and the NY City Parks Department, using New Deal funding, designers, and labor completely leveled the original park and replaced it with a new one in which the railroad ran beneath ground level and which, unlike the original park, was full of playgrounds, ball fields, and game courts... The construction of Riverside Park...was a mammoth undertaking supported mainly by PWA, CWA, and WPA from 1934 to 1941, such a huge undertaking that the records don't even bother to mention individual features like specific playgrounds, ballfields,...

Delaware utilized substantial federal resources in developing and improving its road network during the Great Depression. Among the dozens of projects undertaken by the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) during 1934 were: The Edgemoor Underpass, located somewhere the train tracks and the Delaware River A thoroughfare connecting Edgemoor and Holly Oak A thoroughfare connecting Edgemoor and Wilmington The exact locations of these projects is presently unknown to Living New Deal. An average of 1,410 were put to work each week during 1934 as a result of the CWA’s road, sidewalk, bridge, and other related infrastructure efforts in Delaware.  

Only 1933 and 1934 town reports were available, but a significant amount of relief work was documented during the dark days of the depression. 1933: On Dec. 1st C. W. A. projects absorbed a part of the unemployment relief men, and continued with a quota of 147 until March, when weekly reductions were put into effect by the Federal Government. The severe winter handicapped these operations to a great extent, but what was accomplished was at comparatively small cost, for material on some projects. It is unfortunate that this opportunity could not have come at a time of year when work...

During its brief life in the winter of 1933-34, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) hired unemployed workers to improve the streets of Pinedale, Wyoming, with drainage works and gravel surfaces. According to Michael Cassity (2012) the work included: "streets of town graveled, streets drained, culverts replaced, ten new culverts built."

New Deal funds supported extensive road and infrastructure work in the town of Proctor. The Selectmens report for 1933 mentions 7 highway projects and the extension of the sewer near Field St done by the C.W.A. starting Nov. 2nd 1933, employing 90 men, and costing the New Deal $6,494 for wages and $2,293 for a truck, tools, materials, and supplies. Highway projects by the Vermont Emergency Relief Administration VERA (the state agency set up to distribute Federal funds) cost $16,685. In 1934, further CWA and VERA funds were used to distribute money to families in need of seeds and other farming...

Delaware utilized substantial federal resources in developing and improving its road network during the Great Depression. Among the dozens of projects undertaken by the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) during 1934 was construction along a road from Ellendale to "No. 6 School." The exact location of the road is unknown to Living New Deal, though it is likely what is known now as State Route 16. An average of 1,410 were put to work each week during 1934 as a result of the CWA’s road, sidewalk, bridge, and other related infrastructure efforts in Delaware.  

The federal Civil Works Administration conducted road construction work in Burlington, Vermont. "March 6, 1934. City Burlington Vermont. CWA (Civil Works Administration) Project #402-J. Telford stone base construction. Note winter conditions."

Delaware utilized substantial federal resources in developing and improving its road network during the Great Depression. Among the dozens of projects undertaken by the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) during 1934 was construction along a road from a point known as Pepper to "Jones X Roads." The exact location of the project is unknown to Living New Deal. An average of 1,410 were put to work each week during 1934 as a result of the CWA’s road, sidewalk, bridge, and other related infrastructure efforts in Delaware.