Civic Facilities Sites

"The federal government’s New Deal programs, specifically the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration, also played a direct role in Rock Hill’s economic recovery. Building projects included ... a new City Hall building ..." The PWA supplied a $45,617 grant for the construction of the city hall/jail, whose total cost was $119,441. Construction began October 1936 and was completed October 1937. (PWA Docket No. SC W1120.) Rock Hill has a new City Hall building; the exact location and status of the New Deal City Hall is unknown to Living New Deal.

Originally constructed as the Cass County Agricultural Society Auditorium, Weeping Water's striking city hall and library building was constructed with a $40,000 Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant. Construction was completed in 1938, though the building was not formally dedicated until Aug. 1940. The Bouncing Czech: "The auditorium served the fair and the community until a new fairgrounds was built north of Weeping Water in 1967. The building was then sold to a travel trailer and camper dealer. The dealership closed in the early 2000's and the building was left to deteriorate. It was renovated and is again used as a community...

Fresno CA gained a new City Hall during the New Deal.  It was undoubtedly paid for by the Public Works Administration (PWA), but this needs to be verified. A New Deal Fresno walking tour brochure describes the building: "Fresno's second City Hall was a radical departure from the previous, classically-inspired building, and is an example of how the New Deal brought new forms of architecture to communities across the country. Kump's International style building attracted national attention in 1944 when the Museum of Modern Art included it in an exhibition of the most significant buildings constructed in the United States between 1932...

Originally constructed as Kingman's post office, this building now serves as Kingman's City Hall Annex. A historic marker outside the building states: "A monument to massive federal building programs during the 1930s, construction of the post office represents the first major Federal construction in Kingman. Its completion was a major event in the town. The building is constructed of concrete and stucco with arched windows, a Period Revival style with Italianate influences." Public Works Administration (PWA) Docket No. Fed-156.

A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: "Extensive alterations were made to the office of the Bridge and Ferry Division, 602 City Hall Annex."

The city hall auditorium in Salem was constructed in 1940 as a PWA project, designed by architect Ernest Friton. This 3-story building includes office space and a city auditorium, and is presently in use.

"Beautification of City Hall itself was begun in the autumn of 1936, when a large crew of WPA workers started the gigantic task of cleaning the million square feet of stone composing the building's exterior. Twenty tons of pipe and 25,000 feet of lumber were used in the scaffolding, erected to a height of 150 feet. Fifty thousand gallons of specially prepared paste were used in one of the largest cleaning jobs ever attempted."

Battle Creek, Michigan's city hall received a new electric elevator as part of a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied a $5,535 grant for the project, whose total cost was $12,441. Construction occurred between Nov. 1938 and Mar. 1939. According to local officials the elevator was replaced in 1985. PWA Docket No. MI 1662

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed improvement work at the then-city hall in Gordon, Nebraska, which Living New Deal believes is the same Community Building in which the current city hall currently resides.

Magnolia's City Hall was painted and various repairs and improvements completed with CWA funds of $2,404.23 toward a total cost of $3,427.20. The most significant improvement was replacing a board wall around the jail windows with a brick wall.

Among the many municipal projects conducted in Montpelier in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) was the following, per 1936 city report: "A much needed improvement was made to the seats in the City Hall as a W.P.A. project. One thousand (1000) new seats and seven hundred (700) new backs and W.P.A. help installed and varnished them. City Hall tower and cornice was painted." Additional painting and renovation work was undertaken by the WPA the following year.

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve New Rochelle's, New York's city hall during the 1930s. One project, which involved numerous municipal buildings in New Rochelle, 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.

The WPA completed a thorough painting of city hall as part of the reducing of welfare rolls in Oakland. WPA Project No. 65-3-1687, Approval Date 10-15-35, $6,496, "Complete painting of interior of City Hall." The current building was completed in 1914. The building was designed by New York-based architecture firm Palmer & Hornbostel in 1910, after winning a nationwide design competition. The building, constructed in the Beaux-Arts style, resembles a "rectangular wedding cake".

Reading, Pennsylvania's City Hall was built in 1904 as a high school and became the city hall in 1928. The WPA helped to clean and paint the building during the New Deal.

The WPA completed renovations and improvements to Santa Rosa's City Hall. The city's original 1883 City Hall and Central Library were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, and a new building was constructed in 1913. Santa Rosa's new City Hall—now known as the Santa Rosa Civic Center—was completed in 1969. The exact location and present status of the old city hall is not presently known to Living New Deal.

"North Platte Country against the Mountains" was painted by John H. Fraser in 1940 for the Littleton post office, commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Art. It currently hangs in the City Hall.  "When the post office underwent renovations in 1962, the mural was removed, rolled up and stuck in a corner in the post office. It was discovered in the 70s, restored and installed in 1985 in the Littleton City Hall." ( Jimmy Emerson, here)

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a parking lot at Atlanta's City Hall in 1936. Its status is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

Built in 1896, the Rockdale City Hall was remodeled by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in 1940. The structure currently houses Rockdale Police Department. WPA Project #12892 Milam County. WPA crews "remodeled building roof, plastered partitions, installed hardwood floors, and stuccoed outside." Historical Marker: Altered in the 1930s resulting in the loss of a tall bell tower.

The jail annex and repairs to the city hall including beautifying and landscaping of city streets in addition to the construction of a 35 x 35 one-story jail annex. W. P. No. 1046 was started 02/01/1936 and completed 07/04/1937 for a total cost of $25,913.19 including payroll, material, and equipment. The federal funds provided$22,105.97 and the City of Biloxi as sponsor provided $3,807.22. The city hall repairs included modernization of offices. The landscaping included West Beach improvement and Central Beach Promenade. The building is no longer extant.

Originally the U.S. Customs House and Post Office, this imposing building was constructed in the mid 19th century by the U.S. Treasury Department. "In 1938, the building was renovated as part of a Works Progress Administration project to become Petersburg's City Hall, and retains that use today."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a warehouse for the city hall in Plymouth, Indiana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

"City Hall, located at 90 West Broad Street, occupied (with its park) an entire block in the civic center. The five-story structure of Indiana limestone, in Greco-Roman style, was designed by the Allied Architects Association of Columbus and cost $1,700,000. Three of the four sections of the building were completed in 1928; the fourth was dedicated in 1936." (oclc.org) The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $186,800 loan and $145,217 grant toward the East Wing's completion. That wing faces North Front St. The building's northeast cornerstone cites the PWA project number and identifies the project's architect as Allied Architects Association of Columbus Limited. The...

WPA Bulletin, 1937: "Worcester — The City Home chickens are going modern. A WPA Project is constructing individual cages for the hens now housed in a two-story structure built by WPA last December." The location of the old City Home is unknown to Living New Deal.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed facilities at what was known as the City Home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: At City Home, Gloucester, WPA razed a dilapidated wooden structure and built an all-stone garage and storage shed. These buildings will be used jointly by the City Home and the Welfare Department. The exact location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed a park at what was then known as the Boston City Hospital. WPA Bulletin: This new park in the rear of the Administration Building, Boston City Hospital, was laid out and planned by WPA engineers. Convalescent patients will benefit from these beautiful surroundings.

A WPA photo (pictured) shows a bathhouse and two swimming pools built by the WPA for what was then the Buffalo City Hospital. The hospital was renamed the Edward J. Meyer Memorial Hospital in 1939, and has since been expanded into the Erie County Medical Center. Google images show that the bath house building and pools (now empty) are still standing. Their current function is unknown.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted the following work at the former City Infirmary in Haverhill, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: WPA is building a modern, brick silo at the City Infirmary, Brown Street, Haverhill, to replace an old silo in need of repair and in danger of collapse. Living New Deal believes the project is no longer extant.

During the 1930s, the WPA did extensive work in Keokuk. In addition to grading city streets and installing sewers, stop signs and stop lights, the WPA also built a high school athletic field and made improvements to the National Cemetery and Keokuk's riverfront.

This covered market was completed with WPA assistance in 1940. An on-scene information sign describes the market's history: "January 1940 saw a totally new City Market. As compensation for teh deterioration this area had suffered since the First World War, the Ten Year Plan of 1931 provided $500,000 for improvements in the City Market. Lake any good plan, the city's bond money was merely seed capital to encourage additional investment. The federal Works Progress Administration of the New Deal made a contribution, private investors added more, and railroad companies spent at least a million dollars building a perishable foods terminal that brought...

The WPA approved $8,089 toward the construction of the $18,000 city market. The building was constructed of native stone, 80x120 feet, with 18 foot walls, concrete floor, and metal roof. The purpose was to provide space for the fall fair, storage space for peanuts, and a public market for farmers' produce. The building is currently used for community events.

The City of Austin built a farmers' market in downtown Austin partially funded by a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. A bond issue for the market was approved on May 18, 1928, but other city priorities and then the deteriorating financial situation in the country from the Great Depression prevented moving forward with the project. The city submitted an application for a grant of 30% of the cost of the market, and the PWA returned with a grant not to exceed $11,800 in October 1934. The city let a contract the same month for $48,000 to W.J. Schwarzer of Austin...

One of several fire stations built in the New Deal in Charleston West Virginia. This station was listed on as contributing on the Elk City Historic District (08000392). The building is no longer used for a fire station but remains in use for businesses. The bay doors are infilled. The immediate building to the northeast is connected to the firehouse but is unclear if it an older building attached to the firehouse or part of the entire project. The NRHP nomination states: KA-4883. 601 TENNESSEE AVENUE commercial BB&T Carson Insurance Services Fire House date: 1939 Kanawha County, WV County and State Page 9 description: Very...

One of several fire stations built in the City of Charleston under the New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration built the City of Elkhart Municipal Building in Elkhart KS in 1937.

Originally the Adams County Courthouse. "The 1906 Adams County Courthouse is an excellent local example of the Classical Revival style. The courthouse exhibits such key elements as a prominent pedimented portico with Tuscan columns, pilasters, and keystones in the window lintels along with a wide frieze and prominent cornice. The building is a direct result of the creation of Adams County in 1902 and the election of Brighton as the county seat. By 1939, Adams County had outgrown the existing building and the county received money for an expansion project through the Public Works Administration, one of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Denver architects Richard O. Parry and Lester L. Jones designed...

"The City Section of Mt. Hope is located on the north side of Mt. Hope Avenue and also includes a portion of land south of Mt. Hope within the Mt. Hope Cemetery fence. This 30-acre site began to take form in 1834, the same year that Bangor was incorporated. Development continued during the Roosevelt Administration under the Works Progress Administration. Today, this section of Mt. Hope Cemetery consists of approximately 4000 lots and is maintained by maintenance crews that work for the Mt. Hope Cemetery Corporation."

WPA Bulletin, 1937: "Pittsfield's employees in the Sealers of Weights and Measures office will be thankful to WPA on completion of a concrete and steel building to house weighing equipment and instruments at the City Yards, Housatonic Street. Previously testing of equipment had been done outside, no matter the weather, and the process was often uncomfortable and unsatisfactory. Thirteen men are finishing up the job which is expected to be ready by November 1."

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed storage building at New Bedford's City Yard in 1936. WPA Bulletin: The New Bedford WPA City Yard Storage Building Project is designed to store machinery and other city equipment which has been deteriorating from being placed in an open yard. The building is solidly built with concrete piers extending through fill and peat to hard-pan. The exact location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Helper Civic Auditorium was built with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding in 1937.  It is an outstanding example of New Deal public architecture and still the finest building to grace Helper, a small coal mining town in central Utah (there is a giant sculpture of a coal miner next to the building to remind everyone of the town's origins). A National Register of Historic Places plaque at the site says this: “Built in 1937, the Helper Civic Auditorium was designed by Salt Lake City architects Carl W. Scott and George W. Welch. The building is an excellent example of the Art...

Originally built as the city's Civic Auditorium and Armory. It was built with assistance from the PWA in 1938-1940. It now houses the Administrative Offices and Athletics Office of Kingsport Parks and Recreation: "Planning began in the autumn of 1938 during the mayoralty of W.L. Holyoke, ground was broken on 22 December, and the dedication occurred on 9 March 1940. With a seating capacity of 2,032 in the auditorium and with areas for the exclusive use of the 191st Field Artillery of the Tennessee National Guard, the building owed its existence to $125,000 from the city and a grant of $97,510...