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  • 19th Avenue Yard Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the municipal yard at "19th Ave. and 56th St." The site is still occupied by the Department of Sanitation.
  • 21st Street Houses - Washington DC
    The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the 21st Street Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 36 living units was built for African American national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly segregated at the time). It is unknown to the Living New Deal if any of the structures still exist, but it is not likely since these homes were classified as “demountable,” i.e., intended to be taken down and salvaged sometime after the war. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It...
  • 25th Street Houses - Washington DC
    The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the 25th Street Houses in Washington, DC in 1944. This development of 40 living units was built for white national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly segregated at the time). It is unknown to the Living New Deal if any of the structures still exist, but it is not likely since these homes were classified as “demountable,” i.e., intended to be taken down and salvaged sometime after the war. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced...
  • 35th Street Houses - Washington DC
    The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the 35th Street Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 75 living units was built for white national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly segregated at the time). It is unknown to the Living New Deal if any of the structures still exist, but it is not likely since these homes were classified as “demountable,” i.e., intended to be taken down and salvaged sometime after the war. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced...
  • 4th Avenue Court Building (former) Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the old 4th Avenue Court Building. The building now houses the NYPD.
  • 5th District Magistrates Court Building (former) Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    Beginning in 1935, Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a large program of improvements to public buildings in Brooklyn, New York.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the old 5th District Magistrates' Court Building (also known as the Williamsburg Bridge Courthouse). The domed, beaux-arts building was originally built by the Williamsburg Trust Company in 1915.  It is located at the northwest corner of South 5th St. and New St. in Williamsburg, facing Continental Army Plaza. A caption for a 1938 photo available at the Brooklyn Public Library states: "The Williamsburg Bridge Courthouse, acquired by...
  • 8th District Magistrates' Court Building (former) Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the old 8th District Magistrates' Court Building. The building, which also housed the NYPD's 60th Precinct, is no longer extant.
  • Abingdon Plantation Historic Site Restoration - Arlington VA
    The Abingdon Plantation Historic Site is the birthplace of Nellie Custis (1779-1852), granddaughter of Martha Washington and step-granddaughter of George Washington. Following the death of her father (John Parke Custis) in 1781, Nelly and her brother, George Washington Parke Custis, moved to Mount Vernon and were raised by their grandparents. The historic site is located between the two large parking garages at Washington National Airport, in between Thomas Avenue and West Entrance Road, Arlington, Virginia. A Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) report describes the restoration work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934-35: “They landscaped the grounds and built a twenty-car parking...
  • AC Brace Arena - Cape Girardeau MO
    Designed by Hal Lynch and J. Carl Jourdan and completed in 1939, this Art Deco style arena has been upgraded and well-maintained through the years. The stage is original.
  • Administrative & Support Buildings - Death Valley National Park CA
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was present in Death Valley National Monument  from 1933 to 1942. CCC 'boys' built erected a total of 76 buildings in the monument, including administrative, residential, maintenance & visitor facilities.   The main CCC camp was at Cow Creek, built in 1933 and rebuilt after a fire in 1936.   The original park headquarters was at Cow Creek, as well, and now serves as a Research Center.  Some of the old camp buildings at Cow Creek still stand and are in use as support facilities for park administration: warehouses, a carpenter shop, trades shop, radio building and...
  • Admiral Coontz Armory - Hannibal MO
    The Hannibal Armory is constructed of rock that was obtained from a local quarry that also was the source for the adjacent Clemens field baseball field.  There is a locked room that was previously used for arms, but the majority of the building is a large open area for basketball courts and is part of the parks and recreation department.
  • Adobe Art Gallery - Castro Valley CA
    "The Adobe building, located on the grounds of the Castro Valley Elementary School, was leased to the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District for use as a community center. The Adobe was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project designed by Mario Corbett of San Francisco and built in 1938. The building is located in an elm grove planted by the Castro Valley Boy Scouts in 1926. There are hundreds of 4x9x16 inch adobe bricks made by the W.P.A. from dirt excavated from the site of the Redwood School in Castro Valley. The walls of the Adobe are 16 inches thick....
  • Adobe Office Building - Bakersfield CA
    The WPA constructed a cluster of buildings at O and Golden State streets, including a sizeble adobe office building, as well as some shop and storage buildings. The former is currently unused. Its last occupant was Kern County Parks & Recreation after they were burned out of their much newer building. Parks & Rec have been moved to a more recently acquired building. The WPA warehouse and shop buildings have served the county since the late 1930s with very little in maintenance costs. They are currently under threat of demolition.
  • Al Hayne Monument Restoration - Fort Worth TX
    The monument itself dates from 1893 but the original marble bust was replaced in 1934 by a bronze one sculpted by Evaline Sellors as a PWAP project. The curbing (reflecting pool) around the Al Hayne Monument is a CWA project: "The marble bust of Al Hayne, carved by Lloyd Bowman, was removed due to extreme deterioration, according to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article from June, 1934. (Note: this is at odds with a Fort Worth oral tradition which holds that the Hayne bust was stolen). Fort Worth sculptor Evaline Sellors received a commission from the federally-funded Public Works of Art Project to sculpt...
  • Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University) Outdoor Amphitheater - Auburn AL
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an Outdoor Amphitheater for the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University). The amphitheater was built for the Agricultural Training camp. Granite cobblestones retrieved after the WPA paved the streets of Montgomery were used for the structure.  
  • Alameda County Courthouse - Oakland CA
    Alameda County courthouse is a striking example of Moderne Architecture. It consists of a large base filling a city block, a setback tower, two further stories of jail set farther back and a hipped roof with observation cupola at the top. The base and tower are white concrete with striking vertical window columns.  The south facade features a large bas-relief eagle over the door (and has been altered for wheelchair access).  The main entrance, no longer used, faces Lake Merritt to the east, with a grand lobby and staircase flanked by large marble mosaics. The interior, housing several floors of...
  • Alamo Grounds Improvements - San Antonio TX
    Multiple New Deal agencies were involved with improving the grounds at the Alamo. A timeline mural board on the west side of the Alamo Museum indicates that "depression-era public works projects" built the walls that now encompass the grounds of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. The Alamo is regarded as the "Shrine of Texas Liberty" due to its location of the famous battle within its perimeter during the Texas Revolution; however, it was originally the site of Mission San Antonio Valero which was moved here in 1724 after several previous locations in the area were not suitable. The New York Times...
  • Alamogordo Women's Club Building - Alamogordo NM
    "While a variety of public works programs emerged under the umbrella of the New Deal, the WPA with its specific goal of providing work relief for the locally unemployed exerted the greatest impact on small communities in New Mexico (Kammer 1994:48-67). Not only did it create local jobs, it resulted in much-needed public works that contributed to the quality of life in these communities. Administered at the state level and dependent upon local sponsoring authorities who often supplied the land and building materials as their share of the project's cost while the federal government supplied the funds to pay workers,...
  • Alamosa County Courthouse - Alamosa CO
    The historic Alamosa County Courthouse was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). "The U-shaped complex is one of the county's best examples of the Mission style. The courthouse was the largest of several WPA projects built in the county during the 1930s. Construction began in 1936. Using local clay and sand, more than 450,000 bricks were produced at a kiln located north of Alamosa. The courthouse continues to house a variety of county offices."
  • Alazan Courts - San Antonio TX
    San Antonio's Board of Commissioners created the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) on June 17, 1937. On September 1, 1937, President Roosevelt signed the United States Housing Act of 1937. This created the United States Housing Authority (USHA) and provided $500 million for subsidies to be paid from the U.S. government to local public housing agencies (LHAs) like SAHA to improve living conditions for low-income families. SAHA made applications to the USHA for funds and the USHA agreed to provide financing for five projects; Alazan Courts, Apache Courts, Lincoln Heights Courts, Wheatley Courts and Victoria Courts. San Antonio enforced segregation in...
  • Alexandria National Cemetery Improvements - Alexandria VA
    "During the 1930s, the Civilian Works Administration (CWA) made general repairs to the lodge and outbuildings and erected a new flagpole."
  • Aliso Village (demolished) - Los Angeles CA
    In 1942, the United States Housing Authority (USHA) built the Aliso Village low-income housing project in South Central Los Angeles.  The project included over 1500 garden-style (low-rise) apartments designed by eminent L.A. architects.  Like many public housing projects around the country, Aliso Village was successful for a time as affordable working class home but was later allowed to deteriorate as it became occupied solely by the poorest of the poor.  It was demolished at the end of the 20th century and replaced by a new project, Pueblo Del Sol.  The original project as proposed was described at the time: "LOS ANGELES HOUSING...
  • Allamakee County Courthouse - Waukon IA
    The Allamakee Courthouse has helped its communities by educating, protecting and preserving the county. The courthouse serves as a spot with many departments that improve the life of those who live in the county. There are many services the courthouse offers, this include ASAP, a department that helps educate people about drug and alcohol abuse. Assessor’s office which helps estimate the value of one’s property. Along with the most well-known treasures office which is where one’s property tax and vehicle registration occurs. The courthouse has become an important site for all of Allamakee county residents. The courthouse is important because...
  • Allenton Heights - Jackson TN
    This 100-unit public housing complex was constructed for whites during the era of segregation. Allenton Heights was located on larger, landscaped lots on 13 acres with open space.  Units contained a back yard with clotheslines (which are still in use today) and a front yard with grassy lawns and shade trees. After the PWA public housing programs were expanded and the U. S. Housing Authority was created, public housing expanded in Tennessee. Allenton Heights was started in December 1940.  Algernon Blair was construction company, and construction superintendent estimated employment of 150 on both Allenton Heights and Merry Lane Court.  Allenton Heights was projected...
  • Allenwood Hospital (former) - Allenwood NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a garage for what was then known as Allentown Hospital (now Geraldine L. Thompson Care Center) in 1936. The status of the old garage is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Alma Town Hall Additions - Alma CO
    This building was originally the Alma School. The school was built in 1925. The PWA funded building additions in 1936. The building now serves as the town hall, library and police department.
  • Alms House Superintendent Facility - Forestville MD
    The original Alms House of Prince George's County on this site dated back to the late 18th century. The Alms House provided a place of shelter for indigents, paupers, disabled and other citizens without financial support. Many of these people were also buried in the Alms House cemetery. In 1935, the WPA built a house for the superintendent of the Alms House. The Alms House, and the surrounding structures no longer exist. One grave marker remains at the site of the former charitable facilities.
  • Alton National Cemetery Improvements - Alton IL
    "In 1938, the Alton Cemetery Association made an initial offer to donate land for a national cemetery with a proviso that the government build a rostrum or permanent speaker’s stand for use on Memorial Day. Once the offer was accepted, Works Progress Administration laborers constructed a permanent rostrum. Between 1941 and 1942, the remains of 49 Union soldiers were removed from a nearby, but separate, section of Alton City Cemetery, and were reinterred on the federal land."
  • Amador County Courthouse (former) - Jackson CA
    The Amador County courthouse and Hall of Records in Jackson CA was rebuilt in 1939-40 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  The previous courthouse and Hall of Records on the site, built side by side in 1863, were completely remodeled and joined into a single building.   The architect was George Sellon, who turned brick Romanesque structures into a fine example of Art Moderne design.  There is a plaque in the foyer that credits everyone but the WPA for the 1940 remodel. This courthouse was replaced by a new superior court building across town in 2007 and has been sitting empty ever...
  • American Legion Building - Moorhead MN
    WPA-built American Legion building in Moorhead, MN. "The American Legion Melvin E. Hearl Post No. 21 was completed in 1936 with grant assistance from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It is significant as an example of a public works project which was a source of community pride during a period of great economic adversity. It also reflects an unusual, handwork-intensive construction technology which exploited local materials and local labor."
  • American Legion Hut - Edmond OK
    "This American Legion hut is a one-story native stone building, constructed in the Craftsman style. It is located at the SW corner of Stephenson Park, and was a WPA project in 1936. It was constructed at a cost of $7,000 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The building faces 5th Street to the south and has a front facing gable with a smaller gable over the entrance. There are wide overhangs and open eaves, with exposed wood rafters. The windows are four-over-four double hung. The interior has three rooms, a large meeting hall as you enter...
  • American Legion Post #121- Paris AR
    "According to A Review of Work Relief Activities in Arkansas, April 1st, 1934 to July 1st 1935, this structure, referred to as a 'community hall,' was part of Projects 42-B15-2 and 42-B3-4 that operated from April 26th to October 13, 1934, utilizing 43 workers and entailing 9,122 man hours of work" (as cited in Arkansas Historic Preservation Program). "In addition to the community hall/American Legion Post Building, the WPA constructed a recreational park with Boy and Girl Scout cabins, stone walls, and a stone stepped path 'from the base to the top of the cliff,' which is also known as Pine...
  • American Legion Post #127 Building - Eudora AR
    "American Legion Post #127 (also known as the Wilson Burnett American Legion Post #127 was first chartered on April 9, 1920, though this structure was not erected until 1934, when it was constructed by the Works Progress Administration.  The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 and the subsequent advent of such federal public works programs as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) first brought such public buildings as, schools, community halls and American Legion posts to the Eudora area in 1934...Among its various other projects, the WPA constructed or repaired a number of rural school buildings throughout the state, and...
  • American Legion Post 105 - Fayetteville GA
    The facility that now serves as American Legion Post 105, in Fayetteville, Georgia, was constructed as a federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1935. "Lastly, I'd like to highlight the fact that we're rapidly approaching our 100th birthday. You might have noticed in my video, my home post, which I've got a couple of post members here, was built in 1935 by the WPA, and it's a log cabin. We're awful proud of what we do in Post 105 in Fayette, Georgia. We have a culture of growth. Since I've been a member, we've grown from 81 members to 307...
  • American Legion Post 28 - Spartanburg SC
    The American Legion building is a Colonial Revival-style stone building that was built by the Works Progress Administration from 1936 to 1937 as a meeting hall for Post 28 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It still serves that function today. The American Legion Post 28 building is in the Duncan Park area Spartanburg.  It is up a hill from West Park Drive, with a loop driveway around the building.  The building faces northeast.  The building has a large lawn in front of it, which includes a Civil War monument (built in 1910, moved to the site from elsewhere in 1966).
  • Amite County Courthouse Improvements - Liberty MS
    Mississippi’s oldest courthouse was enlarged, modernized and renovated with a Works Progress Administration project of more than $30,000. The red brick two-story Federal style building was originally constructed 1839-1840. The project added two-story wings on the east and west ends of the building, and two-story porches across the back and front elevations, adding six new offices to the existing building. Indoor lavatories and rest rooms were installed for the first time, and a steel fire-proof records vault installed. The remodeling and repair was authorized as a Civil Works Administration project in February, 1934, however, was discontinued prior to completion. An...
  • Anadarko Armory - Anadarko OK
    "This WPA Project brought in $60,000 to the economy of Anadarko and employed 210 people, for a period of 13 months... One of the significant projects of the WPA during the years 1935-1943 was the construction of military armories. This T-shaped armory is rather unique in its design with wings extending on the north, south and west. At the center is a barrel-roofed drill area, with a stage at one end. Beneath this stage area was an underground rifle range. The armory contains 23,000 feet and was one of the largest built in Oklahoma by the WPA. This armory is constructed of...
  • Andrew Jackson Courts - Nashville TN
    The Andrew Jackson Courts public housing complex was undertaken in Nashville, Tennessee  following the passage of the Housing Act of 1937 and establishment of the United States Housing Authority (USHA). The USHA worked in conjunction with the Public Works Administration (PWA) in providing funds for local housing development projects, two of which were the segregated communities of Cheatham Place and Andrew Jackson Courts. The rowhouse appearance, clustered two-story houses were constructed for African American residents. The 398 unit buildings cost $1,890,000. They remain in use today.
  • Andrew Johnson National Cemetery Improvements - Greeneville TN
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted an improvement project at Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in Greeneville, Tennessee, providing work for about 35 laborers.
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