Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

Artist Caspar Duchow created four 4' x 6' mosaics depicting animals for the East Whittier Middle School: "Hippos," "Waterfowl," "Tropical Birds" and "Monkey." The mosaics were created in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.

This bridge across Zayante Creek in Felton was built by the WPA in 1940. The stone column on the North side of the bridge still shows the WPA stamp. Although the railings on the bridge span have clearly been replaced, the rock sides lining the bridge are likely still the originals. This bridge is located on E. Zayante Rd. next to Waner Way, at the lat/long location shown above. The current city tag pictured below shows the bridge's official position 3.7 miles from the start of East Zayante Road.

Both of the 1941 bridges shown below were likely built by the WPA as a nearby bridge on the same road was built by the WPA in 1940, and an old Santa Cruz library file also lists Zayante Creek bridge as a 1941 WPA project. Both of the bridges shown here have the date 1941 stamped into the curb on the bridge's interior railing. The first bridge is located near 11481 East Zayante Road and the second less than a mile ahead at 12211 East Zayante Road in Felton. The official city labels for the bridges list them as being at...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) carried out pavement repair and other unspecified improvements to a long segment of Eastern Avenue, from Bunker Hill Road to Queens Chapel Road. This road was paved with “temporary material consisting of broken-concrete base, broken stone, and slag. These large aggregates are choked with smaller material, and an application of asphaltic cement completes the operation. This construction forms a very good temporary roadway.” The work is likely still extant, but invisible and unmarked. In 1936-1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved a segment of Eastern Avenue NE., from Rhode Island Avenue to Bladensburg...

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with street repair and maintenance projects that improved roads throughout the Bronx. An approximately half-mile stretch of what was then Eastern Boulevard (now the Bruckner Expressway) between Middletown Rd. and Westchester Ave. was resurfaced with bituminous concrete as part of one $94,564 WPA project.

Eastern New Mexico University saw great improvements resulting from the efforts and funding of multiple New Deal programs. The campus is home to several outstanding New Deal buildings and artworks.

Several projects at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) were undertaken with New Deal funds. "The biggest project undertaken using funds from the federal government was the development of an airport, supported by partial grants from the WPA. In 1940, the government bequeathed the WPA $25 million for the construction of airports. The WPA provided approximately $154,970 towards such a project on the campus of the Agricultural and Mechanical College to Texas. The airport was completed in 1941 and another $75,000 was given by the WPA to light the finished runways. The Agricultural and Mechanical College...

The park was originally called Phoenix Park, renamed Eastlake Park in 1903, and bought by the City of Phoenix in 1914 (City of Phoenix African American Historic Property Survey pp 29-30). The survey further states that: "In 1937 Works Progress Administration funding provided for the construction at Eastlake Park of a bathhouse, showers, and dressing rooms for the pool. Two years later, the city added lights, swings, sandboxes, sports facilities, and equipment." "...the park was a significant site for civil rights rallies and the starting point of all civil rights marches to the Capital; until it grew too large to continue...

The Works Progress Administration built the entrance gates and wall around the Eastland City Park. The project also included the building of picnic tables and restrooms. Abilene Daily Reporter, September 3, 1935, p. 5. District 13 WPA Office Sends Application for 26 Projects to San Antonio State Headquarters. "City of Eastland: Concrete wading pool and swimming pool in Eastland park; 236 months; $8,739.50 federal; $9,949.55 total" Abilene Morning Reporter News, October 6, 1935, p. 1 and 12. New Projects Get Approval: Benefit 15 Communities in This District Blanton Wires. "Eastland park was approved for park  $3, 320, and for park improvement $1,055" Abilene Daily Reporter,...

Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers provided landscaping improvements to the Eastmoreland Golf Course, the City of Portland’s oldest municipal course, during 1937. The $26,348 project budget was made up almost entirely of labor costs. As a Parks Bureau report notes, Parks Superintendent Charles P. Keyser took care in the use of relief funds to expand the City’s budget since “they could be expended only for parks improvements or expansions, not maintenance of existing facilities” (p. 31). The exact nature and location of the improvements are unknown to us.

"The potential for the U.S. being drawn into world war 2 was the catalyst that finally resulted in Eastport being selected for the site of an airport and a seaplane base. The CAA was funding construction of a series of airfields, built to basic military specifications, across Maine and across the nation for national defense. Bangor, Houlton and Presque Isle would later become commissioned as military airfields. Sometime in 1939 or 1940, the CAA began acquiring land by eminent domain for the airport, and some test holes were dug by WPA labor in 1940. On April 23, 1941, Works Progress...

"Improvement of the Eatonville cut-off is now under way with the ditches being deepened and widened to provide proper drainage and the road graded and re-surfaced, which was provided for by a WPA grant of $1,667. Labor for these project is taken from WPA rolls."

This statue, entitled "Nuestra Reina de los Angeles" ("Our Queen of the Angels") but known colloquially as "The Lady of the Lake," was made in 1934 by Ada May Sharpless with funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Rendered in poured concrete, it stands 14' tall at the north end of the lake on a small peninsula. The damaged statue was put into storage on site in 1986, and after restoration reinstalled in 1999.

The bridge carrying Echo Road over a branch of Little Washburn Creek in Dayton Township ENE of Huntington, Arkansas was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1941.

Now the ECOS Environmental Center, this facility by Porter Lake in Forest Park was constructed as a field house by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1936-7. It was known as the "Warming House" and was used for skating until 1970.

According to the Carlsbad Current-Argus, WPA efforts in Eddy County included "landscaping Carlsbad courthouse grounds."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Eden Grammar School in Eden, Concho County. The one-story building is a combination of brick and rock. The WPA plaque bears the date 1938-1940. The cornerstone above mentions the date 1941. A high school building next to the elementary school, and a rock wall around the schools, are unmarked.

The historic shelter building in Cincinnati's Eden Park is located behind PlayHouse in the Park with a playground, pool, and basketball court attached. It has some beautiful mural artwork as well.

In 1935 F.E.R.A./W.P.A. labor painted Framingham's Edgell Library, and conducted plaster repair and woodwork varnishing. "On the outside the doors, sash, and some of the stone masonry were painted, and the rain water conductors were replaced or repaired." The W.P.A. continued work in 1936; "the building has been entirely rewired, modern control replacing obsolete methods, and many lights installed where there had not been any."

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed Edgemere Road in West Roxbury, Boston, Mass. WPA Bulletin: One of the most difficult tasks en- countered by WPA in the construction of many miles of Boston streets was the building of Edgemore road, West Roxbury, through a long stretch of solid rock. Dynamite, rock drills and much man power was used in this work.

During the 1930s, Edgewood Playground, as it was then known, was upgraded as part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program undertaken by the Public Works Administration (PWA), Civil Work Adminstration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). At Edgewood, the WPA graded and constructed tennis courts and may also have built a baseball diamond and other recreational facilities.  The CCC also did unspecified work there, probably landscaping. Today, Edgewood Recreation Center still has tennis courts, basketball courts, a field house and traces of an old baseball diamond (in satellite view).  It is unknown how much evidence remains of...

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements and repairs for the Edison School in South Charleston. The work consisted of “Painting and repairing Edison school, installing new fire escape.”

The Edler School was constructed in either 1937 or 1938 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It sat amidst former farmland that had been abandoned because of the Dust Bowl. The school is constructed from blocks of Dakota sandstone. It has since been converted into a private residence.

"In 1936, Edmond was allotted $45,000 to build a National Guard Armory. The WPA built this sandstone building, designed by Colonel Bryan Nolan, on the southeast corner of Stephenson Park."

The Edmondson Park Swimming Pool and Bathhouse in Oskaloos IA was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937. It was one of over a dozen public swimming pools constructed in Iowa during the New Deal. The Oskaloosa pool measures 75 x 150 feet and was of “particular pride” to the WPA officials and engineers who designed it. Oskaloosa’s bathhouse was regarded as one of the most beautiful in the state upon its completion. Built out of limestone quarried in Mahaska County IA the 53 x 75 foot structure is set upon a scenic spot in the municipal park. In 2005, the...

An inscription on a bronze plaque on the Flag Pole (top of hill) reads on either side: West Side “This Park was made possible by a bequest to Oskaloosa by James DePew Edmundson 1936.” East Side-  “How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood.” "This $100,000 Edmundson Memorial Park honors two famous men in our County – our first sheriff, William Edmundson, 24 and his son, James Depew Edmundson, 25 whose gift made it possible when in 1937, he donated $20, 000 toward this Park.   All of the labor was done by about 120 men in our...

Located between Montpelier and Barre, what is now Edward F. Knapp State Airport in the Town of Berlin, Vermont was developed as a New Deal project in conjunction with the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). Wikipedia: "Originally called the Barre-Montpelier Airport, the airport opened on April 5, 1929. At the time of its construction, the airport was a primitive field with a grass surface. Depending on the wind, planes could take off in any direction. For its earlier years, this worked well, but as larger planes started to use the airport, longer paved runways became a necessity. In October 1935, the field...

Otherwise known as Centinela Park. The WPA built the park's water fountain and eight tennis courts in the 1930s. Other structures may have been built at that time too--more documentation is needed. From an article in Inglewood Today: "Archibald Garner was also  commissioned to create the water fountain monument at the outcropping of the springs in then Centinela Park, now Vincent Park.  The fountain was originally designed to provide water for adults, children, and dogs... Garner chose granite for his sculpture.  It is made of chunks of stone of various sizes, placed irregularly to form a low column with a polished...

The brick and concrete band shell is a concert and public performance stage constructed in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Although the El Dorado County Fair was first held in 1859, it moved to this location in 1939. The property was purchased by the state of California, and federal funds were used to finance construction on the property: "The W.P.A. and the New Deal were responsible for the initial construction of permanent facilities at todays fairgrounds. Between the end of the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II, bare ground was transformed into the facility used today. There are plaques on several of the buildings dedicated to the hard-working men and women of the C.C.C. who labored on...

Today this building is known as El Mercado, the home of the largest Mercado outside of Mexico. It was built as a WPA project during 1938-1939 after the existing municipal market house (known as the Giles building) was torn down. The new market was originally named the Municipal Truck Market because it was designed with a wide entry so farmers could drive their truck into the market and sell their produce direct from their truck. However, the market was commonly called the Farmer's Market. In 1975 the last produce was sold here and the market house underwent renovation to convert...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the El Paso International Airport in El Paso TX. The antecedent to the El Paso International Airport, built by the WPA, was the Municipal Airport, established by Standard Airlines. This original airport was established close to the east side of the Franklin Mountains. More than 1000 men worked on landscaping, groundwork, as well as airplane and airport improvements. This original site then became a cement batching plant, and later on it became a US Army training base during WWII. It is important to consider the precedent of the original airport because it gives important historical...

Two separate WPA projects were initiated at this school that was built in 1930. Sponsor: El Portal Grammar School District WPA Proj. No. 65-3-3769, December 12, 1935, $2,567 "Painting inside walls, etc., on El Portal Grammar School." WPA Proj. No. 165-3-2074, December 11, 1936, $1,287, "Paint walls, window casings and make minor repairs to El Portal Grammar School, in El Portal, Mariposa County; also excavate and level school yard, repair road entrance and other work incidental thereto. In addition to projects specifically approved. El Portal Grammar School Dist. owned property." In 1963, a new school was constructed further down the road in a...

"This private old hotel has a variety of art work in lobby areas including large murals created by Manville Chapman in 1939 and 6 others done later by his student, Willie Warder, another WPA Project artist. The hotel housed the original WPA Project office for the region and was the location of WPA-supported art classes. This historic hotel is reminiscent of a period when railroad and mining workers boarded in hotel rooms routinely. Paintings and memorabilia are fascinating. The El Portal Hotel suffered a devastating fire in 2009, losing the northern part of the hotel. Until renovations on the remaining rooms are...

The Works Progress Administration built an armory in Elba, Coffee County circa 1937. The exact location and condition of the structure is unknown to the Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out road improvement work on the Elba-Brantley Road. The work consisted of “paving approximately 5 miles Elba-Brantley road using bituminous materials in which the state, county and WPA bear a share of the cost.”

Johnstown, Pennsylvania's Tribune-Democrat reported in 2012 that the Election House in Stonycreek Township, PA (in the village of Shanksville) was "constructed through President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. It dates to about 1936 and voting has been held there since 1940." The building is located north of Corner Stone Road at the municipal park, between Rhoads Creek and the Shanksville-Stonycreek School District.

The elementary building was part of 11projects undertaken in Pearl River County in 1937. The school building was projected to cost $14,000. Projects included bridges, buildings at Pearl River College and other local schools, and a new City Hall. Wilford S. Lockyer was the architect for the school project. The building is still in use as part of the Carriere school system.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) allotted $128,138 toward construction of a new elementary school. R. W. Naef was the architect for the two-story brick 1941 International style building. W. T. Beckelheimer was the superintendent of construction. An auditorium was added to the building in 1956. District Manager for WPA office announced the building would be ready for occupancy in fall of 1941. The building remains in use.

Farmersville received $47,000 of New Deal funds for an elementary school for migrant workers, according to newspaper reports of the times.  It is unknown where this school was built or if it was at the site of one of the three current elementary schools.