Civic Facilities Sites

In response to the foot dragging of Portland city officials on creating affordable housing for the influx of military related industry in a city with a severe lack of modern housing, the Federal Housing Authority of the Federal Works Agency ordered the construction of 550 units, 200 of which were in Sagamore Village. Designed by John Howard Stevens and John Calvin Stevens II, it featured Colonial Revival houses with a community center, playground, & school.

"The St. Bernard Courthouse in Chalmette was built with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Weiss, Dreyfous, and Seiferth."   (knowla.org) The cornerstone dates the courthouse to 1939. KnowLA writes that the 11 parishes that received new courthouses attributable at least in part to the PWA are: Caldwell, Cameron, East Carroll, Iberia, Jackson, Madison, Natchitoches, Rapides, St. Bernard, St. Landry, and Terrebonne. As of 2014 each of the courthouses is in active use.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at was then known as the Saint Lawrence State Hospital in Ogdensburg, New York. Among the improvements were "painting 31,100 square yards of surface and construction of 10,000 square yards of concrete floors and verandas. An open canal was built, window guards were reinforced and interior and exterior repairs were made to the Flower and other buildings."

The Works Progress Administration built the wall around the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Construction in the area was authorized in 1938 and the project was completed in 1941. Two plaques at the cemetery entrance mark the work of the WPA.  

The Public Works Administration contributed $1,329,508 toward the construction of the Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall. The architect of record was Alfred C. Finn. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on November 4, 1936 and dedication was held on November 26, 1937. The buildings housed circuses, concerts, athletic events, stock shows and conventions. The coliseum and music hall were demolished in 1998. The former site of the coliseum was redeveloped into the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 2003.

This building was constructed as a community center in 1938 by the National Youth Administration (NYA) (which was a branch of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)).   It is a craftsman-style, one-story, T-shaped building constructed of native stone and wood. The front entrance has a porch and double doors. Above the door are the letters N Y A. There is an NYA cornerstone at the building's southeast corner.  It reads: National Youth Administration Community Building Erected 1938 Huston A. Wright, Dir NYA for Okla. Mason Hart, Mayor James Kelley, Eng. City Com. Hardin Ray, Dir. - Grey Garter C.B. Alexander, Co. Supt. - Lee Perkins Luther Lail, Bldg. Supt. - Lee...

Between 1937 and 1939 the existing 1904 courthouse was extensively renovated and a  new jail was added. A 1978 report entitled 100 Courthouses, A Report on North Carolina Judicial Facilities states that the county wanted a new building, but the WPA,  which supervised the undertaking, objected. The reconstruction greatly enlarged the building and completely transformed its looks. This all suggests that a considerable amount of the financing came from the federal government. The architect was R. R. Markley.

Samuel Gompers was an American labor leader and founder of the American Federation of Labor. This sculpture by Robert Aitken was erected in 1933 and President Franklin Roosevelt made an address at the dedication ceremony for the monument on October 7th. Apparently, New Deal relief labor was used to improve the park around the memorial (now Samuel Gompers Park).  That would likely have been part of the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) million dollar program of parks improvement in 1935-36.

This San Bernardino branch of the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel was built around 1830 and underwent a number of function and ownership changes in the ensuing century. In 1925 the County of San Bernardino took over the property. It was restored in 1937 by the WPA assisted by the San Bernardino County Historical Society.

Originally the San Diego Civic Center (now the County Administration Center), it was built on 19 acres of filled tidelands. Inscribed on the portal is the motto: 'The Noblest Motive is the Public Good'. FDR dedicated the civic center on September 16, 1938. In his speech he noted, 'American democracy will live as long as the people keep in their hearts the motto inscribed.' (Branton 1991)

"In December 1926, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring 'the necessity for the erection of a public building' for both the City and the County. As a result, three countywide votes were taken to approve the tidelands site for construction of the Civic Center, but three countywide bond votes to secure the necessary funding were defeated. In 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized $1 million to be granted from the Works Progress Administration to construct the Civic Center after a personal tour of the site…. "Four San Diego architects, William Templeton Johnson, Richard S. Requa, Louis J. Gill,...

These three murals in the San Diego County Administration Center were produced under the WPA by Jean Goodwin and Arthur Ames (who later married). Each mural stands about 18' high and is painted in egg tempera on muslin over a gesso surface. Each panel represents an aspect of life in San Diego County: Recreation, Agriculture, and Conservation. The murals hang in the Board Chamber to this day. Three smaller studies done in preparation for these murals also remain in the building. They can be found in Room 402a. The artists were assisted in their work by Alloys Bohner, William McAulby, Hazel Scheckler.

The "Guardian of Water" is a granite sculpture, with a mosaic and frieze around the base. It was created by Donal Hord in 1939, with support from the WPA. The sculpture is a 23' high figure of a woman holding an olla on her left shoulder, symbolizing the need for water conservation in southern California. She is surrounding by a mosaic of kneeling nudes- symbolizing clouds- pouring water from jars over a dam into a citrus-fruit orchard. The San Diego Historical Society Museum has on display a small scale plaster maquette and a film about the creation of this work.

From the archive photo descriptions of this WPA built station: "The fire station was a new construction project, building forms, placing reinforced steel and pouring concrete. The ground floor of the building measures 50x85 feet. The main part of the building is 34 feet high with a tower rising to 70 feet. This is a two-company station with one hose truck and one hook and ladder truck. Dormitory accommodations provide for eight firemen."

The Assessor's Office, located in the San Francisco City Hall, holds a 20' x 50' oil on canvas "Map of San Francisco."

This photo montage mural by Benjamin Cunningham hangs in the City Treasurer's Office. It was funded by the WPA's Federal Art Project in 1938.

Rehabilitated County Jail.--Healy, p. 72. General rehabilitation of building with additional rooms on roof. Completion of unfinished work by S.E.R.A.--Mooser, p. 85. This Hall of Justice was built in 1912 and rehabilitated by the WPA in the 1930s. However, the building was demolished in 1968 and replaced in 1971, along with the neighboring coroner's office, with what is now the Hilton San Francisco Financial District.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted substantial improvement work at San Francisco Hospital during the Great Depression. The WPA: Repaired training nurses home, administration building, pathological, emergency and receiving buildings, general rehabilitation.--Healy, p. 71.

WPA description of project: Demolished old school building.--Healy, p. 69 Office Building for the Department of Public Welfare of the City and County of San Francisco. Construct two-story and basement reinforced concrete and frame building complete. Build pool concrete walks, and landscape Court Area. Construct parking space. Excavation and backfill. Wreck present building.--Mooser, p. 95

The San Gabriel post office boasts a nice New Deal cornerstone.

Phone: 415-488-8888 The San Geronimo Community Center is home to Maurice Del Mue's 1934 mural, "Rural Landscape," installed when the building was still Lagunitas School.

"Impressive celebrations were held throughout the State of Texas in 1936 to commemorate the centennial of its secession from the Republic of Mexico. One of the most important events leading to this act was the decisive Battle of San Jacinto fought on April 21, 1836, in which the Texans were completely victorious. It was therefore decided to erect a memorial on the battlefield honoring the heroes who fought so well. The monument rests on two terraces which rise 15 feet above the natural grade and consists of a base 36 feet high from which the shaft extends to a total height...

  "The building has an area of 50,000 square feet and consists of the auditorium which seats 3,500, a small theater seating 597, a meeting hall seating 499, 2 exhibition halls, 5 committee rooms, quarters for the chamber of commerce, and the necessary service rooms. The auditorium has a large and well-equipped stage. The project was completed in April 1936 at a construction cost of $422,628 and a project cost of $530,515." (Short and Stanley-Brown) "A building which might house anything from an opera to a circus, a basketball or tennis game to a great convention, or art exhibits and flower shows"...

Constructed by the WPA.

Bonding ($36,000) for a new San Juan courthouse was put a successful vote in February 1920 after citizens realized that their neighboring county (Grand) was building a large new courthouse. Construction in Monticello began soon thereafter, and the courthouse was nearly ready for occupancy in late 1920 lacking only steam heat, plumbing (including toilet facilities, jail lavoratories, and hot water), and finished cement. And then it sat, partially completed for nearly 17 years: only four rooms were useable, and those without heat or modern plumbing. In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) approved $8000 to complete the courthouse. The county's portion was...

In 1940, the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse was rebuilt by the New Deal on the site of the original county courthouse of 1851 and a Greek Revival courthouse of 1873.  The North Wing of the 1940 courthouse was in place before the older one was demolished to make way for the rest of the new structure (see historic photo, below).  The handsome building by local architects, Walker and Eisen, is a classic example of Civic Moderne, with fine detailing and bas-reliefs on the exterior (the condition of the interior is unknown to us).  It is a large edifice that almost...

The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at San Marcos Cemetery.

Two additions to the courthouse were built with WPA labor in 1939. Sadly, the annex was demolished in 2006 to make room for a renovated Courthouse Square.

The San Miguel County Courthouse was built with WPA funds in 1940.

Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the auditorium / gymnasium addition to the Sandstone School constructed in 1936 was accomplished as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The PWA provided a grant of $24,966 for the project, whose total cost was $129,701. NRHP, re the addition: "It is a two story wing with a flat roof and constructed of a similar Kettle River Sandstone. The front entrance to this section is in the form of a semi-circular arch, complementary to the two entries to the original building. This addition houses an auditorium." "Throughout its history, the school served as both...

"As the county government's needs increased, local leaders applied in the 1930s for federal aid to expand their facility." With a grant from the federal Public Works Administration (PWA), "the courthouse was greatly expanded, leaving the original building as the northern wing of a three-part courthouse. This project resulted in the replacement of the original columns and the relocation of the cupola to one of the new wings, as well as the construction of new additions. Despite the gap of nearly a century between the construction of the original and additional portions of the buildings, the newer portions complement the...

Sandwich, Massachusetts's historic 1834 Town Hall was remodeled with the assistance of the WPA in a project completed in 1939. (The building was extensively remodeled, again, in 2009.) Provincetown's Advocate wrote that the project was a "complete modernization" that nonetheless respected the building's past. Some improvements were: "Solid maple floors have replaced the old boards in the Selectmen's office, and walls are ivory set off by stained woodwork. A library for the selectmen has been incorporated into the new suite and a new brick vault will hold town records. Other improvements include modern lighting, replacement of the wooden foundation piles by brick...

Sanitation Department Section Station 144 in Whitestone, New York was constructed in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Interestingly, construction of the Cross Island Parkway made it necessary to plan to relocate the building the next year, to a site a few hundred feet north on 149th Street. The entire new building (as well as a neighboring fire station) was relocated to the new site, as opposed to being built from scratch, resulting in substantial savings to the city.

WPA crews completed the Sanpete County courthouse in Manti in 1937.  

Old Santa Ana City Hall was constructed in 1935 at a cost of $126,000, funded by city bonds and a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. There is a plaque in the lobby (which we are waiting to photograph). It was designed by prominent Southern California architect W. Horace Austin of Long Beach, who had designed the rather similar Masonic Temple at Sycamore and Fifth Streets a few years earlier. Austin’s credits also include the Bowers Museum and many Long Beach commissions, such as the 1904 Long Beach City Hall , several schools, the original Buffum’s Department Store , the Long Beach...

Two 25' x 8' oil on canvas lunettes by Samuel Vaughan were commissioned by the Federal Art Project: "Men at Work" and "US Army in Europe"

The U.S. Treasury Department built the Santa Clara post office in 1935.  The building style is Mission Revival, which was popular for houses and civic buildings during the interwar period. It is also the site of Michael von Meyer's 1937 wood carving, "Early Pioneers," available for view in the library.

"The various departments of the city government are housed in the new city hall around a court on one floor. This project added space to the existing building for the water department, police department, office of the mayor, and council chamber. In the basement there is a rifle range for the police department, storage space, and the heating plant. The building is semifireproof with concrete exterior walls trimmed with local stone. It is designed to resist seismic disturbances. The roof is covered with shingle tile molded to resemble redwood shakes. It was completed in September 1937....

"In 1936 the Works Progress Administration provided funds for the construction of jail designed by Albert Roller at 705 Front Street, at a cost of $190,000 and built to hold 68 men and 8 women. As completion of construction neared the jail population was "dropping away so fast the sheriff and aides are fearful there will not be enough left to make a creditable showing by the time the building is accepted" causing the Sheriff to consider staging a round-up in the "jungles," private bingo parties, or drafting prominent citizens to stand in for prospective prisoners to make for a...

"Debated for its location, its usefulness and its cost, the auditorium plan stalled and nearly died. But low interest rates and money available from the New Deal -- 80 percent funding if it was built by legitimately unemployed workers and 45 percent funding if professional builders were used -- allowed construction to begin. The Civic Auditorium was dedicated in 1939 to much fanfare (although the city had to ask for more federal funds after the builder, trying to shave costs, narrowed the stage from 29 to 20 feet -- not even big enough for the Santa Cruz...