Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included the stretch of 64th Road between Dry Harbor Rd. and 82nd Pl.

The 65th St. transverse cuts across Central Park. This WPA photo shows WPA workers developing the sewer system along the transverse.

"The overpass on 6th Street was a project funded by the state and Works Progress Administration (WPA). The overpass allowed cars and trucks to go over the railroad tracks. Centralia was an important logging and coal-mining town. The bridge improved the transportation of these products while also making the tracks safer for residents."

The WPA completed work on this rural school outside Branson in 1937. From the website History Colorado: The 7-D School, constructed in 1936 to 1937 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) is significant for its association with President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal legislative agenda to rescue the United States from the Great Depression.  The School presents an important record of the federal relief programs administered in Colorado’s Eastern Plains during the Great Depression.  Though the dire economic conditions of the Depression affected all of Colorado, drought and dust storms hit the agricultural-based economy of the Eastern Plains especially hard.  The construction...

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included the stretch of 78th Street between Roosevelt Ave. and Broadway. This stretch of road does not fully exist anymore (at least, not between 41st Ave. and Broadway) as a result of the development of Elmhurst...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built curbs and sidewalks in portions of Knights Landing, CA in 1940. The attached photos show the WPA imprints that were placed in the concrete at the time of construction.

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included the stretch of 86th Avenue in Jamaica between 139th St. and 143rd St.

This culvert was completed in 1939 by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). It runs north-south and crosses Denver on the east side of N. 8th. The tunnel is constructed using large cut block, and the opening is approximately 3 ft. by 5 ft. The curbing at each end is stamped with the WPA shield indicating 1939.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the old 8th District Magistrates' Court Building. The building, which also housed the NYPD's 60th Precinct, is no longer extant.

The Works Progress Administration built a culvert at the intersection of 8th Street and Maud Linnie Avenue in Gotebo, OK. Contributor note: "This culvert is located in a residential area and crosses 8th Street east to west. The culvert is concrete and the opening is about 2 ft. high and 4 ft. wide. On each curb there is a WPA shield pressed into the concrete reading WPA 1938. The culvert is partially blocked by concrete blocks at each end, and does not look like it would function properly."

The Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed this culvert in 1939. It appears to handle water running through a two-block, man-made drainage ditch, just west of the WPA athletic stadium. The culvert runs east-west and is approximately 3 ft. high by 6 ft. wide. The culvert is constructed of large, cut blocks.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor conducted improvements at the former A.A. Low School in Salem, Massachusetts. The facility was located at the northwest corner of Nichols St. and Butler St. WPA Bulletin: A new plumbing, heating and ventilation system has been installed by WPA in the A. A. Low School, Nichols Street, Salem. The old system was in poor condition and school authorities considered it a matter of economy to replace it at this time.

"A. H. Stephens Historic Park contains tent and trailer sites, picnic sites, and fishing ponds, as well as a nature trail and rustic cabins, and was mostly built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, beginning in 1933." (wikipedia) The park "is located in a beautiful loblolly pine forest planted in the early 1930’s by the CCC."   (https://www.reserveamerica.com) The WPA also worked in the park.  

The Jersey City Independent reported in 2009 that the A. Harry Moore School was "one of the first public schools in the country built for students with disabilities." While the school was constructed between 1930 and 1931, the New Deal played a large part in the school's expansion during the late 1930s. The newspaper continues: "The addition — with a natatorium , treatment rooms and solarium — was built in 1939 with WPA funds." The school is still in use today.

The bridge carrying Abbott Cross Road over Prairie Creek in Dayton Township ENE of Huntington, Arkansas was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1943.

Formerly known as Norman City Park, this site was established in the late 1890s and considerably improved during the New Deal: "Between 1935 and 1937, under the New Deal programs, several items were constructed in the southwest portion of the park. Work was performed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Works Progress Administration with some work done by the National Youth Administration. A beautiful native stone amphitheater was constructed which is still in use today. The amphitheater is a semi-circle, with three sections of twenty rows of seating. The seats are native stone benches with concrete caps. At the rear of...

Winchester.us: "During the 1930s the channel upstream of the Aberjona Pond was rechanneled, section by section, as ERA and WPA projects. The projects were based on recommendations by Herbert Kellaway, published in 1928. In the Kellaway plan, three ponds for flood expansion were to be created, bordered by solid land and green grassy banks and connected by new channels. The rechanneling was designed to eliminate the mosquito problem by draining the marshes. The Town consulted the State Reclamation Board during these projects. At that time, the entire northern section of the river was lined with industries. While the 1930s improvements...

Abilene Stadium, part of Eisenhower Park, was constructed by the Works Progress Administation (WPA). WPA Project 4711.

The former Abner Gap school in Bee, Dickenson County, Virginia, was constructed as a New Deal project. Known to be off State Highway 80, satellite views suggest the building is still extant. In 1940, W.E. French, who directed the Federal work programs in Dickenson County, reported that from December 1, 1933 to January 27, 1940, that $129,167.00 were spent on school projects in Dickenson County. Of this amount, the Federal government spent $162,968.00 and the county put up $56,699.00 of 25.8% of the cost. Among the jobs done were: ... new buildings at ... Abner Gap.

On April 23, 1941, the Department of Parks announced the opening "of a new playground and athletic field adjacent to the Abraham Lincoln High School" to be used jointly by the Park Department and the Board of Education. The new construction included: "...four paved tennis courts and two softball diamonds which in the future will be paved with bituminous material to provide all year round usage, including roller skating and ice skating, also a bituminously paved area in which are three shuffleboard courts, two paddle tennis courts, three basketball standards and a basketball court with removable standards. The athletic field consists of...

Artist Seymour Fogel painted two murals, entitled "African Music and European Music" and "Religious and Modern Music", in the Music Room (Room 327) of the Abraham Lincoln High School in 1936-37.  The New York Schools website shows only a portion of the first mural on its excellent Public Art for Public Schools pages, so it is uncertain if the latter mural is still extant.

The WPA allocated funds for construction of a new school building in Absarokee, Montana in 1938. The location and current status of the structure in question is unknown to Living New Deal.

A WPA stamp laid in front of the school identifies the school as being built in 1941. The stamp, originally in the sidewalk, has since been cut out of the ground and is now on display inside one of the classrooms.

Ackerman Island was an island in the middle of the Arkansas River. In the early 1900s the land had been developed as an amusement park, but by the late 1920s it had fallen into disuse. Works Progress Administration workers widened the Arkansas River by removing the island and sculpting it in as part of the riverbank. According to visitwhichita.com, "The baseball field survived for a while after the closing of the amusement park. By the 1930s, flooding had become a problem along the river, causing the Works Progress Administration to recommend getting rid of the sandbar to widen the river. As...

Big Timber Pioneer reported: "Joseph Parker, state WPA administrator, has approved construction of the Ackley lake project on the Judith river west of Hobson in Judith Basin county. This irrigation undertaking will cost $113,003. It will employ 328 clients for four months."

The WPA created the Ackley Park baseball field and stadium in 1939, along with a boy scout hut in the park “The occasional use of dark stones created a unique pattern at the baseball field in Ackley Park in Elk City.”   (Barton)

The former Acton High School building was greatly improved with federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) funds and labor in 1933. School Committee Report, 1933: "The school system has functioned fairly normally during the past year. The pared appropriation hindered somewhat, but the C.W.A. came to our assistance. Work which we normally would have had to do out of our ow^n appropriation has been taken care of by that bit of legislation, a help to the tow^nspeople as well as ourselves. The high school building has been thoroughly painted inside, which is quite refreshing. The leaking walls have been thoroughly calked and...

"Built in 1938-39, the Ada County Courthouse was constructed as part of the Depression-era Public Works Administration (PWA). Building the courthouse provided jobs not only for construction workers and craftsmen, but also for the artists that embellished it. The Art Deco style of the building is partly the result of using many workers who were not necessarily skilled in construction. The collaborative efforts of architectural firms Tourtellotte & Hummel and Wayland & Fennell resulted in a simple design characterized by geometric shapes, which were considered easier to build. The modern style and solid construction were also intended to communicate confidence...

"The Ada Covered Bridge is a 125-foot (38 m) span Brown truss covered bridge erected in 1867 in Ada, Michigan, United States. Carrying Bronson Street across the Thornapple River, it is located just south of where the Thornapple enters the Grand River, in turn just south of M-21. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places... In 1941 the Kent County Road Commission and the Works Progress Administration made extensive restorations, re-roofing the bridge with new protective creosote shingles and replacing many of its decayed underlying supports with new beams. The Road Commission purchased a nearby barn to supply wood...

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements on Adams Avenue in Fairmont, Marion County. The work consisted of “Widening Adams avenue and installing new traffic lights.”

The Works Progress Administration completed repairs on Adams Avenue in Huntington, Cabell County.

Adams Field, also since known as Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, was first constructed during the early 20th century. The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) assisted with the airport's development. The W.P.A.'s Division of Operations wrote: This project is unusually interesting because of its history. The hangar was originally constructed by TWA in Waynoka, Okla. This stopping point was done away with by TWA. The City of Little Rock negotiated for its purchase, dismantled it and shipped the material to Little Rock where the Works Progress Administration constructed it. Prior to this the airport had no hangar and sometimes, during...

Adams Gym is a combination auditorium and gymnasium built of rubble masonry construction with a wood floor and steel trusses supporting the roof. The Works Progress Administration built the gym under official project number 65-66-4648.

Now the Ellis-Polk Police Station. Remodeled room for telatype and general complaints.--Healy, p.72. Originally the Adams School Annex, this building was then the San Francisco Ellis-Polk or "Northern" Police Station for many years. Though the inscription above the door now reads "Harvey Milk Children's Center," the building now houses the San Francisco Unified School District Student Nutrition Services Center.

A public swimming pool in Adel IA was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935. One of the earliest municipal pools constructed in Iowa, the facility was around for a good share of historical events – war, environmental disasters, and cultural and economic changes. “When the pool was completed,” states Allison McNeal of the Dallas County News, “it was quite an attraction to residents including the fact that it had covered restrooms and a bathhouse, uncommon for the era.” The WPA project also provided unemployment relief for area residents. Over time, the pool faced a lack of upkeep as well as...

The Colonial Revival style Adjutant General's house at Camp Withycombe was constructed by Works Progress Administration workers in 1938. Although a military facility since 1909 when it was developed as a rifle range, Camp Withycombe had few permanent structures before the Depression era. During World War I, the camp received inductees who were housed in tents. When it became a supply depot in the 1930s, additional structures were required. Salem based architect Lyle Bartholomew designed the Adjutant General's house using details that have been referred to as the Oregon Rustic style. These include a coursed stone chimney and stone landscaping decoration. The...

The Hannibal Armory is constructed of rock that was obtained from a local quarry that also was the source for the adjacent Clemens field baseball field.  There is a locked room that was previously used for arms, but the majority of the building is a large open area for basketball courts and is part of the parks and recreation department.

"The Adobe building, located on the grounds of the Castro Valley Elementary School, was leased to the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District for use as a community center. The Adobe was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project designed by Mario Corbett of San Francisco and built in 1938. The building is located in an elm grove planted by the Castro Valley Boy Scouts in 1926. There are hundreds of 4x9x16 inch adobe bricks made by the W.P.A. from dirt excavated from the site of the Redwood School in Castro Valley. The walls of the Adobe are 16 inches thick....

In 1937 the federal Works Progress Administration rebuilt San Diego's Adobe Chapel of the Immaculate Conception "close to its original site."

The WPA constructed a cluster of buildings at O and Golden State streets, including a sizeble adobe office building, as well as some shop and storage buildings. The former is currently unused. Its last occupant was Kern County Parks & Recreation after they were burned out of their much newer building. Parks & Rec have been moved to a more recently acquired building. The WPA warehouse and shop buildings have served the county since the late 1930s with very little in maintenance costs. They are currently under threat of demolition.