• Washington Crossing Historic Park - New Hope PA
    "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...
  • Washington Elementary School Roof Repair - San Gabriel CA
    The WPA repaired the roof of the Washington School in the 1930s.
  • Washington Hall: Stained Glass Windows - West Point NY
    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 High School Gymnasium - Fresno CA
    Washington Union High School in the small Fresno County town of Easton received $45,000 for the building of a new gymnasium in 1940.
  • Washington Irving Statue Restoration - New York NY
    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...
  • Washington Memorial Park (Buffalo City Park) - Buffalo WY
    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.
  • Washington Memorial Park Swimming Pool - Buffalo WY
    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.
  • Washington Monument Grounds Reconstruction - Washington DC
    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 Navy Yard Improvements - Washington DC
    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;...
  • Washington Park - Jefferson City MO
    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.
  • Washington Park Amphitheater - Portland OR
    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...
  • Washington Park Arboretum - Seattle WA
    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...
  • Washington Park Improvements - Jersey City NJ
    According to the Washington Park Association (WPA), the Works Progress Administration (same abbreviation) helped Washington Park " its current shape." The Association notes, "(The Washington Park Association chose their name wisely when they picked WPA for our abbreviation.)" The details of this project are unknown to Living New Deal. Part of Bergen County's parks system, Washington Park straddles the border between Jersey City and Union City, N.J., and is still in active use.
  • Washington Park Improvements - Milwaukee WI
    "A new drive and parking station was laid out at Washington Park. The lagoon at Washington Park was drained and cleaned."
  • Washington Park Improvements - Pasadena CA
    The Works Progress Administration completed improvements at Washington Park Improvements in Pasadena CA. A plaque located on site reads: "Washington Park is one of the City of Pasadena's earliest public parks. Renowned landscape architect Ralph Cornell and horticulturalist Theodore Payne were hired by the City in 1922 to create a plan for the park and “sunken gardens.” Their design included curving paths, river rock walls, ramadas, picnic areas, and many native plants and formal plantings. Included also were tennis courts and a children's playground. Among Payne and Cornellis other Pasadena projects are Memorial Park and La Pintoresca Park. A wash that ran through...
  • Washington Park Improvements - Yakima WA
    "Final approval of two improvement projects for the City of Yakima was announced today by Don G. Abel, Works Progress Administrator. ... project, slated to be under way December 13, will consist of revamping the landscaping in Washington Park, building of cinder paths, improvement of old ones and a general realignment of the natural setting. Eighteen men will be allotted to the project. While this project will cost the City of Yakima only $288, the WPA will invest $3,351, Abel stated." The exact location of Washington Park in Yakima, Washington is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Washington Park Pavilion - Washington PA
    Washington, Pennsylvania's Washington Park bears a stone pavilion that was built by the WPA.
  • Washington Park Zoo - Michigan City IN
    The Washington Park Zoo is thought to be the only zoo completely designed and landscaped by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and its predecessor agencies (FERA – Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and CWA – Civil Works Administration.) It spans across 15 acres on a hilly sand dune in Michigan City, IN, close to the southeastern tip of Lake Michigan and to this day houses more than 220 animals of 90 different species from around the world. Planning for a zoo board first began when Albert R. Couden was appointed city manager in 1928. He hoped the zoo would work as a...
  • Washington Park Zoo - Milwaukee WI
    The WPA constructed new buildings and made improvements to existing zoo facilities. They built a new elephant house. The zoo no longer exists at this location.
  • Washington Public Market (demolished) - New York NY
    Helen Tangires writes, "During the New Deal, public markets were vital to government efforts to reduce agricultural surplus in the countryside and high food prices in the cities. Under the direction of Fiorello LaGuardia, New York's mayor from 1934 to 1945, municipal architects working in the Department of Markets developed a series of enclosed market houses to replace pushcart markets." With funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA), New York City's Department of Public Markets constructed partially enclosed market sheds, and revitalized former pushcart markets including the Washington Public Market ("Public Markets" by Helen Tangires). The market burned down in the 1950s,...
  • Washington Reservation Improvements - Cleveland OH
    The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted restoration / improvement work at Washington Reservation / Washington Park during the 1930s.
  • Washington School (former) - Sapulpa OK
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) rebuilt the Washington School in Sapulpa OK. Contributor note: "Washington School was closed in 2012 and now serves as the district's Administrative Center. It is listed by the Oklahoma Historical Society as a WPA project. The two-sided cornerstone on the building shows it was originally built in 1903. A second side to the cornerstone shows it was re-built in 1937 by the WPA. We have been unable to determine the extent of the "re-build" and what features are fully WPA construction. Washington School is a three-story brick building with a flat roof. The ground floor is rusticated native...
  • Washington Secretary of State Office Assistance - Olympia WA
    A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 announced that $5,800 was "allotted to the Secretary of State's Office, Olympia. The Olympia project is for the purpose of folding, binding and covering pamphlets and books. The help provided the Secretary of' State will not displace any regularly employed person in that Office."
  • Washington St. Improvements - Barre VT
    In 1934 the Civil Works Adminiistration (C.W.A.) and Emergency Relief Administration (E.R.A.) conducted the following improvement work along part of Washington St. in the City of Barre: The street was widened, graded, drained, slopes sodded and granite retaining walls built. The W.P.A. removed disused street car rails from the street in 1938.
  • Washington Street Improvements - Columbia AL
    The Works Progress Administration carried out improvement work on Washington Street in Columbia, Alabama.
  • Washington Street Sewers - Charleston WV
    Before November 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed sewer lines along Washington Avenue, between 15th and 20th Streets, in the Kanawha City area of Charleston. It appears that work crews left behind such muddy conditions that Chamberlain Junior High (now Elementary) principal complained in a letter to WPA officials. At the time, the streets were known as 15th (now 44th Street) and 20th (now 49th Street). 20th Street was also known as Main Street.  
  • Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site Improvements - Washington TX
    The small frontier town of Washington, Texas entered history on March 2, 1836 when representatives of the largest settlements in Texas met inside an unfinished building near the banks of the Brazos River to declare independence from Mexico. When independence was gained, some of those delegates lobbied to designate Washington as the permanent capital of the new Republic of Texas. However, that honor went to Austin, and by the end of the nineteenth century, Washington was little more than a ghost town. In the 1910s, community groups and influential citizens lobbied Texas legislators to make the state acquire sites related...
  • Washington's Walk - Bronx NY
    Washginton's Walk is an area of parkland extending along the south edge of Jerome Park Reservoir, stretching roughly from Strong Street Playground to Old Fort Four Park. Although we have yet to uncover direct textual evidence of New Deal involvement in the development of this stretch of parkland along the south end of Jerome Park Reservoir, researcher Frank da Cruz makes a persuasive case here for the likelihood of New Deal involvement in building Washington's Walk. First, photos of the area from 1924 show that the park did not exist at that point. So, da Cruz explains, "unless the Bronx...
  • Washita County Jail - Cordell OK
    The Works Progress Administration built the Washita County Jail in Cordell OK. Contributor note: "The former Washita County Jail is a one and two-story stucco building constructed as a WPA project in 1940 with an appropriation of $21,000. The two-story center section has a four-step staircase with masonry sidewalls, leading to a single metal door. Windows are metal casement. To the east and west are one-story stucco wings, with metal framed windows covered with metal bars. A bronze WPA shield is mounted to the right of the door. The building is currently painted a light cream with rust-colored trim. The window framing and...
  • Washita Valley Community Center - Chickasha OK
    "The Washita Valley Community Center at 1500 S. Henderson is built into a hill and is one-story on the front and two-story at the rear. It is constructed of native sandstone and has large window openings filled with glass blocks. A back porch on the second level is accessed by a metal stairway. Several original doors have been blocked in with sandstone. The community center is located next to the Washita Valley Park. It was constructed by the WPA in 1935 with an appropriation of $5,156. This year, the building was refurbished and is now a social space for the town,...
  • Washoe Country Club - Reno NV
    The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) each worked to develop the Washoe Country Club in Reno, Nevada. The historic golf course is still in use today. Work began in May 1935 (by the FERA) and the course was completed in October 1936 (by the WPA).  The course was built on the site of the original Reno airfield.
  • Wastewater System - Avila CA
    "In January, 1937, the community of Avila, consisting of 75 people, installed the first wastewater collection system for the community at a cost of $10,670. This included 5,000 feet of 6” sewer lines, 18 manholes, 1 flush tank, 2 septic tanks and 200 feet of cast iron sewer. This became a WPA project with $8,464 contributed from the WPA resulting in a net cost to the community of $2,206."
  • Wastewater Treatment Plant - Carbon Hill AL
    The Works Progress Administration built a sewage disposal plant in Carbon Hill, circa 1937.
  • Wastewater Treatment Plant and Sewers - Medford Lakes NJ
    Medford Lakes's Municipal Sewer Plant and collection pipelines, Waste Water Treatment Facility and collection system was built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) assistance in 1937-1938. "The sewage system for the community was built in 1937 to 1938 through WPA assistance and has been extended so that now Medford Lakes is completely sewered."
  • Watauga County Courthouse (former) Painting - Boone NC
    The Works Progress Administration worked to improve the former Watauga County Courthouse in Boone, North Carolina by painting the building. The structure has since been demolished and replaced.
  • Watauga County Office Annex - Boone NC
    The Watauga County Courthouse complex in Boone, North Carolina "includes a Works Projects Administration funded building as part of its annex." The striking stone building "was completed in 1939 and housed the Watauga County Library from 1946 through 1997." The building is located at the southwest corner of Queen Street and North Water Street. The News and Observer explained: With county functions becoming greater, Watauga found itself with insufficient space in which to house the public health officer, the county agent, the home demonstration agent, the public welfare department, school superintendent and other governmental agencies. The new county native stone structure now provides...
  • Watchung Reservation - Mountainside NJ
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted work to improve the Watchung Reservation as part of a massive collection of New Deal improvements to the Union County Parks System.
  • Water and Fire Protection System - Natural Bridge NY
    The Cape Vincent Eagle reported: "One of the largest construction jobs in Jefferson county under the W.P.A. was the building of a fire protection system at Natural Bridge. This system included a water system with reservoir and hydrants."
  • Water and Sewer Authority Carpentry Shop - Washington DC
    Works Progress Administration (WPA) records in the National Archives report that in 1937 WPA labor was used to "erect a brick building in the city to be used as a combination carpentry and blacksmith shop by the Sewer Department." The location was not given, but is very likely to have been at the old Sewer Department site on the Anacostia River in the southeast quadrant of the district.   Next to the still-extant Water and Sewer Authority garage is a group of brick buildings of the same era at the junction of First Street and Potomac Avenue. Any one of these,...