Central Park: 107th Infantry Memorial Restoration – New York NY
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to restore the 107th Infantry Memorial at 5th Ave. and 67th St. in Central Park during the mid-1930s.
Central Park: Adventure Playground – New York NY
On May 4, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the opening of “three new perimeter playgrounds for children of pre-school age” in Central Park. One, at 68th St. and Central Park West, appears to be what is now known as… read more
Central Park: Alice-in-Wonderland Sculpture – New York NY
Works Progress Administration (WPA) artist Frederick George Richard Roth, who worked for the WPA as head sculptor at the Parks Department, and who also created several other sculptures in Central Park including the Dancing Goat, the Dancing Bear, and Mother… read more
Central Park: Arsenal Improvements – New York NY
The Central Park Arsenal was built 1847-51, but served only briefly in that function. After 1853, it was a police precinct house, the American Museum of Natural History, a menagerie, an art gallery, the Municipal Weather Bureau, a restaurant, and, finally… read more
Central Park: Arsenal Murals – New York NY
In 1935-36, the Arsenal was renovated by the New York City Parks Department using Depression-era relief labor paid for by New Deal programs (WPA and FERA). Afterward, the lobby walls was covered floor to ceiling with murals by Allen Saalburg and his assistants. Saalburg… read more
Central Park: Bridle Paths – New York NY
Though Central Park was created in the 19th century by Olmsted and Vaux, the New Deal helped the Parks Department carry out massive improvements to the park from 1934 to 1938. Work relief funds and labor were used to construct 4… read more
Central Park: Conservatory Garden – New York NY
“The Conservatory Garden is a six-acre formal garden named after a conservatory (i.e. greenhouse) that was built here in 1898. During the Depression, Parks commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981) decreed the aging structure too expensive to maintain and had it demolished… read more
Central Park: Great Lawn – New York NY
Though Central Park was originally established in the 1850s, New Deal workers carried out massive improvements to the park from 1934 to 1938. Work included the creation of the park’s Great Lawn. The site was formerly the Lower Reservoir, which had recently been drained only… read more
Central Park: Harlem Meer Improvements – New York NY
The Harlem Meer is an artificial lake at the north end of Central Park, added to the original park by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux on the site of a former marsh. The New York Times reported in Sept…. read more
Central Park: Heckscher Playground Improvements – New York NY
After the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was launched in April 1935 (renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939), it quickly became the main source of relief funds and labor for the NYC Parks Department. Heckscher Playground in Central Park was… read more
Central Park: James Michael Levin Playground – New York NY
On May 4, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the opening of “three new perimeter playgrounds for children of pre-school age” in Central Park. One, at 77th St. and 5th Ave., is now called the James Michael Levin Playground. Although… read more
Central Park: Mariners’ Playground – New York NY
A June 1936 press release from the Department of Parks announced the opening of four new playgrounds along Central Park West at 81st, 84th, 96th and 100th Streets. This playground at 84th St. is now known as Mariners’ Playground. It… read more
Central Park: Mother Goose Statue – New York NY
Frederick Roths’s Mother Goose Statue at the entrance to Rumsey Playground in Central Park. The 1938 Parks Department press release announced the erection of the statue: “The Department of Parks announces that an interesting statue depicting famed characters of the… read more
Central Park: North Meadow Ball Fields – New York NY
Though Central Park was created in the 19th century by Olmsted and Vaux, the New Deal help the Parks Department carry out massive improvements to the park from 1934 to 1938. Work relief funds and labor were used to create 15… read more
Central Park: Robert Bendheim Playground – New York NY
On May 4, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the opening of “three new perimeter playgrounds for children of pre-school age” in Central Park. One, at 100th St. and 5th Ave., is now called the Robert Bendheim Playground. Although the… read more
Central Park: Rudin Family Playground – New York NY
A June 1936 press release from the Department of Parks announced the opening of four new playgrounds along Central Park West at 81st, 84th, 96th and 100th Streets. This playground at 96th St. is now known as the Rudin Family… read more
Central Park: Rumsey Playfield – New York NY
The history of Rumsey Playfield, the site of the City’s popular SummerStage festival and other performances, is closely tied to the WPA. In 1864, a building was constructed on this site first as the Ladies Refreshment Saloon and soon became… read more
Central Park: Still Hunt Sculpture Restoration – New York NY
This sculpture of a panther was created by Edward Kemeys in 1885. It was refurbished and remounted in 1937 by WPA workers and continues to be maintained by the Central Park Conservancy today.
Central Park: Tarr Family Playground – New York NY
A June 1936 press release from the Department of Parks announced the opening of four new playgrounds along Central Park West at 81st, 84th, 96th and 100th Streets. This playground at 100th St. is now known as the Tarr Family… read more
Central Park: Tavern on the Green – New York NY
Based on Department of Parks press releases from the 1930s, researcher Frank da Cruz describes the role of federal funding in constructing this restaurant in Central Park: “What we know today as the Tavern on the Green in Central Park… read more
Central School (former) – Vernal UT
“The old Central School in Vernal was torn down in 1942 and a new Central School was built in the PWA Moderne style with WPA funds on the site of the old school.” The exact location and status of the… read more
Central School Auditorium and Gymnasium – Monte Vista CO
“A 1938 project supported by the school district, town leaders and a PWA grant resulted in a building used for school and sports functions as well as an auditorium for public gatherings. It is the largest auditorium in the San… read more
Central St. Bridge Reconstruction – Framingham MA
The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) undertook reconstruction of the damaged Central Street Bridge at the Sudbury River in Framingham, Mass. in 1938. Town Report, 1938: “The retaining wall on the northerly side of Central Street on the west approach to… read more
Central VPA High School – St. Louis MO
This WPA school was built in 1936-1937 as the Southwest High School. It is now the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School. This school has been added onto multiple times and the front of the original building is not… read more
Cerf Theatre (Reed College Amphitheater) – Portland OR
In 1936, young people employed by the National Youth Administration provided the labor for construction of an amphitheater on the Reed College campus in southeast Portland. The private college supplied the materials and land with the understanding that the theater… read more
Chaffee Public Pool – Chaffee MO
This pool was designed by architect Wesley Bintz and constructed by the Works Progress Administration between 1937 and 1939 for $31,000. It is one of two above-ground pools designed by Bintz in the state of Missouri (Fayette has the other),… read more
Chalk School Auditorium – Meridian MS
The auditorium for Chalk School was constructed in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration. Architect Penn Jeffries Krouse designed the addition to the school. It has most recently operated as the Calvary Christian School.
Chambers County Courthouse – Anahuac TX
The fourth courthouse built for Chambers County was completed in 1936. The Works Progress Administration constructed the three-story ashlar limestone building with Moderne details at a cost of $276,000.
Chambers Park – Federalsburg MD
From a 1993 “Maryland Register of Historic Properties Internal Listing Notice” (prepared by Dr. Conrad Gregory): “The Chambers Park Log Cabin is significant as an example (of) New Deal park architecture more commonly associated with western Maryland parks than those… read more
Chancellor Avenue School Mural – Newark NJ
The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: “[Mr. Lenson] moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street … Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and… read more
Chandler Field/Fresno Municipal Airport – Fresno CA
"Funds from the WPA were used to construct four buildings and upgrade airfield infrastructure at Chandler Field in 1936-1937. An Administration Building (terminal), Administration Building annex, bathroom building and electrical control building, in varying styles, were added under this campaign…. read more
Chapman Elementary School – Chapman KS
“Building has ahslar quarry-faced limestone walls laid in a random range. Dressed stone details include beltcourses and arched entry surround. The symmetrical facade has a 9-bay central block. At its center the castellated entry surround projects slightly from the building… read more
Charles A. Lindbergh State Park: Lindbergh House – Little Falls MN
According to the Minnesota Historical Society: “By the 1930s, the boyhood home of famous aviator Charles A. Lindbergh had been badly damaged by souvenir-hunters. In 1936, the WPA began restoration of the house, which, along with the adjoining farmland, had… read more
Charles A. Lindbergh State Park: Park Shelter – Little Falls MN
Known as the “Kitchen Shelter” because it includes a fireplace and stove, it was constructed in 1936, making it one of the first WPA buildings in the park. The WPA also put in two miles of footpaths, planted 4,000 trees… read more
Charles E. Nash Elementary School Landscapeing – Fort Worth TX
Charles E. Nash Elementary School was originally constructed in 1927 and received a small addition in 1936. It’s likely that the addition was completed as the result of New Deal funding, but that has not been verified. It has been… read more
Charles H. Innes Memorial Underpass – Boston MA
Huntington Avenue intersects but also passes under Massachusetts Avenue in Boston at Symphony Hall; the Charles H. Innes Memorial Underpass has a bronze plaques identifying it as a WPA project.
Charles H. Lee Elementary School – Azusa CA
The WPA improved the school building and graded and leveled the school grounds.
Charles Lindbergh Middle School Mural – Long Beach CA
Medium: oil on canvas The massive 5 x 132 foot “History of Aviation” is located in the school library. Jean Goodwin and Arthur Ames did the sketches for this mural. Dorr Bothwell and possibly Helen Lundeberg enlarged them and did… read more
Charles R. Adams Park – Atlanta GA
Charles R. Adams Park is a 32-acre public city park located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. The park is surrounded by the neighborhood of Cascade Heights. Construction of the park began in the mid-1930s, and the dedication ceremony took place in… read more
Charles River Reservation Improvements – Cambridge MA
W.P.A. project description: “Charles River Reservation, Cambridge; a supplementary project for the completion of, and additional improvements of, the Charles River Reservation between Charles River Dam and Mount Auburn Street was approved in November of 1938 and work will be… read more
