• Walnut Creek Grammar School Playground Improvements (demolished) - Walnut Creek CA
    The Walnut Creek grammar school operated from 1871 to 1956 to serve a very sparse population of 1,014 (1930 census). The shopping center Plaza Esquela has a plaque noting the former location of the Grammar School. WPA Project No. 165-3-3137, App. Date Apr 22, 1937, $12,270, Total Funds $14,650, Average Employed 63, Federal Man-Hours 20,228, Sponsor: Walnut Creek School District, "Improve playground at the Walnut Creek Grammar School in the city of Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, by grading and surfacing area, constructing retaining walls, erecting fence, constructing baseball backstop, reconstructing handball court, etc. Exclusive of projects specifically approved. Walnut Creek...
  • Walnut Street Curb - Clayton NM
    A WPA imprint stamp marks the curb along the Walnut Street side of the Hertzstein Memorial Museum.
  • Walt Whitman House Restoration - Camden NJ
    The W.P.A. conducted restoration and preservation work at "the clapboard house at Camden, N.J., in which the Good Gray Poet, Walt Whitman, spent the last years of his life."
  • Walter C. Davis Memorial Building - Romney WV
    This WPA stone building served as an annex building to the Hampshire County Courthouse in Romney, West Virginia, for many years. Though it was recommended for demolition in 2003, it survived and is currently being used as a government office building. The building was constructed circa 1935-1943.
  • Walter Reed General Hospital (former) Improvements - Washington DC
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and its successor, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), both engaged in improvement projects at the old Walter Reed General Hospital (as it was then known).  The entire army medical complex, covering around 80 acres, was closed down in 2011 and Walter Reed Army Medical Center  (as it came to be known) moved out to Bethesda MD.    The former site has been repurposed as the Children's National Hospital and a huge mixed commercial and residential development, The Parks at Walter Reed. CWA crews painted buildings, planted trees, and helped build an elevator shaft at the center...
  • Walter Reed Middle School - North Hollywood CA
    "Well-known Los Angeles architect John C. Austin designed the Renaissance-inspired buildings of North Hollywood Junior High School (which was renamed in 1957). In addition to providing the plans for numerous schools throughout the Los Angeles region, Austin, either alone or in association with other architects, is credited for the architecture of the Griffith Park Observatory, Shrine Auditorium, and Los Angeles City Hall." - https://www.laschools.org/employee/design/fs-studies-and-reports/download/LAUSD_Presentation_March_2002.pdf?version_id=1895945 An image of the school was also used, apparently accidentally, as a backdrop to one of John McCain's campaign speeches in 2008! - https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/09/mccain-and-that.html
  • Walter Reed National Military Medical Center - Bethesda MD
    The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center began life as the National Naval Medical Center under the New Deal. Congress appropriated the funds in 1937 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected the site in Bethesda, Maryland.   Architect Paul Cret designed a magnificent Moderne building with a tower that still delights (though much obscured by subsequent additions to the complex).  Construction began in 1939.  FDR laid the cornerstone of the famous tower on Armistice Day 1940, and the center opened soon thereafter (probably some time in 1941, not 1940 as most sources say). According to the official Center website, "The President’s vision was to...
  • Walter Stokes School (closed) - Nashville TN
    The Walter Stokes School in Nashville, Tennessee was undertaken with the assistance of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. The Colonial Revival building was constructed with ten classrooms and a cafeteria. It temporarily housed Julia Green Elementary School and continues to operate as Walter Stokes Middle School following rejected plans to sell the property in 2010. As of 2014: The school has been sold to the nearby Lipscomb University, a private Christian institution. For now, the building stands vacant and the grounds serve as a parking area for the college. It would not be surprising were the college...
  • Walton Field Improvements - Wakefield MA
    Walton Field in Wakefield, Massachusetts "was improved in the 1930s as part of the WPA program."
  • Wampatuck Road Reconstruction - Quincy MA
    W.P.A. project description: "The three projects, which were approved and on which work was started late in the year, provide for the reconstruction of: first, Wampatuck Road from Furnace Brook Parkway to Chickatawbut Road, Quincy, a distance of 4,800 feet ... All these roads will have a width of 30 feet and have a 5-inch bituminous concrete surface on a 12-inch gravel base. Also, an 8-ft. wide, 2-inch bituminous surfaced walk will be constructed adjacent to and for the whole length of each road. Work will include excavation of earth, rock and ledge, installation of drainage systems, filling and grading, loaming...
  • Wampum Park - Eatontown NJ
    This park and recreational lake was created largely by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and dedicated in 1940. The borough of Eatontown funded $3,500 of the cost of the project and the WPA $35,000. The park is still in use.
  • Wapato Park - Tacoma WA
    “Wapato Park was the site of a major WPA work project. Sherman Ingalls, Metropolitan Park District Supervisor at Wapato directed the project and designed the park improvements. The WPA built bridges, boat and bathhouse, modern kitchen with hot and cold water; installed electrical outlets; graded, leveled and seeded the park; built modern ball fields, a sandy bathing beach, and a stone entrance; cleared roads and pathways, and developed Alpine gardens and a lily pond.” ("History of Wapato Park.")
  • War Memorial - West New York NJ
    West New York's War Memorial was constructed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1937. The New York Times wrote: "A triangular monument, with thirteen steps on each side representing the twenty-six residents of this place who lost their lives in the World War, was dedicated this afternoon at exercises attended by 5,000 persons." The $7,000 monument, which the Times reported as being on "Boulevard East near Tenth Street," (these days, J. F. Kennedy Blvd. north of 54th Street) "was built by the township with labor provided by the WPA. According to Township Commissioner Leo Honore ... 90 per cent of...
  • War Memorial Building (demolished) - Las Vegas NV
     The federal Works Progress Administration helped to construct an old convention center at what is now the northwest corner of Stewart Ave. and N. Las Vegas Blvd. in Las Vegas, Nevada. A National Register of Historic Places registration form states: "For several years a convention center had been supported by Las Vegas's forty or more fraternal lodges who had repeatedly suggested that the town build a multi-storied structure with a hall and offices sufficient to host large convention meetings. Financing would come from the lodges renting space. But it would not be enough. A solution was finally reached in the Fall of...
  • War Memorial Golf Course Clubhouse - Little Rock AR
    The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) had a great impact on War Memorial Park, including constructing the "golf clubhouse".
  • War Memorial Park - Little Rock AR
    The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) had a great impact on War Memorial Park. "During the 1930s the original zoo buildings, the golf clubhouse, the bathhouse and the swimming pool were constructed by WPA workers." The W.P.A. likely undertook other construction projects at the project as well, such as stone walls and the 1940 bridge carrying "Club House Drive" over Coleman Creek.
  • War Memorial Park - West Bridgewater MA
    Wikipedia: "War Memorial Park is a public park in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is located south of the town center, bounded by River Street, Arch Street and the Town River. The park was established in the 1930s and was constructed in part with funding from the Works Progress Administration. ... The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008."
  • War Memorial Park - West Bridgewater MA
    Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed War Memorial Park in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. From a W.P.A. Bulletin: The historic home of Capt. John Ames, built in 1774 in West Bridgewater, featuring "Pulpit Rock" where Rev. John Keith in 1663 preached his first sermon to settlers in this country, is being converted by a WPA project into a five-acre park and beauty spot.
  • War Memorial Stadium (former) - Buffalo NY
    A WPA stadium originally completed in 1937, War Memorial Stadium (a.k.a. the Rockpile, or Best Street Stadium) housed the Buffalo Bills before falling into disuse. Though the stadium itself was demolished in 1988, its northeast and southeast entrances have been preserved. A 1940 WPA write-up detailed the project: "Like Bleecker Stadium in Albany, Best Street stadium was an abandoned reservoir, destined to become a city eyesore. Forming a natural amphitheatre the site was converted into a stadium, with concrete stands and walls, seating 38,000 persons. As a result many sports events which the city could not otherwise have accommodated, have been...
  • Ward Street Disposal Station (former) Repairs - Boston MA
    "The following work was done by the W. P. A.: At the Ward Street Station, for the transfer of sand, etc., hoppers were reconstructed, and the ramp renovated."
  • Ward Street Paving - Hartford CT
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) paved 34 streets in Hartford, Connecticut, including Ward Street, as part of a $2.5 million, two-year paving project begun in 1937. The federal government contributed $1 million.
  • Ward Street School (former) Improvements - Worcester MA
    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.
  • Warder Nursery Improvements - Cincinnati OH
    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...
  • Wards Ferry Road - Sonora CA
    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."
  • Wards Island Wastewater Treatment Plant - New York NY
    "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...
  • Wareham St. Sidewalks - Middleborough MA
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded the labor to construct a sidewalk along an unknown distance of Wareham St. in Middleborough, Mass. in 1937.
  • Warren Ballpark Grandstands - Bisbee AZ
    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...
  • Warren Bridge (demolished) Repairs - Boston MA
    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.
  • Warren Flood Control - Bisbee AZ
    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...
  • Warren Street NW Paving - Washington DC
    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 School (former) - Warwick OK
    "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 - Salt Lake City UT
    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...
  • Washburn Ranger Station - Washburn WI
    " 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."
  • Washburn-Gillespie Farm-to-Market Road - Washburn WV
    The Works Progress Administration built a farm-to-market road connecting Washburn with Gillespie, in Ritchie County.
  • Washington Accelerated Elementary - Pasadena CA
    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
  • Washington Aqueduct Repairs - Washington DC
    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...
  • Washington at Valley Forge Memorial Restoration - Brooklyn NY
    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...
  • Washington Channel and Southwest Waterfront Redevelopment - Washington DC
    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...
  • Washington Colony Cemetery - Easton CA
    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.
  • Washington County Courthouse - Brenham TX
    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.