Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve New Rochelle's, New York's city hall during the 1930s. One project, which involved numerous municipal buildings in New Rochelle, was described by the WPA in its project rolls: "Work includes performing carpentry, masonry, and sheet metal work; excavating and constructing walls; painting, placing tile, and roofing." WPA Official Project No. 665-21-2-635.

The WPA completed a thorough painting of city hall as part of the reducing of welfare rolls in Oakland. WPA Project No. 65-3-1687, Approval Date 10-15-35, $6,496, "Complete painting of interior of City Hall." The current building was completed in 1914. The building was designed by New York-based architecture firm Palmer & Hornbostel in 1910, after winning a nationwide design competition. The building, constructed in the Beaux-Arts style, resembles a "rectangular wedding cake".

Reading, Pennsylvania's City Hall was built in 1904 as a high school and became the city hall in 1928. The WPA helped to clean and paint the building during the New Deal.

The WPA completed renovations and improvements to Santa Rosa's City Hall. The city's original 1883 City Hall and Central Library were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, and a new building was constructed in 1913. Santa Rosa's new City Hall—now known as the Santa Rosa Civic Center—was completed in 1969. The exact location and present status of the old city hall is not presently known to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) landscaped the area surrounding Medford's new City Hall in 1937. WPA Bulletin: "A beautiful building in shoddy surroundings is like a beautiful woman in slatternly dress with unkempt hair. Extensive landscaping by WPA has beautified the surroundings of Medford's $500,000 city hall. ... Green grass is growing where the old wooden Everett School (now razed) stood." Work also included the creation of a "bituminous-topped parking space capable of accommodating 300 motors."

This 10' x 27' fresco "The Blessings of Water" was painted by Edward Millman in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. It was restored in 1994.

Artist William H. Hoffmann painted two WPA oil on canvas murals in 1936 for what was then the Key West High School, then the Glynn Archer Elementary School and is now the new Key West City Hall. The murals were painted to adorn the auditorium stage. "The significance of the paintings -- one depicting the construction of the Florida East Coast Railroad Extension through the Keys, the other portraying the arrival of Spanish explorers on the "isle of bones" Cayo Hueso -- lies as much in the history of the pieces as in the art itself."   (https://keysnews.com/node/45502)      

"The WPA commissioned John Augustus Walker -- a native of Mobile, Alabama -- to create a series of oil on canvas murals in the city's Old City Hall/Southern Market complex. They memorialize a range of Mobile's historic events, from the ship that brought the last payload of African slaves into the United States in 1859 to the importance of education and science to the city. Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into the city in August 2005, damaged the Museum of Mobile, where the murals are now located. The murals were not harmed, and the museum reopened in March 2006."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a parking lot at Atlanta's City Hall in 1936. Its status is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

Built in 1896, the Rockdale City Hall was remodeled by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in 1940. The structure currently houses Rockdale Police Department. WPA Project #12892 Milam County. WPA crews "remodeled building roof, plastered partitions, installed hardwood floors, and stuccoed outside." Historical Marker: Altered in the 1930s resulting in the loss of a tall bell tower.

The jail annex and repairs to the city hall including beautifying and landscaping of city streets in addition to the construction of a 35 x 35 one-story jail annex. W. P. No. 1046 was started 02/01/1936 and completed 07/04/1937 for a total cost of $25,913.19 including payroll, material, and equipment. The federal funds provided$22,105.97 and the City of Biloxi as sponsor provided $3,807.22. The city hall repairs included modernization of offices. The landscaping included West Beach improvement and Central Beach Promenade. The building is no longer extant.

Originally the U.S. Customs House and Post Office, this imposing building was constructed in the mid 19th century by the U.S. Treasury Department. "In 1938, the building was renovated as part of a Works Progress Administration project to become Petersburg's City Hall, and retains that use today."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a warehouse for the city hall in Plymouth, Indiana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

"While the seal itself is in safekeeping with Milwaukee’s City Clerk, a permanent, more colorful version of it resides in the form of a stained glass window in the City Council chambers."         (www.milwaukeehistory.net) "The Arnold Gavin Stained Glass Shop provided the materials, and the windows are thought to be designed by Milwaukee artist Carl Reimann and completed under the supervision of WPA artist Adolf Karl."      (city.milwaukee.gov) The window was restored and hung in the 3rd floor Common Council Chamber in 1978.

WPA Bulletin, 1937: "Worcester — The City Home chickens are going modern. A WPA Project is constructing individual cages for the hens now housed in a two-story structure built by WPA last December." The location of the old City Home is unknown to Living New Deal.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed facilities at what was known as the City Home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: At City Home, Gloucester, WPA razed a dilapidated wooden structure and built an all-stone garage and storage shed. These buildings will be used jointly by the City Home and the Welfare Department. The exact location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

Artist Rosalind Bengelsdorf was "ne of the youngest members of the American Abstract Artists... In 1935, she entered Hans Hofmann's atelier as one of the many scholarship students he took on. The following year, she joined the abstract artists working on WPA murals under Burgoyne Diller's enlightened leadership... "Abstraction, which relates to a WPA mural (now destroyed) Bengelsdorf painted for the Central Nurses Home on Welfare Island , balances simple geometric forms through position and color."    (https://americanart.si.edu)  

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed a park at what was then known as the Boston City Hospital. WPA Bulletin: This new park in the rear of the Administration Building, Boston City Hospital, was laid out and planned by WPA engineers. Convalescent patients will benefit from these beautiful surroundings.

A WPA photo (pictured) shows a bathhouse and two swimming pools built by the WPA for what was then the Buffalo City Hospital. The hospital was renamed the Edward J. Meyer Memorial Hospital in 1939, and has since been expanded into the Erie County Medical Center. Google images show that the bath house building and pools (now empty) are still standing. Their current function is unknown.

The city of Lodi and the WPA constructed and installed 15.8 miles of water mains, 101 fire hydrants, 8.8 miles of sanitary sewers and manholes, 12,230 feet of storm drains and manholes, catch basins. Almost every street and alley has been graded and oiled, 21.5 miles of curbs and gutters constructed, sludge disposal plant decanter constructed, Lockeford Street and School Street work finished.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted the following work at the former City Infirmary in Haverhill, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: WPA is building a modern, brick silo at the City Infirmary, Brown Street, Haverhill, to replace an old silo in need of repair and in danger of collapse. Living New Deal believes the project is no longer extant.

During the 1930s, the WPA did extensive work in Keokuk. In addition to grading city streets and installing sewers, stop signs and stop lights, the WPA also built a high school athletic field and made improvements to the National Cemetery and Keokuk's riverfront.

The building housing FDNY Engine 70, Ladder 53 on City Island was constructed in 1939 by the Work Projects Administration. This firehouse has a plaque confirming its New Deal origin. This is one of the few New Deal plaques in New York. The City Island Firehouse plaque reads. CITY OF NEW YORK F. H. LA GUARDIA MAYOR FIRE DEPARTMENT JOHN J. McELLIGOTT FIRE CHIEF & COMMISSIONER DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE SUPOERVSION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS IRVING V. A. HUIE COMMISSIONER ERECTED BY WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION 1939 The building is still in service and houses two fire companies and two trucks. In 2012, the firehouse was proposed for closure, as part of Mayor Bloomberg's...

City Island Road, between Pelham Bridge and the City Island Bridge, was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The WPA developed a "wholly new sewage system" for City Island, which had previously "depended on an antiquated system of individual street sewers, cesspools and septic tanks."

This covered market was completed with WPA assistance in 1940. An on-scene information sign describes the market's history: "January 1940 saw a totally new City Market. As compensation for teh deterioration this area had suffered since the First World War, the Ten Year Plan of 1931 provided $500,000 for improvements in the City Market. Lake any good plan, the city's bond money was merely seed capital to encourage additional investment. The federal Works Progress Administration of the New Deal made a contribution, private investors added more, and railroad companies spent at least a million dollars building a perishable foods terminal that brought...

The WPA approved $8,089 toward the construction of the $18,000 city market. The building was constructed of native stone, 80x120 feet, with 18 foot walls, concrete floor, and metal roof. The purpose was to provide space for the fall fair, storage space for peanuts, and a public market for farmers' produce. The building is currently used for community events.

The WPA built this sewage treatment plant in Auburn in 1940.

The Works Progress Administration built the City of Elkhart Municipal Building in Elkhart KS in 1937.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began work on the development of a city park, swimming pool, and golf course in January 1939. Bath houses, seats, wading pool, bandstand, rock veneer golf house with showers, and picnic tables of rock veneer and concrete were also constructed. The WPA provided a grant of approximately $45,000 and the city voted $12,000 in bonds to construct the swimming pool and municipal park. Engineer Cecil Hauk drew plans for the project. Frank H. Spicer of the WPA was in charge. The project was estimated to take ten months and initially employed 54 men. The park...

A social club formed by German immigrants called the Bellville Turnverein Gut Heil built a 12-sided social hall in 1897 on about 15 acres of land in Bellville, Texas. The City of Bellville purchased the land and pavilion in 1937. The city hosted a design competition among students from Texas A&M University to design a park. The Works Progress Adminstration assisted the city in updating the pavilion and building new facilities. The pavilion was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1996.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a new city park for the small town of Darby, Montana in 1937-38. The park is next to the city hall and city museum on South Main Street.  It has been improved and well maintained over the years. On Google maps it is labeled as "Main City Park", but the sign at the park only says "City Park".  

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded the construction of a city park in Haskell, Texas. A story published in the Abilene Reporter-News in 1937 provides details about the project: "WPA Builds City Park At Haskell HASKELL, Jan. 25 -- (AC)-- Completion was being made today of the city park and swimming pool constructed by the Works Progress Administration. The eight-acre park site has been grade, trees and shrubbery planted, the entire park enclosed with a native stone, hedge and wire fence. A swimming pool, bath house and amphitheater have been erected. Channel of a small stream has been opened and lined with rock and...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built park facilities in the Hearne City Park. The WPA contributed $44,000 for materials and labor, and the City of Hearne spent 22,000. First unit of the park completed was the swimming pool and bath house. (Bath house has the only WPA plaque). Also constructed was a rock entrance, a clubhouse, picnic tables and barbecue pits. There was a sunken garden (apparently now gone, as I didn't find it). They also built a nine-hole golf course with water lines to keep the grass watered. All the structures are built of native rock. The club house has...

After the discovery of oil here in the 1930s, this site was transformed into a makeshift tent city by thousands of people displaced by a deepening national depression. In an effort to control growth, city officials chose this site as the focus of an ambitious public works program in 1934. The park project, which included extensive rock work, was influenced by the planning and foresight of other Federal "New Deal" projects underway in Kilgore at the time (Kilgore Public Library and Kilgore College Administration Building). The park project was finished about 1936.

The WPA constructed numerous stone walls, buildings and picnic shelters in the park in 1936-1938.

"City Park is located on S.E. 1st Street, between E. Broadway and E. Catalpa. This is a long, narrow park, with a creek running through it. At the south end of the park is a lovely wood gazebo and a covered bridge. Playground equipment and a pavilion draw residents to the park for community activities. At the north end of the park, a low, native sandstone wall has been constructed on the west, north and east sides of the park. Construction of the park, and the stone walls was a WPA project, with allocated funds of $10,908 and was completed in...

Multiple New Deal agencies collaborated in the development of Pueblo's City Park (and one of its primary components, the Pueblo Zoo). Stunning stone facilities and walls throughout the park are still in good condition. There are at least two WPA plaques located in the park: one at the entrance and one affixed to one of the stone buildings at the park's tennis court complex. The plaques state: ERECTED THROUGH THE COOPERATION OF FEDERAL STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS BY WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION DEDICATED TO THE ENRICHMENT OF HUMAN LIVES * A RECORD OF * * PERMANENT * * ACHIEVEMENT *

"The City of Wishek benefited from several WPA projects. The city park, community swimming pool, Wishek Civic Center, and many of the sidewalks in town were all built by WPA workers." (ndstudies.gov)

The Works Progress Administration built a city park and amphitheater in Memphis TX. The amphitheater has seating for around 2000 people and excellent acoustics. The semi-circular concrete stand is perfectly paced to fit the contours of a high bluff it faces and serves equally well for singing events, plays, band concerts, and other entertainments. Picnic facilities included in the park project converted a tree lined park into a popular recreation center.