Civic Facilities Sites

"There were nine PWA-financed courthouses constructed in South Dakota during the Depression era. Although designs were not standardized, most were three or four story buildings designed in variations of the Moderne styles. Building materials and finishes included brick, stone, concrete, terra cotta, terrazzo floors, marble, wood, steel casement windows, and cast metal ornamentation. Most courthouses from this era are distinguished by their massing and form. Typically larger, block-like buildings on elevated bases, courthouses usually display symmetry with a central entrance and uniformly placed window bays. Detailed surrounds and/or projecting bays often emphasize the central entrance. Interior character-defining features generally include large...

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.

The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) built El Falansterio, a new public housing development located in Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, between 1936-1937. PuertaDeTierra.info: In Puerta de Tierra a neighborhood house would be built between Matías Ledesma streets, San Juan Bautista, Fernández Juncos avenue and the train track (today the exclusive lane of the Authority Metropolitan Buses); cataloged as Tenement Group Project A, today known as El Falansterio. The inauguration of El Falansterio took place on November 7, 1937 at a cost of in 110,708 square meters and 216 apartments. The foundation work cost about $130,000, as there was a need...

Today this building is known as El Mercado, the home of the largest Mercado outside of Mexico. It was built as a WPA project during 1938-1939 after the existing municipal market house (known as the Giles building) was torn down. The new market was originally named the Municipal Truck Market because it was designed with a wide entry so farmers could drive their truck into the market and sell their produce direct from their truck. However, the market was commonly called the Farmer's Market. In 1975 the last produce was sold here and the market house underwent renovation to convert...

In October 1936 -- two years after the First Lady visited Puerto Rico to assess social and economic conditions -- it was announced that the New Deal’s Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) was taking bids for the construction of the Eleanor Roosevelt housing development.  We don’t know which firm won the bid, but by 1939 about 472 homes were completed and about 1,500 more were planned.  The Eleanor Roosevelt neighborhood still exists today – it is a subbarrio of Hato Rey Norte, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico had been plagued by hurricanes, poverty, sub-standard housing, and a lack of...

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.

The Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in 1938: "Without warning, the old abandoned Elk's Temple at Helena recently sagged and partially collapsed into one of the city's principal streets. ... WPA crews under an emergency project ... from behind the damaged building..." The structure was located on Broadway Street near Last Chance Gulch in the southwest corner of the city.

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Ellen Wilson Dwellings in Washington, DC between 1938 and 1941. The Ellen Wilson Dwellings were demolished in 1996, and the area appears to have transitioned away from public housing. 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 DC Housing Authority, an independent agency of...

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 Works Progress Administration built the Ellis County Courthouse in Hays KS. The Moderne courthouse is constructed of yellow brick. The courthouse is still in use. Mann & Co. was the architect of record. 

Constructed by the PWA in 1938-40. The need for a hospital dedicated to diagnosing and treating cancer was envisioned in the early ‘30s and with the political support of Lloyd Stark and the work of Dr. Ellis Fischel of St. Louis, the plan was made to locate the state cancer in the center of the state on the main thoroughfare through the state at the time, US highway 40. Unfortunately, after all of the planning and before construction started, Dr. Fischel died in a car accident on business for the new hospital. The building is in the process of being repurposed...

"This building was designed and carried out by the Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division for the Immigration Service of the Department of Labor and constitutes one unit of a large project to improve ferry facilities at Ellis Island. The building has two one-story wings and consists of a high central pavilion surmounted by a copper covered cupola. The central pavilion houses a waiting room for the immigrants, the left wing is devoted to the Customs Service, and the right wing has a lunch room with kitchen facilities. The construction is fireproof throughout, with a steel frame and reinforced-concrete...

This 50-acre farm was begun by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

A state historical marker at Elmwood Cemetery notes that the native stone wall along the perimeter of the cemetery on Patterson and Nelson Streets was constructed by employees of the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1935 and 1937.

In 1937 the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed construction of this three foot high L-shaped granite rock wall that runs for hundreds of miles along the north and east sides of the Elmwood Cemetery in Woodward, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Historic Preservation Survey notes that construction of the Elmwood Cemetery entrance and fence "...created desperately-needed employment for jobless workers of this agricultural and railroad community during the Depression. Additionally, the project provided a much needed civic improvement to the community..." Finally, the Survey remarks that the architectural style of the wall is significant for its type, scale, workmanship as well as...

The WPA was responsible for the demolition of Elmwood Music Hall in Buffalo, NY in September 1938. The building, which previously served as an armory, was located at the northeast corner of Elmwood Avenue and Virginia Street. "The building was declared unsafe and condemned in February, 1938. Edward and Mary Seaton Kleinhans had already left a bequest in 1934 expressly for the construction of a new music hall. Music performances were held at the Buffalo Consistory (Cansisius High School) for the next two years while the Kleinhans Music Hall was being constructed on Pennsylvania Street."

Elmwood was a tuberculosis sanatorium located at 2805 Kimbo, Fort Worth. The building has been demolished. The sanatorium was a joint project of the City of Fort Worth and Tarrant County with partial funding coming through the PWA. It was designed by Preston Geren and constructed by Quisle and Andrews at a total cost of $101,733 without equipment. It opened in 1937.

Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas was dramatically transformed and improved by construction projects enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA) during the Great Depression. The park "was donated to the City of Houston in 1916. For more than twenty years, Emancipation Park was the only public park in Houston open to African-Americans. In 1938-39, the Public Works Administration constructed on the park site a recreation center, swimming pool, and bathhouse, designed by prominent Houston architect William Ward Watkin, on the site. The buildings are important examples of PWA construction in Houston and have been used since their construction for after-school...

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...

"Emmons County Courthouse in Linton, North Dakota was built in 1934. It is notable for being the first Works Progress Administration project granted in the state. Seven courthouses in the state were completed as part of this program. The Emmons County Courthouse is also one of eight Art Deco courthouses in North Dakota. The Courthouse was entered into the National Register of Historic Places 1985-11-14."

Emporia, Virginia's historic National Guard armory building was constructed with federal funds and labor. The building, presently owned by Greensville County, also served as a school gymnasium. It has housed operations for the local chapter of the Boys & Girls Club of America since the late 1990s. Local sources state that the armory was constructed in 1936 by the Army Corps of Engineers and was "built to last." According to a National Register of Historic Places registration form: "The Emporia Armory ... is located at the northernmost edge of the historic district. ... This building is 11 bays wide and is two...

"The Enid Armory, located at 600 E. Elm Avenue is a two-story red brick building, constructed as a WPA project in 1936. At the time, it was the third largest armory in Oklahoma. It is the only armory built using red brick. This building has been used to train soldiers for World War II and Korea. It was targeted by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005, as one of the 58 armories to be closed within the next five years. Currently, a new Armed Forces Reserve Center is being built at Vance Air Force Base in Enid. This Center...

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

The historic Erie County Courthouse building in Sandusky, Ohio was extensively renovated with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds between 1936 and 1939. The P.W.A. allotted $141,095 for the project, which resulted in the near-complete restyling of the 1878 Erie County Courthouse. "The style used during the remodeling was the Art Deco style popular during that era. The smooth stone facade no longer projects at the corners, but still contains a central projection. The roof is flat and is still topped by a central tower, but much of the original decoration was stripped away. The tower is capped by a...

Originally the Erie County Jail, the Erie County Sheriff's Office in Buffalo, New York was constructed with federal Public Works Administration funds (Docket No. 1282-D). Construction began February 1937 and the building was completed in 1938. According to a local newspaper at the time, the jail, Architect Maxwell James claimed was "so escape-proof neither wall nor fence is needed." The fifth floor of the structure was set aside for female inmantes. The building has since been integrated into a larger law enforcement and penal complex that includes the Erie County Holding Center.

The Works Progress Administration worked to beautify Cleveland's Erie Street Cemetery during the Great Depression. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: "Complaints of neglect inspired WPA action, including erecting a fence fashioned from the demolished Superior Ave. viaduct's sandstone. In 1940 the refurbished cemetery of historic graves, including that of Sauk Chief , was rededicated."

The New Deal built this humane society building in Escondido (near San Diego).

New York's 15,000-square-foot Essex Street Market, located along the east side of Essex Street between Rivington and Delancey Streets, was constructed with the assistance of the Work Projects Administration (WPA). The market opened in 1940. It was "one of eight similar markets built by LaGuardia and financed in part by federal money from the WPA." (blogs.forward.com) After many years of vibrant activity, first with Jewish and Italian residents and vendors, and then with Puerto Ricans as neighborhood demographics shifted, the increasing popularity of supermarkets had reduced the number of vendors in the Essex Street Market from 475 to 59. In the...

This 1940 oil on canvas "Autumn Wisconsin Landscape" by Ethel Spears was originally painted for the Hartford post office. It is now located in the Schauer Arts & Activities Center.

"Built in 1935 and finished in 1937, this building continues to house a unit of the Oklahoma National Guard... Construction began in November of 1935 on the Armory. The building was constructed of quaried of native sandstone. The architecture created a feel of a fortress. Relief stone work created the Seal of the United States over the doorway. Major Bryan W. Nolen of the Oklahoma National Guard, was the architect of the Eufaula Armory and the standardized plans for all the armories throughout the the state created under the WPA. Nolen created standard plans for one-unit, two-unit and four-unit armories for the...

Architectural firm Bonsack and Pearce designed this building which was completed in 1934 by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. The building originally served as the Eureka High School. At present, it continues to serve the community as headquarters of the Rockwood School District.  

The large Eureka Municipal Auditorium was built with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1935-36.  While it retains the old name, etched in bas-relief above the entrance, the building now appears to be used as a gymnasium for youth basketball (2023). The building's design is Classical Moderne, with Art Deco touches.  The classical element is given by the two-story entrance with its 4 full and 2 half-columns (all fluted) and wide stairway.  Flanking the entrance are full-length, recessed vertical bas-reliefs in  abstract Art Deco style.  Two similar bas-relief columns appear on each side of the building.  The effect of...

Portland's "Evergreen Cemetery" was improved by the WPA: "In 1936, the Public Works and Park Departments received $86,875 in WPA funds for engineering, supervision, a portion of the wages of skilled labor, equipment hire, and some materials. The Park Department used workers for grading and improvements at athletic fields, the golf course, and the city cemetery, and for pruning and spraying of trees along city streets."   (Conforti) The 140-acre (57 ha) historical portion of the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

"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.

Among the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects identified as completed in a Abilene Daily Reporter article from June 14, 1936 was "Repairs on a girls' dormitory and finishing of an auditorium and recreation building Ranger, at a total cost of $1659. Twenty men were employed for two months." The location and status of these facilities is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The Skowhegan State Fair is “The Nations Oldest Consecutively Running Agricultural Fair” Celebrating 197 Years. During the Great Depression, various public works projects were initiated in town, including the construction of a grandstand for the racetrack. According to the Independent Reporter, "The Grandstand project which includes the construction of a ticket office and other improvements calls for four carpenters and two laborers. The amount appropriated in ERA funds is $891" A later article reports "The carpenter-foreman at the Fairgrounds is Ralph Buxton. At the time a crew is engaged in building a ticket office as part of the new grandstand equipment. "The Grandstand,...

Fair Park was expanded by New Deal agencies WPA, CCC, and PWA in 1936. The Dallas City Commission is considering to privatize Fair Park in 2018.

In 1935-36 the WPA worked on reconstruction and renovation of the historic 1794 Fairfield Town Hall building, including the addition of wings to both sides of building; basement improvements and utility upgrades; a new cupola to replace an older cupola that had been demolished; and the construction of a circular terrace at the rear of the building. The building presently houses an example of New Deal artwork, relocated from the former Fairfield main post office.