Civic Facilities Sites

The historic Post Office and Courthouse in Auburn, New York was "built in 1888–1890 and was designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, Mifflin E. Bell, in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The limestone-and-brick building was expanded in 1913–1914, designed by James M. Elliot, and again in 1937." The latter extension served as a New Deal project, developed with funds provided by the federal the Treasury Department. The building presently serves as a county office building.

The present post office in Hudson, New York was originally completed in 1911; a Treasury Department-funded building addition was completed at a cost of $99,000 in 1938.

The historic Main Post Office building in Plainfield, New Jersey was extended and remodeled with federal Treasury Department funds in a New Deal project completed in 1941. The building, which houses New Deal artwork, is still in use today.

The historic main post office in Schenectady, New York was originally constructed in 1912. The building received a New Deal extension undertaken between 1933 and 1935. Work was overseen by contractor Leon Wexler and consisted of constructing the extension as well as remodeling of the building. A sign posted next to the building at the time of its construction said: "Federal Public Works Project No. 6."

An extension and remodeling of the historic Asbury Park, New Jersey post office was undertaken ca. 1934 with federal Treasury Department funds. Work was completed late that year. The building is still in use today.

This 5' x 10' oil on canvas mural "Rural Landscape" was painted by Tom Lewis in  1938 It still decorates the Hayward post office.

A 1941 Section of Fine Arts-funded tempera painting titled "Anthracite Coal" was painted by George Harding and hangs in the post office lobby.

"Scenic View of the Village," is 15' x 12' oil-on-canvas mural painted by Belle Baranceanu in 1936. Barbara Bernstein writes, "When I was photographing this mural in 2001, a man who was waiting in line at the post office came over and said, 'Mrs. B. was my art teacher in high school. She was a great character and such a good artist!'"

In 1937, John Law Walker painted an oil on canvas mural titled "The Stage Coach" for the South Pasadena Post Office in South Pasadena, CA. The mural was commissioned by the Treasury Relief Art Project. The mural represents the transition from the Spanish to the early American period. It depicts an overland mail coach, set in typical California scenes.  

Among the numerous projects conducted by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) at Fort Leavenworth was the construction of a theater. The project, sponsored by the Commanding Officer of Fort Leavenworth, cost $25,000. WPA Project No. 713-2-26

Built by the WPA and now abandoned.

Built in 1937 to re-start a floundering city library system, to be staffed by Works Progress Administration librarians. Building continued to serve as the library until the 1960s. Currently in private ownership. Built of rusticated sandstone and unusual in the fact that the main entry in on the second floor. A pair of stone staircases provide front-door access. Adjacent to the building is on overgrown park with BBQ pits and picnic tables. It's unclear whether the park was part of the WPA construction.

In September 1935, the Public Works Administration (PWA) allotted $41,818 for the construction of faculty homes at Potomac State College (PSC), in Keyser, West Virginia. The allotment consisted of a $23,000 loan and an $18,818 grant. The Tri-State Construction and Building Company of Ashland, Kentucky, won the bid to construct the homes, and broke ground in April 1936. In its April 24, 1936 edition, the PSC student newspaper, The Pasquino, reported that “The homes will be built on the property of the school on the site of the old golf course. Three buildings will be erected on the site. One will...

Coudersport, Pennsylvania's historic Potter County Courthouse "was renovated by the Civil Works Administration in the winter of 1933–34."

The Federal Works Agency built prefabricated defense housing at Sheffield. “Construction of 250 units was assigned to the Tennessee Valley Authority for industrial workers in the Muscle Shoals area.” The exact location and status of these buildings is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

Renovate officers' quarters in the Presidio of San Francisco, by painting interior and exterior, reflooring, repairing and improving plumbing and electrical work, making general carpentry reparis, and performing appurtenant work. This project will operate in the City of San Francisco, San Francisco County. Federally owned property--Mooser, p. 96.

The historic Prince Edward County Courthouse in Farmville, Virginia was constructed between November 1938 and November 1939 with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building, located between Main St. and South St. south of W. 3rd Ave., is still in service. PWA Docket No. VA 1294

The Leander C. and Laurel L. Pritchard Memorial Auditorium in Falls City, Nebraska was constructed as a $100,000 Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1939.

“Protestant Cay residence, St. Croix. The reconstruction of this attractively located and interesting structure was completed except for certain minor details and except for the reconstruction of adjacent outbuildings. This residence will be made available as quarters for an officer of the government of the Virgin Islands.” The work was executed by the WPA and cost $ 6,000.

The Provincetown Advocate reported in 1937: "Work on the Provincetown cemetery is being resumed after a shutdown since last spring. Harry W. Jordan, WPA foreman, reports that 12 men started work last Saturday on a project to fill in and enlarge the Protestant cemetery. Also an addition of 150 feet is being made to the cemetery along its entire width. Working days of the WPA crew will be Monday, Wednesday and Saturday."

"The Prowers Housing Welfare Housing is a complex of five buildings located on the northern edge of Lamar. The complex is located near the railroad tracks in an area that primarily light industrial. The Fairmont Cemetery, with stone walls constructed under a WPA project, is located northeast of the housing complex, on the opposite side on Maple Street. The complex consists of four 128’ x 28’ buildings and one 52’ x 25’ building. The buildings are arranged in an “H” pattern, with the smaller building in the middle. All buildings the buildings are constructed of sandstone. The single-story buildings are topped...

600 Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers undertook a $300,000 reconditioning project for the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio, in advance of the 1936 Republican National Convention. The WPA was concerned with "permanent improvements" to the facility.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) repaired 69 public buildings in Parkersburg, Wood County. The projects were sponsored jointly by the City of Parkersburg and the Board of Education, and were backed by local organizations. The WPA provided the labor and part of the materials and equipment. The projects included the modernization of schools and city fire stations.

This is a one-story building made of cut, coursed and rusticated buff colored native stone, with large fixed-pane windows. At the back, two windows are glass block. The building is rectangular, with a projected front. It stands at the northwest corner of W. Will Rogers Blvd. and J.M. David Blvd. and is addressed 103 J.M. Davis Blvd. A bronze shield on the east side shows "USA 1940 WPA Oklahoma". The main entrance has a single wood door with 9 glass panes. The door is flanked by brick pillars and covered with a flat wood canopy. The building does not appear to...

The Works Progress Administration built a library in Yale, OK in 1938. Contributor note: "This building screams 'WPA' so we had to climb the stairs and investigate. Sure enough, there was the iconic bronze shield showing WPA 1938 at the top of the stairs. This is a two-story native stone building which faces West onto South "B" Street. Its main entrance faces west at the end of a walkway that has stone side walls. The windows on the ground level are all boarded. On the north side, a stone walkway leads to a set of stone stairs leading to the back of the second...

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve New Rochelle's, New York's former Main Library (funded by Andrew Carnegie, opened 1914, and extended during the 1920s) during the 1930s. The library, which was used as such until 1983, is located at the southwest corner of Main St. and Pintard Ave. The building still stands, though it is now privately owned. One WPA project, which involved numerous municipal buildings in New Rochelle including this one, was described by the WPA in its project rolls: "Work includes performing carpentry, masonry, and sheet metal work; excavating and constructing walls; painting, placing tile, and roofing." WPA...

This public market structure was built with Works Progress Administration funds in order to relieve traffic congestion around the courthouse square where the farmer's market had been held. "The new market is entirely fireproof, constructed of heavy pipe welded in position with corrugated metal roof and tile stucco front...floor is concrete, the building is open on all sides, and roll awnings give sun protection" (Weatherford builds a $13,000 public market place, 1940, p. 7).  

The Public Safety Building, originally constructed as the State Highway Building, at 500 Dexter Ave. in Montgomery, Alabama, was "erected with the aid of WPA funds". The building, designed by Warren, Knight, and Davis of Birmingham, is still in service, housing offices for many agencies of the State of Alabama.  

This Classical Revival style public building was constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds as Selma's City Hall. Today, the building is used by the police department, fire department No. 1, and the municipal court.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved the Public Welfare Building in Nantucket. The location and status of this facilities is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

In 1941-43, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) constructed 10 public housing developments for low-income families, including Pueblo del Rio in the Central Alameda neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. All 10 projects, which cost $16 million total, were funded 10% by city bonds and 90% by federal loans from the United States Housing Authority (USHA). To make way for Pueblo del Rio, HACLA demolished 246 bungalow homes—207 of which were deemed "substandard"—in a primarily African-American neighborhood between June and December 1941. Construction began in November 1941; some families were already living in the development before its official...

"Pulliam wanted to give Loveland a meeting place 'solely for community purposes.' In 1936, he and Lillian donated the land and $20,000 to build the Pulliam. The 20,000-square-foot building was built by 100 workers paid by the Works Progress Administration, a Federal jobs program. The Great Depression had hit Colorado hard. 'People were unemployed and hungry,' said Wallower. 'Men rode the train from town to town, looking for work. The construction of the Pulliam Building was great for Loveland because it gave people jobs.'"   (https://www.pulliambuilding.org/)

"A mix of one and two stories, the Purcell City Hall is rectangular (30' x 121') and is constructed of buff brick laid with a running bond. The roof is flat with parapets capped with cut limestone... A limestone crest and a brick frieze above end and side entries, and doorways with sculpted limestone jambs and lintels framed by a stepped facade lend the building an art deco architectural style... Although the WPA contributed toward the completion of this building, the project was authorized and virtually completed by the FERA, the predecessor of the WPA."   (Oklahoma Historic Preservation Survey)

The historic Quay County Courthouse in Tucumcari, New Mexico was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. provided a grant of $98,180 for the project, whose total cost was $218,118. Construction occurred between 1938 and 1939. Two striking reliefs: "Cowboy" and "Train Engineer," are carved into the stone, to the left and right above the front entrance to the courthouse, respectively. The building also houses an example of New Deal artwork within. Landscaping around the building was also undertaken by the W.P.A. P.W.A. Docket No. N.M. 1087

The PWA constructed the Queens General Hospital at 161st St. and 82d Drive. The hospital opened in 1935. The hospital was later greatly expanded and became part of the Queens Hospital Center. The current facility is located on the same site; most, if not all original buildings have been replaced or otherwise incorporated into more recent construction.

From the Works Progress Administration (WPA)'s New York City Guide (1939): “Queensbridge Houses, north of Queensboro Bridge Plaza, between Vernon Boulevard and Twenty-first Street, is the fifth low-rent, government-financed housing project in the city since 1936. Twenty-six brick dwelling structures, six stories high with elevators, a community building, and a children’s center, all arranged around open polygonal courts, will cover less than one quarter of the projects 62.5 acres; the remaining land will be landscaped park and recreation space. When completed late in 1939, the 3,161 apartments will house approximately 11,400 people.” The building was constructed through the WPA under the...

Quincy National Cemetery was improved as part of Federal Project F-87 by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA). The work done "included the resetting, realigning and cleaning of headstones ... as well as the filling-in of sunken graves."

A small town built for the purposes of housing the "clerks, engineers, draftsmen, technicians, and laborers building the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project, the world’s largest tidal dam. The site was originally the George Rice farm, on the Old Toll Bridge Road and Route 190."   (https://penobscotmarinemuseum.org) "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Quoddy dam project began officially on July 4, 1935. It was estimated that 5,000 workers were needed for the project, and Eastport lacked housing. A model village, named Quoddy, was built three miles from the center of Eastport. It consisted of 128 single family, two-family, and four-family houses; three large...

A WPA project for $21,000 improvements at the Laurel Municipal Stadium included brick seats to accommodate 3,000, a brick stadium house, brick wall at the south end of the stadium, permanent parking space, brick walls, brick ticket booths and replacing wooden curbs with brick curbs. The facility remains in use.

The historic Raleigh County Courthouse in Beckley, West Virginia was constructed between March 1936 and November 1937. Construction was enabled by a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) grant; the P.W.A. supplied $114,545 for the project, whose total cost was $268,953. The Raleigh County Courthouse is in downtown Beckley on a 240' x 240'square lot. It is an Art Deco style building using steel joist construction and concrete floors. The exterior is pink and neutral color Indiana sandstone with terra cotta. The building is a three story I plan with full basement. The front façade has three divisions with 12 bays with the...