Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) furnished the labor for the demolition of unspecified buildings on Main Street in Millville, Massachusetts. The work employed seven men.

The original Texas Woman's University "Demonstration School served the teaching students of the University's College of Education as a means of gaining practical experience. The original building was erected at the southeast corner of Bell Avenue and Texas Street in 1941. In 1959 a new Demonstration School building was built north of the TWU golf course. The original building became home to the Department of Occupation Therapy." Since demolished, the building was constructed with the assistance of $30,000 of Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) funds / labor.

"According to a write-up in the Andovers Trail Guide, the land that makes up the park was purchased by the city in 1877 originally for use as a cemetery. It was changed into a city park in 1896, and was improved in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration, whose workers built trails, two amphitheaters, and a boardwalk, among other improvements."

Constructed by the WPA in 1939-1940. It was used as the city hall until the 1980s. The building was restored and rededicated in 2008 and now serves as a tourism office.

Originally named the Wolf Creek Tunnel, construction on this 800-foot long tunnel began in 1940 as one of the final steps in completion of the Wolf Creek Highway's path through the Coast Range linking the Portland area with northern Oregon coastal communities. Kibbe and Kearn, a Portland firm, cut the tunnel's bore. Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers completed the stone masonry veneer on the tunnel's east and west portals. The project was completed in 1941. Oregon State Highway engineers designed the rustic-style tunnel portals. The plans were reviewed by National Park Service landscape architects and carried out by WPA masons under...

A baseball stadium "built in 1940 by the WPA, Denton Field was built to the specifications of professional minor league baseball. Today, the ballpark is still up to code for the Pioneer League. Today, the ballfield and grandstand, remains in pristine condition... Perhaps, even in better shape than the day it was built, (due to renovations including new elevated party decks down each line). Denton Field, has been home to the American Legion's Miles City Mavericks since it opened, and still hosts them today. However, Miles Field soon caught the attention of the rest of the American Legion, and became the tournament...

Two small concrete bridges about a mile apart on this road. Both have round WPA markers from 1939.

Monkey Island, built by the WPA in 1937, was the only notable New Deal addition to the Denver Zoo. It was rehabilitated in the 1950s.

Across West Virginia, the Department of Highways sponsored district headquarters and garages constructed by the Works Progress Administration. All utilized a similar airfoil design, a variation on the Quonset hut design. Built of stone.

"Distinguished by its decorative brickwork, turrets, and battlemented parapets, the Shorewood Department of Public Works Administration Building was constructed in 1936 with funding from the federal government’s Works Progress Administration."

A two-story International Style building, intended to house the city's Department of Public Works, built by the WPA in 1936.

A money-saving, efficiency-increasing Department of Purchase warehouse in Long Island City was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It is still in use by the city, presently by the Board of Education. The New York Times reported in 1938: The new  six-story warehouse "will occupy a plot, 270 by 426 feet, on the northwest corner of Forty-fourth Drive and Vernon Boulevard. It will be built by WPA labor, the city supplying the materials. Its estimated cost is $2,000,000."

In 1937, the Works Progress Administration built a "low art moderne warehouse for the New York City Department of Purchase, directly under the Brooklyn Bridge and opposite Pete’s Downtown. Approved by the New York City Art Commission, it was designed by Michael J. Mongiello as a long, sleek piece of streamlining with strip windows and orange brick. The roof was specially designed to resist damage from debris falling from the bridge." The building took 18 months to construct, with $635,000 in Federal funds. The Warehouse was built in the Fulton Ferry district at the Brooklyn Bridge. The 1939 W.P.A. Guide to New York City,...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed to the early development of the De Pelchin Faith Home and Children's Bureau. "Construction of the present nine main units began in 1937. The home had on hand $103,000; the City of Houston voted a bond issue of $30,000 for the buildings, and the Work Projects Administration appropriated $72,765. Ground breaking ceremonies were held on December 13, 1937."

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve Peekskill, New York's Depew Park and Fort Hill Park during the 1930s. One project (involving either/both parks) was described by the WPA in its project rolls: "Work includes constructing comfort station, shelter building, and fireplace; performing masonry, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work; installing water pipe, drinking fountains, and edging around running track; painting and roofing; removing stone wall." WPA Official Project No.: 665-21-2-540.

Depot Road was constructed by the W.P.A. Project information: "Prospect Hill and Depot Rd. to Fort Devens" Official Project Number: 65‐1‐14‐3047 Total project cost: $100,000.00 Sponsor: U.S. Navy Department

"The first All-American race was held in Dayton in 1934. The following year, the race was moved to Akron because of its central location and hilly terrain. In 1936, Akron civic leaders recognized the need for a permanent track site for the youth racing classic and, through the efforts of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Derby Downs became a reality."    (https://www.aasbd.org)

Formerly known as Liberty Park, this site was acquired by the City in late 1936. In July 1937, Parks announced that "the new playground...is the first section of a large recreational area which is being constructed to be completed. It is for small children and has slides, swings, see-saws, sand tables, play houses and a rectangular wading pool which can be used for volleyball when not in use as a pool. Benches and shade trees are also provided. When the entire area is completed, it will have facilities for baseball, football, tennis, roller-skating, basketball, horseshoe pitching and paddle tennis, as...

"The new armory opened in 1930, and was used as both a training facility and civic event site. The indoor drill floor was used for dances, USO mixers, auto shows, and political and sporting events. In 1932, future heavyweight champion Joe Louis fought his first career bout. With the onset of the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration funded numerous artistic additions to the armory, including three murals, plaster carvings, and extensive wood carvings; this collection of WPA art is the largest collection of federally-funded Depression-era artwork of any building in the state... The Detroit Naval Armory is a limestone structure...

New Deal agencies undertook a variety of improvements at the Detroit Zoological Park in Royal Oak, Michigan. Between 1933 and 1937, the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and built exhibits, service facilities, and buildings at the park. “The Federal Government, as means of alleviating the distressful unemployment condition in Detroit, appropriated funds in 1933-1934 under the CWA and the FERA for construction work at the Detroit Zoological Park. As a result, an extensive program was carried out which practically completed the western end of the park and comprised the...

New Deal agencies undertook a variety of improvements at the Detroit Zoological Park in Royal Oak, Michigan. Between 1933 and 1937, the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and built exhibits, service facilities, and buildings at the park. The WPA carried out construction and landscaping in the park between 1935 and 1937. This investment resulted in the completion of an animal hospital and administration building.  (Detroit Zoo website)  

Bridge No. 1603 in Connecticut is one of three bridges constructed in 1937 to carry Hopyard Road over varying brooks within Devil's Hopyard State Park in East Haddam. They were built as part of a Federal Works Progress Administration project. The bridges were each added to the National Register of Historic Places, and Bridge No. 1603 bears NRHP reference number 93000641. Bridge No. 1603 is a stone arch bridge located on SSR 434: 6.70 miles east of the route's western terminus at Route 82. It crosses an unnamed creek. The structure was rehabilitated in 1988.

Bridge No. 1604 in Connecticut is one of three bridges constructed in 1937 to carry Hopyard Road over varying brooks within Devil's Hopyard State Park in East Haddam. They were built as part of a Federal Works Progress Administration project. The bridges were each added to the National Register of Historic Places, and Bridge No. 1604 bears NRHP reference number 93000642. Bridge No. 1604 is a stone arch bridge located on SSR 434: 7.18 miles east of the route's western terminus at Route 82. It crosses an unnamed creek. The structure was rehabilitated in 1988.

Bridge No. 1605 in Connecticut is one of three bridges constructed in 1937 to carry Hopyard Road over varying brooks within Devil's Hopyard State Park in East Haddam. They were built as part of a Federal Works Progress Administration project. The bridges were each added to the National Register of Historic Places, and Bridge No. 1605 bears NRHP reference number 93000643. Bridge No. 1605 is a stone arch bridge located on SSR 434: 7.32 miles east of the route's western terminus at Route 82. It crosses Muddy Brook . The structure was rehabilitated in 1988.

Devoe Park "dates from 1915, but the playgrounds and athletic facilities were added by the Parks Department and WPA in 1935. This is one of seven NYC parks opened (or re-opened) on Friday, November 22, 1935, in a ceremony where the speakers were WPA Administrator Harry L. Hopkins, Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, Park Commissioner Robert Moses, and some other officials, as indicated in the NYC Parks Department Press Release for November 21 of that year. Playgrounds were added at each end of the park (that have been renovated since then), and then in 1941 the 'free play area' including...

Devou Park Band Shell was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), as part of a $97,251 grant to the city for park improvements. The band shell was completed in the summer of 1939. "The Devou Park band shell was built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression and opened in 1939 to enthusiastic crowds. It continues to host great events and is home to the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra's Summer Concert Series."

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) worked to develop Devou Park, supplying a $97,251 grant to the city for park improvements. In addition to a band shell and shelter house, the W.P.A. constructed swimming pools at the park.

Also known as Stone Shelter, the Devou Park shelter house was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), as part of a $97,251 grant to the city for park improvements. The shelter house, constructed of native fieldstone and containing a large fireplace, was ready for use by spring 1939."

The third-floor hallway at DeWitt Clinton High School contains two huge New Deal murals by Alfred Floegel, The History of the World (walls) and Constellations (ceiling). The oil on canvas murals were painted in 1934-1940. The History of the World is 5 feet 4 inches high and 194 feet long. Floegel worked on the Clinton High School murals from 1934 to 1940. In the wall mural, different eras of world history are represented in sequence, starting at the rear, proceeding up the right wall, then crossing over and proceeding down the left wall. The ceiling is uniformly done in blue and gold,...

Kagel Canyon is a "populated place" located within the boundaries of Angeles National Forest. In 1934, the Canyon acquired the land for Dexter Park. Between 1936 and 1939, the WPA helped install a water system in the canyon including two wells that served sufficiently until after World War II. By 1937, the WPA had constructed stone and masonry retaining walls and stairways. There is still a WPA plaque in one of the park walls, though some of the buildings were recently destroyed in an earthquake.    

The W.P.A. developed what is now known as Dexter Regional Airport, in Dexter, Maine. W.P.A. project info: "Construct municipal airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐108 Total project cost: $676,000.00 Sponsor: Town of Dexter

The large gymnasium is standing by itself in a residential part of town, built on donated land that at the time was outside of the town proper. It has been in use since it was built and has been used for athletic events as well as for entertainment events by the community. Photographs were taken in a torrential downpour.

The Works Progress Administration built the band shell in Riverside Park, Findlay, Ohio. It was named in honor of a long-time musician and master of ceremonies, June 23, 2004.

The zoo was established in 1922, but was only developed with the help of the WPA for both labor and funds in the 1930s.  The walkways, stone bridges, stone walls, and stone buildings date from the WPA development.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers demolished the former Dickinson paper mill on behalf of the city of Holyoke, Mass. WPA Bulletin: The Dickenson Paper Mill property, idle for the last nine years, has been purchased by the city and will be demolished by WPA workers preparatory to the erection of an electric station for the Holyoke Electric Department. It is expected that the job will take about three months time and that 100 men will be employed monthly.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the impressive Recreation Area in Dimond Park at the foot of the Sausal Creek canyon in East Oakland in 1936. In late 1935, the WPA approved $38,000 in grants for this project out of over $1 million allotted for various works in the city of Oakland. WPA workers laid out a recreation area where the Sausal Creek flood plain widens as it exits the canyon, laying out fields, picnic areas, amphitheater seating, benches and retaining walls.   There is a lovely redwood grove where the two main picnic clusters (with BBQ pits) are located, and...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) prepared the way for Dimond Park in 1936, in coordination with the Oakland Parks Department.  The relief workers cleared trees and brush from the steep Sausal Creek Canyon before constructing the Recreation Area, reworking the creek bed and building trails. In late 1935, the WPA approved $38,000 for this project out of over $1 million allotted for various works in the city of Oakland. There are trails running up the canyon on both sides of Sausal Creek from the Recreation Area to just beyond the Leimert Street bridge, which then join and soon climb up the south...

In 1939-1940, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) channelized Sausal Creek as part of creating Dimond Park.  The work consisted of building concrete walls to stop erosion, installing grade control step-downs, and putting culverts to let roads pass over the creek.   WPA stamps are still visible in places.   The work extends from the Dimond Recreation Area in the lower park up past the Leimert Street bridge, where the creek flows out of a canyon in the Oakland Hills. Channelization was a popular method of flood control in the middle of the 20th, much promoted by the Army Corps of Engineers, which...

"R. L. Bronson, secretary of the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, first propositioned the idea of a Dinosaur Park to federal agencies after visiting the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition and viewed a mechanically operated reproduction of a brontosaurus. The government approved the five prehistoric sculptures, Triceratops, Triconodon, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus Rex, allowing WPA Project 960 to begin excavation work in March, 1936. An engineer, H. H. Babcock, initially supervised twenty workers as they prepared an area south of Hangmans Hill for the life-size reproductions. An office building that sat on the rim of the Stratobowl during the Stratosphere...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted work at Dinosaur National Monument at the site that is now a part of the Quarry Exhibit Hall near Jensen, Utah.  Relief workers expanded the quarry face where abundant dinosaur fossils had been discovered in 1909 by Earl Douglass, a paleontologist collecting for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. President Woodrow Wilson declared the original acre fossil site to be a National Monument in 1915 and President Franklin Roosevelt expanded the monument to its present size in 1938.  The monument contains over 800 paleontological sites. We are uncertain of the exact dates of the WPA work. UEN.org: "The...