Civic Facilities Sites

New London received a new fire station in 1939. It replaced a facility damaged during a hurricane the previous year. The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied a $13,752 grant for the project, whose total cost was $30,792. Construction occurred between Dec. 1938 and Aug. 1939. PWA Docket No. CT X1405

Constructed in 1939-40, the former New Orleans Fire Department Station Number 2 is one of three firehouses built by the WPA in the Crescent City in the late 1930s. Located in the Lakeview neighborhood, south of Lake Pontchartrain, it consists of a brick-clad, cross-gabled, house-type plan containing one bay. Modest regional influences are expressed through the wrought-iron porch supports and a balconette at the top of the front gable. At the rear is a lower gabled addition holding sleeping quarters. Hurricane Katrina devastated this section of the Lakeview commercial district. The fire station is one of a few buildings pre-dating...

The accompanying photograph portrays the Winter Garden Fire Station at 127 Boyd Street, constructed by the WPA in 1938. Shown in the photograph is Hoyle Pounds. He was Fire Chief for over 40 years. The firetruck seen in the first bay now belongs to the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation. As of 2013, the building is in the process of being repurposed as the new home of the Winter Garden Art Association under a three-year lease. Hoyle Pounds was born in Ocoee, FL, in 1893 to John Richard "Bud" and Martha "Mattie" Carrol Pounds, who came from Doraville, GA. Hoyle went to local...

Construction through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) began in 1935 with 18" stone quarried from a nearby ranch and was completed in 1937. This building housed the Volunteer Fire Department downstairs and City Hall upstairs until the 1970's. As of 2017 "the walls are solid and still standing but interior walls, floors, and roof are in great disrepair." The building was demolished on August 19, 2020.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed construction of the former National Guard Armory in Falls City, Nebraska. "edicated on December 11, 1936. It was converted in 1972 to a City Hall and is currently the Falls City fire station."

Magna, Utah received a new fire station as part of a New Deal project. We believe the agency involved to be the Works Progress Administration (WPA); however the exact location and present status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

The historic former fire station in Williamson, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The facility was constructed four three months in 1936. PWA Docket No. 7122

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) provided the labor for painting the then-fire station in Maynard, Massachusetts in 1934, at what was hailed "quite a savings" to local taxpayers. The old fire station was located at the site of what is now a private business (as of 2017, The Paper Store) on Nason St. Work was continued by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), which also installed a new fire alarm system with new fire alarm boxes.

Streamline Moderne architecture built by the WPA in 1940.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) rebuilt Long Beach Fire Department Station No. 7 after it was destroyed in the 1933 earthquake.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) rebuilt Long Beach Fire Department Station No. 9 in 1939 after it was destroyed in the 1933 earthquake.

In 1934 The Foxboro Reporter wrote that work on the hose room at Foxboro, Massachusetts's fire station was a Civil Works Administration project. Exact location and current status of this project are unknown to the Living New Deal.

The Skowhegan Fire Station was built in 1904. According to a local news article from 1935, FERA carried out extensive improvements to the station: “A thorough cleaning of the interior of the Skowhegan fire station is being followed by the application of fresh coats of paint and varnish. The work is being done by a FERA crew. Improvements at the station are more extensive than anticipated due to the fact that money has been found available with which to increase the size of the crew. Four additional painters and four additional laborers have been added, thanks to the fact that an...

Fire Station No. 14 of Fort Worth, Texas was constructed in 1938-39 under the PWA. The architect was Preston M. Geren and the Sr. Contractor was Quisle and Andrews. The building now serves as a YWCA Child Care-Community Center.

An article by Gerald Reed in the Lewiston Evening Journal Jan. 3rd, 1935 reported that the CWA helped with the funding of the construction of a sub fire station in East Auburn and the renovation of another sub fire station on Court Street on Goff Hill. Total cost of the projects was $13,846.95 with the city covering $4,396.40 for the materials. The sub station on Center Street was rebuilt in 1974, and the the sub station on Court Street on Goff Hill was demolished and a new station built nearby on Minot Avenue in 1972.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers constructed a 55-foot fire drill-tower in Everett, Mass. The exact location and status of this project is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

This Art Deco fire training tower was built in 1933-34 by FERA, a precursor to the WPA. The tower was used by the city of Miami to train local fire fighters for many years. The tower is still standing, but is not currently in use.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed a fire station in South Deerfield, Mass. The facility was dedicated March 31, 1937. WPA Bulletin: South Deerfield— A parade featured by an antiquated pumping outfit and horse-drawn steamer followed by modern motor equipment, was a main event at the recent dedication of the brick fire station recently completed by WPA. The new station serves Deerfield as well as this town. Since 1990, the historic site has housed Schoen Books, specializing in Judaica in all languages.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) painted the former Dover firehouse in 1934. The location and current status of the old building are unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at the Ashland firehouse, including exterior painting in 1935 and roof repairs in 1936.

The Brenham Fire Department established Fireman's Park in 1884.The Fire Department gave the park to the City of Brenham in 1917 "for cancellation of the department's indebtedness to the city." The Works Progress Administration made improvements to the park consisting of a two-story hut, a kitchen, a beer garden, an American Legion Hall and a sixteen-sided building that houses an antique carousel.

No longer in use but with some buildings still extant, Firland Sanitorium in Shoreline, Washington was improved by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. A WPA press release from Jan. 1938 reported: "Approximately 100 WPA workers will begin the same day improving the grounds at Firlands , Richmond Highlands, north of Seattle, with a WPA grant providing $41,254 and the City of Seattle furnishing needed materials totaling $6,735, as project sponsor. The work, which will require an estimated six months. includes paving the roadway, excavating, grading, pruning, landscaping, erecting fences, installing sprinklers and many other incidental tasks on...

New York's historic First Avenue Retail Market Market was one of eight similar markets constructed with the assistance of the federal Work Projects Administration (WPA). These structures were built in order to replace the informal pushcart markets common on New York City streets at the time. The building now houses an art gallery: Theater for the New City.

The WPA Guide to New York City reported that: "On Avenue A and Third Street, three blocks east of the Bowery, rise the FIRST HOUSES, the first project of the NY City Housing Authority, opened in 1935. Of the old slum tenements which formerly occupied this space, some were torn down and others were completely rebuilt by WPA labour, using the old materials. Unfortunately the attempt to utilize old structures has forced the new ones into a dull scheme. Bathrooms, sound-proofed partitions, gardens, and playgrounds promote the health and comfort of the occupants, who pay five to seven dollars a room...

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.

The U.S. Fishery Products Laboratory in Ketchikan, Alaska was constructed with federal funds and operated by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The facility was completed in 1940, and archival photos show that it was located on the east side of Mill St. by the city's Federal Building. The building has since been demolished.

Also known as the Hurricane Monument, this limestone monument marks the mass grave of the over 300 people killed in one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the Florida Keys in 1936. "Standing just east of U.S. 1 at mile marker 82 in Islamorada, near where Islamorada's post office stood, is a simple monument designed by the Florida Division of the Federal Art Project and constructed using Keys limestone ("keystone") by the Works Progress Administration. It was unveiled in 1937 with more than 4,000 people attending. A frieze depicts palm trees amid curling waves, fronds bent in the wind. In front...

The Works Progress Administration constructed a building that housed the Florida State Farmers’ Market in Live Oaks FL. The structure was completed circa 1938.

"The Flushing Armory is a historic National Guard armory building located in the Flushing section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is a brick and stone castle-like structure built in 1905–1906, designed to be reminiscent of medieval military structures in Europe. ... Throughout the armory's history it has been used for the National Guard, as a homeless shelter, and a gymnastics center. It is currently used by the New York City Police Department's Queens North Task Force." The WPA provided resources to conduct repairs at the Flushing Armory (14th Infantry Armory) in Flushing during the 1930s.

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to conduct repairs and alterations to several civic buildings in Queens as part of a $300,464 project begun in 1935. Buildings improved included the historic Flushing Town Hall on Northern Blvd., which at the time was serving as a local courthouse.

Folger Park on the south side of Capitol Hill was named for Charles J. Folger, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1881 to 1884. Part of the original L'Enfant plan of Washington DC, the park was significantly improved in the late 19th century – probably at the same time it was renamed. Folger Park was substantially redeveloped under the New Deal, with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1935 and work carried out by Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief labor in 1936.  This was part of a sweeping program of parks and playground renewal across Washington undertaken by...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Foote Street Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 168 living units was built for African American national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly segregated at the time). It is unknown to the Living New Deal if any of the structures still exist, but it is not likely since these homes were classified as “demountable,” i.e., intended to be taken down and salvaged sometime after the war. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor developed Forest Hill Cemetery. WPA Bulletin, 1937: Eventual income of $450,000 to be derived from the sale of burial lots, will benefit this city when WPA work projects on Forest Hill and Laurel cemeteries are completed. Almost 200,000 square feet of waste land are being transformed into a fine cemetery by the work projects.

The Public Works Administration W1183 funded constructing for new buildings and improvements for five Hinds County schools in 1938-1939. Forest Hill School used funds to construct a vocational building, auditorium, gymnasium, and home for the vocational teacher. They used a $24,000 bond issue to supplement the PWA funding for a loan of 151,986 toward estimated cost of all 5 schools of $337,746, approved 6/22/1938. Bids were advertised October 1938; first contract awarded 11/10/38; construction began 11/14/1938; and was completed 12/4/1939 for a total of 322,153. The school was demolished in 1987.

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 New Albany City Hall was designed by Mississippi architect E. L. Malvaney, who designed many modernist buildings in the state. The two-story Art Deco style building (with Art Moderne characteristics) is a Mississippi State Landmark. Joan Embree, 1996, described it as "...rectangularly-massed, has a flat roof, concrete entry, walk, and stair to the first level." It was described as "...a monolithic concrete structure by E. L. Malvaney" in the Federal Writers Project. Art Moderne, a late form of Art Deco, was popular during the 1930s and forward. It often made use of concrete, was subdued in color, and had...

"Resting on a concrete slab, the building has cast concrete with walls approximately 9 inches thick. A corrugated metal roof with flat, narrow wood fascia caps the jail. The only openings are located in the west side. These include a steel door and two steel six-light window with metal bars... Located on an alley behind City Hall, this building is currently used for storage by city. The jail was built by the CWA in 1933-34."

"FORREST CEMETERY CHAPEL, inside the main gate of Forrest Cemetery, W. side of 15th St. between Walnut and Chestnut Sts., was constructed as a WPA project. It was built by 20 workers who were unskilled at the beginning in this work but who completed it as trained stonemasons. Modeled after an English parish church of the twelfth century, the chapel has been appraised at $25,000, yet the total cost of materials was relatively small. Cement and windows were the only materials purchased; light fixtures, woodwork, and hardware came from WPA woodshops, and stone from a near-by quarry. The doors and...

The federal Works Progress Administration played a crucial role in the early development of Fort Bliss National Cemetery. NPS.gov: "Labor hired for the cemetery and through the WPA constructed the national cemetery.  The New Deal labor program, begun in 1935, primarily completed small-scale new construction, rehabilitation, and/or landscape improvement projects that could be completed in a year or less.  In addition to the initial cemetery appropriations in excess of  $44,000, the cemetery received a  second $25,000 WPA project,  of which approximately $22,000 paid for labor and $3,000 for  supplies. ... By October 1939, the request for appropriations resulted in another $75,000...

In 1933 a Category 5 hurricane known as the 1933 Cuba destroyed a large part of Brownsville, Texas, and caused massive damages to Fort Brown, U.S. Army fort. During the New Deal, Fort Brown received funding and labor to make improvements to the fort and surrounding land. The Works Project Administration (WPA) authorized a $70,765 improvement program that employed 119 workers to improve landscaping, building river bank revetments, resurfacing roads, and doing a large amount of the work on fort buildings. The purpose behind the river bank revetments was to stabilize the Rio Grande riverbank in case of storms and to...