Work Relief Programs Sites

From NYC Parks: "William McCray Playground is one of nine playgrounds that was built by the Parks Department through a war memorial fund, and was opened simultaneously on July 15, 1934. The War Memorial Fund of $250,000 was established in 1921 with monies collected by the Police Department, and by 1934 the fund—never spent—had grown in value to $350,000. Seeking additional open spaces for children, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses obtained a legal ruling which permitted use of the fund for playground development. Marked with a commemorative tablet, each property was to honor the memory of a soldier who gave his life...

In 1940, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded the creation of William Penn Park in Whittier, CA. A playground and picnic areas were included in the construction, and the park was landscaped with lily ponds, fountains, and ornamental lights. Some of the WPA stamps from 1940 remain in the sidewalks.    

"Two new junior high schools in Bangor were built and equipped at the cost of $740,000. Every cent of this was paid by the W.P.A. (Works Projects Administration) City Manager Wallace designed the two school grounds." Original name was the Garland Street Jr. High School. Name changed in 1997 to the William S. Cohen School, named after former Secretary of Defense William Cohen who was born and grew up in Bangor . It is located at 304 Garland Street in Bangor Maine. "The Cohen school and its sister school, the James F. Doughty School were both built with funds from the Works...

NYC Parks' website explains that "The City purchased this land for park purposes in 1934, and Adolf A. Berle, Jr. signed the deed as trustee of the War Memorial Fund, which donated the playground in Sheridan’s name. One of nine memorial playgrounds, it was dedicated on July 15, 1934." This was one of nine playgrounds constructed with War Memorial and TERA funds in 1934.

A small park in Bangor with playground equipment, a basketball court and non functioning tennis court with plans to convert it into a Pickleball court. When constructed by the WPA as part of their comprehensive city-wide work program it originally contained a tennis court, concrete wading pool, playground area, baseball diamond and football field. According to various people who grew up in Bangor, the playground was a very important part of their lives and memories. "We always called it Newberry St. Park. Had a lot of fun there." "My Dad's family, the Burke's lived on Gridley St. and he (Bobby Burke)...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the original ranger station at Williams AZ.  A new main ranger station building and other structures have been added, but two CCC residences and barn/garage are still there (we are uncertain about the status of the shed and small garage). "Williams Ranger Station contains five historic buildings: two residences, horse barn/garage and corral, shed, and small garage that were constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees in the Bungalow/Craftsman style in 1934. The well-preserved buildings and their setting offer an excellent example of depression-era architecture and Forest Service design. Bungalows in the Craftsman style were usually...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) rebuilt Williams St. in Pittsfield, Mass. WPA Bulletin: William Street, Pittsfield, a direct route from Pittsfield center to the Washington Mountain Road is being widened and reconstructed by WPA. Work includes filling, grading, oiling, building catch basins and a culvert and general repairs to a mile of roadway.  

From 1934 to 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) employed workers to construct Williamsbridge Oval in The Bronx's Norwood neighborhood, one of the most diverse areas of the City. Researcher Frank da Cruz notes the WPA Classic Moderne Style of its recreation center that he tells us was "constructed from granite quarried and cut on the site by WPA workers." He also points out that the park got it's name because of its oval shape which is "inherited from the reservoir it replaced." Da Cruz goes on to explain that Oval Park was, "Originally the site of Gun Hill Williamsbridge Reservoir, constructed in 1884-89, that supplied...

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with street repair and maintenance projects that improved roads throughout the Bronx. A 1.9-mile stretch of Williamsbridge Road was surfaced with penetrated macadam as a result of one $115,000 WPA project.

According to a digitized project card at the National Archives, the WPA dedicated more than $400,000 in 1935 toward the construction of a new roadway on the Williamsburg Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to Manhattan in New York City. Among the improvements, was the construction of a new eastbound lane. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-34. There were no records in The New York Times confirming WPA involvement with the Williamsburg Bridge. However, newspaper records and National Archives documents prove Public Works Administration (PWA) involvement with such a project, which occurred in 1938-9. The PWA provided a $239,319 grant for the roadway reconstruction; the total project cost was...

The school at Williamsburg was destroyed by fire and a new building was erected. Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects approved in the amount of $13,604 in July 1935 included construction of a gymnasium and improvements to the teacher’s house. Fifty-eight men were employed on the project, which included grading and graveling the road to the school. The school building is still extant and has been in use as a furniture company since 1959 after the school closed. The status of the teacher's house and gymnasium are unknown.

The Williamson Avenue underpass beneath the Santa Fe railway line was built with the aid of the Work Progress Administration (WPA), c 1937. "Construction of the Williamson Avenue underpass was a fine example of cooperating agencies (Works Progress Administration, Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the State of Arizona, and the City of Winslow) to fund and develop an important engineered structure to improve Winslow's traffic flow." The underpass has been repainted in recent years, probably as part of Winslow's effort to attract more tourists.

The Williamsport Community Building at Byron Memorial Park, in Williamsport, Maryland, was constructed by WPA workers in 1938. The building is still used today, highlighting once again the enduring value of WPA projects.

The Williamsport Memorial Library was built with the assistance of the WPA in 1936-1937. The library is a memorial to 14 Williamsport High School students who lost their lives in 1935, when the bus they were riding in was hit by a train.

This beautiful structure, the Williamsport Town Hall, was built by the WPA in 1939.

The Legion post was constructed 1934 with $2,900 allotment from the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) and $2,000 from the Legionnaires, who also contributed the lot. The facility was destroyed by fire following repairs after it was used to house flood victims in the 1937 flood. A new facility was erected on the site of the former building.

The original Willis Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River opened in 1901. In the 1930s, the WPA allocated $326,290 toward reconstruction of the roadway crossing the Willis Avenue Bridge, which connects the Bronx to Manhattan in New York City. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-37. Due to its deteriorating condition, the bridge was replaced starting in 2007 when a new bridge was built. The old bridge remained a pedestrian-only bridge for three years, and was then dismantled.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a bridge across Granite Creek on West Willis Street (at Granite St), just northwest of downtown Prescott AZ, in 1937. It is a simple concrete span with a central pillar and low railings.  It still stands. The WPA project card in the National Archives is mislabeled as the Virginia Street bridge – an understandable error, given that there are two WPA bridges, one on West Willis and one on East Willis Street (the Virginia Street bridge is not actually on Virginia Street, just next to it).

"The park is associated with several Great Depression era federal relief programs. Constructed between 1933 and 1938 under the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA), creation of the park provided a source of employment in Lamar during much of the Depression. Willow Creek Park was Colorado’s first CWA project and the first planned park in Lamar, providing a location for active and passive recreation activities. A prominent feature of the city, the park’s buildings and stone features are good examples of the Rustic style as interpreted by New Deal agencies....

An inventory of WPA project photographs compiled by Becky Jordan at Iowa State University includes reference to numerous public works projects undertaken by the agency in Iowa between 1935 and 1940. The collection of 1,271 photographs documents the variety and extent of New Deal related efforts undertaken in the Hawkeye State. The Mason City park retaining wall on Willow Creek in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa (Project 3650) is included among the many WPA projects described in the collection.

"In May 1935 planning for the Willow Freeway began and WPA funds were committed to the project; construction commenced in 1938, with the building of the first "cloverleaf" interchange in the state. The cloverleaf, completed 21 Oct. 1940 at a cost of $1.175 million, brought the new highway (Rt. 21) over Brookpark/Schaaf/Granger roads (Rt. 17) ..."

The Works Progress Administration built facilities at the Willow Wood Community Center. The park is still in service today under the name Willow Wood Recreation Center.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the domestic science building at Willowbrook Middle School in Compton, CA.

In 1949, the Willowcreek Community Church purchased the former CCC Camp Vale's Recreation/Commissary Building for use as their gathering space. Renovations changed the building soon after its purchase, including the addition of a living space in the back of the building and placing sheet rock on the church's interior walls. Over thirty years elapsed when, in the 1980s, an effort to insulate the building required removal of the sheet rock. That renovation work revealed the original walls and, to the church members' surprise, the murals painted by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollee Frederick H. Kluemper. That discovery sparked an interest among...

43 men of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked for nine months to develop and improved the road between Willsboro and Reber, New York. It is unclear whether this is what is now known as local route 14: South Mountain View Drive, or 14A: Sunset Drive, though Living New Deal believes it to be the latter.

In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers constructed four bridges as a part of a wider flood control project on Compton Creek. The bridges are located on Wilmington Ave., Compton Blvd., Olive St., and Rosecrans Ave. The bridge projects employed 750 workers.

The Works Progress Administration / Work Projects Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at New Bern National Cemetery in New Bern, North Carolina. As detailed in a DoD report: Project description: Improve the National Cemetery, including planting trees, fertilizing, reseeding lawns and grounds, cleaning and resetting headstones, grading, landscaping, painting fences; Project No. 765-32-2-3; Cost: $3,723.00; Sponsor: Commanding General, 4th Corps Area, U.S. Army

Montpelier's 40th Annual Report details many roadwork projects undertaken in 1934 with Vermont Emergency Relief Administration (V.E.R.A.) funds, including: "Wilson Street and George Street, stone base and graveling".

The federal Works Progress Administration undertook a $93,900 project starting in 1935 to modernize and otherwise improve several public (now-former) bath facilities in Brooklyn, NY. The public baths at Wilson Ave. and Willoughby Ave. were constructed in 1908; the building has since been demolished. The facilities identified as part of the WPA project were: 209 Wilson Ave. Municipal Baths, Coney Island Duffield Street Hicks Street Pitkin Ave. Huron St. Montrose Ave.

Rochester's Wilson Commencement Academy houses a series of murals commissioned by the federal Works Progress Administration, painted by Carl W. Peters. "In 1937, Rochester’s WPA art project was called "the most interesting and effective outside of New York City” by the regional director of the Federal Art Project. Rochester’s model program—hosted and administered by the Memorial Art Gallery—funded several mural groups by the artist Carl W. Peters." (https://mag.rochester.edu/murals/) "Wilson Commencement Academy was originally called West High School. Carl W. Peters received the commission for the West High School murals in 1937/38 and chose as his subject matter the early years of Rochester...

Now housed at Rochester's Wilson Foundation Academy, the federal Works Progress Administration commissioned a series of murals by Carl W. Peters for the city's since-demolished Madison High School. "In 1937, Rochester’s WPA art project was called "the most interesting and effective outside of New York City” by the regional director of the Federal Art Project. Rochester’s model program—hosted and administered by the Memorial Art Gallery—funded several mural groups by the artist Carl W. Peters." (https://mag.rochester.edu/murals/) "Peters was awarded the commission for the Madison High School murals in March of 1937. His subject matter—Life of Action and Life of Contemplation—is a topic that...

Wilson Park bears a (non-original) sign attributing the park to the Work Projects Administration (WPA), Project No. 3846; year: 1940. There are stone walls and small staircases at the park; this said, it is unknown to Living New Deal what, if any, work from the New Deal era is still extant. Per Bunkowske, "It was not uncommon for WPA employees to work side by side with Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) members on projects throughout the Black Hills and in Rapid City. Some of these projects included landscaping work that utilized native stone in rock walls and ponds throughout Canyon Lake and...

The National Youth Administration built the Wilson Park Community Building in Bedford IN. Originally a shelter house, now (2022) a community building, features high-quality stone work including a large fireplace visible in pictures on the City of Bedford web page.  

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Wilson Park Entrance in Bedford IN in 1936. According to Ron Bell writing for Times-Mail, the WPA added "new entrances at Otis, Thornton and Wilson parks "

The National Youth Administration (NYA) built the Wilson Park Shelter House in Bedford IN. Originally picnic shelter, 2022 (apparently) storage building. The material and workmanship of New Deal projects in Bedford, Indiana is remarkable. The city is the center of the Indiana limestone industry the, for example, provided the stone for the Empire State Building. Even the "park rustic" projects show a high level of fit and finish that is a credit to local stone workers.

"Oregon Route 6 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon that runs between the city of Tillamook on the Oregon Coast, to the Willamette Valley, near Banks. It (or portions thereof) is also known as the Wilson River Highway No. 37 (see Oregon highways and routes), named after the river its westernmost segments run parallel to...During the Great Depression workers from the Works Progress Administration assisted in the construction of the road." (Wikipedia) "The Wolf Creek and Wilson River highways were designed to provide a more direct route from Portland to the Oregon Coast, as well as work relief...

The Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) conducted improvement work at Maynard's former Wilson School, including the installation of smoke partitions. The Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) conducted further work in 1941. All school buildings in the town "on the exterior have been completely renovated by having the windows weather stripped, puttied and painted. The interior... are now being repaired with W.P.A. labor by installing new celotex ceilings where needed, replacing plaster ceilings that were beyond repairs, having the hallways, classrooms washed and painted. These repairs have added consiterabl to the appearance of our school buildings." The building was destroyed by fire in 1952.  

All 17 schoolhouses in Framingham, Massachusetts were painted, remodeled, and/or repaired with federally funded labor during the Great Depression. The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) was most likely the agency involved with work at the Wilson School. The structures of the then-Woodrow Wilson School appear to have been replaced with modern facilities; a school of the same name continues to operate at the same location.

Civil Works Administration funded improvement work at Wilson-Ledbetter Park in Cameron. Lizzy Batey Ledbetter deeded the twenty-five acres of land for Wilson-Ledbetter Park to the City of Cameron in 1914. An excerpt from the state historical marker at the site reads: "The Cameron Herald reported on November 16, 1933 that the Civil Works Administration (CWA), a federal new deal program, would fund improvements at the park and provide work for hundreds of unemployed men. The Herald reported on May 2, 1935 that “when the Texas centennial celebration is held in Texas in 1936, Cameron should have one of the most beautiful parks in...

"Winch Park is the sister park to Butterworth and is located in Saxonville adjacent to the Framingham High School. It includes a baseball stadium that includes permanent bleachers on one side of the field, a basketball court, tennis courts and two large practice fields used for football, soccer and lacrosse. There are two additional multi-use fields located on the other side of the high school's gymnasium building." "Bowditch, along with Butterworth and Winch Parks, were all built during the Great Depression of the 1930s as WPA projects." (Wikipedia)