Lauderdale Courts was one of the first public housing projects undertaken under the New Deal, and one of the few housing developments originated under the New Deal that is still standing. The Market Street slums were cleared in order to… read more
The Laurel Homes Historic District is an example of a project completed from the Federal Housing Act. They were built in 1933 and were one of the first examples of integrated housing in the United States. They were the second largest… read more
Located on 26 acres, containing 60 buildings and 500 apartments, and with a cost of $1,446,043, the facility was constructed for occupancy by African Americans. In 1942, $1,500,000 was expended to add 100 2-story units encompassing an additional 15 acres… read more
“Liberty Square (colloquially referred to as the Pork & Beans) is a 753-unit Miami-Dade public housing apartment complex in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida. It is bordered at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/North 62nd Street to the south,… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Lily Ponds Houses in Washington, DC, in 1943. It consisted of 500 living units and was built for national defense workers. In 2006, researcher Joe… read more
Lincoln Gardens was the second Federal Housing Project created under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Designed to replace eleven acres of housing in poor repair, the Lincoln Gardens’ sixteen new apartment buildings opened on July 1 1938… read more
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… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Lincoln Height Dwellings in Washington, DC, 1943-1946. Today, the DC Housing Authority manages “Lincoln Heights,” which is probably located on the same area as… read more
Littlepage was the first low income development built in West Virginia. Littlepage Terrace was the second WPA public housing project for low income residents authorized in West Virginia and was designated Project No. WVA 1-2; however, delays acquiring the land… read more
The $3.2 million Lockefield Gardens, a public housing project, was funded by the PWA. The project was completed in 1938. “Due to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Public Works Administration started funding fifty low-cost public housing projects in twenty… read more
Omaha’s Logan Fontenelle Housing Project was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. Located from 20th to 24th Streets, and from Paul Street north, the project was demolished in 1995. PWA Docket No. H-2001
“The Public Works Administration funded the construction of buildings for Federal, State, and local government. Portland was granted 45 percent of the cost of a new boiler house, heating plant, laundry, and additional housing for the nurses at the city… read more
“The P. W. A. made an allotment of funds for the erection of low-rent housing in the Virgin Islands sufficient to allow for the development of three such projects. (…) Bassin Triangle erected on a vacant site of 5 acres at… read more
The Magnolia Housing Project was one of the first two planned for New Orleans. The original 740 units in one, two, and three story buildings included one, two, and three bedroom apartments. The chief architect was Moise H. Goldstein, with… read more
“Marley Homes at Frederiksted, St. Croix Island. An undeveloped plot of 17 acres dedicated by the municipality is the site of this development. A series of 1-story row houses provide 70 rooms arranged in 38 family-dwelling units. The structures cover… read more
Boston’s Old Harbor Housing Project was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project during the Great Depression. “Built in 1936, and opened on May 1, 1938, the Old Harbor Village was the first public housing development in New… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Meade and Grant Street Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 107 living units was built for African American national defense workers (Washington,… read more
The Federal Works Agency built defense housing units in Fairfield CT. Pictured is a model unit with asbestos shingle and brick veneer construction. The Federal Works Agency planned to build more than 5,000 units across Connecticut.
The 96-unit public housing was constructed for African-Americans during the Great Depression. It was demolished following damage from a tornado in 2003.
“In the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression, more than 300,000 migrants from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas flocked to California, driven by poverty and the hope for new opportunities. This flood of migrants, collectively known as the… read more
The New Deal’s Resettlement Administration (RA) built permanent housing units for migrant farm workers in Farmersville CA in 1938. The exact location is unknown. It is unlikely that these buildings survive.
This building was constructed beginning in 1938 with funds and labor provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Monroe Street Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 90 living units was built for white national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly… read more
Mountain View Village was begun as a white housing complex, one of four low rent housing projects. Contracts were awarded in January 1940.
“The Multnomah County Poor Farm in Troutdale was built in 1911 to replace Multnomah County’s first home for the destitute, the Hillside Farm in Portland’s West Hills. The latter institution, which housed the poor, ill, and disabled, was inspected in… read more
The municipal lodging house provided cheap shelter for the indigent and homeless of Washington D.C. It was built in the early 1920s, replacing an earlier lodging house. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) records in the National Archives indicate that in… read more
Neighborhood Gardens is part of the first round of federally backed public housing in America. Only 7 projects were completed in this earliest phase, including Harlem River Houses in New York City and Techwood Homes in Atlanta. The program provided… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Nichols Avenue Houses in Washington, DC, in 1943. These houses were called “Standard Temporary Dwellings Units,” or “TDU’s.” They were built for African American national… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of the O’Brien Court Parking Lot in Washington, DC, ca. 1935-1938. The lot was located in the block bounded by E, F, 20th and 21st streets NW, on the E Street frontage. Then,… read more
The Farm Security Administration build this camp in 1939 to house black farm workers from the Caribbean. While there is still housing here, this is no longer a camp.
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers renovated houses on Oread Place in Worcester, Mass. in 1937. WPA Bulletin: Worcester — Taken by legal process through the Land Court for failure of owners to pay real estate taxes, three brick blocks at… read more
The Farm Security Administration build this camp for white farm workers about 1939. While there is still housing there, the camp no longer exist.
The historic Outhwaite Homes public housing complex in Cleveland, Ohio was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. “The Outhwaite Homes Estates, along with the Cedar Apartments and Lakeview Terrace, were the first three public housing projects… read more
The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Parkside Dwellings in Washington, DC, between 1941 and 1943. This housing project was described being at Kenilworth Avenue and Barnes Lane, N.E., and “near… read more
“Parkside, a low-rent housing development in Detroit, Michigan, was built on an undeveloped 31-acre plot adjacent to Chandler Park. The site cost $170,000, or about 17 cents a square foot. The buildings, which are fireproof, consist of 2- and 3-story… read more
“During 1935 and 1936 the Federal Government spent $100,000 in WPA funds for permanent improvements” at the Pennsylvania Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Erie.
The Federal Works Agency built prefabricated defense housing at Sheffield. “Construction of 250 units was assigned to the Tennessee Valley Authority for industrial workers in the Muscle Shoals area.” The exact location and status of these buildings is presently unknown… read more
“The Prowers Housing Welfare Housing is a complex of five buildings located on the northern edge of Lamar. The complex is located near the railroad tracks in an area that primarily light industrial. The Fairmont Cemetery, with stone walls constructed… read more
From the Works Progress Administration (WPA)’s New York City Guide (1939): “Queensbridge Houses, north of Queensboro Bridge Plaza, between Vernon Boulevard and Twenty-first Street, is the fifth low-rent, government-financed housing project in the city since 1936. Twenty-six brick dwelling structures,… read more
A 250 unit housing project in South Portland Maine. “Under the Lanham Act of 1940, and to the chagrin of the Portland Chamber of commerce, Washington ordered in February of 1942 that the Federal Public Housing Authority of the Federal… read more
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
