Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an elementary school near Marshall College (today Marshall University) in Huntington, Cabell County. The exact location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) project No. 41,290 for construction of a school building at Redwood community was approved for $26,406. The Redwood History page reported the "final school" was constructed on a 10-acre plot. While it was being finished, it was hit by a tornado in 1941 and more than half of the classrooms were damaged. The opening of the school was delayed until 1942 when it could be completed. The building is still extant, though renovations and additions over the years have changed the appearance. It now serves elementary children.

The historic 1936 elementary school building in Wyandotte, Oklahoma is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of 1st and School streets. The original eight-room structure measured 60' x 120'. The building, still recognizable, has since been expanded, and is still in use.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a "two-room elementary building for Negro children in Boone," North Carolina. It was one of many educational facilities constructed by the WPA in Watauga County. A USGS map seems to show a school location in Boone in 1957 at 184 Church Street. A real estate listing shows that the building was constructed in 1937, which is consistent with the above information.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made improvements to Santa Marguerita Elementary School – then part of the Park Hill School District and now in the Atascadero Unified School District.  Only traces of the WPA work remain at the site. The work included repairing brick chimneys, moving a garage, and repairing school desks. The main improvements were to the site:  build a concrete retaining wall & backfill, level the ground around 'the teacherage' (school building?), and grade and level the playground, as well as build and repair play equipment. WPA project cards in the National Archives show that this work was originally approved...

The WPA allocated $895 for reconstruction work on what was then the gym for the high school in Richey, Montana. The structure is now the gym for Richey's elementary school.

"Construct school gymnasium, including installing plumbing, heating, and electrical facilities; excavating; backfilling; and performing appurtenant and incidental work. Publicly owned property. Sponsor: Oil Trough School District #100." WPA Project No. 265-1-63-5, $11,244, application date 7-12-41, Average Employed 38. As best I can gather from talking with a few locals that were reachable, is that the current food bank is the former gym. The school district was dissolved in 1990, and the school was closed in 2005 with students going to either Newark or Cedar Ridge.

"Although the dam was constructed to regulate water flows in New Mexico, Texas and Mexico, the lake became a recreational attraction from its inception. Recreation took off significantly after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed buildings, landscaping, roads and trails throughout the park from 1934-1940. The CCC also constructed a fish hatchery below the dam which was operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service until 1965, when it became part of New Mexico State Parks. Visitors to the Dam Site Recreation Area can see this era preserved in buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors to the Dam...

Elephant Butte Tunnel is one of three tunnels blasted through granite by Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers along the Feather River Highway (present highway 70) in northeast California.  The tunnels were the final pieces in the construction of the Feather River highway by the State of California (1928-37). There is a curious discrepancy in the signs on the two entrances to the tunnel: one dates it to 1936 and the other to 1937. Both are likely true, in that the tunnel was probably begun in 1936 and finished a year later. Elephant Butte tunnel is the northern-most tunnel of the three. The...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made improvements to a lengthy segment of Eleventh Street SE, from Pennsylvania Avenue to Anacostia Bridge, in 1935-36. "Eleventh Street SE, from Pennsylvania Avenue to Anacostia Bridge, was widened and repaved with sheet asphalt pavement and a sharp curve at the approach to the bridge was eliminated. This roadway also carried car tracks, which were removed, and the pavement that was replaced consisted of granite block laid in 1889.” This work was part of the $949,496 WPA allotment for DC roadwork for fiscal year 1936. This WPA roadwork is probably not discernible today due to subsequent road maintenance,...

Bridgeport's Normal School received one or more murals under the WPA's Federal Art Project. The City Normal School was part of Grammar School No. 3, which was later renamed the Elias Howe School. The Elias Howe School still stands today, but is unused. The fate of the WPA murals is unknown.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed Elijah Perry Park (then called "South Camden Park") in Camden, New Jersey. Among the amenities were a "spacious bath house ... swimming pool, 200 feet by 78 feet; wading pool amid a playground for children; tennis court." Camden's Evening Reporter described the facilities in June 1936: The bath house is constructed of concrete block and stone. Its exterior is of salmon-tinted California stucco with white granite trim. Locker rooms on the main floor are equipped with 1,600 clothing baskets of wire, each with a numbered brass tag. As many as 2,400 persons can use the...

The school (originally the Elim Union Elementary School) was one of three major projects by the WPA in Hilmar during the mid 30s. The other two were the Merquin Elementary School and the Lander Gym at the Hilmar High School. Elim Elementary was completed in 1936 and opened in 1937.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) developed what is now Elizabeth Field on Fishers Island, as part of what was then Fort H. G. Wright. The following projects were sponsored by the Commanding Officer, Fort H. G. Wright, U.S. Army. Description: Develop airport facilities Official Project Number: 165‐2‐15‐138 Total project cost: $145,765.00 Description: Develop airport Official Project Number: 165‐3‐15‐151 Total project cost: $250,423.00

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a recreation building at Elizabeth Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The building now serves as a senior citizen center.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to clean, beautify and generally improve the condition of the Elizabeth River in Elizabeth, New Jersey during the Great Depression.

WPA workers constructed a concrete flume for the Elizabeth River in Irvington, New Jersey.

The Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in 1938: "Without warning, the old abandoned Elk's Temple at Helena recently sagged and partially collapsed into one of the city's principal streets. ... WPA crews under an emergency project ... from behind the damaged building..." The structure was located on Broadway Street near Last Chance Gulch in the southwest corner of the city.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) supplied the labor to conduct repairs to the former Ellicott City Jail. Maryland WPA Project No. 181.

Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry states that "The majority of the original park was acquired through the purchasing of private land and County tax foreclosures (1936 & 1937).... WPA crews built structural construction. The WPA structures included the Boathouse & concession stand (1939), shelters, recreation facilities, and the boat dock. Ellicott Island, A.K.A Island at "three mile bend" was constructed to make the creek more navigable and divert canal traffic. Charles Ellicott, a Landscape Architect, heavily influenced the island in the design process. The spur in development in the late 30's through the 40's created the peak popularity...

In 1940, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a new roadway at Ellicott Street between 43rd Street and Wisconsin Avenue in the district's northwest quadrant.  This project was part of a massive New Deal program of street paving and upgrades around the city of Washington DC.  Most such work is invisible today beneath subsequent repavings.

The Works Progress Administration built the Ellis County Courthouse in Hays KS. The Moderne courthouse is constructed of yellow brick. The courthouse is still in use. Mann & Co. was the architect of record. 

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) describes the New Deal's extensive work on Ellis Island, which included building this new immigration building: "The New Immigration Building is one of three major New Deal-era buildings at Ellis Island created to meet the changing scope of immigration services at the facility. Constructed on fill joining Island 1 and Island 2, the New Immigration Building was intended as the new processing center for the diminishing numbers of arriving immigrants, while the existing Baggage and Dormitory Building and the Main Immigration building on Island 1 handled the increasing number of deportees. The clean lines and...

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) describes the New Deal's extensive work on Ellis Island, which included building this and another long covered passageway: "A system of covered passageways connected the three islands, providing sheltered circulation during inclement weather. Pipes and electrical conduits were also located above the ceiling in these corridors. The one-story brick passageways between Islands 1 and 2 were built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding in 1934-35 and are now designated C7. These corridors include a short connection from the east facade of the New Immigration Building (HABS NY-6086-O) and the long section that runs parallel to...

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) describes the New Deal's extensive work on Ellis Island, which included building this and another long covered passageway: "The one-story brick passageways on the west side of Islands 2 and 3 are now designated C8. A system of covered passageways connected the three islands, providing sheltered circulation during inclement weather. Pipes and electrical conduits were also located above the ceiling or in a side service passage. The two curving sections at the northwest side of Island 2 were first built around 1900, connecting the Hospital outbuilding (HABS NY-6086-K). The rest of this long corridor travels...

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) describes the New Deal's extensive work on Ellis Island, which included building this recreation building: "The Recreation Building at the Ellis Island U.S. Immigration Station was designed and built between 1933 and 1937 as part of a series of projects made possible through New Deal public works funding. In 1933 the federally-appointed Ellis Island Committee completed a report that recommended widespread improvements to the immigration facilities, among which was the development of adequate accommodations for recreation. The Recreation Building was designed for Ellis Island by consulting architect Chester Aldrich and the Public Buildings Service, along...

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) describes the New Deal's extensive work on Ellis Island, which included building this recreation shelter: "The Recreation Shelter on Islands 2 and 3 was part of the last active phase of construction at the Ellis Island U.S. Immigration Station during the 1930s. The Recreation Building and two Recreation Shelters were designed for Ellis Island alongside the New Immigration Building (1934-1936) and Ferry Building (1934), all of which were financed through New Deal funding. The construction of these new facilities contributed to a reconfiguration of the island into clearly demarcated spaces for patients, immigrants and deportees,...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Ellis Kinney Swimming Pool in Pratt, Kansas. However, the original pool was demolished in September of 2022. It has been replaced by a new pool funded by a private donor.

In 1939-40, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made substantial improvements to Ellis Lake Park, which was originally designed by landscape architect John McLaren in 1924 on an old slough of the Yuba River.  It is not clear how much of the park had been developed before the WPA came in to assist the city of Marysville.  The WPA workers dredged the lake, put cobblestone rip-rap on the banks, built rock lampposts for night illumination, and installed an ornamental fountain. They also added two tennis courts, a judging stand, a 20-ft. concrete and stone bridge to an island in the lake, and a...

The WPA constructed a bridge: "Spanning Elm Creek, on Elm Creek Road (Leaday-Hill Road), 0.8 miles northeast of the Colorado River, Voss vicinity, Coleman County, State of Texas" The exact coordinates of the structure are presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration built the spillway at the Elm Lake Dam in Frederick SD between 1936 and 1938. The dam at Elm Lake was originally built both to provide a recreation destination and to create a water source for the city of Aberdeen, SD. It still serves this purpose today. The work on Elm Dam included an earthen embankment, low level outlet, concrete-lined primary spillway, and earth-cut auxiliary spillway. A ten-span bridge was also built over the approach channel to the primary spillway.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) widened Elm St. in Auburn, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin, 1937: "Scars of last year's flood will be removed from several streets, and narrow Elm Street will be widened, by WPA project which employs 40 men and is expected to last about three months."

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor widened Elm St. in Holyoke, Mass.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out improvement work on Elm Street in Tuskegee, in 1936. WPA workers built curbs, gutters, and paved the surface of the road.

A federal WPA-sponsored set of alterations, repairs, and general improvements was undertaken at the old Elmhurst branch library in Elmhurst, New York during the 1930s. The building was demolished in 2012.

As of 2009, this 1938 WPA mural by William Palmer entitled "The Development of Medicine" is located in the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens. It may have originally been installed in the Queens General Hospital (now the Queens Hospital Center). According to a 1964 interview with the artist: "It was stated in a recent book on the WPA - that the panel Controlled Medicine was in effect a plea for and propaganda for socialized medicine. This statement is without any basis of fact, and the author never contacted me for my analysis panel. To put the record straight - the mural Development...

The Works Progress Administration built a school Gymnasium in Elmore City, OK. Contributor comments: "This gymnasium is located on N. Muse Avenue, on the north side of the Elmore City High School campus. It was built in 1938-1939. Much of the work had already been completed, before the WPA handled the completion of the construction. The gymnasium is a one-story red brick building with gabled roof. Entrances on the west and south are recessed under an arched opening. The windows are covered with wood boards, but the building is still in use by the school as a training room."

"Elmwood Avenue, which connects the Boston Post Road to I-95 and is Route 1 in Providence, was widened by WPA workers."

In 1937 the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed construction of this three foot high L-shaped granite rock wall that runs for hundreds of miles along the north and east sides of the Elmwood Cemetery in Woodward, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Historic Preservation Survey notes that construction of the Elmwood Cemetery entrance and fence "...created desperately-needed employment for jobless workers of this agricultural and railroad community during the Depression. Additionally, the project provided a much needed civic improvement to the community..." Finally, the Survey remarks that the architectural style of the wall is significant for its type, scale, workmanship as well as...

The WPA was responsible for the demolition of Elmwood Music Hall in Buffalo, NY in September 1938. The building, which previously served as an armory, was located at the northeast corner of Elmwood Avenue and Virginia Street. "The building was declared unsafe and condemned in February, 1938. Edward and Mary Seaton Kleinhans had already left a bequest in 1934 expressly for the construction of a new music hall. Music performances were held at the Buffalo Consistory (Cansisius High School) for the next two years while the Kleinhans Music Hall was being constructed on Pennsylvania Street."