Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

"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 Wilson parks."

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 "

"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.

"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)

"The Winchester cemetery benefited from federal programs initiated during the Great Depression. In 1930, the original tool house/comfort station was removed and a new, brick and stucco tool house/storage/comfort station building was erected by Civil Works Administration labor.* During 1934 and 1936, headstones were reset and realigned, sunken graves were filled in, existing trees trimmed, new trees and roses planted, and the wall was repointed and repaired. In 1936, a brick and stucco gasoline storage building was constructed and a one-story addition and basement was added to the superintendent’s lodge by Work Project Administration laborers. On Aug. 28, 1939, the...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made a host of improvements to Wind Cave National Park, which had been established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903. The improvements made in the 1930s included a new administration building, a new operator's building, two new residences, and a large garage/storage facility.  Three other buildings were remodeled as residences. Other projects at the park included the construction of a reservoir and water system,  elevator housing and concrete stairs within the cave, game fences around the park, and new signs at the park's entrance. In addition, the CCC built bridges in the...

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted development / improvement projects at Windham Airport. "Improve airport" Official Project Numbers: 165‐1‐15‐159, 165‐1‐15‐83 Total project cost: $190,377.00 (per project) Sponsor: Town of Windham "Extend landing strips and runways, clear land, grade, drain and pave; install drainage and lighting facilities at Windham Airport." Official Project Number: 265‐1‐15‐67 Total project cost: $695,303.00 Sponsor: State of Connecticut, Department of Public Works

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) "reinforced" Windsor Street in Hartford, Connecticut in 1937. Pet the Hartford Courant the new "roadway is a mile long and four lanes wide. It extends from the railroad underpass to North Main Street ..."

This park was built on land donated by George Wingfield, a Nevada banker and miner. During the late 1930s the WPA made improvements to the facilities, including building retaining walls to support the island banks. Today the park is a center for some of the city’s most popular events. One of the main features of Wingfield Park is the amphitheater where various plays and concerts take place during the summer months.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funds and labor for work on what is now known as the Winklepleck Memorial Library in Odon, Indiana.

The rock gymnasium at the Winnsboro School was built by the WPA in 1938-1939.

The old Winston County Library was the first public libary in Winston County, Mississippi. The Colonial Revival, 1-story building is currently in use as a Girl Scout Hut. "The building is eligible as an intact example of community facilities constructed under the auspices of federal public works programs of the 1930s" (Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Historic Resources Inventory database). MDAH indicates the library was built using WPA funds, with Winston County, the City of Louisville, and individuals contributing to the cost of the building.

In the 1930s the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) built this winter playground house in Tupper Lake, New York. The Living New Deal does not know the present status or exact location of this project.

Winter Quarters Log Cabin was built by the WPA in 1940, and continues to serve the community today. From the Pocomoke City Government website for the cabin: “Are you looking for a quiet and beautiful setting for your next retreat, wedding reception, company meeting or conference?...Our rustic log cabin was built in the 1940's offers a full kitchen, handicap accessibility, ample parking and easy access from highway Rt 13 & Rt 113.  The interior features a beautiful fireplace and tables/chairs for up to 50 persons.  The log cabin faces the unspoiled Pocomoke River with adjacent public docks and a boat ramp. There...

This sports arena was constructed in 1938 by the WPA. "When opened, the facility accommodated the local hockey program and meeting spaces for community groups. The arena continued in that fashion for many years, but by mid-century, growth in the hockey program required use of all spaces for the sport alone and eventually the construction of the new arena to the east."   (https://www.akayconsulting.com) The arena's final season was held in winter of 2009. The building was demolished in 2011.

The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted repair work along Winter St. in 1935, and extended the water system there as well.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) undertook improvement work along Winter Steet in Framingham, Mass., including culvert construction and the building of a bridge over the Sudbury River in 1939. Living New Deal believes the bridge to be largely intact and still in service.

The WPA built sidewalks in the town of Stoughton, Mass. "The sidewalk project is expected to be completed about October 1 . The sidewalk crew has 14 men and as soon as the Sumer Street sidewalk is finished they will build a new sidewalk on the southerly side of Winter Street from Summer to Water Streets, a distance of 840 feet. From Winter Street they will go to Prospect Street, where they will put in a new sidewalk on the westerly side of the street from Boylston to Seaver Streets, a distance of 1,930 feet."

"Winters also got $10,000 in 1933 for curbs/gutters, for a water system upgrade, and for rural conservation and irrigation improvements; the WPA in 1940 also helped clean up the towns creek after flooding."

"Wintersmith Park was originally established in 1907 with the damming of Lake Creek. This 150-acre park had extensive work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933-34. "In the late 1930's, the WPA was brought in to continue the work begun earlier by the CCC. They constructed several picnic areas, and the WPA shield can be seen in the concrete table tops. They built the Firefly (Girl Scouts) cabin, a small house with a gabled roof, constructed of native sandstone, and clad with petrified wood. Several small flat bridges were built across creeks along the trails. Two stone arched road...

A former salmon hatchery in Aroostook County. One of many projects that have been neglected by the state. The March 11 1938 Bangor Daily News in an article "Aroostook WPA Crews Will Be Increased To 1200 by March 20" notes that "At Winterville, where a fish rearing pool is under construction under the sponsorship of the inland fish and game department the crew will be augmented by 40 men from Eagle Lake, Wallagrass, and Winterville." A WPA job card notes that "Located on Birch River at Winterville - Salmon Fish Hatchery built by the WPA and sponsored by the Maine...

In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed an additional intake pipe with headwall and appurtenances at the river gauging station at the foot of Wisconsin Avenue along the Potomac. The US Geological Survey has had a recording station at this spot since 1935. The current gauging station appears to be in the spot described in the WPA records.

In 1935-36, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made improvements to the stretch of Wisconsin Avenue NW, between Massachusetts Avenue and River Road, in the Cathedral Heights and Tenleytown neighborhoods. “The concrete roadway of Wisconsin Avenue NW., from Massachusetts Avenue to River Road, was covered with asphaltic surface as a salvaging project and it is expected that this treatment will prolong the life of the pavement for many years.” This project was of a nearly $1 million WPA  program to upgrade and repave districts streets fiscal year 1936. This WPA roadwork is probably not discernible today due to subsequent road maintenance, repairs and alterations.

Once known as the Wish-I-Ah Healthcare & Wellness Centre, this nursing home was built in 1928 as a sanatorium for tuberculosis by Fresno County and was sold to become a private care center for the aged when T.B. virtually disappeared in the 1940's. The WPA got involved in February 1936 by hiring a "graduate nurse from relief roll to assist Supt. and Medical Director of Wish-i-ah Sanitorium, to assemble data and keep records pertaining to tuberoulin as a diagnostic measure." WPA project 0412-345 $525. The WPA also engaged in construction work "on Co. Rd. to Tuburcular Sanatorium near Auberry. To improve...

"The 'New Deal' legislation passed under President Franklin Roosevelt's administration set the stage for the construction of the Wishek Civic Center.  The Wishek Civic Center was built under the auspices of a federal worker relief program known as the Works Projects Administration (WPA).  The WPA put unemployed laborers to work on public projects of all types in a successful effort to generate income for themselves and get things done in communities across the nation. The City of Wishek benefited from several of these projects.  The city park, community swimming pool, Wishek Civic Center and many of the sidewalks in town were...

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 reported: "At Aberdeen the "E" Street approach to the Wishkah Street Bridge will be improved through WPA funds totalling $1,277 and an appropriation from the City ef $1,112.50. A WPA crew begins immediately on the removing of the old trestle, and construction of a new trestle, including concrete floor slabs. The job will require three months to complete."

New York's largest public radio station, WNYC, was housed in the Manhattan Municipal Building at 1 Centre St. from 1924 until 2008, when it moved to an improved location. In 1939, the building's Studio B received four WPA Federal Art Project murals by Stuart Davis, Byron Browne, Louis Schanker and John von Wicht. At the live dedication of the murals, Davis made important and controversial remarks about the state of art, politics and the New Deal, referring to what this summarizer of the broadcast refers to as: "the flux and struggle around the issue of abstract art during the previous two decades,...

New York's largest public radio station, WNYC, was housed in the Manhattan Municipal Building at 1 Centre St. from 1924 until 2008, when it moved to an improved location. In 1939, the building's Studio B received four WPA Federal Art Project murals by Stuart Davis, Byron Browne, Louis Schanker and John von Wicht. At the live dedication of the murals, Davis made important and controversial remarks about the state of art, politics and the New Deal. This summary of the broadcast explains that: "In a ceremony clearly designed to be light and “festive,” according to the announcer, Davis squarely addresses the...

New York's largest public radio station, WNYC, was housed in the Manhattan Municipal Building at 1 Centre St. from 1924 until 2008, when it moved to an improved location. In 1939, the building's Studio B received four WPA Federal Art Project murals by Stuart Davis, Byron Browne, Louis Schanker and John von Wicht. Schanker's is the only one still remaining in the building (no longer operating as the WNYC center). At the live dedication of the murals, Davis made important and controversial remarks about the state of art, politics and the New Deal, referring to what this summarizer of the broadcast...

New York's largest public radio station, WNYC, was housed in the Manhattan Municipal Building at 1 Centre St. from 1924 until 2008, when it moved to an improved location. In 1939, the building's Studio B received four WPA Federal Art Project murals by Stuart Davis, Byron Browne, Louis Schanker and John von Wicht. Schanker's is the only one still remaining in the building (no longer operating as the WNYC center). At the live dedication of the murals, Davis made important and controversial remarks about the state of art, politics and the New Deal, referring to what this summarizer of the broadcast...

A federal WPA grant enabled the construction of a modern transmitter building and radio tower for the fledgling WNYC radio station along the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. WNYC transmitted from the site until 1990. (The broadcast studios remained in the Municipal Building at 1 Centre St. in Manhattan). The transmitter site is now a park named WNYC Transmitter Park, dedicated in 2012. The building still stands. New York Public Radio CEO Laura Walker spoke about the significance of the site during the park's dedication ceremonies: "With the help of a $30,000 grant from the Federal Works Progress Administration and the...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Wolf School in Bowlegs OK. This is a red brick country school located four miles south of Bowlegs on Old Highway 99.

This image shows artist Lucienne Bloch at work on a fresco entitled "Cycle of a Woman's Life" for the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village, New York City. The mural was completed in 1936 under the WPA's Federal Art Project. The concept for the mural was influenced by Bloch's apprenticeship with Diego Rivera, in which he urged her "... never paint mere decorations, but to always include a message appropriate to the building, Bloch s proposal for Cycle of a Woman's Life was accepted and the project was completed in 1936. Now lost, the mural pictured a children's playground in a...

The Woodbridge Canal Project started November 14, 1938. The project installed reinforced concrete canal lining for 211,200 feet of canals, 630 feet of concrete pipe, 50 concrete head gates, 5280 square feet levee roadway.

Woodhaven Boulevard was widened and improved during the late 1930s; much of the work was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Work included the filling in of spaces where trolley tracks had been removed.

In December 1937, William Phillip Bishop Woodhouse deeded a portion of his landholdings to the school district for the construction of Woodhouse School, which opened in the fall of 1938. The Work Projects Administration built additional facilities for Woodhouse School in 1941, including an agriculture building, a cafeteria and a home economics cottage. Woodhouse consolidated with the Four Pines School to create Westwood School. The class of 1960 was the last to graduate from Woodhouse, although its facilities continued in use until 1979.

"The Spanish Colonial Revival style City Hall was built in several phases, starting in 1932 with the firehouse and jail building, including the tower, which was not only picturesque, but also created a functional space for hanging wet fire hoses. Woodland contractor Joe Motroni built the first phase, designed by prominent Sacramento architect, Dean & Dean. This new public building replaced the 1892 city hall and firehouse, which developed structural problems and had to be demolished. In 1936 the building was enlarged to include space for a new city hall. Designed by noted Sacramento architect, Harry J. Devine and built...

"Woodland Park contains two ponds and one shelter house built by the WPA. The ponds are framed with stone walls and have a small stairway in between them. The shelter house is a rectangular (28' x 25') structure of coursed and rusticated native stone of buff color. A new brown gabled roof is attached. Two privies are located next to the structure. Newer shelters, concrete tables, and cookers have been added to the park."