City and Town Halls Sites

Brentwood, Missouri's city hall was constructed in 1935 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.

The Works Projects Administration (WPA) funded the construction of City Hall in Burbank, CA. Completed in 1943, the Moderne-style, reinforced concrete building was designed by architects William Allen and George Lutzi. "Outside, ornate sculpted panels depicting themes of peace, social order and technological progress soften the utilitarian concrete walls of two-story wings flanking a tower. Brass handrailings draw visitors up the steps and into an airy rotunda, brightly illuminated through a cast-concrete grill that forms a decorative facade for the tower. Inside, sound bounces readily across the marble floors and walls, but visitors talk and tread softly, as if in...

Carlton's stately city hall was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1937.

The City Hall for Clare, Michigan, was begun in 1933 under the auspices of the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and led by architect R. V. Gay. Details of the project's origins can be found in the 1933 document, General Construction Specifications.

Cody, Wyoming's City Hall (originally Town Hall) was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project during the Great Depression. The P.W.A. supplied a $14,400 grant for the project, whose total cost was $32,660. Construction occurred between Oct. 1938 and Apr. 1939. The New Deal structure has been expanded into a larger facility. PWA Docket No. WY 1077

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a "rugged, beautiful" city hall in Corning, Kansas. Per an article in The Axtell Standard, "random sizes of stones form a pleasing effect in the walls." The building bears a 1938 plaque crediting the WPA.

Art Deco City Hall built for $340,000 with Works Progress Administration workers in 1939. The building was designed by architect J. Chris Jensen. An article published in the Daily Nonpareil in 1939 stated that, “Actual work leading to the construction of the proposed $340,000 city hall at the old Merriam Block site started Monday with 40 WPA men assigned to remove piling from the basement excavation and to pave the way for pile driving equipment J. Chris Jensen, architect, said the pile driving equipment will be moved in on the job within the next few days. Workmen, after taking the 500 pilling...

After winning the mayoralty in 1934, Ernest L. Sprague "called for the building of a new city hall because the existing one in Knightsville was a 'fire hazard' ... Within a few months ... Sprague had secured a federal grant from the Public Works Administration to build a new city hall."   (Frias) A 1939 survey of PWA projects describes the still intact city hall as follows: "The new city hall, which houses all of the municipal offices, replaces the old frame town hall built in 1885 which was considered to be a firetrap, and, in addition, made it possible to eliminate...

Crete, Nebraska's historic City Hall was constructed in 1939 with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building is still in service. The PWA supplied a $19,975 grant for the project, whose total cost was $44,109. PWA Docket No. NE 1452

This art deco brick building was constructed by the WPA starting in 1940. "Cuthbert’s Mid-Century Modern City Hall was a project of the WPA, near the tail-end of funding for the New Deal agency. It’s a quiet landmark of governmental architecture and utilitarian design. The lists the names of the committee members who oversaw its construction."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the municipal building in De Leon, Texas. The building has housed various municipal functions over the years, including  the City Hall, Fire Station, Auditorium, and Library. Official project No. 665-66-2-16. File card text: City Hall; City hall and fire station, including Auditorium; reinforced concrete foundation, brick construction, steel trusses in auditorium; also contains library. Two story brick building is still City Hall. But the building now houses a police station instead of a fire station. Plaque on building reads: Works Progress Administration 1938-1939.

"The new city hall at Delaware replaces a building which was built in 1873 and which was destroyed by fire in 1934. Following the fire, the city offices were housed in an abandoned school building, the fire department occupied rented quarters, and municipal prisoners had to be confined in the county jail. The new building was erected on the old site, which has been suitably landscaped. The first floor provides quarters for city offices, the fire department, and a police garage. The second floor houses council chambers, conference rooms, the office of the city engineer, a jail, and quarters for the jailer. The...

Deshler, Ohio's city hall was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937. The building has been in continuous use since construction.

The historic and stately City Hall building in Dover, New Hampshire was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $78.780 grant for the project, whose total cost was $302,847. The building, which was constructed between July 1934 and December 1935, is still in service. PWA Docket No. NH 6185.

"By the 1930s, Eudora was substantial enough to need a city hall.  The city turned to the PWA for assistance in constructing the building, and they received a loan of $9,000 and a grant of $6,142, for a total amount of $16,142.  The estimated total cost for the building was $15,697, so the PWA assistance would more than cover the cost of the building.  The money was allotted on January 5, 1936, and by the time the contract was concluded on May 12, 1936, the cost had shrunk to $14,487, which was the amount specified in the contract.  The project...

Characterized by its Art Deco architectural style, Fairfield City Hall still serves as the seat of city government.  It was remodeled in the early 1990s, and the only interior touches of its Art Deco architectural style are the decorative arches over the doorways.  This building received funding from both the city of Fairfield and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  Mayor Claude Gilley proposed the idea to the city council, and the city purchased the land in April 1941.  The city of Fairfield secured WPA funding in June.  E.B. Van Keuren served as the architect, and construction began July 1st.  The...

The WPA built this city hall, still in use, in Fairview. From the National Register of Historic Places: "The Fairview City Hall, built in 1936, is a one-story stone building with a basically square plan, a raised basement, and a flat roof. There have been no major alterations made to the building. This building represents an excellent example of the stark, abstract classicism associated with the PWA Moderne architectural style in Utah. The principal facade is symmetrically divided into three bays. The central bay is narrower and contains the front door, while the flanking bays have slightly wider windows on both...

Forrest City, Arkansas's City Hall (sometimes known as the Municipal Building) was constructed in 1938-9 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a grant of $9,676 for the project, whose total cost was $22,151. The building "features Art Deco-style detailing in cast-stone on its front façade." PWA Docket No. Ark. 1149

Gardner, Massachusetts's city hall as constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building is still in service. The construction of a new city hall was first mentioned by mayor Fred E. Perry in his 1938 inaugural address. He said he had many plans for the city, “the chief of which was the erection of a new city hall which would be combined with a memorial to the World War veterans." The actual construction of the building could not be started at the time due to the financial constraints that the city faced. Eventually they were able...

Gladstone, Michigan's historic City Hall was constructed in 1936. The building features six stone reliefs above its main entrance. A local source states that construction involved work relief labor, implying Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) involvement.

Historical marker: "The two-story brick Greenville Public School was built in 1897 on this site. In 1921, the upper story was partially destroyed by fire and the school was remodeled into a grammar school. In 1927, the entire school burned to the ground. The current Greenville City Hall was constructed in 1936-37 as a WPA Project and houses administrative offices for the City of Greenville."

The Works Progress Administration built the Greybull City Hall in Greybull, Big Horn County. The one-story brick facility is still in service today and retains much of its original architectural features.

Gueydan's city hall was constructed by the WPA in 1936.

"During the Depression, plans for constructing the City Hall were temporarily sidetracked. In 1933, however, the City applied for a federal Public Works Administration grant to help finance the construction of a new City Hall. Straw votes on building a new City Hall were taken in 1933, 1934 and 1935, In 1934 voters rejected a proposition to build the City Hall, but also voted that if one were to be built, it should be put on the Civic Center site rather than at Market Square. On August 8, 1937, the City Hall W.P.A. grant was approved... In October 1937 the...

The older part of the Lake Elsinore CA City Hall is a New Deal structure.   It was undoubtedly paid for by the Public Works Administration (PWA), but this needs to be verified. A more recent addition to the city hall has been added on one side of the original building.

Laramie, Wyoming's city hall was constructed with the aid of the federal Public Works Administration (PWA) during the Great Depression. The PWA contributed a $64,575 grant toward the $130,752 total final cost of the project. Construction occurred between December 1938 and November 1939 (although the date over the entrance says 1938). The handsome building was built in Art Deco/Moderne style, popular at the time, and is distinctive in its use of yellow bricks.  It has an elegant entrance and detailing in white stone (marble?).  It has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is still in use today...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of this magnificent city hall in Lindsay CA in 1936.  The building style is Mission Revival, designed by local architect Fred L. Schwartz. It has been little altered and stands today as a reminder of the elegance of so many mid-20th century civic buildings. "The new city hall in Lindsay is a U-shaped structure with over-all dimensions of 158 by 65 feet. The wing on the left is used as a hall for public meetings and for sessions of the court. The wing on the right contains rooms for the chamber of commerce and...

Constructed by the WPA circa 1936.

"The building is T-shaped in plan and three stories in height, and its over-all dimensions are 180 by 131 feet. It is fireproof throughout, the exterior walls being of water-struck brick and limestone. The project was completed in September 1937 at a cost of approximately $450,000."

Constructed by the WPA in 1938-39, the Melrose City Hall is made of locally quarried sandstone. The ashlar stone is laid in regular courses with triangular and random pieces inserted into the pattern to add interest. The corners of the building are finished with stone quoins. The windows are crowned with voissoirs and a keystone. Low stone walls define the south and west sides of the property. The community applied for the project on July 11, 1938, requesting $20,318.18. It was built as a combination city hall and jail. The WPA financed similar consolidated town hall plans throughout New Mexico, including...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided matching funds for the construction of a new City Hall for Mill Valley in 1935-36. The city had already decided to replace an older city hall built on the same site in 1908 and had raised $30,000 through a bond issue in 1935. The new City Hall housed city offices and council chambers, as well as the fire station and city police. The building was designed by architects D.E. Jaekle and Walter Falch in the Neo-Tudor style, which was one of many period revival architectures popular in the interwar period.   City Hall's was heavily remodeled...

"One such building was the Minersville City Hall funded in Beaver County by FERA. It was built in 1935 to house the town's post office, library, municipal offices, and Daughters of the Utah Pioneers camp. To save costs, stone for the hall was brought from a demolished building of the old Murdock Academy, which had been standing empty since 1922. Civilian Conservation Corps crews dismantled and hauled the stone to Minersville."

"Mt. Pleasant City Hall on West Monroe Street.  Built in 1936 by W.P.A. workers from Bedford stone salvaged from Seeley Memorial High School." https://iagenweb.org

Nashua municipal reports for 1934 document that a project to paint the old city hall was either a CWA or FERA project. In 1936, the town decided that the old building was no longer adequate and applied to the PWA for assistance. The federal grants came through, and work on the new city hall and police station commenced in 1937.

Omro's current city hall/administration building was originally a theater constructed in 1937: "One of the few buildings in Omro’s downtown built during the Depression years was this fine late Art Deco-style movie theater, which was built using federal W.P.A. funds. Although simple in design, the massive buttresses that line its sides give it a monumentality that is unusual for such a small building. During World War II shell casings were manufactured in the basement by the Speed Queen Corp. while movies were being shown in the theater above. Later, a ladder factory occupied the basement. In 1966, the City remodeled the...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the city hall in Osakis, Minnesota in 1936. The building was dedicated at the fall festival on September 18, and featured council rooms, jail cells, and a community room and hall. The facility has since been enlarged.

Wikipedia: "Paintsville City Hall was completed in January 1940 by the WPA, in order to house the city government, fire department, and police department of Paintsville, Kentucky. The structure is located at 101 Euclid Avenue in downtown Paintsville. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1989. In 2007, most of the city's government offices were moved to the old Citizens National Bank Building, which is located at 75 Main Street."

The historic Peekskill City Hall was constructed between May 1936 and 1937 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $57,272 grant for the project, whose total cost was $134,601. PWA Docket No. NY W1054.

Pembina, North Dakota received a new City Hall building in 1936. Its construction was enabled by a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. The exact location and status of this building are presently unknown to Living New Deal. PWA Docket No. ND 1072.

The Picayune City Hall was built by the WPA in 1938-39. It was built as an exact replica of an English Manor House. The architect, Wilford Lockyer, who was originally from England, ordered the metalwork, hardware, railings, and banisters from the manufacturer in England and had them shipped to Mississippi (Stockstill). Wilford S. Lockyer was employed by the Federal Government for CWA in 1934, PWA in 1935, and WPA from 1935-1940. City Hall was WPA project 4343, built for a cost of $43,000. The building was renovated and refurbished in 2013.