Auxiliary Civic Facilities Sites

"The new Sebastian County Courthouse at Fort Smith has six floors, counting the semi-basement and the central penthouse of two floors devoted entirely to the jail. On the basement floor is a large assembly hall, the police department, miscellaneous offices, and storage space for supplies and for cars. The first, or main floor contains the council room and offices for the mayor, tax collector, assessor, clerk, engineer, and local utilities. The circuit, municipal, and chancery courts are on the second floor with offices for the judges, clerks, and reporters. The third floor has offices for attorneys and officials connected with...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed barns at the dairy research installation in Willard, North Carolina. The exact location and present status of the facility is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The Henry J. Daly Building is the former District of Columbia Municipal Center, built in 1939-41 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) (which was incorporated into the Federal Works Administration in 1939 in a major government reorganization).  The Municipal Building was meant to replace the old City Hall and consolidate the District's local government functions, but has mostly been used as the DC police headquarters. The PWA made an initial allocation of $5.7 million in 1938 (Evening Star 1938) , but the final allocation was evidently $7.75 million (National Archives).  Sources differ over whether this was a grant or...

The Davidson County Public Building and Courthouse on the Public Square in Nashville was constructed in 1936 to 1938 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA).  This enormous, 8-story building covers an entire city block and was built to house county and municipal offices, plus several courtrooms.  The county jail was originally on the 7th floor.  Short & Stanley-Brown (1939) put the cost of the project at $2,167,000 but no not give the share provided by the PWA.  Paine (1984) says the project cost $1,595,000 and that the city raised $400,000 for it in a public bond issue.  We have...

Built by the WPA as the Davis City Hall in 1938, this building has since served as a fire station, a police station and now, a restaurant.

"The Davison County Courthouse is a flat-roofed, rectangular, four-story, reinforced concrete building with a Minnesota Sandstone veneer constructed in the Art Deco style. The front and sides are symmetrical. A stone foundation rises to just below the level of the first floor windows. On each corner there is a one story projecting bay. The projecting areas and the lack of decorative elements on the first floor create the appearance of a podium upon which the upper three stories rest. The facade contains seven vertical rows of windows separated by piers which rise from the...

In 1938, the Public Works Administration (PWA) allotted $200,000 for the construction of a large garage for the garbage trucks of the District of Columbia’s Refuse Division. The garage was completed in September 1939.  It is a flat-roofed, single-story, brick Moderne building with bas-relief pilasters between the bays and a white fringe around the top. The DC government described the garage in its fiscal year 1939 report:  “Plans and specifications for this project were prepared by the City Refuse Division under the supervision of the Municipal Architect’s Office. The building will be capable of housing from 80-100 trucks of the division’s fleet...

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 WPA partially funded the construction of the Old Dona Ana County Courthouse (251 West Amador) a three story white adobe with exposed vigas and wooden balconies." -New Mexico the Off Road

Fieldstone structure built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935 for grange meetings. Also has been used as a city hall and library. Still in use as a grange hall. According to Brian Scott (The Historical Marker Database) "Construction in 1935 by local Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor on land donated by W. Maxie Agnew, the building served originally as the home of the town hall, the grange, and the public library. Since its inception, the fieldstone building has been the meeting hall for the agricultural organization known locally and most commonly as the Donalds Grange."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) put men to work beginning in 1935 on an improvement project at the city-owned Dubois Avenue Yard. A $125,473 project involved the construction of two extensions to garage buildings at the then-Highway Department facility: one 100' x 50' and the other 63' x 50'. A $84,000 project entailed "building repair and alterations" at the facility. The site (albeit with newer construction) is still in use by New York City's Department of Transportation.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a shop building, incinerator plant, and remodeled the bus stop at Durham High School.  It appears that the shop building still stands, if considerably altered.  There is no sign of the incinerator and the bus stop could not be located.

This forest scene oil on canvas mural "Forest Genetics" by Tom E. Lewis was painted with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was installed when the building was the Placerville Post Office. Due to renovations, the mural is now not in public view.

A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: "The Election Department building, at the corner of Broadway and Dorchester avenue, was repaired." The building is no longer extant.

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.

PWA funds contributed to the construction of this waterworks, designed by engineering firm W.A. Fuller, in 1940. It is a one-story rock building with a native rock façade and a garage opening, and was the city water works from 1940. It is presently privately owned, but they have retained the bronze plaques on the front of the structure.

The historic Emery County Courthouse building in Castle Dale, Utah was constructed as a New Deal project with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor also contributed to the project. The building continues to house governmental functions. "With the assurance of a PWA grant providing 45 percent of the building's $60,000 cost, county voters approved bonding in August 1938. construction began later that year, and building was occupied in August 1939."

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was present in Death Valley National Monument  from 1933 to 1942.  CCC 'boys' built erected dozens of buildings in the monument, including administrative, residential, maintenance and visitor facilities.  One important building is the Emigrant Junction ranger station, built in 1942 as one of the CCC's last projects in the monument.   The Emigrant Junction station, at the junction of the Towne Pass and Emigrant Pass roads, was the principal western entry point to Death Valley for decades.  The stone building seen here replaced a flimsier structure built in 1935.  It was  heavily modified in 1963, then restored...

An 'equipment building' in Mott, North Dakota was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The PWA supplied a $1,600 grant for the project, whose total cost was $6,192. Construction occurred between Jul. and Sept. 1934. The location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal. PWA Docket No. 5375

"Workmen are breaking ground for an $8,000 City Hall and firehouse, which will be built under the C.W.A. plan. Of brick construction, the building will be erected on the site of the old firehouse, which is being razed. The project will provide work for thirty men, twenty unskilled, ten skilled, wages running from 45 cents to $1.10 an hour. This improvement will be largely financed through Federal funds." "Ground Broken at Exeter for New City Hall," Los Angeles Times, 3 December 1933, p. 8.

This two-story Art Deco building adjacent to Cleveland County courthouse was built by the WPA in 1940. It was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and removed in 2005, apparently when it was demolished. The Cleveland Historical Society intended to refurbish the building as a museum, but was unable to raise the required funds within the designated time.

"This large structure covering an entire city block was built by the Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division to house various Federal offices in San Francisco. It houses the Navy Department, Veterans' Bureau, War Department, Interior Department, the Weather Bureau, Forest Service, Public Roads Administration, Civil Service Commission, and the Employment Compensation Commission. The building is fireproof, constructed entirely of steel and reinforced concrete with the exterior walls faced with stone, and is designed to resist earthquake shocks. The lobbies have marble floors and walls, and the corridors have tile floors, marble base, and plaster walls. The project was...

The fire station in Munising, Michigan was constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied an $11,124 grant for the project, whose total cost was $24,920. Construction occurred in 1938-9. The building also housed the Department of Public Works. Firefighting operations may have been relocated. PWA Docket No. MI 1537

WPA project description: "Badly handicapped by the ravages of last September's hurricane and gigantic tide," fishing, "Cuttyhunk's only industry, is being aided by WPA which is repairing the Fish Wharf and fish houses. Without houses to receive the day's catch and with the Fish Wharf so badly damaged it could not be used, Cuttyhunk fisherman had a hard winter. During winter months the 120 natives of the island support themselves by fishing. The sea-girt community is supported in summer by vacationists." The location and status of these facilities is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

This small, rustic structure was built by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers as the administrative building for Oregon’s CCC headquarters. Today it serves as the Forest History Center of the Oregon State Department of Forestry. Oregon had as many as fourteen CCC camps under the jurisdiction of the State’s Forester during the corps’ operation between 1933 and 1942. When plans for construction of a State Forest Department headquarters began in 1935, a 4.5 acre site had already been acquired to the east of Salem to accommodate the state's CCC headquarters.  Located on the eastern banks of Mill Creek, the CCC headquarters...

"The following work was done by the W. P. A.: At Fort Hill Wharf Disposal Station a sprinkler system was installed; fence, floor and ramp, and roof were built." The exact location of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

The fort dates back the early nineteenth century, when it was used to “promote and protext the interests of the United States in the region’s fur trade” (historicfortsnelling.org). Between 1938 and 1940, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site, including sidewalks, sewers, porches, and garages. National Park Service: "Fort Snelling benefited from New Deal programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The programs provided funding for a general reconditioning of the fort, including landscaping and infrastructure. Workers graded and resurfaced existing roads, built new sidewalks and curbs and...

Fort Wootton in Trinidad, Colorado "is a giant war memorial that takes up about half a city block. It was once described as the most complete war memorial in the nation. Nine veterans’ groups teamed up with the WPA to have it built in 1936-7. It has an auditorium and meeting spaces inside." Fort Wootton was from its "inception a veterans' gathering place evocative of their military training and posts, somewhat patterned after the regional historic site Bent's Fort. Further, and fortunately, in 2018 the county deeded the property to the Las Animas County Veterans' Council, an organization now seeking to...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of the Douglas Court Garages in Washington, DC between 1935 and 1936. This project consisted of sixteen 1-car garages (as well as a workshop) located on what is now Frederick Douglas Court NE. It appears that at least nine of the sixteen garages still exist. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced unsafe alley dwellings in Washington, DC with more modern and affordable houses and apartments. The ADA existed from 1934-1943 as a federally controlled special authority. It then slowly evolved into today’s...

This building is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The PWA Deco Moderne building was built by Allied Architects, a "Great Depression-era consortium between architects W. D. Coates, Charles H. Franklin, H. Rafael Lake, Ernest J. Kump, Sr., Fred Swartz, and Edward W. Peterson in Fresno, California. Among their buildings were the Fresno Memorial Auditorium and the Fresno County Hall of Records." From the Fresno New Deal walking tour guide: "The Fresno County Hall of Records is considered one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in Fresno, and exemplifies the high quality design of New Deal projects....

The Old Fullerton City Hall (now the Fullerton Police Department) was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939. It was completed over a 3 year span and cost over $130,000.  The building was built in a Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style. Key characteristics include its central 3-story tower and cupola. Decoratively, it has beautiful terra cotta and ceramic tile work throughout the building and extensive iron wrought elements. It’s a stunning example of New Deal architecture. Additionally, the former Fullerton City Hall houses a large 3-wall mural named the “History of Southern California” by Helen Lundeberg.  A new city hall was...

A reinforced concrete one story building at 19th Ave. between Taraval and Santiago Streets, designed to conform to the general character of neighborhood, to be used for storage of equipment and service tools of Street Cleaning Division.--Healy, p. 49.

This PWA courthouse was built from 1934-1936. A 1939 survey of PWA works described the site: "This new four-story and basement structure, with a partial fifth story, replaces an old courthouse which was destroyed by fire. The basement contains offices for the justice of the peace, an assembly room, ladies' parlor, and the necessary utility rooms. The first floor is occupied by the offices of the county treasurer, clerk, assessor, recorder, county engineer, auditor, and superintendent of schools. The district and county courtrooms, with offices for the judges, reporter, and attorneys, are on the second floor. The third floor contains the jury...

"The Garvin County building was WPA-constructed. The cornerstone shows the date of 1941. Above the entrance, is the date 1942. The building is in excellent condition and houses several community headquarters, including the 911 services, the Red Cross, Big Five Community Services Employment/Training, and the Delta Community Action Foundation... The entrance faces south and has a wide stone surround. Engraved above the entrance is "GARVIN COUNTY / 1942"..."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

Government House, in Christiansted, St. Croix, was reconstructed and fireproofed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands for 1941 mentions that the rehabilitation of the Government House in Christiansted provided "modern, comfortable living and office accommodations. (…) This work has been done under the supervision of the Public Buildings Administration, Federal Works Agency.”