Work Relief Programs Sites

Town reports from 1936, 1937, & 1938 mention minor W.P.A. work relief efforts in the small town of 400 people. A WPA Blister Rust control program employed 10 people in 1936 and 4 people in 1937. The WPA spent $41.00 and 7 people were employed in 1938 on minor bridge and road repair work

"A special town meeting in 1933 was devoted mainly to motions aimed at making applications for public-works projects to the State Civilian Works Administration (CWA), a Depression-inspired program to find work for the unemployed... Women were urged to file with Mrs. Wingate in December 1933 regarding a CWA sewing project that would involve either a community sewing room or part-time work for women at home. In February 1934, a federally funded evening school was underway at the academy. There were 57 people enrolled in typewriting and 30 in bookkeeping. The Union reported, "They say some of Hampton's leading businessmen are spending...

From 1938 to 1940, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) operated a sewing project in Hillsborough, NH, to making clothing for the needy while providing work for the unemployed.  

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) commissioned, constructed, and cut the historic World War Memorial at Draper Memorial Park in Milford, Mass. It was dedicated Nov. 11, 1939.

This Art Deco auditorium, also known as Memorial Hall, was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and and dedicated on September 30, 1937. The structure has been used for community events and also houses city and police offices, the American Legion, etc. The building bears a (non-original) sign crediting construction to the WPA.

The World War Memorial Building, which houses the Alabama Department of Archives and History, "was completed in 1940 with the aid of WPA funds". The Greek Revival-style building, designed by Warren, Knight, and Davis of Birmingham, is still in service.

What is currently Mandan, North Dakota's city hall was constructed as the World War Memorial Building, completed in 1936. The Civil Works Administration (CWA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided labor for the project.

By the time Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated president in 1933, the United States was suffering the worst economic collapse in its history. In order to stimulate the economy and lessen unemployment, Roosevelt started the Public Works Administration (PWA) and, eventually, the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA completed a wide variety of public works projects, ranging from building sidewalks to painting public murals. One of the most significant WPA projects in Newburyport was the World War Memorial Stadium built in 1938-39. Large portions of the stadium still exist, and it stands as an excellent example of the living New...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a "seventy-five-acre parking field ... for the city north of the World's Fair grounds." 1,950 men worked on the parking lot project, which occupied land north of Roosevelt Ave. The site was on what is now the parking lot for Citi Field.

On June 19, 1939, the Department of Parks announced the opening of two playgrounds in Flushing Meadows Park, one along the Grand Central Parkway, just south of Horace Harding Boulevard. This is most likely what is now known as the World's Fair Playground. The 1939 press release explained that: "These two recreation areas are part of the plan for the ultimate development of the park after the Fair is over and will provide recreation facilities for the present children of the adjacent communities and for an increase in population as additional housing develops around the park. In the playground near Horace Harding...

The county courthouse was built in 1893. The Works Progress Administration enlarged and remodeled the facility in 1939. One Romanesque tower was completely replaced.

One of two buildings constructed by the WPA in the African American community of Oak Grove, the gymnasium is "...an example of a simple but handsomely balanced design which reveals the skill of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers" (Story, 1990). The school principal from 1932-1935, Mr. Vines, received a grant to use WPA labor to construct a home economics cottage. Shortly after approval, the 1925 Rosenwald funded school in the community burned, and Mr. Vines sought a new administration/classroom building as well. L. W. Johnson, principal in 1935, worked with county superintendent Basil Munn to obtain a new gymnasium...

This collection of WPA art is now housed in the Octavia Fellin Public Library in Gallup, New Mexico The collection consists of 29 listed items including furniture, oil paintings, watercolors, pastels, etchings and sculpture. All items were obtained from the Gallup Arts Center (a WPA Arts Center) when it was demolished to make room for the City Hall in Gallup New Mexico. Documents at the library detail each work as well as the history of the collection.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) operated a "bathing beach," including swimming instruction classes, at the southeast corner of Mirror Lake in Browns Mills, New Jersey.

WPA bridge in rural Oklahoma. "This bridge represents hundreds of similar bridges throughout Oklahoma, spanning the many creeks that meander throughout the countryside. This bridge is 5 miles south of Garber in Garfield County. It is just north of County Road 450 (Southgate Road), one mile east of Highway 74. The road is unpaved. The bridge is of concrete construction, built in 1936-1937."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

"This is one of the non-descript WPA-constructed bridges throughout Oklahoma that are a surprise to find. Driving north on Broadway from Edmond, you cross Waterloo Road which is the boundary between Oklahoma and Logan Counties... On the southeast side of the bridge, a vertical, three foot high concrete slab is marked "WPA / 1939". It stands on a stone wall which is part of the retainment structure of the bridge. A sign shows that the bridge capacity is 16 tons. There is no sign of deterioration and this is an example of the incredible work done by relatively unskilled workers under the...

The Works Progress Administration was a Federal program during the Great Depression designed to provide jobs and make public improvements. A concrete bridge south of Ashbury St between the Middlesboro Intermediate School and 17th Street has the inscription “W.P.A. 1938.”

Carrollton, Georgie's historic City Gym building, now known as WPA Center, is a stone building located at the corner of North Cliff and Chandler Streets, overlooking Park (US 27). The building was constructed with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor in 1937. Combination community center and gymnasium. According to the city, the facility is available for rentals: "There are now two offices and a small kitchen in the building plus a 90’x 52’ Reception Hall with a gas log fireplace. Banquet or Meeting capacity is 200, plus there is extra seating for 50 in the original bleachers on one side of the hall."

This prominently displayed 1940 WPA marker stands in the grass at the edge of a small park in Alma, and most likely refers to WPA construction of the park itself. It does also border the town's high school, and could potentially refer to that project instead.

The building was originally constructed as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) District Offices In Tallahassee, the WPA or PWA funded numerous civic projects, including the Leon County Jail, Leon High School, the Leon County Health Unit, the Leon County Armory, an addition to the old Florida Capitol, and the Dining Hall at Florida State University. Numerous other projects in the North Florida region were also completed, including the Apalachicola River bridge between Blountstown and Bristol, the original John Gorrie Memorial Bridge between Eastpoint and Apalachicola, improvements to the Jefferson County Jail in Monticello; a new main post office in Perry;...

The Bandon Fire, which burned the majority of the town on September 26, 1936, displaced a number of the city's residents from their destroyed houses. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) promptly responded to a request for emergency housing by using WPA workers to construct 36 cottages. Despite the temporary nature of the original emergency housing, one still remains in the NE area of Bandon. While the demand for alternatives to the tent city that housed displaced residents was great, the emergency housing units were developed explicitly for those households on relief. Bandon residents who were employed were directed to the Federal...

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) leased the 12-story, 70,000 square-foot Furniture Mart Building for use as their headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. The site would become a hub of administrative activity and deep-seated controversy. Under the leadership of Ralph L. Dalton, WPA director for Los Angeles County, both African American men and women were initially appointed to administrative roles. However, systemic discrimination persisted, as evidenced by a 1935 incident in which Black applicants who had passed the WPA's stenographer examination were asked to report to headquarters, only to be turned away and told their assignment was a mistake. Later...

"On Mackinac Island, several WPA engravers created incredibly detailed, two-sided oak signs showing scenes of the island's heritage." Hand-carved, many were created for placement outside the island's historic buildings. After decades of decay, Carpenter Dale Gensman rescued seven signs from disposal and undertook a multi-year project to restore them. According to the Oakland Press, "each sign stands about 3.5-feet-tall, 2.5-feet wide and weighs almost 300-pounds." As of 2017 the remaining seven signs, since restored, can be found at four different sites on the island, one in use and six on display:  in front of the Mackinac Island Courthouse;  on display at the Stuart House City Museum;...

"The WPA worked at malaria prevention ... swampy mosquito breeding area near the center of Southington, Connecticut ... was converted to a free-flowing canal by the WPA."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) employed seven craftsmen to create miniatures of classic American furniture for schools, museums, and libraries. The work was performed in the old Crescent Furniture Factory in Evansville under the supervision of Rheinhard Schmitt. The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library (EVPL) has a large collection of the pieces that are rotated through display in the Indiana Room at EVPL Central. The Princeton, Indiana Public Library has some of the miniatures from its own collection on display. The Ball State University Library reportedly also has some of the pieces.

Behind the Rio Medina Store in Rio Medina, Texas is a wooden Works Progress Administration (WPA) outhouse. The base of the structure is marked.

This Works Progress Administration outhouse was relocated to the county historical society property. It was built in a shop, moved to the original site, and installed by WPA. WPA programs like the Indiana Community Sanitation Program directly affected an astounding number of people. WPA built 125,791 outhouses for the state of Indiana (paying $4 million in wages) and more than 2 million nationwide.

The Works Progress Administration improved and managed the oyster dredge in Apalachicola FL.

In October 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) opened a “production for use” plant in Glendale, CA. Initially the plant’s workforce consisted of 12 men and women. When operating at full force, 100-150 men and women were employed canning, baking, dehydrating fruits, processing meats and cereals, repairing shoes, and manufacturing clothes. The structure that housed the relief center is extant at 700 Ivy Street.

Three hundred and seventy-three men and women were employed at the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief center in Santa Monica, CA when it relocated from Twelfth St to the former Lorbeer laundry building on Main St in October 1937. It appears the structure that housed the relief center on Main St is still extant, but confirmation is needed. When the state refused to continue providing materials in early 1938, Los Angeles County suspended WPA sewing projects and discharged 5,000 women. Santa Monica proposed to take over, with the mayor claiming, “We will continue operation of the sewing room for Santa Monica...

The Work Projects Administration constructed a bridge over Long Creek outside Alpena, Arkansas, on what is known as WPA Road, in 1942.

The WPA allocated $6,105 toward street improvements for the town of Dutton, Montana in August 1938.

The WPA allocated $10,807 for the improvement of "roads and alleys" in Miles City, MT in July 1938.

The WPA allocated $8,891 for the improvement of "roads and alleys" in Red Lodge, MT in July 1938.

The WPA allocated $3,830 for the improvement of "streets, alleys, and sidewalks" in Valier, MT during July 1938.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a school, a wall, and other annex facilities in Cache OK. Contributor note: "Originally, this 1938 WPA Project included not only the remaining wall, but a Home Ec building, Tennis courts, a School, and a Gymnasium. The buildings are no longer extant, and have been replaced by newer construction. Portions of the concrete tennis courts are still visible. Photos and write-ups of the buildings can be found on the Oklahoma Inventory Database at the website shown below (Items 68184, 68185 and 69183). These are located at 3rd Street and H Avenue (NW Cache Road). The approximately 30...

"An old school building in the northern Idaho town of Worley is slated for demolition, but a newly formed historical society is scrambling to have the structure saved. Catherine Morris told the Coeur d'Alene Press the Worley Historical Society formed this summer after residents spotted an article reporting the school district's plan to demolish the run-down Worley School building. Morris, the president of the group, said the school — built in the late 1930s by the Works Project Administration, a New Deal agency that carried out public works projects using unskilled workers — is an important part of local history. The...

In the 1930s, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) sewing room was set up in Fire Station No. 12, built prior to the New Deal in 1929, in Long Beach, CA. The building was not used as a fire station until 1936, due to lack of funding.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) sewing room in Los Angeles’s Exposition Park neighborhood provided jobs for workers, most of them women, during the 1930s and early 1940s. These sewing rooms focused on producing garments for men, women, and children often relating to public relief efforts. At the time, Exposition Park was a predominantly Latino neighborhood, though by the 1950s and 1960s, the area began to see a growing African American population. In 1940, the sewing room came under scrutiny after Black workers raised concerns about mistreatment by project forelady Minnie Robinson. Over two months, employees reported biased behavior, overly harsh supervision,...

In 1936, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) sewing room opened in North Hollywood, CA. The project employed approximately 200 women, who sewed dresses, shirts, and other necessities. Most of the clothing articles were for under-privileged children. The women were paid $55.00 a month for their work, with skilled workers earning slightly higher. The building in North Hollywood, which housed this sewing room, has since been demolished. This was one of many sewing rooms established across Los Angeles county.