Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

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.

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 The buildings are no longer extant, and have been replaced by newer construction.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...

The Works Progress Administration built sidewalks on Baldwin Avenue in front of Komoda Store and Bakery.

The curb and gutter in front of the PWA former William Travis Elementary School still have a WPA concrete stamp.

The WPA built the sidewalks and gutters along 41st Street between Broadway and Telegraph in North Oakland.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built sidewalks all over the city of Oakland, including here at 51st Avenue and East 12th Street.  Two sidewalk stamps at this location, one in the street next to the curb and one on the sidewalk, are marked "W.P.A. 1940".

The WPA built the sidewalk in front of the Children's Hospital of Oakland in North Oakland.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built long stretches of sidewalk, as well as curbs, gutters and driveway aprons along 62nd Avenue in East Oakland near Mills College. 

This WPA sidewalk stamp is in the gutter at the southwest corner of Clay and 9th Streets.

A Works Progress Administration (WPA) allotment of $118,232 was approved in July 1939 for street improvements and additional sidewalks and gutter construction. A large sidewalk was constructed to access the Weatherford Municipal Power and Light plant, completed in 1940. The city had applied for PWA funding to construct the new electric plant, however, the plant was not approved due to lack of funds for a high number of projects submitted by Texas. The city constructed the new plant with revenue bond funds. The sidewalks leading to the building were stamped with Works Progress Administration. Both the sidewalks and the former...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed several sidewalks in Albany CA, which can be identified by distinctive WPA 'sidewalk stamps'. Such markers were commonly impressed into wet concrete to show the name of sidewalk contractors in the first half of the 20th century.  A group of WPA stamps can be found at 1301 Dartmouth St., 1054 Santa Fe Ave.(corner of Francis St.), and 1159 Santa Fe Ave.(corner of Pomona), south of Marin Ave and east of the BART tracks.  Another pair of WPA sidewalks stamps can be seen at 1509 and 1511 Sonoma Ave.  One stamp on Garfield just off San...

Sayville's Suffolk County News reported in 1936: "The men of the WPA are at work laying a cement sidewalk along the north side of Merrick road** between Sylvan and Snedecor avenues. This is a much needed improvement, several people have been hurt while walking in the street there." **The road in question, given the cross streets, is most likely what is now known as Middle Road.

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 states: "a project scheduled to begin December 20 calls for construction of sidewalks and curbs along public thoroughfares throughout the city. A WPA allotment of $9,049 augmented by $5,952 in city funds will finance the work, sponsored by the City of Camas."

This WPA stamp in Broadmoor, a small region within Daly City, shows that the WPA worked on sidewalks in the area in 1940.

The WPA worked extensively on curbs, gutters and sidewalks in Davis. "SERA also denied (for being a piecemeal approach that wouldnt improve drainage) the citys application for installing widely-scattered curbs & gutters, although the WPA in 1937 approved $26,000 for the more-comprehensive version of the paving project. That concrete, it was assured, was to use local gravel from Putah Creek." - https://www.yolo.net/ychs/publications/newDeal.html Many sidewalks in Davis still bear WPA stamps: "Davis still bears the stamp of these WPA projectsliterally. Perhaps you've seen the "WPA" initials imprinted in a sidewalk while strolling through old North Davis. These sidewalks were laid in the late 1930's...

The concrete sidewalks that surround and lead up to the historic Denton County Courthouse are considered to be contributing structures in this historic district, and they were built by the Works Progress Administration between 1934 and 1935. The registration form for the Denton County Courthouse Square Historic District explains: "The source of funding is inscribed within the outer sidewalk at regular intervals. These sidewalks are a contributing structure within the district as they represent an important feature of the courthouse grounds and are representative of the type of federal projects utilized during the Depression in Denton." Some repairs have been done to...

Sayville's Suffolk County News reported that the construction of "approximately two miles of sidewalks at East Moriches," New York, was a town-sponsored WPA project. The Federal government was expected to contribute about $18,000 toward the project. The project included sidewalk construction along Montauk Highway.

The WPA allocated $14,707 toward a project begun in May 1938 to construct sidewalks and conduct a handful of other improvements along certain roads in East Patchogue, N.Y. The project was said to provide labor for 50 men. According to The Suffolk County News, sidewalks were to be built "on the east side of Dunton avenue" between South Country Road and Robinson Blvd. and "about a mile and a quarter along the north side of Robinson boulevard," roughly centered about Dunton Ave. "600 feet of curb and gutter where needed" were to be constructed on Robinson Blvd. as well. Note: It is probable...

"The still-vivid Works Progress Administration concrete stamps on the sidewalks around Fresno's second City Hall pay homage to the breadth of New Deal-era projects in Fresno, and the contribution the WPA made to improving city infrastructure."

In 1939 Suffolk County News reported multiple WPA sidewalk projects that were approved ‘by a vote of members of the Brookhaven Town Board.’ The projects were estimated to cost a total of $33,441, “of which the town’s share would be … $16,384.” The jobs were “aimed principally at the protection of children walking to and from local schools.” Medford's Mid-Island Mail described the scope of the project completed on October 30, 1939: "On Coates avenue the sidewalks extend from the Lutheran church to Lexington avenue, a distance of 300 feet, and on the hospital side of Coates avenue from Shelby avenue to Pauline...

In 1939 Sayville's Suffolk County News reported multiple WPA sidewalk projects that were approved ‘by a vote of members of the Brookhaven Town Board.’ The projects were estimated to cost a total of $33,441, “of which the town’s share would be … $16,384.” The jobs were “aimed principally at the protection of children walking to and from local schools.” “The Holtsville proposal calls for 1.6 miles of sidewalk extending along the east side of Waverly avenue from the north side of the railroad tracks northward to the farm-to-market road .” In October the newspaper reported the completion of the project.

The WPA allocated $19,445 for 'sidewalks and curbs' within Kalispell, Montana in August 1938.

The WPA allotted $8,483 in Oct. 1935 for the construction of sidewalks in Kings Park, NY.

The 1940 WPA stamp is located on the Northeast corner of the intersection.

These three Work Projects Administration stamps are set into the sidewalk along Central St. in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 reported that "Two Poulsbo projects, one for sidewalks and the other for water system improvement," received $5,919 in WPA assistance.

This marker shows that the WPA paved sidewalks in Redlands in 1940. The exact location of this stamp is not known.

"Other notable WPA projects in Placer County include a sewage treatment plant in Auburn and sidewalks in Roseville. In fact, the WPA stamp still graces some sidewalks in Roseville. The WPA always left a marker or a stamp in fresh concrete to identify its projects. This wasnt done for pride of work alone, but was an effective marketing tool. People saw WPA as they moved through their daily lives and it assured them that the program had a measurable effect on their community."

The federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed sidewalks along Elsie Ave. and Bancroft Ave. in San Leandro, California: "WPA 1939" is stamped into the sidewalk in several places along Elsie Avenue. "WPA 1940" is stamped along Bancroft Avenue. Elsie Avenue may have also been paved as a WPA project; the street appears unpaved on a 1938 city map.

A WPA project in Sandwich, Massachusetts approved in late 1938 involved the construction of sidewalks "in the thickly populated sections of the town."

The WPA constructed sidewalks along the west side of Candee Avenue in Sayville, N.Y., in 1940. Neighboring Greene Avenue was improved by a WPA "gutter project." The town's Suffolk County News reported: "Other projects include a walk on North Main street, from Foster extension west, and on Hamilton and Hiddink streets."

The WPA allotted $13,724 in Oct. 1935 for the construction of sidewalks in Smithtown, NY.

During 1935 WPA labor was responsible for the laying of sidewalks “on the west side of Cherry avenue from street, to the end of the present walks, north of Union street,” in in West Sayville, N.Y.  In 1936 the WPA undertook a similar project one block over, "on the west side of Tyler avenue, extending north from Union street to the alley connecting Tyler and Cherry avenues and also along the north side of this short alley."  Further WPA sidewalks were built one block west, on Division Avenue. ** Articles in this newspaper differ with respect to this detail, but...