Civic Facilities Sites

"Raleigh Little Theatre (RLT) is a community theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina that produces 10 to 11 full productions annually and maintains a comprehensive youth and adult theatre education programs... Raleigh Little Theatre started in 1935-36 when a group of Raleigh performers joined forces with technical workers from the Federal Theatre Project to bring community theatre to Raleigh. ... Then, civic leader Cantey Venable Sutton started the Works Progress Administration construction of the main theatre, amphitheatre and Rose Garden. In 2000, the main theatre was named in honor of Mrs. Sutton. ... RLT was the first community theatre in the South to cast...

The Works Progress Administration / Work Projects Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at New Bern National Cemetery in New Bern, North Carolina. As detailed in a DoD report: Project description: Improve Raleigh National Cemetery, including aligning headstones, grading, sodding, seeding and weeding lawns, filling sunken graves, reconditioning storm drains, resurrecting outbuildings; Project No. 765-34-5-4; Cost: $3,380.00; Sponsor: Commanding General, 4th Corps Area, U.S. Army

Ramona Gardens was the first housing project in Los Angeles, CA completed under the city’s New Deal–era public housing program. In 1941-43, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) constructed 10 public housing developments for $16 million, funded 10% by city bonds and 90% by federal loans from the United States Housing Authority (USHA). Located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, Ramona Gardens was completed in 1941.  Having cleared 32 acres of the Beaudry Street “slums," a predominantly impoverished Mexican neighborhood, HACLA began construction of Ramona Gardens in March 1940 and made speedy progress. The first tenants were able to...

Rancho San Pedro was one of the developments in Los Angeles, CA completed under the city’s New Deal–era public housing program. In 1941-43, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) constructed 10 public housing developments for $16 million, funded 10% by city bonds and 90% by federal loans from the United States Housing Authority (USHA). Located in the industrial district of San Pedro, Rancho San Pedro was completed in 1942. To make way for the 12.5-acre development, 80 residences (69 of which were deemed “substandard”) were demolished by July 1941. Construction of 33 concrete-and-frame structures comprising 285 dwelling...

The Public Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration funded the construction of the Randolph County Courthouse in Pocahontas, AR in 1940. The building is designed in Classical Moderne style with brick and precast concrete facade materials. The architect of record was Eugene John Stern.

The stately Ransom County Courthouse in Lisbon, North Dakota was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project (though it is sometimes mis-attributed to the WPA). The PWA supplied a $49,090 grant for the project, whose total cost was $109,220. Primary construction occurred between Dec. 1937 and Nov. 1938. This "project, along with a construction boom helped lift the county out of depression." PWA Docket No. N.D. 1050-R

The Rapides Parish Courthouse was undertaken in Alexandria, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The facilities were part of the largest wave of courthouse construction in Louisiana history, with eleven total courthouses erected in the period of  1936-1940. The courthouse featured a "streamlined bas-relief characterization of justice" (Leighninger, 2007b p. 96) and "Moses, staring sternly forward, law books in his lap" (Leighninger, 2007a, p. 117). It was, along with the Natchitoches Parish courthouse, one of only two Louisiana courthouses erected during the period to feature heavy use such of bas-relief...

From contributor Charles Swaney: "Older style National Guard Armory with dual entrances on the front façade which is predominately brick with concrete accents, art deco." The building is not specifically listed as a New Deal project, but dates to the period when the WPA was constructing armories in this area of Kentucky. The building is now the Estill County Youth Center.

The old Recorder of Deeds Building is a three-story structure built 1941-1943 by the municipal government of the District of Columbia.  Funding was provided in 1940 by the Public Works Administration (PWA), which was by then part of the Federal Works Agency (FWA). The building was designed by the Office of the Municipal Architect under Nathan C. Wyeth. Its severe Classical Moderne style echoes that of the District of Columbia Municipal Center (Herman J. Daly Building), one block east.  Both were meant to be components of a large municipal complex planned for the Judiciary Square area, but never realized. A third companion building,...

A WPA press release from Jan. 1938 reported: "Bayview, Skargit County, will have a new recreation building and the grounds improved with a WPA grant of $6,935." The exact location and status of the project is unknown to Living New Deal.

A Rustic Style building with walls of vertical logs is conjectured to have been constructed by the Emergency Relief Administration. Similarly styled log buildings were documented as constructed in other areas in Mississppi.

Among the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects identified as in progress in an El Paso Times article from June 7, 1936 was the "construction of a recreational center at Fabens." The location and status of this project are presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration built the Recreation Center in Stephenville between 1936-1939. The two story white rock building has basketball courts and a stage. A metal plaque on the front notes the date 1938-1939, while a marble cornerstone has the date 1936-1938.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a recreation hall in Vernal, Utah during the Great Depression. The exact location and present status of the structure is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

This tudor-style building in Recreation Park was constructed by the WPA in 1936-39, along with a pool and other park facilities: "In August 1934, the Village of Arlington Heights began to think about constructing a municipal swimming pool for the community. Walter Krause Sr. donated 13.59 acres of land for a park and pool (500 East Miner Street today). But, by September 1935, money for the project was still scarce and plans had yet to be drawn. On the last day to submit plans to the WPA (Works Progress Administration), Trustee Schneberger, Mayor Flentie, and Walter Krause Jr. went over to...

A 250 unit housing project in South Portland Maine. "Under the Lanham Act of 1940, and to the chagrin of the Portland Chamber of commerce, Washington ordered in February of 1942 that the Federal Public Housing Authority of the Federal Works Agency build 550 units of permanent housing in the Portland area. The 250 unit Redbank project grew up near the municipal airport in South Portland. John Howard Stevens and John Calvin Stevens II designed Redbank with its modest, wood framed, Colonial Revival-style units as a planned New England community. In the mode of the 1890's British Garden City and WW1...

From the Redlands history page: "Built during the WPA depression days, the building has been designated as the future location of the Redlands Historical Museum. Replacing the original Richardsonian masterpiece that mysteriously burned in 1939, this civic style building with classic elements and artnouveau bas reliefs, contains multiple styles, as if it was built by committee...it was!" This building now serves as the Administrative Offices for the Redlands Police Department. The new city hall is located directly across the street.

Now houses the ECORP Inland Empire office.

In 1935 F.E.R.A. and W.P.A. labor conducted the following improvement work at what was then known as the Reformatory (now Massachusetts Correctional Institution), in Framingham, Mass.: Roads and walks were constructed and grading done at the Reformatory Mother's Cottage and Junior Inmates' Home. Also, a clothes drying yard was graded and built. Maple floors were relaid in the corridors of the main buildings. The W.P.A. constructed facilities and conducted beautification work on the grounds as well.

In 1933, acting under the leadership of Mayor Thayer, the local C.W.A. administrator, various actions were taken to stabilize the finances of the town and reemploy as many people as possible. Reconstruction Finance Corporation Grant Received during 1933: $19,820.75 Among the various project launched: 1-H Sewing project "supervised by Mrs. Blye Drew. Clothing of all kinds has been furnished, through the Poor Department, for the relief of needy persons. More than 400' mackinaws have been made and distributed to minimum paid 'Civil Works employees engaged in outdoor work, in this, the most severe winter we have experienced in a generation." (Thayer) No. 1 J -...

The Renton History Museum is housed in a former fire station built by the WPA between 1941 and 1942.

The historic Renville County Courthouse in Mohall, North Dakota was built starting in April 1936 and dedicated on June 25, 1937. Its construction was enabled by a $51,650 grant provided by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The Moderne building, which was also built as a jail, is still in service. Construction is sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. PWA Docket No. ND 1027.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Republic County Courthouse in Belleville KS. According to the Society of Architectural Historians, "The Commissioners of Republic County prepared plans for a replacement courthouse and received funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA’s hope was to support important public projects and to relieve the employment crisis of the Depression years. The relatively labor-intensive process and durable nature of reinforced concrete made it a favored building material for many federally supported projects."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a retaining wall on the north side of U.S. 11 in Berwick, Pennsylvania, east of Stone Church Road. One of the stones is inscribed "W.P.A. 1939".

A two-story, Colonial Revival building, with a prominent cupola and portico. A PWA structure, it was designed by Providence architect Edwin E. Cull. Built to house administration offices and a medical library, it is now occupied by the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. The State Hospital for Mental Diseases is now known as Eleanor Slater Hospital.

A substantial structure, of conservative Colonial Revival design. Its only ornament of any significance is the Palladian Window in the center pavilion, with a delicate fan above. It was designed by Edwin E. Cull of Providence, who also designed the Hospital's administration offices in the same year.

A large, three-story building facing Howard Avenue, the main road through the hospital campus. The building, in the Colonial Revival style, is most notable for its prominent ogee gable. The ogee gable has been a recurring element in Rhode Island ever since amateur architect Joseph Brown's unorthodox use of it in his own residence in Providence, built in 1774. The architect of the Rush Building was Franklin R. Hindle, of Providence.

Now known as the Pinel Building, this building was built as a dormitory. It was designed by William R. Walker & Son, a Providence firm known for public buildings. It is built in the Colonial Revival style.

Now known as the Dorothea Dix Building, this building was built as a dormitory. It was designed by William R. Walker & Son, a Providence firm known for public buildings. In the Colonial Revival style. Built by both the Hospital and State Prison to house criminals with mental disorders, as was the neighboring Building for Disturbed Men.

In 1936, this three story hospital building was remodeled under the P.W.A. The architect was Albert H. Humes, of Pawtucket. It was originally built in 1918 and designed by John Hutchins Cady of Providence. It is today part of the Minimum Security prison.

A large, three-story Colonial Revival building. It was designed by architect John F. Hogan, of Providence. It was built concurrently with neighboring Simpson Hall, which is nearly identical, though by different architects. Barry Hall was named for a former superintendent of nurses.

A large multi-purpose building, in the Colonial Revival style. Originally housed the hospital's chapel, cafeteria, and gymnasium. Designed by John F. O'Malley of Pawtucket. Used until recently as a homeless shelter.

A long Colonial Revival building, built to house a hospital. It was designed by the firm of Barker & Turoff, of Providence. It is located directly west of the Reception Hospital, the institution's first building.

A two-story Colonial Revival building on a high basement. Like its neighbor, the Welcome Arnold Building, it was designed by Oresto Disaia. Unlike its neighbor, it has had some of its detailing altered, making the two no longer identical.

This is one of the largest buildings on the hospital campus. It stands three and four stories tall, gable-roofed, with a substantial clock tower. Like most of the area's buildings, it is in the Colonial Revival style. The architect was Edward O. Ekman, of Providence.

A group of three Colonial Revival houses that would not look out of place in an early suburb. There were once two more of these houses, on the south side of the street, which have been demolished. The architects of these houses are unknown at this time.

A large Colonial Revival building. Built concurrently with neighboring Elizabeth Barry Hall, which is identical, though designed by a different architect. Simpson was designed by Howe & Church, of Providence.

A two-story Colonial Revival building on a high basement. Like its neighbor, the Jonathan Arnold Building, it was designed by Oresto Disaia. Unlike its neighbor, it remains unaltered, making the two no longer identical. The building is currently vacant.

The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) provided funding assistance toward in the construction of an 'addition' to the Rhode Island State House, located across the street from the State House. The building now houses the state's Department of Transportation.

A two-story, flat-roofed building. Nominally Colonial Revival in style. This is one of the three original buildings of the Hospital, built by the PWA in 1936.