Civic Facilities Sites

Built in 1937-38 by the Works Progress Administration as part of the Brockport Municipal Park Development Plan. Building has fallen into disrepair and exists at the back end of an otherwise empty lot adjacent to a cold storage plant.

Coudersport, Pennsylvania received a new school building during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Construction occurred between May 1936 and January 1937. The school is no longer in use and is now known as the Gunzburger County Office Building. PWA Docket No. W1108

The Coxburg community gymnasium was constructed 1936 by the National Youth Administration. The structure cost approximately $5,000 and was 80 x 100 feet. The gym was destroyed in 1952.

In the 1930s youths the National Youth Administration (NYA) hired young people to construct the stone shop building in Gypsum Hill Cemetery. The shop building bears an NYA plaque.

"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. These funds financed the following: (a) Bassin Triangle erected on a vacant site of 5 acres at Christiansted, St. Croix Island. The site cost $2,000 and was improved with 1-story row houses which provide 54 rooms divided into 30 family-dwelling units. The structures cover about 5 percent of the area of the site and average 10 rooms per acre. (b) Marley Homes at Frederiksted, St. Croix Island. An undeveloped plot of 17 acres...

Many of Hagerstown’s administrative offices are located in the Hagerstown City Hall.  According to a Maryland Historical Trust Inventory Form: “The Hagerstown City Hall is a Renaissance Revival style brick structure which was erected in 1939-1940 under the auspices of the federal government as a Public Works Administration project.”

“Haldeman-Hayes Crossing Community Center inhabits the old Haldeman school gymnasium. The community of Haldeman is named for L.P. Haldeman, owner of the Kentucky Firebrick Company. Haldeman’s company took advantage of the local geology to mine clay to create firebrick that was exported across the nation. Haldeman valued education and built schools in the community for the children of his employees, expanding those schools as the community developed. In 1937 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed construction on a new stone school building, and completed the current gymnasium in 1938. The building served the community of Haldeman until December of 1993,...

Hale Pa‘ahao (stuck-in-irons house) was Lahaina’s “new” prison, built in the 1850s during  the whaling era. The prison has been restored three times, in the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s. The Lahaina Restoration Foundation reports that:  "During the 1930s, County of Maui sponsored reconstruction of the cells and stockade  by the Works Progress Administration (WPA)."  There is a stone marker acknowledging the WPA's work, as well. Another metal marker says that the gatehouse was restored in 1959.  Then, as the Lahaina Restoration Foundation report continues: "In 1967, Lahaina Restoration Foundation presented to Maui Historical Commission a plan for restoring the old prison. It detailed...

After the Hall County Courthouse in Gainesville, GA, was destroyed by a tornado on April 6, 1936, the PWA dedicated funds toward its reconstruction. A "marker and bronze tablet honoring President Roosevelt and commemorating Disaster Relief aid by the Federal Government." The courthouse is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"The Hall of Records is a much needed addition to the group of State buildings at Dover. It contains offices for the governor and the secretary of state, the research room, the archives lobby, and a vault 19 by 24 feet for the storage of records, on the first floor. On the second floor are offices for the motor-vehicle department and the franchise-tax department. The building is fireproof throughout. The exterior walls are red brick laid in flemish bond and the trim is marble and wood. The roof is covered with slate. The finish throughout the interior is...

The Civilian Conservation Corps built the Halyburton Memorial in Sandy Hook NJ. Located in the Gateway National Park.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided the funds to build the Hamilton County Courthouse in 1938. The structure was designed in Art Deco/Moderne style by architect William McCoy, who was well-known in central Illinois at the time. Wikipedia makes the common mistake of confounding the PWA and the WPA.

Designed by Overend and Boucher of Wichita, the historic Hamilton County Courthouse in Syracuse, Kansas was constructed in 1937 as a Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (a.k.a. Public Works Administration—PWA) project, one of several P.W.A. county courthouses in Kansas. The P.W.A. supplied a $29,250 grant for the project, whose total cost was $65,007. Courthouses.co: "The building faces west and is a rectangular two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. On the west front is white colored stone trim with trim around the entrance." P.W.A. Docket No. Kansas 1258-D

New Deal hospital in Hanford, CA.

In 1940-41, the Los Angeles County Housing Authority constructed the Harbor Hills public housing project in Lomita, CA. Partially funded by the United States Housing Authority (USHA), Harbor Hills was the second public housing project in Los Angeles County. Harbor Hills comprised 102 acres overlooking the San Pedro Bay, but only 27-acres were developed because of the difficult topography. (Unlike many other urban renewal projects, no “slums” were cleared for this development.) The 52 one- and two-story brick and concrete buildings included 300 dwelling units, each with a living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and one to three bedrooms. The buildings...

KY.gov: "The first armory in Harlan was constructed ... by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). ... The building is located in Sunshine, across a bridge and next to the railroad tracks outside downtown Harlan. The building is a two-story poured concrete building with attached drill hall. The front of the armory has been painted green, and a handicapped-accessible ramp was added to the front of the building in 1996. The walls are 12 inch thick and steel-reinforced, and the facade has elements of the Art Deco style around the entrance, with its linear lines and vertical, stepped ornamentation. The building still...

Renovations to Harlem Hospital were undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Harlem River Houses, together with First Houses in Manhattan and the Williamsburg Houses in Brooklyn, were the first federally-funded public housing projects in New York City.   The project was funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA Docket No. H-1302). Wikipedia states:  "The Harlem River Houses is a New York City Housing Authority public housing complex located between West 151st and West 153rd Streets and between Macombs Place and the Harlem River Drive in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The complex, which covers 9 acres (3.6 ha), was built in 1936-37 and opened in October 1937 – one of the...

The WPA in West St. Paul: On the west side of Harmon Park, along Charlton, there’s an old stone wall that’s part of the original WPA work to improve the park and fields. Before the 2015 rebuild of the park, this wall surrounded a parking lot near the ball fields. A portion of the wall was preserved in 2015 and you can still see the “WPA 1941” stamps in a couple places on the wall. There’s also a plaque near the corner of Charlton and Bernard memorializing the “Development of Harmon Play Field” as well as a number of stones and...

The historic Harney County Courthouse in Burns, Oregon was constructed with some assistance from the Work Projects Administration (WPA), but did not receive sought-after Public Works Administration (PWA) funding. The full story was recounted on a local history website (which is no longer active): " November 4, 1938, Burns Times-Herald called the courthouse 'antiquated poorly arranged.' Voters were deciding whether the county should construct a new $100,000 courthouse, with 45 percent of the cost to be paid by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). With such largess, the issue passed, and the county judge immediately traveled to Portland to present...

From the Minnesota Historical Society: "The Clarence W. Wigington Pavilion, formerly known as the Harriet Island Pavilion, is significant in St. Paul’s recreational history as a well-preserved example of the work of Clarence Wesley Wigington, the first black architect hired by the city. Harriet Island, originally named for St. Paul’s first schoolteacher, Harriet E. Bishop, became an enclave for healthy living in the bustling city of St. Paul in 1900. Dr. Justus Ohage, St. Paul’s health officer, bought the island and built a new park there, complete with public bathhouse and beach, playgrounds, handball and tennis courts, cafeteria, bandstand, pavilions, zoo, childcare...

Houston's historic Harris County District Attorney's Building was constructed as a federal office building and post office during the 1930s. The building, whose construction was funded by the Treasury Department, was completed in 1939. Harris County purchased the building in 1978.

Sometimes misattributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Bethany, Missouri's Harrison County Courthouse and jail was enabled by the provision of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The stately Art Deco project was authorized in an election in 1938 as a bond issue in conjunction with PWA grant. The cornerstone for the building was laid on Aug. 14, 1939; it was placed on the south façade of the building, at the southeast corner. The building was completed and opened in 1940. A humorous story from the courthouse's construction comes from the St. Joseph News-Press: QUESTION OF SPELLING IS ISSUE AT BETHANY BETHANY, Mo., Jan...

Between 1938 and 1939 the Works Progress Administration built a combination auditorium and gymnasium in Millersview, Texas under official project number 665-66-2-352. The building had a concrete foundation and buttresses with stone walls and brick trim.

"Perched on a hilltop, the Hartman Gymnasium was constructed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project c. 1938 by local workers as an addition to the existing two-story school. Though the school was torn down, the locally quarried limestone gym was saved and given to the town when the school district consolidated. The gym was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the only WPA construction in Hartman and for its local social significance in long service as a community center."   (https://www.secoloradoheritage.com)

This was originally a tuberculosis sanitarium. New Deal workers constructed a: New kitchen and dining building, ward buildings (2), children's building, doctors' and nurses' residences, improved sewage system, new water tank and incinerator. The sanitarium was purchased by the MROSD in 1983, however, and "two years later all the hospital buildings were torn down and the site is now being reclaimed by nature." - https://wikimapia.org/958734/Hassler-Health-Home-site In the 1940s, additional buildings were added to the campus with the help of New Deal funding, increasing the capacity to 260 beds.

The Winslow Headstart building, originally the Winslow Clubhouse, was built in 1937 by relief workers employed by the Work Progress Administration (WPA).   "The Winslow Clubhouse (now Headstart) is a good example of the Winslow community’s desire for adaptive reuse. The building features many interesting details: hand-carved doors, inset "steer-head" designs in the stone wall, and hand-painted tiles gracing the patio steps... The clubhouse and the stadium were constructed in 1937 and funded by the WPA."

"Heights Community Center was the first community recreation center in the city and has served generations of Albuquerque residents. It was constructed between 1938 and 1942 as a National Youth Administration Project, one of several New Deal programs active in Albuquerque during the Great Depression. NYA projects were intended to give youth thorough vocational training and revive their interest in education. At the time, it was considered the largest NYA project in the country. Much of the work for the center was carried out by volunteers using donated or salvaged materials. Several different civic groups in the Heights thought up the...

The NRHP nomination form describes this courthouse as the "...finest extant example of the Art Deco style within the city of Hope, Arkansas. Its horizontal symmetrical massing, set back rooflines and stylized Art Deco ornamentation are all identifying characteristics of the style that became the dominant architectural idiom for Depression-era public works courthouses throughout the state" (Story, 1994). The county applied for PWA funds August 1, 1938. The courthouse was constructed for $200,000, through a $110,000 loan and a $90,000 grant (PWA fund granted). The central part of the courthouse is five stories, with two-story wings on the north and...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) did painting and reconditioning work on the former Oakland Civic Auditorium c. 1936. (Further confirmation is needed) Kaiser Convention Center is a city-owned, multi-purpose arena that included a 5,550-seat arena, a large theater, and a ballroom.  The Beaux-Arts style landmark,  built in 1914, was designed by Pittsburgh architect Henry Hornbostel, designer of Oakland’s City Hall, and a local associate John J. Donovan. It was renamed in honor of Henry J. Kaiser, Oakland's greatest industrialist, after a 1984 renovation. The facility has seen many events over the years, such as speeches by Presidents  Woodrow Wilson and Bill Clinton....

In 1940, the WPA rehabilitated the "hourglass" intersection formed by Broadway, 6th Ave., 35th St. and 32nd St, the north end of which is known as Herald Square and the south end as Greeley Square. The project centered around the restoration and re-placing of a large sculptured clock originally constructed by Antoin Jean Carles in the late 1800s. The Parks press release announcing the completion of this work was especially long and enthusiastic: "The rehabilitation of the hour-glass intersection of Broadway and Sixth Avenue extending from 32nd Street to 35th Street is now completed. Elevated structures, and surface car tracks have...

WisconsinHistory.org: "The Herbster Community Center was funded by the Work Progress Administration, a federal agency established in 1935 by President Roosevelt to provide employment for needy workers during the Great Depression. The WPA project at Herbster was developed to utilize local material and to employ local labor while achieving the final goal of erecting a building that could be used as a gymnasium and town hall. Approval for the community center was granted on May 13, 1939 and work on the project was started in October 1939. The center was completed in the spring of 1940 at the cost of $30,000....

The historic Hettinger County Courthouse in Mott, North Dakota was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The PWA supplied a $30,622 grant for the project, whose total cost was $108,243. Primary construction occurred between Sept. 1934 and Nov. 1935. PWA Docket No. 6106

"This structure is in reality a community center and provides for athletics and for social and educational activities. The arena, which is approximately 100 by 200 feet, is surrounded by bleacher seats. There are rooms for the American Legion and the Ladies' Auxiliary, lounges, billiard and card rooms, and administrative offices. A large curling rink approximately 130 by 200 feet has a small gallery for spectators, a curlers' clubroom, lobby, and locker room. The building is constructed of reinforced concrete and the exterior walls are faced with light-colored brick. The roof of the arena is arched...

The federal Works Progress Administration undertook a $93,900 project starting in 1935 to modernize and otherwise improve several public (now-former) bath facilities in Brooklyn, NY. The public baths at 486 Hicks Street were constructed in 1903; the building was "demolished in 1941 for construction of the BQE" (Brooklyn Relics). The facilities identified as part of the WPA project were: 209 Wilson Ave. Municipal Baths, Coney Island Duffield Street Hicks Street Pitkin Ave. Huron St. Montrose Ave.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to improve what is now the U.S. Department of Agriculture's High Plains Grasslands Research Station (then Cheyenne Horticultural Field Station), located northwest of Cheyenne, Wyoming. USDA.gov: "1935 – Many inprovements were made to the station; the main road was oiled from the entrance to the buildings. Civilian Conservation Corps camp of 200 men opened on station. They constructed roads, 2 miles of concrete lined ditches, irrigation system, planted thousands of trees and shrubs. They picked up hundreds of tons of stones from the experimental plots. And manure collected from nearby ranches was hauled in and spread over...

Formerly Burlington's high school, what is now a municipal building at 61 Center St. was constructed as a New Deal project with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) assistance. The P.W.A. supplied a $76,950 grant for the project, whose total cost was $163,411. The cornerstone was laid on Dec. 3, 1938 and the building was put into use in Sept. 1939, though formal dedication didn't occur until Oct. 12, 1939. PWA Docket No. MA 1437 The building's design is most unusual for its era, and the building has been extensively renovated. The only real architectural cue of the building's heritage is its 1938 cornerstone. Town reports thoroughly...

According to the Federal Writers Project "Stadium built by WPA workers at Middleport High School is one of 80 stadiums either completed or under construction by WPA workers over the state." The second high school was built in 1936, but it is unknown if it was also a WPA project. The Middleport High School in Middleport, Ohio relocated in the 1990s and the building was reused for the Middleport Middle School until closed in 2003.

This building was designed by architectural firm Bonsack and Pearce and constructed by the Public Works Administration for the Jackson Grade School in 1939. Although it is not apparent from the outside, the addition that was initially built for the grade school has been seamlessly absorbed by the adjacent and expanding Jackson High School. While the building has been updated with lighting and projection capabilities, it retains many original elements. The original exterior is visible on the north side of the addition. The original features of the auditorium and the wall tile in the adjacent surrounding halls have been retained. The...

The Anson High School Auditorium was built in 1936 at a cost of $30,000, 45% of which was furnished by the Public Works Administration. The auditorium officially opened on December 31, 1936. It was demolished in 1997 to make room for the current auditorium complex, which also houses a band hall and offices.