Civic Facilities Sites

In December 1933, the Ravenna News reported that the city of Ravenna had been approached by the Buffalo County CWA (Civil Works Administration) Board with an offer of a grant for $6000.00 for the purpose of building a city auditorium. As a result of a bequest from a former citizen, William Bohning, in the amount of $5000.00, which was willed to the city for the express purpose of building a city hall, the city of Ravenna would not have to increase taxes in order to raise funds for the city’s portion of the funding for the auditorium. The building would...

In 1935, Spencer applied for a Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant for the construction of an auditorium. When the town had not heard anything by November, a delegation of representatives of the town drove to Lincoln to speak with Mr. Felton, the state director of the WPA. He assured them that, while the federal government had not yet approved the project, the auditorium project seemed a worthy one, and was likely to be approved in due course. At the end of January 1936, Spencer had its answer: the project had been approved. However, they did not receive a full allocation...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community building in Farmersburg, Indiana. Here and in Shelburn "combined gymnasiums and auditoriums are being erected as additions to school buildings to provide both educational and recreational facilities." Work was completed by 1936. The location and status of the structure is unknown to Living New Deal.

A auditorium / gymnasium construction project in Ozawkie, Kansas was undertaken during the Great Depression as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project, likely as part of an extension to a school building. The PWA provided an $8,182 grant for the project, whose total cost was $18,311. Construction started in Jan. 1937 and was completed in Jul. 1937. The status and location of the project are presently unknown to Living New Deal. PWA Docket No. Kan. 1113.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community building in Shelburn, Indiana. Here and in Farmersburg "combined gymnasiums and auditoriums are being erected as additions to school buildings to provide both educational and recreational facilities." Work was completed by 1936. The location and status of the structure is unknown to Living New Deal.

At least one source states that this historic combination auditorium / gymnasium building on 1st Street in Rulo, Nebraska was constructed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1939. Per The Nebraska State Journal: With a $19,000 WPA grant, Rulo will turn its attention to a new gymnasium and community building. It is to be built of native stone, concrete, and steel and will be 102 feet long and 52 feet wide. The structure will have a basketball floor, 50 by 76 feet in size, a floor which will double for other purposes; stage and projection booth; and locker rooms. It...

This nurses home was built in 1936 by the PWA on the Audrain Medical Campus to house nurses who worked in the hospital, and probably also nursing students. It is on the south side of the Medical Center.

"During the winter of 1934-35, Augusta city officials called upon the ERA to assist in repairing the City Farm. This called for a tremenduous amount of material and labor but an agreement was made by the two parties whereby the City was to furnish the material and the ERA the labor. The project was started January 24, 1935 with a small crew of men and within a few days more men were added to make a crew of 21. This crew remained on the job until it was finished on June 6, 1935. The labor cost of this project was...

"The Aurora County Courthouse is a flat roofed rectangular three story poured-in-place concrete building constructed in the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles. The facade and sides are symmetrical with seven bays on the front and five bays on each of the sides. The concrete foundation extends up to the sills of the first floor windows. Above that, the first floor concrete has a rusticated appearance of incised mortar joints, creating the appearance of a podium or pedestal upon which the upper stories rest. The second and third floors are smooth concrete. Between the first and...

The city hall in Aztec, New Mexico was built by the WPA in 1936. The building now houses the Aztec Museum.

The old B.S. Pollak Hospital, part of the old Jersey City Medical Center, was constructed with federal funds during the Great Depression. The building is now privately owned. "The Pollak Hospital facility was formerly the site of a three-story building constructed in 1918 for the Jersey City School for Crippled Children. It was taken over as the Infectious Disease Hospital and in 1934 received a loan of $2,996,000 by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation for a new county tuberculosis hospital. The 250-bed facility was eventually named for Dr. B.S. Pollak and became noted for the treatment of chest diseases. When completed in...

"The current courthouse was built in 1916 after a fire destroyed the first Baca County Courthouse in 1910. The elegant brick addition, which presents the Main Street facade, was designed by the Denver firm Mountjoy and Frewen and constructed in 1929-30. In 1935, WPA workers began construction of a second addition. This two-story, stone building served initially as a jail and sheriff’s quarters, which remained at this site until 1972 when a new jail was built. The WPA plans by E.C. Measel included landscaping and a stone wall around the grounds. The lovely stone building behind the courthouse was built...

This fire station was constructed by the PWA in 1939 and remains in use today.

SERA crews built this small fire station in Balboa Park in conjunction with the California Pacific International Exhibition – the first structure built. It is unclear if it survives, and if so where it is located.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the land that is now Baltimore National Cemetery was once called the Cloud Capped Estate: "Conversion of the Cloud Capped estate to a national shrine was the responsibility of the War Department, with work accomplished under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era make-work program. The WPA undertook work at several national cemeteries during its lifetime in the 1930s and early 1940s. The Baltimore property—envisioned as Maryland's "Little Arlington"—was to accommodate 40,000 to 45,000 interments…Between 1936 and 1938, nearly $400,000 was expended on WPA improvements to Baltimore National Cemetery. Funds were spent on...

Construction of the historic Bama Theatre in Tuscaloosa, Alabama was enabled by the provision of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the 1930s. The building was constructed as a combination "theatre/municipal auditorium" and "city hall, all under one roof." Municipal functions have since relocated. Further details about the architecture and details of the building can be found at the Bama Theatre's official website, linked below.

The paper "A History of the Bandera Public Library" documents that a Civil Works Administration (CWA) project was secured to cover a portion of the cost to build a new building in 1934. In the book, History of Bandera County, Texas, the library is documented as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. It is speculated that the building began as CWA project and the WPA finished it as the former program ended and the latter program began during the time period the building was constructed.

Bandon's History Museum occupies a structure built by Work Progress Administration (WPA) workers to house the community's City Hall. After the destruction of the town in the Bandon Fire of September 26, 1936, priority was given to constructing a new base for the city's operation. As local historians note, the City Hall was one of the first buildings to be completed after the fire - second only to a local tavern. Construction began in October 1936 with WPA funds. It was completed in early January 1937 with a brief interruption of building activity to allow WPA workers to construct 36 temporary...

Originally (1915) school for African American children, the Banneker Community Center - Bloomington IN was used for Works Progress Administration (WPA) after-school and recreation programs. The sidewalk and retaining wall around the building was built by the WPA in 1938.

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Barry Farm Dwellings in Washington, DC between 1941 and 1943. 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. Beginning in December 1941, the ADA was ordered to prioritize housing for war workers. Barry Farm...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of an administration and community building for the Barry Farm Dwellings and surrounding community, ca. 1941-1943. 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 Barry Farm Dwellings Administration and...

"The Bartlett Experimental Forest (BEF) is a field laboratory for research on the ecology and management of northern hardwoods and associated ecosystems. The BEF is within the Saco Ranger District of the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. It is managed by RWU-4155 of the Northern Research Station. Research activities began at the Experimental Forest when it was established in 1931 and is 2,600 acres in size. "The building program also was in full sway in the early 1930s. By 1934, the CCC crew at Bartlett had built the lodge and cottage, as well as several garages; the office may have been there...

The Barton Heights Cemeteries in Richmond, Virginia are "encircled by a fence erected by the Works Progress Administration in 1935."

The Bartow Civic Recreation Center and pool were built ca. 1933-1935.  Records suggest the project was started by workers in the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and completed by workers in the Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Around 1969-1973, the recreation center became the Oaks School.  In 2005, the Oaks School closed, and the current use of the building is unknown.  The pool no longer exists.  (A new civic center was built in 1967, on Floral Avenue.) The construction of the building was described in great detail by Mary E. Adkins, in the January 27, 1934 edition of the...

The National Youth Administration built a baseball stadium in St. Marys WV, Pleasants County. Project No. 8904. The exact location of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.  

Improvements to this 11-acre site was completed in 1936, with funds and labor provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).    

Also known as Muni on Main, this art deco building was built by the WPA in 1937-38.

"The Baxter County Courthouse in Mountain Home was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1941 and 1943. It was designed by T. Ewing Shelton of Fayetteville, and constructed by the WPA. Its minimalist design and use of local materials in its construction are features common to many depression- era public works projects... The Baxter County courthouse in Mountain Home is being nominated under criterion A with local significance because of its role as a seat of government in Baxter County and for its association with the WPA. Through its many projects in the area, the WPA had a...

Originally the United States Marine Hospital, what is now Richmond University Medical Center's Bayley Seton Hospital was a PWA project. It is described by the Federal Writers' Project: "United States Marine Hospital, Bay Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, a Federal hospital operated by the United States Public Health Service, is open to personnel of the Merchant Marine and Coast Guard, and to certain classes of Government employees. Constructed in 1933-6 by the PWA at a cost of two million dollars, the tawny-colored brick buildings with a silver tower cover an area of eighteen acres. Louis A. Simon was the supervising architect. This...

Bayou Auguste Homes for African Americans was completed 1941 in the 600 block of Roy Street. John Thomas Collins was supervising architect and construction was by Pittman Brothers.

Bayview Homes was constructed 1941 in the 400 block of Braun Avenue. John Thomas Collins was the supervising architect and Pittman Brothers construction built the facility.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made improvements to the 44-acre Bayview Park in San Francisco on Bayview Hill (or Heights).  These included a stone retaining wall along the loop road on the north side of the hill and two sets of stone steps on either side that lead to a trail over the crest of the hill.  There is another, mysterious stone path/stairway far below the loop road on the west side of the hill (we do not know if this is also WPA work). Bayview Park dates back to 1902, but is still a relatively isolated and undeveloped part of...

In 1935, the U.S. The Treasury Department funded the construction of the Huntington Beach Post Office on Olive Avenue and Main Street. The Treasury bought the land plot on which the post office was to be built and allocated $52,000 for the building.  Today, the Huntington Beach Post Office is known as the Beach Center Post Office. The post office still exists and remains mostly unchanged architecturally. There is an identical building that was built in 1935 in Santa Paula, California. 

Beacon Homes for white families was begun in 1939 with clearance of sub-standard housing. The project included 45 buildings of 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 room units on Beacon Street, now renamed Leontyne Price Boulevard. Designed by architects Landry and Matthes, low bid was awarded to W. J. McGee and Son for $466,943. Beacon Homes was the first low-rent housing project in Mississippi. Plans called for construction of one-story duplex dwellings and two-story row houses, with brick walls on hollow tile backup, concrete first floors and wood second floors, pitched roofs with cement asbestos shingles, and gas-fired space heaters. The...

This striking two story Art Deco building in Beatrice was constructed by the PWA in 1939-40. The National Register form for the building states: "Compared to other WPA/PWA Art Deco auditoriums in Nebraska..., the Beatrice auditorium is quite exuberantly decorated with Art Deco detail. In place of the more common geometric and stylized motifs such as zigzags and chevrons, the motifs for the auditorium focused on agricultural motifs of corn cobs and sheaves of wheat to more artistically represent themes important to a medium-sized farming community, and reminiscent of the agricultural motifs found throughout the Nebraska State Capitol." (NRHP)  

The old county courthouse in Beaufort, South Carolina was built in 1883, architect Robert McGrath. The building was remodeled extensively in 1936 with the support of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. This served as the county courthouse for decades until a new building was constructed; from 1994 to 2014 the building served as a U.S. Courthouse. Its current use is unknown to Living New Deal. The PWA provided a $14,760 grant in support of the $33,124 total cost of the courthouse renovation project during the 1930s. Construction occurred between February and November 1936. (PWA Docket No. SC 1146)

The Works Progress Administration built the Beaver Creek Recreation Hall in Newcastle, Weston County. The exact location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal.

Bedford Dwellings was the first of Pittsburgh Housing Authority’s construction of low-cost housing. Dr. B. J. Hovde, the administrator, announced the contract would be awarded to Ring Construction Company with the low bid for the 420 units at $1,173,000. The completed project was proposed to cost $2,560,000 and cover a 20-acre site on Bedford Avenue. Low bidders on plumbing work was Moss and Blakely, heating was George H. Soffel and Company, and electrical was Sargent Engineering Company. Lumber and millwork was awarded to Atlas Lumber and Supply Company. Bedford Dwellings were ready for occupancy March 1, 1940 and able to...

The Bee County, Texas Courthouse was built in 1912. In 1941 a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project built an L-plan brick addition to the south side of the courthouse. The brick used to create the addition is nearly identical to that of the original building,

This striking stone building was constructed by the WPA in 1940-42. As one local history site explains: "On August 2, 1940 the Town Board offered a resolution which was unanimously carried to hold a special election at the Sylvan Grange Hall in Beekmanville on the 24th of August. The resolution was to erected and construct on its lot in Poughquag a Town Hall and building for town purposes at an expense not to exceed $ 23,000 of which  $8,000 is to be contributed by the Town of Beekman and the Balance by the W.P.A. The town would issue a $1,000 bond...