Work Relief Programs Sites

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed repairs at the educational facility at the food of S. Ward St. in Worcester formerly known as the Ward Street School. WPA Bulletin: WPA has employed 70 men during extensive repairs to the Ward Street School, Worcester. Work included installation of blackboards with frames and mouldings, washing of wall surf- aces and the painting of all walls, ceilings, corridors, partitions and other sections of the building which needed attention.

The Civilian Conservation Corps built the warden’s residence at Mount San Jacinto State Park. The warden’s residence is located near the park entrance, off to the right. It is currently being used as ranger housing.

In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a barn at Warder Nursery in Cincinnati OH. The project was one of several undertaken by the WPA in the city. “Three WPA projects for park improvements at Cincinnati, Ohio, have been given approval by the council finance committee of the city,” a contemporary journalist remarked at the time. “One project provides for the erection of a service and storage building at the Warder Nursery on North Ben Road, one for the construction of roads and walks in the various parks, and the other for landscape development in some of the parks.” The WPA...

According to Tuolumne County Historian Carlo De Ferrari, the Works Progress Administration worked extensively along Wards Ferry Road, doing widening and other improvement work. Excerpts from WPA job cards: WPA Project No. 65-3-100, Date 8/27/35, $12,124, "Street Repairs". WPA Project No. 65-3-102 Date 8/27/35, $11,293, "New road construction." WPA Project No. 65-3-103, Date 8/27/35, $11,232, "Road Improvement" WPA Project No. 65-3-3836, Date 12/14/35, $1,947, "Construct retaining wall." WPA Project No. 65-3-4400, Date 1/17/36, $8,977, "Construction of a concrete bridge and a new road to approach bridge."

"Under the auspices of the New York Department of Sanitation, between 1937 and 1944, three new wastewater treatment plants were constructed — Wards Island in Manhattan, and Bowery Bay and Tallman Island in Queens. These facilities were designed to reduce pollutants in the Harlem River and in the East River, whose dark and murky waters had some of the lowest dissolved oxygen concentrations in the harbor. During the summer months, dissolved oxygen levels were often zero, which caused unpleasant odors. The city and its waterways benefited from an infusion of funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), an ambitious public...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) began and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) completed improvement work at the former Wardwell Field airport. The airport, which was six miles north of Casper, is no longer extant; the former airport property is now the site of the town of Bar Nunn. Casper Star-Tribune: "The largest of all work relief projects was the new airport and runways at Wardwell field, completed at a cost of $93,357, itemized as follows: CWA, $46,809; ERA, $12,710; county, $33,838. Wardwell field six miles north on the Salt Creek highway ... The project included construction of an ample,...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded the labor to construct a sidewalk along an unknown distance of Wareham St. in Middleborough, Mass. in 1937.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed a warehouse in what is now known as the Carlsbad Caverns National Park Historic District. National Register of Historic Places nomination form, 1988: Warehouse, NPS Bldg #26. Designed in 1941 by architect Ken Saunders of the Branch of Plans and Design, Regional Office, Santa Fe; erected in 1942 by CCC workers; now used as a Maintenance Office and Warehouse. Simplified Hew Mexican Territorial Revival Style; one-story; rectangular plan measuring about 58' x 31'; beige-colored stuccoed adobe; arched wooden truss roof with iron tie rods is hidden behind an adobe parapet, and was recently sprayed with urethane foam;...

In 1929, the developer of the future Warner Mountain Ski Area, Henry Cairns, purchased the area from a man named James Strike. Cairns, having owned a farm in the area, decided to carve slopes into this mountain, located on the eastern side of East Mountain State Forest in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The trails emptied out into Cairns farm, which became known as the G-Bar-S Dude Ranch; this stood for the nearby Great Barrington Sports. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was employed in the area to carve two trails into the slopes: the more advanced and difficult Taconic Trail and the more...

The Works Progress Administration  (WPA) built grandstands for the Warren Ballpark in Bisbee. The stadium was built by the C&A Mining Co. in 1909. By the 1930s, the Phelps Dodge Corporation had purchased the C&A Mining Co. and had inherited the Warren Ballpark complete with old wooden grandstands that needed to be replaced. In 1936, the Bisbee Unified School District purchased the ballpark from the mining company for $10. It turned the ballpark into public property eligible for WPA improvements. The superintendent of the Bisbee Unified School District was R.E. Souers. In addition to being the superintendent, he was also the president of the...

A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: "Warren and Charlestown Bridges, repairs to fender piers." Warren Bridge was demolished in 1962.

The Bisbee suburb of Warren is located approximately three miles southeast of Bisbee. The community was conceived by the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company in 1905 and designed in 1906 by landscape architect and city planner Warren Henry Manning based on the City Beautiful Movement. Warren would be a sanitary and modern community for families—symmetrically aligned streets, electricity, underground plumbing, churches, schools, and a large park which ran through the middle of the development. In 1959 the town of Warren was annexed into the Bisbee city limits. The WPA constructed numerous water diversion channels in Warren in beginning in October 1935...

"In 1918, the Forest Service moved its Guard Station from Hays Station, near the South Fork of the Salmon River, to Warren. Construction dates at the station site range from the barn built in 1909 to the 'modern' 1959 ranch style, one level frame house. The other facilities were built by Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. The Guard Station offers information and exhibits on the history of the area."(https://www.secesh.net/Walk.htm) The CCC buildings, constructed in 1934, were part of one of the first CCC projects in the State of Idaho and in the Nation.

In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed a paving project at the intersection of 42nd and Warren Streets NW.  The intersection is characterized by a gracious, curving triangle with a small park in the center, likely the result of the WPA's work.  This project was part of a nearly $1 million in WPA road work around the district in 1935-36. The road still exists though the WPA pavement is probably invisible today.

"Warwick is a town of about 148 people, on historic Route 66. A post office was established here in 1892 and the agricultural town thrived through the years. In the early 1940s, the railroads abandoned their passenger service through Warwick, which struck the town a hard blow and began its decline. In 1964, the Warwick School closed, after consolidating with the nearby town of Wellston. The post office officially closed in 1972. Warwick school is a two-room schoolhouse constructed of native sandstone by the WPA in 1940 with an appropriation of $7910. A WPA shield is located to the right of...

Wasatch Boulevard, which runs from Salt Lake City along the base of the Wasatch Mountains down to Big Cottonwood Canyon, was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. For years Wasatch Boulevard was a popular scenic route along the base of the mountains to the canyons and recreation areas south of the city, like Big Cottonwood Canyon and Alta ski resort.  In the past, it ran in splendid isolation beneath the formidable Wasatch front. Today, Wasatch Boulevard is overshadowed by the Interstate 215, as well as massive new housing and commercial developments, as metropolitan Salt Lake City has exploded along the Wasatch front.  The photographs...

A stone wall along the north side of an overflow catchment field that typifies CCC water projects constructed in the area.

" This two-story astylistic utilitarian ranger station features a rectangular shaped plan configuration, a concrete foundation, a rock-faced concrete block exterior, a wood trim, and an asphalt shingled multi-gabled roof...The station is in excellent condition. The Washburn Ranger Station has functioned since its 1936 date of construction as an office, a place for equipment storage, and living quarters for the ranger. The station was built during the W.P.A. program."

The Works Progress Administration built a farm-to-market road connecting Washburn with Gillespie, in Ritchie County.

The WPA made improvements to the school in the 1930s, constructing a new cafeteria and a one story frame, stucco building. They also made extensive ground improvements including: grading, landscaping, seeding, walkways, drives, walls, fences, etc. The Pasadena Museum of History explains the school's construction history: 1 of 27 schools in Pasadena Ca that were repaired, demolished, or reinforced by either the WPA or PWA following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. 1884 Built somewhere on Washington St. 1909 Moved to a new facility at the current location on Raymond Ave. 1925 Rebuilt. 1933 Damaged by the Long Beach earthquake. 1935 Rebuilt by the WPA

According to the National Archive's index of Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects, WPA crews performed maintenance and repair work on the two giant water conduits of the Washington Aqueduct. The Washington Aqueduct brings water to the city from the Potomac River at Great Falls. It runs under MacArthur Boulevard (formerly known as Conduit Road) and over Cabin John Creek inside the Union Arch Bridge.  Water arrives at the district's Dalecarlia and McMillan Reservoirs, where it is settled and stored, then treated and distributed by the DC Water and Sewer Authority. The aqueduct is operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The exact location...

The Washington at Valley Forge memorial is an equestrian statue of George Washington   (1732–1799), Commander in Chief and first President of the United States (1789–97), sculpted by Henry Merwin Shrady in 1901.  It is the centerpiece of Brooklyn’s Continental Army Plaza. In the 1930s, the memorial was restored with New Deal funding, initially from the Public Works of Art Project and later by the WPA.  The work was overseen by Karl Gruppe, chief sculptor of the Monument Restoration Project of the New York City Parks Department from 1934 to 1937.  The restoration work was filmed and can be found here. The sculpture and...

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 Deal redeveloped the entire place from 1935 to 1943. Several pieces of New Deal legislation were needed for this massive project, including the River and Harbor Act of 1935 and the War Department Civil Appropriations Act of 1939.  These granted approval and provided initial and supplemental funding for a grand modernization and beautification of the Washington Channel and Southwest Waterfront. This...

According to a Works Progress Administration index card $1,580 was spent to "Improve cemetery on Elm Avenue south of Easton in Fresno County. Work to include trimming, clearing and removing trees, landscaping and grading, together with work incidental thereto. The sponsor is a political subdivision of the state. In addition to projects specifically approved. Washington Colony Cemetery District owned property." The sponsors contribution was $306. The job was begun Dec. 17, 1936, took 2 months to complete and employed 12 people.

The current Washington County Courthouse in Brenham, Texas is the fourth courthouse constructed for the county. Architect Travis Broesche designed the 3-1/2 story building in an Art Deco style with a limestone veneer over structural steel. The courthouse was built with Works Progress Administration assistance in 1939 by contractor C.L. Browning, Jr. There is minimal ornamentation except for light stands and cast aluminum eagles at the entries.

"Washington Crossing Historic Park is a 500-acre site operated by The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in partnership with the Friends Of Washington Crossing Park. The park is divided into two sections. One section of the park, the "lower park," is headquartered in the village of Washington Crossing located in Upper Makefield Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania..." (Wikipedia) The WPA and CWA did extensive work on Bowman's Hill and the surrounding area: "During the mid 1930s there were approximately seven major improvement projects completed at Bowman's Hill under the Civil Works Administration and Works Progress Administration of the New Deal under President...

The WPA repaired the roof of the Washington School in the 1930s.

In 1936, George Pearse Ennis completed this stained glass window, entitled, "Life of Washington," for the Works Progress Administration/Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP). It was installed in Washington Hall, the Mess Hall of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Washington Union High School in the small Fresno County town of Easton received $45,000 for the building of a new gymnasium in 1940.

This bust of Washington Irving has an interesting history: "In the late 1800s to early 1900s, a large bronze bust of Washington Irving, mounted on a granite pedestal, stood in the south side of Bryant Park. The author of “Sleepy Hollow” and many other works, Irving was one of the first American writers to gain international acclaim. The statue was donated to the City of New York in 1885 by Joseph Weiner, a German physician and admirer of Irving’s. Sculpted by artist Friedrich Beers, the bust was originally intended for placement in Central Park. Upon completion some members of the NYC...

The Works Progress Administration built a city park in Buffalo, Johnson County, Wyoming. Today the park is stil in operation under the name Washington Memorial Park.

The Works Progress Administration built a municipal pool in Buffalo, Johnson County. Today the pool is still in service under the name Washington Memorial Park Swimming Pool. Living New Deal believes the pool was constructed in conjunction with WPA work undertaken at the City Park.

The Washington Monument grounds – the core area of the National Mall – was substantially altered and improved, including a major reconfiguration of the streets. The work was paid for by the Public Works Administration (PWA) from a fund of over $1 million provided for an overhaul of the entire National Mall.  Labor was mostly provided by Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) relief workers. First, the Washington Monument grounds were raised and reconditioned with new topsoil, followed by reseeding of the lawns. Second, the circular roadway on the north side of Monument was eliminated and a highway in the line of...

Washington Monument State Park was first developed by the CCC, circa 1934-1936. The CCC built a number of structures in the park, but the most well-known is the Washington Monument, the first completed monument to honor George Washington. The monument was first built in 1827, by the townspeople of nearby Boonsboro; but by 1934 it was in near-complete ruin. The CCC demolished what was left, and rebuilt the monument to its original specifications. This relatively small park is a good location for hiking (the park’s hiking trail is part of the Appalachian Trail), picnicking, and is “an ideal site for spotting...

Many improvements were made to the U.S Navy Yard and Naval Ammunition Depot (now called the Washington Navy Yard) throughout the New Deal, from 1934 to 1941. In 1933, the Washington Post reported that $325,000 had been allotted by the Public Works Administration (PWA) to improvements at the Navy Yard; the funds were dispensed in 1934 for the modernization of the heating plant.  A 1937 Navy report provides specifics on that work: “new concrete foundations, structural steel boiler supports, air-cooled boiler settings, stoker-fired furnaces, smoke breeching, coal chutes, forced-draft fans, operating platforms and walkways, boiler plant accessories, piping and electric wiring;...

This large park sits on both sides of a creek that meanders through the grounds and is crossed by several bridges. The park was developed by the WPA in the 1930s. The Washington Park shelter house on Missouri St was originally an open air structure, but has been enclosed and added onto. The bridge to the baseball field has a WPA insignia in the rock work. A large tennis court is on the east side of the park. Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe played on these courts. Extensive rock wall are found adjacent to the creek for erosion control.

Adjacent to Portland’s International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park, the amphitheater served originally as a venue for “all ceremonies incident to the christening of roses or functions held in honor of roses in Portland”(1921). Designed to accommodate 5000 people viewing a 300-square foot stage, the Washington Park Amphitheater has become a popular public venue for concerts, theater performances and other events since it conception as the “Portland Rose Theater” or “Rose Bowl Theater” (1921; 1924; 1937). In 1941, Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers helped document the Washington Park Amphitheater architectural plans and complete access to the natural amphitheater by constructing...

The Washington Park Arboretum is a public park, run as a joint project between the University of Washington and the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. "In 1933, the Public Works Administration did some rough clearing in Washington Park, but it was not until 1935 that real progress began... Governor Martin proposed the Arboretum as a candidate for additional Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding to Washington Senator Lewis B. Schwellenbach, who approached the WPA with the suggestion. The Arboretum was designated an official project of the WPA, which authorized the employment of 800 workers at a cost of $1.5 million. The WPA funding...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) expanded Washington Park in Laramie, Wyoming.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) developed Washington Memorial Park in Guernsey, Wyoming. "In Guernsey, Washington Memorial Park was fenced, graded and given sidewalks and water mains." There does not presently appear to be a park by this name in Guernsey; the site and status of this project is presently unknown to Living New Deal.