Civic Facilities Sites

The Civilian Conservation (CCC) helped the National Park Service reconstruct Fort Churchill in the 1930s. Fort Churchill was an 1860s army post built along the Overland Emigrant Trail, which was abandoned in 1869 when its usefulness had passed. Afterward, it fell into ruin. “On behalf of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Senator McCarran and Congressman Scrugham secured a CCC camp to restore the historic site. During the summer and fall of 1935, Camp Fort Churchill constructed a campground and a day-use area and built a number of park buildings. Pleased with the restoration and new facilities, the DAR presented...

The earthen works from the original Civil War fort and a replica powder house were restored by the Works Progress Administration in 1936 and 1937. During the Civil War, it was one of the forts that guarded the City of Cape Girardeau and was constructed by John Wesley Powell (the commander of the first successful trip down the Grand Canyon). It has seen many uses since then including a meeting house for the American Legion, the Girl Scouts, civil defense headquarters, private residence, senior citizens center, and the Junior Optimist Club.

Originally constructed as an armory, what is now the Fort Decatur Recreation Center was constructed in 1938 with federal funds. The building "was designed by Carolyn Cortner Smith, Alabama’s first licensed female architect." Living New Deal believes the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided support for construction of the armory.

Dating from WWI, Fort Dix provided training for soldiers enlisted in the U.S. Army. According to a Works Progress Administration (WPA) Information Division document, the WPA engaged in “Campwide improvement to grounds, including grading, checking of soil erosion, improvements to drainage to eliminate mud, and clearing fire trails and brush; construction of target pits and machine gun range, landing field, one mile of railroad. Construction or repair of garage, motor repair shop, schools, tent floors, incinerator, sawmill, woodshop, quarters, storage buildings, mess hall, cold storage plant, hospital, airport buildings, disposal plant, improvements of water supply system, clearing of ditches...

Fort Douglas was expanded during the New Deal by the PWA, CCC and WPA.   The WPA added several houses for non-commissioned officers (buildings 658, 600, 664, 665, 666 on Connor Road), as well as for senior officers.  These are all still in use. There are several other WPA works at Fort Douglas that are harder to document or have disappeared.  The only site marked as New Deal on the base is the bathhouse.   More photos taken by the WPA during the 1930s are in the archives of the library at the University of Utah, but have not yet been examined.  

Fort Douglas was expanded during the New Deal by the PWA, CCC and WPA.  The WPA added several houses for senior officers (buildings 621-625 on the central parade grounds, along De Trobriand Street) and non-commissioned officers (buildings 658, 600, 664, 665, 666 on Connor Road), along with entrance columns.  These are all still in use. There are several other WPA works at Fort Douglas that are harder to document or have disappeared.  The only site marked as New Deal on the base is the bathhouse.   More photos taken by the WPA during the 1930s are in the archives of the library at the University of...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of Fort Dupont Dwellings in Washington, DC between 1939 and 1941. The land had been acquired earlier, by the Public Works Administration (PWA). 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 the DC Government.

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of a community building for the Fort Dupont Dwellings and surrounding area, ca. 1939-1941. It is unknown to the Living New Deal if this building still exists. 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 the DC Government. The Fort Dupont Dwellings Community Building was part...

This large, lush Brooklyn park dates back 150 years. NYC Parks explains that "Another series of renovations made in the 1930s further enhanced the classical design of the park. Parks architect Gilmore D. Clarke regraded the grounds, added new trees and shrubs, replaced the winding paths with more formal walks, remodeled the playgrounds, and created new spaces for athletic activities." These and other activities were announced in several Department of Parks press releases at the time. In May 1936, a new playground was opened in the northwest corner of the park. In October of the same year, the children's garden in...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers repaired Boston's old Fort Hill Fire Station during the mid-1930s. The building was torn down in 1952 to make way for construction of the since-buried downtown freeway.

"The following work was done by the W. P. A.: At Fort Hill Wharf Disposal Station a sprinkler system was installed; fence, floor and ramp, and roof were built." The exact location of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

"Fort Homer W. Hesterly is a historic building at 522 North Howard Avenue in the West Tampa section of Tampa, Florida. An art deco style building. It took ten years to find an occupant for the building, once a premiere venue. It is now home to the Tampa Jewish Community Center & Federation. Performers have included Elvis Presley, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Tom Jones, The Animals, James Brown, Buddy Holly, Andy Griffith, Pink Floyd and the Doors. Many graduations and weddings have been held at the Fort. The National Guard used the armory until 2005. The...

The WPA restored this fort at some point prior to 1938. From Rhode Island: A Guide to the Smallest State: "he Works Progress Administration has restored the old fort, graded the land, and converted it into a park." The site is now the Columbia Park Playground.

"These barracks are one of several buildings erected at Fort Knox by the Quartermaster Corps of the Army and consist of 4 units of fireproof construction with concrete frames and brick curtain walls trimmed with stone. Another building, a 2-company barracks, is similar in design and construction, and both structures provide permanent quarters for 456 and 228 men, respectively. They are occupied by the First Cavalry, Mechanized. The project was completed in December 1935 and the P.W.A. allotment for the barracks and other buildings was $579,000."

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) landscaped the Fort Mackinac Post Cemetery on Mackinac Island.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers "built a sandstone wall around the entire fort grounds and today the boundary demarcates the Fort McIntosh Historic District."

When President Roosevelt authorized the Works Progress Administration construction of the Fort Peck Dam in 1933, the “instant” town with a population of 10,000 created a need for social and recreational diversions in this remote area of Montana. The Army Corps of Engineers designed and constructed this theatre in less than nine months at a cost of nearly $90,000. The theatre opened November 16, 1934, as a movie house. Seating capacity was 1,200 and continuous showings ran twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week during the construction of the Fort Peck Dam. Patrons sometimes braved lines as long as...

"Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site includes a visitor's center with exhibits, videos, a bookstore, and self-guided tours of the fort grounds and outlying sites. The tour marks the archaeological remains of the fort's buildings. A cabin built by the Civilian Conservation Corps has been furnished to depict the period quarters of an officer's wife and a non-commissioned officer’s quarters. Visitors can also tour the nearby battlefields which are located within a five mile radius of the visitor center and include interpretive trails." A headline in Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper suggests that the project was completed in 1938.

WPA crews rebuilt historic Fort Recovery between 1935 and 1939. The fort was originally built in 1794 on the site where Army General Arthur St. Clair was roundly defeated by the armies of a confederation of Miami and Shawnee Native Americans. The fort was memorialized in 1910, and a museum opened on the site in 1938. From the National Archives file: “They also built, for use as a museum, a replica of the log cabin occupied by General St. Clair on his arrival there in 1791, and in addition constructed a modern library building.”

NPS.gov: "A project funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) brought the “southern half” of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery to near completion by March 1938.  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.  An allotment of $30,000 by the WPA funded the construction tasks of filling and grading, as well as the installation of roads, water, and a sprinkler system."

The fort dates back the early nineteenth century, when it was used to “promote and protext the interests of the United States in the region’s fur trade” (historicfortsnelling.org). Between 1938 and 1940, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site, including sidewalks, sewers, porches, and garages. National Park Service: "Fort Snelling benefited from New Deal programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The programs provided funding for a general reconditioning of the fort, including landscaping and infrastructure. Workers graded and resurfaced existing roads, built new sidewalks and curbs and...

"When the first allotment of Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds became available in summer 1937, workers broke ground on the new 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. WPA laborers worked on the grading, filling and landscaping of the grounds while the construction of the buildings and main entrance was hired out under contract."

From a HABS Survey Report describing CCC work on the Fort: “Ca. 1936, CCC enrollees reconstructed a portion of the Civil War-era fort-part of Washington's defensive ring-using ‘concrete logs and timbers to simulate original log construction.’  This reconstruction included part of the fort's moat, banquette, revetments, gun platforms, and an underground powder magazine, all set within a sloped lawn and accessed by gravel walks. The 2004 field survey found that the reconstructed fort and magazine remain intact and in reasonably good shape.  Access to the underground magazine has been blocked and the walkways at the site (save the perimeter sidewalks along the...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the walls and entry of the Fort Sumner Cemetery.

Fort Washington was built to defend the river access to Washington D.C. in the early 19th century. In the 1930s, both the WPA and the CCC made general improvements to the Fort and surrounding park. The WPA made "general improvements to building and facilities at Fort Washington…including rehabilitating school, barracks, kitchens, latrines, gymnasium, and officers' club, including facilities, replacing sanitary sewers, altering and enlarging target facilities, improving roads by widening, straightening, resurfacing, and constructing curbs and gutters." (National Archives) A HABS Survey describes CCC activity at the Fort: “CCC work occurred during two periods at Fort Washington, first by Camp NP-6-VA (Fort Hunt),...

Fort Wootton in Trinidad, Colorado "is a giant war memorial that takes up about half a city block. It was once described as the most complete war memorial in the nation. Nine veterans’ groups teamed up with the WPA to have it built in 1936-7. It has an auditorium and meeting spaces inside." Fort Wootton was from its "inception a veterans' gathering place evocative of their military training and posts, somewhat patterned after the regional historic site Bent's Fort. Further, and fortunately, in 2018 the county deeded the property to the Las Animas County Veterans' Council, an organization now seeking to...

"This building, in addition to housing the county court and its officers, provides space for the county clerk, treasurer, welfare department, county nurses, agricultural department, school departments, record storage, and for certain bodies of the Federal Government. It is a fireproof structure throughout and the exterior walls are limestone from nearby quarries. A limited amount of decorative stone carving is used on the outside, and the foyers and corridors of the first and second floors are decorated with mural paintings. The building was completed in July 1936. It has a volume of about 500,000 cubic feet. The construction cost was $228,822 and...

The former Foxboro State Hospital was greatly expanded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with the aid of Federal funds, during the New Deal era. One Federal Public Works Administration-assisted project saw the construction of four buildings on the State Hospital campus, including the Assembly Building. The Assembly Building is located north of Chestnut Street along Payson Road. Construction details: "masonry exterior bearing, concrete and steel interior framing, steel roof truss, non-combustible roof deck." The Foxboro Reporter wrote that the building, "one story and balcony and basement, of brick and limestone, 127 feet long and 70 feet wide, will be constructed at...

The former Foxboro State Hospital was greatly expanded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with the aid of Federal funds, during the New Deal era. One Federal Public Works Administration-assisted project saw the construction of four buildings on the State Hospital campus, including the Laundry Building, which has been slated for demolition in 2014. Construction details: "masonry exterior bearing, concrete pier and floor slab, steel column, beam and flat roof deck." The Foxboro Reporter wrote that the building, "one story and basement, 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, of first class brick and stone, will be constructed at a cost of...

The former Foxboro State Hospital was greatly expanded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with the aid of Federal funds, during the New Deal era. One Federal Public Works Administration-assisted project saw the construction of four buildings on the State Hospital campus, including the since-demolished Tuberculosis, or "T", Building. The "T" Building was located about 900 feet north of Chestnut Street between North Street and Payson Road, northwest of an assembly hall built at the same time with additional federal assistance. Construction details: "masonry exterior bearing, concrete and steel interior framing, wood flat roof framing." The Foxboro Reporter wrote that the building, "two...

The former Foxboro State Hospital was greatly expanded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with the aid of Federal funds, during the New Deal era. One Federal Public Works Administration-assisted project saw the construction of four buildings on the State Hospital campus, including the 'day space building.' This building is probably what was also known as Walnut Lodge. Construction details: "masonry exterior bearing, steel and steel joist and concrete framing, wood pitched wood deck." The Foxboro Reporter wrote that the building, "two stories and basement, 85 feet long and 28 feet wide, brick construction, with piazzas 53 feet long and 14 feet...

The Frank Berry Courts were constructed 1939 through the United States Housing Authority. The complex included 95 buildings, 113 dwelling units, of which 77 were 1-family attached units, 36 were 2-family attached units. Most were 5-room units, but some were 4 room and 6 rooms. The buildings were completely rehabilitated and modernized in 2011 through the Department of Housing and Urban Development funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

A New Deal Fresno brochure lists the swimming pool at Frank H. Ball park as being built by the PWA. The playground also received $42,000 for an NYA project to give youth training in building trades. The recreation building plaque shows that it, too, was an NYA project.

The PWA helped construct this fire station, which evidently doubled as a town hall. Subsequent additions have been made but the original building stands.

The WPA provided resources to conduct repairs at the Franklin Avenue Armory in the Bronx during the 1930s. The armory was then home to the 105th Field Artillery (Second Battery). The National Guard utilized the building until 1988, at which point it was sold to the City of New York. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-378.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of a new courthouse for Franklin County in Preston, Idaho, in 1939. The Franklin County Courthouse is a fine example of late Moderne architecture, a clean white cube with bas-relief columns and otherwise minimal exterior decoration.

The Franklin County Courthouse was undertaken during the Great Depression in Winchester, Tennessee with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The courthouse was constructed in a PWA Moderne style with "classical pilasters and low relief Art Deco details on exterior and interior" (Van West, 2001, p. 37). The three story building is limestone veneer and "notable for its central clock tower--the only New Deal courthouse in Tennessee to have such a feature" (Van West, p. 37). PWA funded $42,000 of the cost, and a $100,000 local bond issue provided the remainder.

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of the Douglas Court Garages in Washington, DC between 1935 and 1936. This project consisted of sixteen 1-car garages (as well as a workshop) located on what is now Frederick Douglas Court NE. It appears that at least nine of the sixteen garages still exist. 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...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Frederick Douglass Dwellings in Washington, DC between 1940 and 1942. The Frederick Douglass Dwellings were demolished in 2000, to make way for Henson Ridge, a mixed-income community. 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 the DC...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of an administration and community building for the Frederick Douglass Dwellings and surrounding community, ca. 1940-1942. It is unknown to the Living New Deal if this building still exists. 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 the DC Government. The Frederick Douglass Dwellings Administration and...