Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

"The Dayton Community Hall is a community building located at 410 Bridge St. in Dayton, Wyoming. The hall was built in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration. The people of Dayton used the hall for community gatherings, as their previous community hall was no longer safe for activities. The hall was the largest such hall in the county, and the dances it hosted each Saturday night drew visitors from up to 50 miles (80 km) away. In addition to dances, the hall also hosted basketball games, Dayton Benefit Club meetings, local school events, and political functions. The hall continues to...

Florida "boasted several notable and highly visible WPA projects, including the Daytona Beach Bandshell Oceanfront Park Complex (NR 1999) and the Bayshore Boulevard Sea Wall (NR 1985) in Tampa. Conceived to help promote Daytona Beach's flagging tourist industry and assembled with native coquina, the distinctive Daytona Beach structure faced south with its profile perpendicular to the Atlantic Ocean. As designed by architect Alan MacDonough, the structure included a clock tower, fountain, and monument to Edward H. Armstrong, Daytona Beach's aggressive mayor who used New Deal resources to enhance the "World's Finest Beach." ... City funds and WPA coffers allocated approximately...

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on De Beltjen Rd. in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed improvements at, and helped beautify, De Mores Memorial Park in downtown Medora ND. The city park improvement project was one of several beautification initiatives around Medora that depended on WPA work crews. “WPA labor is being used with Ben Lantz acting as landscape architect,” a journalistic commentator remarked at the time. “Scoria walks are being built through the park. A fountain will be constructed and the whole area nclosed with a stone wall fence, surmounted by iron grill work.” The park remains an attraction and site of leisure and recreation for town residents.

This park was first established in 1901. In October 1941, the WPA and the Department of Parks completed the reconstruction of the park: "The old pavilion and comfort station was demolished and replaced by a modern brick building. The play was enlarged by the construction of retaining walls. There are two wide gate controlled entrances on each side of the new comfort station, which is located on the center line adjacent to the east fence, leading to the wading pool area. The wading pool may also be used for basketball and volleyball in the fall and winter. Two shuffleboard courts are parallel...

Rehabilitated and completed most of museum building, ventilation and heating.--Healy, p. 71. Unfortunately, this building was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It was eventually demolished and replaced with the new structure which opened in 2005.

"In 1940, WPA workers completed this park in the heart of Dallas. Named for an early publisher of the Dallas Morning News, the plaza lives in infamy as the location of President John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. There may be other "grassy knolls" in American parks, but none have gone down in history like the one in Dealey Plaza."  (money.howstuffworks.com) The park is built around a triple underpass in the heart of Dallas: "After the triple underpass was built, the remaining green space between the streets, and to the north of Elm and the south of Commerce, was...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed Dean Park in West Warren. WPA Bulletin: What was once a rough field in West Warren, on the road to Ware, is now a seven-acre recreational site built by the WPA. This is the first athletic field in town history. According to sponsors and engineers, construction of the field, now called Dean Park, was replete with trouble and they point to the fact that 60 percent of the excavation was done by dynamite blasts. Youngsters of the town (who are not a bit interested in engineering difficulties) are proud of the new baseball and football...

"Thanks to Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, which promised jobs to needy citizen, many facets of modern-day Roswell were born. Workers from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built several schools, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a city hall, DeBremond Stadium, and Roswell's first museum in 1937, today known as the Roswell Museum and Art Center." -John LeMay

Now known as Decatur Playground, this playground adjacent to Public School 35 opened in September 1942. It is jointly operated by Parks and the Board of Education. A press release announced the completion of the playground: "The playground, approximately 200 feet square, lies immediately west of the existing school which will be considerably expanded after the war… A softball field with hooded backstop, one basketball court with removable standards, two practice basketball standards and four handball courts have been provided. The construction of the playground was done by the Work Projects Administration from plans prepared by the Department of Parks." It is still in...

W.P.A. project description: "Dedham Parkway and Turtle Pond Parkway; a project in operation at the end of the year will provide a parking area on each of these two parkways in the Hyde Park district."

The spring-fed Deep Eddy Swimming Pool was originally built in 1916 as part of a private resort on the banks of the Colorado River called "Deep Eddy Bathing Beach." The City of Austin purchased the resort on May 31, 1935 to use as a park. Early June 1935 saw heavy rains and flooding in Central Texas with peak discharge along the Colorado River at Austin occurring on June 15. This flood destroyed all the buildings at the resort and filled the pool with debris. The city quickly took advantage of New Deal funds for work relief projects. The Works Progress Administration...

"A c. 1940 poured concrete dam with metal gates and fixtures. Built with federal funds during the Depression era to help control drainage, flooding on Deer Creek" (Embree, 2004, p. 12).

"President Theodore Roosevelt created a national bird refuge at Deer Flat Reservoir, now Lake Lowell, with his February 25, 1909, executive order. The refuge was one of 17 federal reclamation projects referenced in the order, each of which used manmade aquifers to provide safe havens for migratory birds. 1935 Civilian Conservation Corps BR-24 Co. 2506 charged with restoring dams eroded by waves and ice. 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the Snake River Islands Refuge by executive order. Thomas Horn assigned as first refuge manager. 1938 Works Progress Administration workers help build refuge infrastructure (roads and buildings). 1939 WPA workers complete observation tower."

The WPA worked to improve roads throughout Deer Lodge County, Montana. $221,502 were allocated for such projects in July 1938 alone.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Deer Park Pool in Sparks, Nevada.  Construction began in 1941 and the pool opened in 1942.  The pool was entirely renovated in 2007, including rebuilding the pool structure itself. Stonework around the pool is in typical WPA fashion.    

Deer Valley Resort near Park City UT is one of Utah's major ski areas, along with Park City, Alta and Snowbird.  It is ranked among the top ski resorts in the country, thanks to the quality of powder snow in the Wasatch Mountains. Skiing began at Deer Valley with the Park City Winter Carnivals of the 1930s and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built some of the first ski trails and other facilities during the winter of 1936-1937.   No clear trace of the WPA's work remains, given the massive enlargement of Deer Valley ski area and condominium complex in recent years.

Several New Deal agencies contributed to the construction of the Deerfield Dam in the vicinity of Hill City and the Black Hills National Forest, SD. Construction began before the Roosevelt Administration, continued during the New Deal, and finished after World War II. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, "Construction was started on July 7, 1942, by the Farm Security Administration and was later continued by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Civilian Public Service Camp under the Works Projects Administration during World War II. The facilities were completed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1947."

"The Deerwood Auditorium is a community center in Deerwood, Minnesota, United States, built as a Works Progress Administration project. The auditorium, built in 1935, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a rare surviving example of federal relief architecture in Minnesota. ...The town first received funding for the auditorium in 1935 through the State Emergency Relief Administration, but the SERA's function was later subsumed by the Works Progress Administration. ...Despite shortages of money during the construction, the building was substantially completed in time for its first event, a lutefisk supper held on October 29, 1936. Final touches were completed in...

The Del Mar Fairgrounds project is unique in that it is the only WPA incorporated and built race-track. It was meant to be an economic stimulant for the county. The racetrack was also built with the expectation of providing fairgrounds for the 22nd Agricultural District (it is still the site of the Del Mar Fair). The project was one of the most expensive WPA project in San Diego County, and was also the only WPA project in the county to be investigated for fraud. Branton (1991).

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a short bridge on North Main Street across Del Monte Wash in Cottonwood AZ.   The bridge is concrete dressed with the same river stone from the Verde River as the nearby Cottonwood Community Club building and was almost certainly built at the same time, 1938-39.  It is mentioned on the historical plaque in front of the Community Club.

"When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used landscape and park projects to provide relief and hope for America. The second great period of park building occurred during this ten year period when the CWA and WPA work teams focused much of their attention on our "City Park" building the Rose Garden, bathhouse, wading pool, bandstand, and the stone armory, now known as Fort Decatur Recreation Center." (decaturparks.com)

The federal Works Progress Administration filled in the old Delaware & Raritan Canal, which ran through downtown Trenton, New Jersey, beginning August 8, 1936. The unused canal had proved to be a barrier to the city's development. The land was then redeveloped into State Route 129.

This photo shows a "twin arch bridge" on Delaware Ave. under construction by the WPA in 1936. Google maps shows that the bridge is still standing.

The major thoroughfare of Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York was improved substantially ca. 1936 by federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor. More than 400 men were put to work as part of this effort.

This courthouse was built by the WPA in 1941. "This is a rectangular structure consisting of a central three-story unit and two single story wing units. It is constructed of rusticated and coursed native limestone... A concrete frieze along the top portion of the central unit adds decorative detail to the building. Unfortunately the building has been altered. A third story has been added the south wing... Seldom did the WPA undertake projects of this magnitude... Surely the structure is the most distinctively beautiful of any county courthouse built by the WPA in Oklahoma."   (Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory)

The WPA conducted extensive work at former Delaware Ordnance Depot, located on the west side of Route 130 about halfway between Penns Grove and Pedricktown. Many buildings and much of the infrastructure from the time is still extant. WPA projects at the old Ordnance Depot included: "Improve buildings and grounds by constructing magazines and rail facilities, barracks, dispensary, offers and non‐commissioned officers quarters, roads, sidewalks and utilities, landscaping; and performing appurtenant and incidental tasks." Official Project Number: 713‐2‐19 Total project cost: $900,000.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Delaware Ordnance Depot, and War Department "A non‐construction project to improve and rehabilitate buildings, public utility systems, water supply and gypsy...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed this composite truss bridge over the Delaware River in 1936, in conjunction with Jefferson County. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The WPA conducted improvements, including a sewage disposal plant, at the State Negro College, which was established in 1921. From the Delaware Public Archives: "On June 17, 1921, the Board of Trustees of the State College for colored students, later known as Delaware State College, approved a resolution recommending the establishment of a four year high school for Negro students on its campus. This was the second such institution in the state, and the first outside of Wilmington. Many of the classes were held in the Dupont Building, also known as the Practice School. This building was named for Pierre S....

The Works Progress Administration built the Delbert J Haff Circle Fountain in Kansas City MO, in 1940.

"The historic amphitheater was constructed in the Dell Rapids City Park in 1936 as a project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)." Presently listed to the National Register of Historic Places, the "structure continues to be a popular focal point for many summertime activities."

Starting in 1938, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) demolished the 1900 Delta County Courthouse in Cooper and built a new $110,450 four-story courthouse that was finished in 1940. The architect of record was Hoke Smith (1896-1943).

$107,000 was approved in the WPA project no. 41003 for the Delta Station Forest Tract for fire lanes, roadways, and general improvements. The Experiment Station purpose was experimental work in lowland forest types. Henry Parker, of Grenada, Mississippi was the project supervisor in charge of "clearing and grubbing roadways and firebreaks (WPA Project, p. 1)...road construction and bridge building; manufacture of lumber for bridges; and stand-improvement work under the supervision of state and federal foresters" (p. 5).

This rural Shasta County schoolhouse was built with funding from the WPA in the period between 1935 and 1938. The school building has since been remodeled and is currently in use as a private residence.  

The annex to the Hill Demonstration School was constructed with funds from the WPA. The building was dedicated in 1939 and named for the director of the demonstration school. The Art Moderne building was designed by campus engineer J. S. Sigler, and was demolished in 1974.

The Delta State Teachers College (now Delta State University) "...did add to its physical plant with the completion in 1936 of an outdoor swimming pool with $20,000 from the Works Progress Administration" (Gunn & Castle, 1980, p. 45). The pool opened in May, 1936 for the senior class party. The pool was eventually demolished, and the site remodeled into a natatorium.

The 1938-39 Art Moderne Project Miss. 1225 is "...a rare surviving example of a university gymnasium from the period before World War II. ...maintains its interior and exterior integrity" (MDAH). The gym was expanded with a rear addition of a second gym in 1947, which was demolished in 2000. Brick veneer was added in 1964, and the building was renovated in 1975-76. It remains in use today, and is prominently located at the front of the campus on Leflore Circle.

"Golf was played on land leased and eventually purchased from the City of Deming. The original course (nine holes) started with sand greens, but since sand tended to blow out in strong winds magnetite was used to replace the sand. In 1932, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created to provide jobs and stimulate the economy. The building which was to become the Clubhouse was built by the WPA in 1935. The building was completed in 1936 and served as administration headquarters for just over a year. In the spring of 1938, New Mexico WPA Administration approved the use...

The Works Progress Administration made a number of improvements to the original 1919 city park, including stone drinking fountains, walls and entrance gates, and a stone bridge that are identifiable in 2023.

"The land on the corner of Tin and Hemlock, was acquired in 1921 for $900. It was not until 1935, however, that the library building was constructed with funds provided by the Public Works Administration. Although the building was remodeled and enlarged throughout the years, the original architectural style was preserved. Built of adobe with beamed ceilings in the original part of the building, it is a typical southwestern structure, featuring a beautiful Spanish corner fireplace in the room which housed the fine Southwestern collection. An added attraction were the hand painted windows depicting wildflowers of New Mexico. The latest addition...