Civic Facilities Sites

Originally the City-County Hospital, this facility was constructed in Fort Worth, Texas in 1938-1939 in a design that reflected both Classical Moderne and Streamlined Moderne styles. Fort Worth architect Wiley G. Clarkson designed the building and the general contractor was Gurley Construction Company. It had a 185-bed capacity, with an isolation section for communicable diseases with 20 additional beds. It also had three air-conditioned operating rooms, a laundry, pharmacy, and X-ray room. Built during the era of segregation, it had separate entrances for whites and blacks on the front of the building. The cost of the PWA-funded facility was $475,000 (Project...

Nashville’s Tennessee State Office Building was built circa 1939-40 as part of the New Deal Public Works Administration program. It is an example of the Federal government’s efforts to provide employment during the Depression. The Streamlined Classical design of Nashville architect Emmons Woolwine is seen in the monumental scale of the pilasters and cornice and the simplified classical details of the building. Bronze screens and bas-relief sculptures by Rene Chambellan enhance the design on the exterior. Inside, the building has two large murals depicting "The Discovery of Tennessee" and "The Development of Tennessee," painted by well-respected artist Dean Cornwell. It...

The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) undertook improvement work at the former Johnson County Courthouse in Paintsville, Kentucky: "Interior Remodeled, Including Electric, Water, and Heating Systems." The exact location and status of the former courthouse is unknown to Living New Deal.

In 1938 the county commissioners condemned the existing courthouse as being unsafe. The replacement building was financed by $75,000 from the WPA and $30,000 in county bonds. The Colonial Revival building sheathed in Flemish bond brick was completed in 1939.

The Julia C. Lathrop Homes was one of the first federally funded public housing projects in Chicago, providing inexpensive housing to those who otherwise could not afford it. The project was an immediate success, as evident by the overwhelming amount of applications submitted in 1937, a year before the homes were completed. 2,383 families applied to live in the Lathrop Homes, which would only have 975 units total. These applications were narrowed down based on income; only those who made less than five times the amount of rent were considered. In 1939, the average monthly rent for Lathrop Homes was $5.39...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out improvements on the county Hall of Records building in Martinez CA, constructed in 1932, which is now known as the Justice Wakefield Taylor Courthouse (California State Superior Court). There were three different projects approved for the Hall of Records, in 1935, 1936 and 1937, for a total of over $28,000, according to WPA Project Cards in the National Archives.  The work specified included partitions of work areas, wiring, fixtures, and heating in the courts and painting, wiring and a burglar alarm system in the Hall of Records. The Taylor Courthouse (originally the county Hall of...

The Kaysville City Hall was one of 226 New Deal buildings constructed in Utah. Of the 226, a total of five buildings were constructed in Davis County. The Kaysville City Hall is the only one of the five that is extant. In November of 1940, Kaysville Mayor Thornley K. Swan announced construction of a $55,000 city hall building. In 1941, a bond election was held. Part of the project ($20,000) was paid for by WPA funds. After the United States entered World War II, PWA labor was reassigned to the Hill Field project and WPA funds were eliminated. Construction was recommenced...

In May 1938, a storage yard and highway shed was under construction on 33rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. Utilizing Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor, the building and completed site was estimated to cost $8000. One and one quarter acres of ground were fenced with six-foot wire mesh on steel posts set in concrete. A patrol shed, measuring 56 by 40 feet, with three large stalls for maintainer machines and trucks was built on the site. A repair shop and office space were located in the building as well. Factory-made steel trusses and columns were used in the construction....

In November 1937, the State Board of Control decided to proceed with construction of a new men’s hospital building at the State Tuberculosis Hospital in Kearney. The building was estimated to cost $125,000.00, the bulk of which would be funded out of the unicameral’s “building fund” for state institutions. Officials were hopeful that they building could be completed by the fall of 1938. John Latenser and Sons, Omaha architects, were selected to prepare the plans for the building. The Latensers had experience in designing hospitals, including the University Hospital, the Douglas County Hospital, Clarkson Hospital, Lord Lister Hospital, Clearview Home...

Designed by Overend and Boucher of Wichita, the historic Kearny County Courthouse in Lakin, Kansas was constructed in 1938-9 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 $31,950 grant for the project, whose total cost was $71,067. P.W.A. Docket No. Kansas 1194-F

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Kelly Miller Dwellings in Washington, DC between 1940 and 1941. 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 former City Park and Athletic Field (now the Ken Lindley Park) originated in 1908, but major improvements were made with relief labor provided by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in the winter of 1933-34.  It is likely that after the CWA was discontinued in early 1934, the stone work was completed under the auspices of the Arizona Emergency Relief Administration and largely funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA).   The main work done by the New Deal crews was to build the elegant stone walls that enclose the entire square block, and which serve as retaining walls on...

The Kendall Home for Children was constructed by FERA in 1935. The home was later run by the Catholic Church and then by Dade County. Residents have since reported a history of child abuse at the site. By 2007, the buildings were demolished or in ruins.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed a community center in Arvada, Wyoming. The location and status of the building is unknown to Living New Deal. Cassity: "The CWA constructed a forty by sixty foot log building on a concrete foundation, with a maple floor, stage, and additional rooms as kitchens or dressing rooms, and finished it with a rubble masonry fireplace. The community named the building Kendrick Hall in honor of the late senator ..."

The Kenesaw auditorium was originally a Civil Works Administration (CWA) project that eventually morphed into a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project with the termination of the CWA. The WPA portion of the project began in November 1935. The town of Kenesaw donated both money and labor to the project. The WPA installed and constructed two septic tanks and cesspools, finished the interior walls, offices and floors, constructed stage props and the staircase, hung the doors and built a large marquee. The WPA also provided 325 folding chairs for the auditorium. Even so, parts of the building remained unfinished, such as...

Buffalo, New York's first public housing project, known as Kenfield, was located on what had previously been vacant land a few miles northeast of the city's downtown. Federal Public Works Administration funds (Docket No. H-6703) supported the project's construction. The project spanned roughly the area bounded by (and surrounding) Langfield Drive up to Kensington Highway, between Suffolk St. and Eggert Rd. ArtVoice reported in 2011 that the project was originally whites-only and contained 658 housing units.

A historic marker at the Kenmore-Tonawanda Municipal Building reads: "Kenmore-Tonawanda Municipal Building Exemplifies the classical-monumental style of renowned architect E.B. Green. Erected in 1936 with ublic orks dministration funds to house the governing bodies of the Village of Kenmore and the Town of Tonawanda, replacing the former Kenmore Union School building on this site." PWA Docket No. NY 1156-R granted $111,866 toward the project's construction, which began April 1936 and was completed June 1937. The project cost $251,258 in all.

Originally the Kensington Armory. The WPA made improvements and repairs to the then Kensington armory and rifle range in 1935.

Kern County Building in Delano on Lexington Street, adobe with red tile roofs. Not known whether building is still extant.

Kern County received $600,000 in federal funds for a fire station in each of five cities: Delano, Fellows, Woody, Maricopa and East Bakersfield. Mojave and Taft also received WPA fire stations.

The CWA built the famous Key West Aquarium in 1934, amid a flurry of relief work by the FERA and the WPA on the island.

Keyworth Stadium was opened in 1936 and was dedicated by FDR himself. After many years of use by Hamtramck High School, in 2016 the newly-formed Detroit City Football Club secured funding to renovate the stadium for soccer matches. From the Detroit News: "Roosevelt, a few weeks shy of his landslide re-election, was on his way to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the new Keyworth Stadium. It was one of the first Work Projects Administration projects in Michigan, a promise in the midst of the Great Depression of better days ahead, and FDR was here to trumpet its arrival, telling the crowd...

The Killough Massacre, believed to have been the largest single Indian depredation in East Texas, took place on October 5, 1838 in northwestern Cherokee County. The eighteen victims who were either killed or kidnapped included Isaac Killough, Sr., and members of his extended family. The Work Projects Administration erected a stone obelisk at the site in the late 1930s to commemorate the victims of the massacre. In 1965 a state historical marker was dedicated there.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) carried out the rehabilitation of the King’s Hill Poor Farm. The work included: buildings “overhauled and repaired,” new bathrooms for the “inmates,” new bathhouse constructed, “new employees’ rooms were constructed.” The King’s Hill Poor Farm was again rehabilitated in 1940-1941. In 1941, the Annual Report of the Department of the Interior notes, “The King’s Hill Poor Farm in St. Croix is undergoing rehabilitation and is nearing completion. The work has been done under the supervision of the Public Buildings Administration and the Federal Works Agency.”

The Civil Works Administration carried out repair work at King’s Hill Village (a subsistence housing development). The repair work included multiple buildings.

Kingfisher is the seat of Kingfisher County. This building, constructed in 1936 as a jail, is currently occupied by the Kingfisher County Sheriff's Department as their county jail. It stands south of the courthouse at 119 S. Main Street. It was built with a WPA appropriation of $5,802. The building is constructed of large, tan-colored brick. The west and south sides have a metal security facade, however, construction can be viewed on the east (rear) side. This is a two-story building with an exposed basement. The windows are single units. A photo from the 1980's shows the openings once held 42-pane...

This is a one-story tan brick building, with a flat roof, constructed by the WPA in 1940. A bronze shield is attached to the building documenting this. The building is located at the corner of E. Bowman and S. 5th. The entrance is a single pedestrian door, flanked by columns of standing brick for decoration. Four rows of darker brick run horizontally between the windows. The windows are four-pane casement, set in doubles and triples. Three overhead doors are located on the east side, with one on the rear. The building is an actively used shop, and there were many vehicles and...

While the Kings County Hospital was founded in the 1830s, WPA photos in the National Archives and Records Administration, as well as other sources, show that the PWA built several structures for the Kings County Hospital, including a loading dock, a nurses' home, and other buildings. The current status of the specific PWA buildings is unknown to the Living New Deal.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the Kings County Supreme Court building.

The massive Building 93 on the Kings Park State Hospital campus "was constructed as a WPA project in the late 1930s. The 12-story infirmary housed patients according to their mobility: the ambulatory were placed on the ground floors, semi-invalids on intermediate floors, and the bedridden on the top floors."   (Harris et al.) "As patient populations grew throughout the early part of the 20th century, the hospital itself continued to grow, and by the late 1930s the state began to build upward instead of outward. During this period, the famous 13-story Building 93 was constructed. Designed by state architect William E. Haugaard...

The Suffolk County News reported that the WPA engaged in "repairs and painting (interior and exterior) of Central Islip and Kings Park State Hospitals" between 1935 and 1936.

The WPA made numerous improvements to the Kingsboro Psychiatric Hospital (then known as Brooklyn State Hospital) in New York City during the 1930s. Work included the construction of, and remodeling and renovation of, buildings around the campus; landscape modifications, including tree and shrub planting; the installation of fences; improvements to drainage and sewer lines; modernization of other utilities at the hospital; and other more modest improvements. The WPA made numerous improvements to the Kingsboro Psychiatric Hospital (then known as Brooklyn State Hospital) in New York City during the 1930s. Work included the construction of, remodeling and renovation of, and the fu

The WPA provided resources to conduct repairs at the Kingsbridge Armory (Eighth Regiment Armory) in the Bronx during the 1930s. The armory was then home to the 258th Field Artillery. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-378.

"Kinishba Ruins was constructed by the Pueblo people and occupied as early as 800 until as late as 1400 A.D. Byron Cummings, director of the Arizona State Museum, and his students began excavation and reconstruction of Kinishba in 1931. In 1934 Cummings requested funds from the Civilian Conservation Corps-Indian Division to hire 25 local Apache laborers. Between 1934 and 1937 Kinishba also served as an archaeological field school where Cummings trained more than 70 students. In 1938 and 1939 Cummings and Apache enrollees continued to excavate and restore the ruins; they also constructed a small museum and residence. Cummings hoped...

The armory was named after James Rieger, a lawyer who was enlisted in the National Guard in about 1900 and who served with high distinction in WWI at the Meuse-Argonne offensive which was the decisive battle of WWI and for which Major Rieger was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross.  The entry has an art deco style with chevrons ascending on both columns flanking the entrance and a gold eagle at the top of the entrance.

The clinic building is on the south side of the main downtown district of Kirksville, just east of the Northeast Regional Medical Center. This building was initially used for patient clinics by the osteopathic school, but now houses offices primarily.

The WPA provided labor for the construction of the Knox County Courthouse and a school in Benjamin, Texas. The courthouse, built in stone in the Moderne style by the firm of Voelcker & Dixon, was constructed at a cost of $95,337.

This courthouse has a classic revival design with minimal ornamentation, though the light fixtures in the front are art deco.

One of the few Art Deco style dwellings in the county, it was constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds between 1938 and 1939, of a limestone foundation and walls. It features banded corner windows, offset entry flanking louvered windows rear entry and attached one car garage with walkout porch atop. Incredible limestone curved/carved fireplace surround and mantel.

The United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of Knox Hill Dwellings in Washington, DC in 1942. The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) acted as manager of the development. It is unknown to the Living New Deal if any of the original structures still exist. There appear to be many homes in the vicinity of Knox Terrace SE, and these may have some relation to the original Knox Hill Dwellings. Nearby, the DC Housing Authority manages “Knox Hill,” a housing development for seniors and disabled residents, but this facility looks quite different from the original structures. The USHA was created by the United...