Civic Facilities Sites

The PWA built this equipment building on the State Infirmary Hospital campus.

A three-story, Colonial Revival building built by the PWA in 1936. Like its neighbor, the Bernadette Building, the McDonald Building houses part of the women's prison.

The PWA built the power facilities at the State Infirmary Hospital. The power plant has since been substantially expanded, but it is unclear if the original building remains. Note that in the above photograph, the passageway at the right was not built by the PWA.

Built by the PWA in 1936 as the main building of its institution, the Virks Building is one of the largest buildings in this part of the city. It features a large portico, overlooking West Road. It was designed by Ambrose J. Murphy of Providence, more well known for his ecclesiastical designs. The building is currently vacant, with a proposal to convert it into offices.

The Wallum Lake House was the Sanatorium's main building. It is a large, 3-story brick building, in the Colonial Revival style. The State Sanatorium was originally used as a place for the treatment of tuberculosis patients. It was designed by the Providence architectural firm of Howe & Church during the mid-1930s. This building replaced the Sanatorium's original building, which had opened in 1905. When it opened, Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in Rhode Island. The hospital became the Zambarano Unit of Eleanor Slater Hospital in 1994. It is now used primarily to care for long-term patients requiring intensive care. The Bridgemen's...

The Rich County courthouse replaced a 1888 courthouse that had been built for $2,479. Discussion began in May, 1940 when Raymond Ashton - at the county commisioners' request - presented a drawing for a new Rich County courthouse. He proposed a one story concrete building built with "W.P.A. labor, salvage material in the present building and by securing local timber" (Minutes, May 1940). Given the coming of winter and the unemployment situation, there was no disucussion and a unanimous vote. The county portion was estimated at $20,000 with the W.P.A. to pay all labor and $2550 towards materials for a...

"Richard Allen Homes, named after the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, is a housing project in lower North Philadelphia that was funded by the U.S. Housing Authority under the Housing Act of 1937." ("The USHA reported directly to Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes, who had supervised the PWA. This meant that the new housing program was administered under the same general policies as the old PWA program.")

The Treasury Department funded the construction of the U. S. Post Office and Federal Building. The Art Deco structure was built in 1935 at the cost of more than $225,000. The architect of record was Louis A. Simon of the Public Works Branch, Procurement Division of the United States Treasury. The contractor of record was Farnell A. Blaire. Inaugurated in 1937, the building houses an example of New Deal artwork. The structure's linear ornamentation is typical of the Art Deco style of that era. According to the Richmond County Historical Society, "The three-story orange brick building (which also has a basement) is ornamented by unglazed terra-cotta...

The Works Progress Administration worked to "renovate and repair" several buildings on Staten Island (Richmond County), a $225,507 project begun in 1935. One of those buildings was the Richmond County Courthouse, next to the Borough Hall in the St. George district of Staten Island. The courthouse was built in 1919 in Neoclassical style and housed the Richmond County Supreme Court until 2015 (parts of the Supreme Court remain in the old courthouse). Today it is home to two sets of murals by Charles Davis and Axel Horn, originally painted for the old Farm Colony poorhouse and long hung in the old Seaview Hospital.

From contributor Charles Swaney: "Atypical National Guard Armory, which from the front façade is wider than usual, and which has predominant horizontal concrete bands across the 2nd story.  The roof is flat. A basement is accessed from the rear." The building is now the Richmond Recreation Center.

The municipal building at 101 S. Franklin St. in Richwood, Ohio has seen many functions over the years and was the site of New Deal work relief efforts during the Great Depression. Est. in 1890 to function as the seat of the Village Government, house the police force and jail, house the fire department, and an Opera House. From 1933 to 1935 the building was gutted as part of Project B-1618 of the Civil Works Administration and Project 80-B4-4 of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. The local government stayed in place, an addition was built to house the fire department, the Opera...

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to conduct repairs and alterations to several civic buildings in Queens as part of a $300,464 project begun in 1935. Buildings improved included what was then the Queens County Magistrate's Courthouse building in Ridgewood, NY. "The Ridgewood YMCA building was constructed in 1931 and served as the Queens County Magistrate's Courthouse. At the time, the brick and limestone-trimmed building was the first courthouse erected in Queens since 1898. The courthouse shuttered its doors in 1962 and the YMCA of Greater New York purchased the building from the city in 1965 for $50,000." (YMCA)

Excerpt from the National Archives and Records Administration, Neg. 17975-D: "Rikers Island Penitentiary. Description of work done by WPA. Erection of four single family residences; two single family residences; 5400 linear feet chain-like fence. Fence around entire institution, fence around baseball field; one concrete coping wall; piping in tunnel to the new proposed buildings. Erection of new hay and feed barn in wagon sheds on Riker's Island. Project No. 665-97-3-22. Social rehabilitation of Prison Inmates, Department of Correction, 2 Rikers Island."   Excerpt from the (1939) WPA Guide to New York City, Federal Writers Project: “The island is now entirely given over to the city's...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted extensive development work at Grand Canyon Village, including reconstruction of an approximately 0.4-mile stretch of wall along the central portion of the Rim Trail, roughly between Bright Angel Lodge and El Tovar Hotel. The National Park Service's CCC Walking Tour says this: "Civilian Conservation Corps crews completely rebuilt the rock wall along the rim from Verkamps Curios to Lookout Studio in 1934–35, replacing a deteriorated, poorly constructed dry-laid wall and a section of wooden fence. Project planners standardized dimensions at 27 inches (69 cm) high and 18 inches (46 cm) wide." The most famous feature of...

"The year 1933 brought many significant changes into the National Park system. Up until that time President Herbert Hoover saw to it that the national parks received their allotment requests for park operations and development. Budgets and staff for the national parks had increased substantially during his administration (Tweed, 75). But the Depression changed all of this when, in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt and a new administration came on board. A variety of innovative and comprehensive relief programs were introduced to alleviate the nation’s growing unemployment crisis. These programs, instituted under the New Deal, provided work opportunities for the unemployed....

Among the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects identified as underway in an El Paso Times article from June 7, 1936 was "the County Farm building program, which will provide 13 permanent structures." NPS.gov: "The facility, established as the El Paso County Poor Farm in 1916, continued in that function until 1964. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Texas Transient Bureau began construction of a multi-building labor camp on part of the poor farm grounds in 1935. The Transient Bureau soon ceased operations. Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed the previously planned construction in 1936, intending the new buildings for expanded poor...

The Works Progress Administration built the Rittman Town Hall (now Rittman City Hall) in 1938. WPA Project 10346.

The PWA built this village hall in the incorporated community of River Hills.

"By the early 1930's, it was evident that we were outgrowing our original fire house with swing out doors. In the mid 1930's plans were drawn up and approved to build a new firehouse in Riverdale. This new structure was built in 1937 using federal public works funds and was designed to house the fire apparatus of the time, plus a town meeting hall was incorporated into the plan for the second floor over the firehouse. During subsquent years it has been necessary to build several additions onto the existing firehouse."

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted work at what Living New Deal believes is Riverside Cemetery (a.k.a. Cody Cemetery) in Cody, Wyoming. Cassity: "Several cemeteries were fenced and improved, such as that in Cody, and the old cemetery at Green River was removed and the graves transferred to a site at the new cemetery—all with CWA workers."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted numerous projects at Riverside Park in Iola, Kansas. "It wasn't until the WPA projects were built that Riverside Park received the beautiful football stadium, pool, pool building, community building, shelters, and one baseball diamond."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the gorgeous (original) Community Building at Riverside Park in Iola, Kansas. It is now known as the Iola Recreation Center & Little Theatre. GetRuralKansas.com: "The community building was built by the WPA program for the national guard armory. By 1941, it was changed to a basketball court and a small theater which was used by the school system for many years, as well as clubs, organizations and citizens of the community. After the school district built their own gymnasium, the community building is being used for indoor exercising, pick up basketball, and an area that's available for...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the striking municipal pool house and pool Riverside Park in Iola, Kansas. GetRuralKansas.com: "The WPA pool was one of the largest pools in Kansas, and because of its size, a new swim meet regulation size pool and a zero entrance, along with many other modern amenities, were built inside of the old pool."

A great number of improvements to the General Grant National Memorial ("Grant's Tomb") were undertaken by the WPA between 1935 and 1939. As the National Park Service's David Kahn (1980) explains: "Thirty-eight years after the tomb opened, the initial restoration project began in December 1935, when the Works Progress Administration's laborers laid down new marble flooring in the atrium. In 1935-39 WPA cleaned marble (interior and exterior), replaced floors, replaced roof, electric lighting, heating, built curator's office, new stained glass, painted over dirty plaster walls, screens, display racks, brass sculptured busts of five Union generals by WPA artists, installation of eagles...

The brick "restrained Colonial Revival style" (Van West, 2001, p. 148) two-story apartment complex contained 48 units for African-Americans. Constructed at the same time as the Robert E. Lee Homes for whites, both complexes were funded for a total of $607,000. The facility was demolished in 2008 in order to construct new housing.

The historic former Roane County Courthouse in Kingston, Tennessee received a two-story addition during the Great Depression with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building remained in use as the courthouse until 1974, and is in use currently as a museum and home to the Roane County Historical Association.

The Roanoke Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital Historic District, currently known as the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center, is located at 1970 Roanoke Boulevard, Salem, Virginia, within Roanoke County. The city boundary of Salem and Roanoke extends through the medical center’s property, but the majority of the property is located within the Salem, Virginia, city limits. The hospital was originally referred to as the Roanoke VA Hospital. The PWA provided $1,300,000 for the construction of numerous buildings at the site. The neuropsychiatric facility was dedicated on October 19, 1934, with approximately 25,000 attending the ceremony. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Brigadier...

Brick, two-story "restrained Colonial Revival style" (Van West, 2001, p. 148) housing for whites was completed at the same time as the Riverview Apartments for African-Americans. Both complexes were constructed for a total of $607,000. Robert E. Lee contained 128 units. The facility remains in use.

By the early twentieth century, the area that would become the Robert Mills Manor site consisted of a large assemblage of dilapidated late-19th and early-20th century residences and tenements surrounding the county's jail on the corner of Franklin and Magazine Streets. Conditions at the site had deteriorated to the point where contemporary accounts called it: "the worst disease breeding spot in the lower section of the city. Its existence was a constant police problem and fire hazard. Its crowded poorly lighted, evil smelling tenements depreciated the entire section of the city." In its 1937 report published in the City Year Book,...

The Robert Mills Manor public housing project in Charleston, South Carolina was constructed with New Deal funds, likely under the auspices of the Public Works Administration (PWA). The Library of Congress: "The Robert Mills Manor Remains as Charleston's earliest and most intact example of a locally initiated public low-income housing project. During the 1930s, the Federal government began a subsidy programs for the development of low-income housing and for slum clearance. The City of Charleston quickly took advantage of these programs, developing several large low income projects, the first of which was the Robert Mills Manor. Its associations with prominent local architects...

Located behind the Roberts County Courthouse, Sisseton South Dakota's former Roberts County Jail was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $11,200 grant; the total cost of the project was $42,800. Construction occurred between January and July 1934. (PWA Docket No. SD 2370)

Lumberton, North Carolina's Robeson County Agricultural Building was constructed in 1937 with federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor.

Robinson Hall was constructed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. Discussions regarding the hall’s construction started in 1934 with Bismarck-based architect HM Leonard. According to Golden Jubilee, Robinson North Dakota, “A special election was held October 3, 1934, to issue bonds of $2,000.00 to erect a community hall. In August 1935, lots 10, 11 in block 3 were purchased for $100.00 from OB Wells as a site for the community hall.” Pete Konningsrud worked as foreman during the hall’s construction. The construction of the hall alone employed a great number of people from the area. According to an article from...

"The Robinson High School Auditorium-Gymnasium, also known as the RHS Gym was a historic gymnasium located on the campus of Robinson High School in Robinson, Illinois. The gym was constructed in 1939 using funds granted by the Public Works Administration. The Art Deco building featured fluted columns around its entrance, glass-block windows at the entrance and east and west sides, and curved metal awnings. Both high school athletic events and public events were held in the building, as Robinson had no other large public space suitable for hosting community events at the time." The building has since been demolished. PWA Docket...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Rock County Courthouse in Bassett, Nebraska. Built in 1939-1940, the courthouse design features Art Deco elements. The architect of record was E.B. Watson. The WPA contributed $33,000 to the initial construction. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Members of the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed a monument to five fallen members of Company 1212 who died fighting a fire outside Orovada, Nevada on July 28, 1939. The monument and plaque reside at the center of a U.S. 95 rest area south of Orovada, toward Winnemucca. BLM: "A crew comprised of 23 men from a Civilian Conservation Corp responded to a lightning fire just outside of Orovada on the Santa Rosa mountain range. A thunderstorm had been developing above the fire while the crew hiked in and had now collapsed, creating a sudden wind shift and strong down drafts. Five of...

The New Deal contributed substantially to the betterment of Rock Creek Park in the 1930s.  This involved a number of federal agencies. Rock Creek Park is a key greenway in the District of Columbia and, at 1750 acres, is almost twice the size of Central Park in New York.  It was established by Congress in 1890, making it officially a National Park at the time.  It featured prominently in the far-reaching plans for the District of Columbia by the McMillan Commission in 1901-02 and the Olmsted Brothers report of 1918, which envisioned a major park with a scenic parkway running through it. In...

Rock Island National Cemetery in Moline, Illinois 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."

The Works Progress Administration built a rock wall in Camp Verde, Arizona. A wall stamped "USA/WPA" is located directly in front of the current Camp Verde Historical Society, which is housed in the historical former elementary school.

According to a report from the regional office in 1940, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) had recently constructed rock walls in Stanislaus County, California. Unfortunately, nothing more specific is known about this project, neither the location nor the purpose of the walls.  WPA reports could be maddeningly vague about some of their minor projects.