Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

"Later in 1936, the regional planning department prepared plans for the new pool and bathhouse that was then constructed by the WPA. The new facility opened in 1939. The pool had a capacity of one million gallons."

Hoyt Park already appears in The Living New Deal site data. However, most New Deal structures at this cherished park are not represented. Therefore, this submission adds five photos of New Deal structures at this beautiful park. Additional photos could be added in the future.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Hubbard Park Lodge in Shorewood WI. the structure was built for use by Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. WPA crews also graded the land, built pathways and a spring-fed pool and fountain.  The records indicate that two buildings in Hubbard Park in Shorewood, WI, were built by the WPA in 1936: Hubbard Park Lodge (originally called Scout Craft Cabin) and Shorewood River Club (originally called Hubbard Park Community Lodge). The two venues, at present, are under the same management. According to one history, "Hubbard Park saw a lull in activity until the 1930s when Shorewood secured...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed two parks in El Cerrito, Poinsett and Huber.  WPA improvements at 2.6-acre Huber park include leveling portions of the hillside site, building extensive rubble stone support walls, and constructing recreational facilities.  The latter include a lower area with paved basketball and kickball courts, a large cement slide, a play area with swings for children, and a picnic area with a large brick fireplace.  There is also a small clubhouse (apparently closed), bathrooms, and trails. The date May 1939 is inscribed on the brick fireplace, which is probably the year when the WPA worked at the park.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the main part of the Huckabay High School. The two story, stone masonry construction building was built between 1938-1940. A plaque set on the front facade notes the construction dates and the involvement of the WPA.

WPA demolished five existing buildings and constructed a new one story, frame and stucco earthquake proof building for kindergarten purposes. It is not clear if the WPA also reconstructed the rest of the school, perhaps after 1939.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at Huff Cemetery in German Township, Marshall County, northwest of Bremen, Indiana.

The Huff Memorial Library (otherwise known as the Old Teton County Library) was a constructed by the WPA in 1938-1940. "The single-story log building was built to replace a library in St. John's House, and was named after Dr. Charles Huff, a local physician. Additions were made in 1945, 1959 and 1970."  (Wikipedia.org)

The WPA improved the buildings and grounds at this school in the Angeles National Forest.

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve New Rochelle's, New York's former Huguenot Park Library (opened 1926) during the 1930s. The library, which was used as such until 1992. The building since reopened as a children's library. One WPA project, which involved numerous municipal buildings in New Rochelle including this one, 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.

Oxford, Massachusetts's old Huguenot Steamer No. 1 Fire Station is located on Main Street in North Oxford. A second-story community meeting space was in the building was known as Huguenot Hall. Huguenot Hall received assistance from the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the 1930s. The building now houses a firefighting museum managed by the Oxford Firefighters Association.

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Staten Island project that removed dangerous street ditches from roads throughout the borough. Granite block gutters and headers were installed by WPA laborers along a dozen streets, including from Huguenot Avenue from Amboy Road to the Staten Island Railway tracks and along Amboy Road between Huguenot Avenue and the same railroad.

The Works Progress Administration built bleachers for a baseball diamond in Cleburne. Corsicana Daily Sun mentioned the construction of the bleaches in 1938: "Cleburne, Johnson county—Con- truct soft ball field, bleachers, bowling green, walks and parkway and landscape in city park; federal funds $6,381; sponsor's funds $2,773; workers 59." They are now in front of tennis courts. Five tiers of rock bleachers with cement seating on lower four. Bleachers are on the corner of Hillsboro Street and Country Club Road.  

"Plans for the current courthouse were approved in 1936. The Des Moines architectural firm of Dougher, Rich & Woodburn were retained to design the building. The county applied to the Public Works Administration, or PWA, to assist with the funding. The grant was approved in 1937. The contract to build the building was given to Holtze Construction Co. of Sioux City, Iowa. The cornerstone was laid on April 30, 1938, and the new building was dedicated on February 25, 1939. The courthouse was built for $185,000. Iowa Supreme Court Justice Richard Mitchell delivered the main address at an open house. The...

In 1939, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) approved several improvements at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds on the north edge of Ferndale CA. According to the WPA project card, the work entailed moving the pavilion and stock buildings, improving the grandstand and other miscellaneous tasks. In 1941, the WPA returned to build an exhibition hall. We could not confirm which buildings at the fairgrounds today are the ones worked on by the WPA relief teams, there are several likely candidates for the pavilion, stock buildings and exhibition hall that appear to date from the mid 20th century. Further information is needed.

Humboldt General Hospital in Winnemucca has been around in various forms since the 19th century. The first hospital on the present site was established in 1908.  It was expanded with new structures in 1936, 1942, 1962, 1973 and completely rebuilt in 2015-16. The 1941-42 expansion was undertaken with a $14,121 grant by the Work Projects Administration (WPA), while the 1936 addition was undertaken with a $24,545 grant by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The 2015-16 reconstruction of the hospital effaced all traces of buildings before the 1960s. Old Hospital before being torn down in 1972 - Winnemucca NV

The Cape Vincent Eagle reported that the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved 11 roads in the town of Cape Vincent, New York. "All school bus, milk, and rural mail routes, the roads form an important part of the town's highway system." The project encompassed eight miles of road, and called for "grading, draining, placing base, trimming shoulders and ditches, surfacing and incidental appurtenant work." Roads improved included "Humphrey, leading from Mud Creek northerly one mile."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed facilities in Linton, Indiana's Humphreys Park in 1938.

This building was originally built as a public library in 1903. During the 1930s, New Deal workers significantly improved the building. In 1970, the library moved to Court Street. The Hunt Memorial Building then housed the offices of the Nashua School Department until 1991. Since renovations in 2011, the building has been rented for events. Municipal reports from the 1930s detail New Deal work on the site: In his town summary of 1934, Mayor Lucier wrote: "This has been a year of much needed repairs both inside and outside the building. Here, again, federal aid stepped in and grateful thanks are due the...

In 1938-1941 the WPA constructed this Boston subway extension, part of the Boston Elevated Railway which now appears to be part of the MBTA Green Line underground light rail route. WPA Bulletin, 1937: HUNTINGTON AVENUE SUBWAY TO EMPLOY 1400 A YEAR Work for 1400 men for about a year will be provided by the $2,000,000 Huntington avenue subway in Boston on which initial construction has begun. At its peak the project will employ about 1400 on a six-shift basis. Engineers, engaged in preliminary work, carefully inspected every building and every building foundation along the route of the subway extension to determine what steps will...

The WPA constructed a school building at this school for $14,945 in federal funds and $27,864 total, and also improved the grounds under another WPA project.

"The Hunts Point Branch of the New York Public Library is the thirty-seventh and final Carnegie branch library to be built in New York City and the ninth to be constructed in the Bronx. It has been in continuous operation as a branch library for over eighty years." The library was built in 1929. From 1935-38, the library was expanded by the WPA, "with the construction of a rear two-story addition that accommodated a new activity space and supplementary reading room."   (https://hdc.org)

In October 1935, the New York City Department of Parks announced the opening of twelve new playgrounds, including this one at Hunts Point. Although the release does not specify federal involvement, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that “it is safe to say that every single project completed by the NYC Park Department during the 1930s was federally funded to some degree.” After April 1935, the WPA was especially involved in the development of the New York park system.

In the early 1930s, at a meeting of the Huntsville-Walker County Chamber of Commerce, it was suggested that a park be built around Huntsville. The Chamber of Commerce took the proposal to the Texas State Parks Board. The board required that the community provide the land for the park. Twenty thousand dollars in bonds would have to be sold by Walker County to pay for the land needed. In early 1936, the bond issue passed with more than four to one in favor of selling the bonds. From 1937 to 1942, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1823(CV), an experienced company of...

The Works Progress Administration excavated and constructed stone drives, straightened the monuments, improved the grounds, and constructed the entrance posts at Huron Cemetery in Huron, Indiana. $3022 was budgeted for project.

The federal Works Progress Administration undertook a $93,900 project starting in 1935 to modernize and otherwise improve several public (now-former) bath facilities in Brooklyn, NY. The public baths on Huron St. (a few hundred feet west of Manhattan Avenue, on the north side of the road) were constructed in 1903-4; the baths closed in 1960, but the building is still standing. The facilities identified as part of the WPA project were: 209 Wilson Ave. Municipal Baths, Coney Island Duffield Street Hicks Street Pitkin Ave. Huron St. Montrose Ave.

The Works Progress Administration built a memorial for the war veterans and civilian victims of the September 3, 1935 hurricane.

According to a 1939 municipal report, the WPA contributed $1620 and 19 people to hurricane reconstruction efforts.

The town report for 1938 reported that Works Progress Administration funds were involved in efforts at reconstruction and cleanup after the hurricane of September 20, 1938, but no details were provided. 1940 W.P.A. Work W.P.A. funds expended 440 36 Area covered 634 acres Currant and gooseberry bushes destroyed 8,271 Fifteen local men were employed on Blister Rust Control. "National Youth Administration- One phase of the work which is being done by the central government at Washington is that carried on by the group known as the National Youth Administration. This organization provides funds for young people over 16 years of age who cannot continue their high school or...

The 1939 Hollis town report mentions Federal Government assistance from the Works Progress Administration after the devastating 1938 hurricane. "W. P. A. AND HURRICANE Paid: State Treasurer $305.29 J. Connor, W. P. A. Foreman 59 50 R. Nute, W. P. A. Foreman 14.00 Simoneau Coal Co., Oil 5.60 $384.39"

After a hurricane in 1938, the WPA helped with repairs. A municipal report detailed the costs involved: Estimate of Hurricane Damage in survey made by State Engineers and Town Road Agents, Oct. 10, 1938— Washouts $15,815.00 Culverts-- $1,620.00 Bridges---- $9,775.00 Estimated Total Hurricane Damage $27,210.00 The share by WPA: Project #2004, W.P.A. Labor $3,913.39 Project #2004, W.P.A. trucks 667.52 Total W.P.A. $4,580.91 W.P.A. Project #1404 (Widening Roads) Total ---- $428.10

Extensive reconstruction was accomplished in Walpole by the W.P.A. after the hurricane of 1938. 1938 Watkins Hill Road Total, $1,000 00 2,650 ft. of road completed. 4 culverts installed. 2 miles of roadsides brushed and burned. W. P. A. labor used on this road. W.P.A. Fund Total, $499 49 This fund was used for gravelling mud-holes and clearing roadsides and to carry on W. P. A. projects. $3,500 00 Ash street: 640 ft. tile laid. 3 manholes built with old ones hooked on. Pine and Spruce streets: 751 ft. tile pipe laid. 7 man holes built with old ones hooked on. W. P. A. furnished labor used on these streets. March Hill Road Total, $1,072 85 2,800 ft. of road built. 6...

The Works Progress Administration built a hurricane refuge in Tavernier FL.

What was the Hurricane Library/City Hall "was constructed in 1938-1940 as a Work Progress Administration (WPA) project. The WPA was one of several New Deal programs designed to stimulate economic recovery during the Great Depression while providing needed public services and facilities. Over 230 Public Works buildings were constructed in Utah approximately one half of them retain their architectural integrity. This building housed the city offices, library, police and Hurricane Canal Co. until the mid 1980s. The city then made it available to the Hurricane Valley Heritage Park Foundation to develop a museum. The structure is built chiefly of hand-hewn...

Hurst School for grades 1-8 was built in 1940 by the WPA with $23,291 in federal funds. The building now houses the Hurst Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

The University of Washington's Husky Stadium was expanded during the 1930s as a result of WPA funding assistance and efforts. A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 announced $23,345 in funds for the site and described some of the work: "A three-story headhouse will be built over the main entrance. The first floor of the structure will be occupied by ticket offices, storage rooms and public lavatories while the second floor will be given over to caretakers' apartments. Equipment for a public address system, and an observation room will find a place on the third floor. Surmounting the structure will be a cupola...

The WPA built the road from Porterville east to Camp Nelson.

The Hyattsville Armory is a historic National Guard armory built in 1918 and located in Hyattsville, Maryland. "The building is patterned after a medieval English castle and built of native stone, with rectangular turrets flanking the arched limestone entranceway." (wikipedia) A “Microfilmed Index to WPA Projects" in the National Archives describes the WPA as improving and repairing the Armory in 1935. (Note: It is not entirely clear whether the index refers to completed or only to planned projects, but all listed projects had received presidential approval, the last administrative step before a project proceeded.)

A program of repairs to Hylan Blvd. along a 1.2-mile stretch from Page Avenue to Arthur Kill (Staten Island Sound) was undertaken as a sponsored federal WPA project during the 1930s. The project occurred in the Tottenville neighborhood of Staten Island. Repairs included "resurfacing the existing pavement (44 ft. wide) ... and paving the wings (8 ft. wide each) ...; constructing concrete curb on both sides."

Seattle's old Ice Arena, built in 1915, gained a number of improvements from the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938. A WPA press release from January 1938 detailed the nature of the works to be carried out: "Modernizing of the Seattle Civic Auditorium and Ice Arena by WPA workers will begin January 21 with the aid of $21,539 in Federal funds, it was announced today by Don G. Abel, state Works Progress Administrator. ...In the Ice Arena new bleacher seats are planned. New lockers and benches will be made for the dressing rooms, and the broadcasting house is slated for complete...