Civic Facilities Sites

"Village Hall is the principal center of government for Shorewood, a municipality of 13,763 at the 2000 census. Constructed in 1908 as a four-room schoolhouse, the building was purchased in 1916 by the Village of East Milwaukee for use as a village hall. It was extensively remodeled in 1937 with funds provided through the Works Progress Administration and again in 1985. In 1984, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places."

The Works Progress Administration built the Showboat Theatre in Seattle WA. According to the UW Magazine, the theater was, "uilt by the Works Progress Administration in 1938, the Showboat opened in September of that year with a production of “Charley’s Aunt.” For many years it was the center of Seattle’s nascent theatrical community." "For almost 10 years the University and a group of drama alumni, the Showboat Foundation, tried to save her. The cost of restoring the building—estimated at $1 million in 1984—far exceeded the cost of removing or demolishing the structure. To move it, the structure would have to be dismantled and...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built sidewalks, gutters, curbs and other streets improvements throughout the city of Martinez.  There were two main projects, one starting in 1938 and the other in 1941, according to WPA project cards in the National Archives.   The total funding was around $375,000, a considerable sum for the WPA, so there must have been a large amount of street work, as well, but this was not marked and cannot be identified.  WPA sidewalk stamps can still be found here and there around the older parts of town. Many have been lost to curb cuts and sidewalk replacements...

"The New Mexico Veterans' Center (formerly Carrie Tingley Hospital) was partially funded with WPA funds in 1937. The buildings were left vacant in 1981 when the Hospital moved to Albuquerque. In 1983 the Veterans' Administration and the New Mexico Legislature provided funds for renovation of the buildings and the establishment of the New Mexico Veterans' Center. The Sierra County Court House and the Community Center are two other WPA buildings in T or C. " -Phyllis Eileen Banks

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided labor toward repainting and renovations at the Silver Bow County Courthouse in Butte, Montana. In the course of the restoration work, several murals were discovered beneath earlier paint jobs. The WPA was critical to the welfare of unemployed miners in Butte, and this was just one of several projects around the city. The historic plaque in front of the courthouse makes no mention of the WPA work.

The Sink-Crumb Post 72 American Legion Hut, located on the northeastern corner of 2nd and Cherry streets in the small Clay County community of Knobel, is a tin-roofed cypress log building designed in the Rustic aesthetic common among American Legion buildings erected during the early 1930s. Little is known about the construction of the building other than the fact that local men cut and notched the logs from which the building was constructed. The hut was completed in early 1934, and the first meeting was held there on March 30. The Clay County Courier reported that “Sink-Crumb American Legion Post, No....

The Sitka Pioneers’ Home was built with financial assistance from the PWA, ca. 1935, and served as “a home for aged pioneers” (source note 1).  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 (source note 2) and today it “has a capacity to serve 75 men and women and provides care at three different levels: Level I (independent), Level II (basic assistance), Level III (24-hour care for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders and comprehensive services)” (source note 3). "Alaska became a Territory in 1912 and in August of that year a bill was introduced by Sitka's Representative,...

"Smithfield Court is a low-rental housing developmenterected in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, fully financed with P.W.A. funds. A site of 22 acres on which were located some of the city's worst slum dwellings, was purchased at a cost of $458,600 or 48 cents a square foot. After demolition of the dilapidated dwellings, a group of fireproof structures was erected covering 27 percent of the land area and accommodating an average of 58 rooms to the acre. The development consists of a series of 1- and 2-story row houses and includes a community building. It provides 1,638 rooms divided into...

The WPA approved $52,727 in 1935 for the purposes of constructing an addition to Smithtown's Town Hall. The building is still in use today.

A $12,000 PWA grant allowed for the construction of a warehouse at the Sacramento Corporation Yard. It is unknown if the building exists after major reconstruction was done at the facility in 2009.

The federal National Youth Administration (NYA) constructed the historic Snow Rogers Community Center in 1939. It is located north of Gardendale, Alabama, across from Snow Rogers Elementary School.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the old Snyder Avenue Court Building at 27-to-31 Snyder Ave. Living New Deal believes the building is no longer extant.

"Socorro County (New Mexico) Court House, located at 200 Church Street (at the foot of Court Street) in Socorro, New Mexico. According to a plaque inside the entrance, the Court House is a Works Progress Administration building erected in 1940." (Wikipedia)

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 reported that "the Retsil Soldier's Home receive $6,040" in WPA funds for grounds and landscaping improvement work." Multiple similar projects were undertaken at the site. The facility is now known as the Washington Veterans Home in Retsil .

"This building was erected as a memorial to soldiers who lost their lives in the World War. In the center hall on the first floor is a black granite cenotaph bearing the names of the soldiers. On each side is a museum containing World War relics, records, and other data. Surrounding the structure are 38 square columns, 5 by 5 feet, and 35 feet high. The building is one unit of a well-planned civic center, the construction being of steel and reinforced concrete. The walls are faced with limestone. Marble and granite were used extensively. It is 190 by 89 feet,...

This building was built by the WPA circa 1938-1939, and was the high school for Princess Anne, Maryland, for many years. Today, the building still serves the public as the Somerset County Office Building.

During the Great Depression the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) funded the labor for the construction of what is now known as the Somerset Residential Care Center, in Madison, Maine. When constructed, the facility went by a different name: the "town farm." Town farms were once the means by which rural towns in New England cared for or warehoused (depending on the local conditions) the elderly, the mentally handicapped, disabled, transients, etc. The community notes from April 11, 1935 notes that "Work started Friday forenoon on the two weeks' ERA project, painting and repairing the buildings at the Madison town farm. There...

The PWA contributed 45% of costs to a new hospital building in 1937. According to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, construction of this building hinged on approval of the PWA funds.

These retaining walls are adjacent to the first hospital on the property and to the Oak Knoll (tuberculosis) Sanatorium, built 1939. In 1997, its name changed to Norton Psychiatric.

Originally known as Sonoma State Home, Eldridge, all the structures and streets of this place later became Sonoma State Hospital (now Sonoma Valley Hospital). Various WPA projects were undertaken here.

The Sonora City Hall was built with a combination of PWA and bond funds and completed in 1939. According to a Works Progress Administration job card: WPA Project No. 165-3-8511 Approval amount $680 Approval date 10/2/36, Average employed 14, Total funds spent $975 "Demolish City Hall; salvage usable materials and do work incidental thereto in the City of Sonora, Tuolumne County. City owned property." WPA  Project No. 65-3-4664, Approval Amount $14,148, approval date 2-8-36 "Reinforced concrete Municipal Building & Fire Department."

"The Sonora Youth Center on Barretta Street was put into service in 1943 by the National Youth Administration, the Works Progress Administration for youth. It was for people 18 to 25 years old." - The Union Democrat WPA project No. 65-3-4275, $14,442, approval date 1/14/36, "Construction of athletic field, bleachers, retaining wall, tennis court, garage, moving building & surfacing with a truck."

South Cemetery in Wayland, Mass. was improved by Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor. Work included the rebuilding of cemetery stone walls.

The post office in South Denver was completed in 1940 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Ethel Magafan's 1942 mural, "The Horse Corral," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

"By the early thirties, the city was outgrowing its municipal buildings, so property for a civic center was acquired. The location was on California Avenue between Firestone and Ardmore Boulevards. The first building was a library, to be leased to the Los Angeles County Library for one of its branches. The building was built with labor provided by the Works Project Act. The work of W.P.A. artists is still in evidence on the interior walls where murals depict events in the history of writing. A beautiful mosaic graced the entrance. When the new library on Tweedy Boulevard was built in 1973,...

The mosaic is situated in the entrance to the building (formerly the South Gate Public Library). It has recently been designated a culturally significant landmark. "The tile mosaic entitled Evolution of Writing was created by Stanton MacDonald-Wright during his employ with the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). Mr. Wright served as WPA Art Project Director for Southern California and later as technical advisor for seven western states. It was during his position as technical advisor (approximately 1938--1942) that the South Gate mosaic was created. During his affiliation with the WPA (1935--1942), Mr. Wright became interested in new techniques for architectural decoration and...

Built in 1939.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) rehabilitated police stations in San Francisco during the Great Depression, including the Southern and Mission Stations. The agency: Rehabilitated buildings to meet requirements of department, providing additional cell space, new ventilation and painting.--Healy, p. 70.

Bennington's Southshire courthouse was constructed between 1936 and 1937 as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project. It was designed "as a replica of the original Southshire courthouse in Old Bennington that burned in 1869." The PWA provided a $43,293 grant toward the $97,496 total cost of the project. 1036.]

Originally known as Southside House, Ithaca, New York's Southside Community Center was constructed by the federal Work Projects Administration during the 1930s. The WPA reported in 1940: "For many years the only community center was a ramshackle building. This has been replaced with a modern stone and brick structure which serves as a meeting place for the Girl and Boy Scout troops, Cultural Congress (minors), two women's clubs, a home bureau unit, Parent-Teachers Association, Christmas club, which distributes clothing and baskets at Christmastime; Men's forum and other organizations. The center is a fitting contribution by WPA to one of the...

Philadelphia's historic Southwark Station post office was constructed in 1936 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

This large armory in downtown Sperry was constructed by the WPA, and is now used for other public purposes: "Guard unit members mustered out to WWII from this store front location in September 1940, but returned to a sprawling new WPA-built armory that had been dedicated in 1941 on the site of the old town baseball field.  The armory building housed various military units until 1990, and in 1991 the complex was deeded to the Town of Sperry by Tulsa County commissioners.  Town offices were immediately moved into the facility, where they have remained.  In 2007, taxpayers funded a $500,000 remodel...

The Works Progress Administration built a community building in Spotted Horse, Campbell County, Wyoming.  

Constructed with U.S. Treasury Department funds in 1937.

"This building was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1938. It was originally proposed to be a building that could be used as a polling place on election days and as a community recreation hall. The School Board saw the project as an opportunity to rectify certain deficiencies of the Spring Lake School, constructed in 1919, which had no kitchen, lunchroom, or library. Thus it became an undertaking to serve the school as well as the community. This building was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1938. It was originally proposed to be a building that could be...

Now known as the Springer Cultural Center, what was then the main post office for Champaign, Illinois received a New Deal-era addition. Actually, the building received an addition in 1929, though it was razed seven years later to accommodate the larger construction, which effectively doubled the size of the original building, in 1936. A home behind the property was also demolished to make way for the new rear addition. The facility was converted into a what was known as the Springer Federal Building in 1966. Listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, the building was deeded to the...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built and completed improvements at the Springtown Tabernacle in Springtown TX. The Inspection Reports indicate the perimeter stone and wood fence was constructed in 1934. The pavilion (as it is called in the NPS Inspector Reports) was constructed in the latter part of 1937. There was no marker on site indicating that it was constructed by the CCC. There is a marker designating the structure as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (2017).

The Squirrel Hill Station post office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was constructed in 1938 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses a New Deal mural in its lobby, is still in use today.

"After withdrawing an application to the PWA, St. Augustine's municipal officials initiated the St. Augustine Civic Center project through the CWA. ... In 1935, residents and administrators celebrated the completion of the building under the FERA banner." (NRHP Nomination) The St. Augustine Civic Center is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

St. Bernard Projects were constructed 1940 as one of New Orleans' "Big Four" high-density urban public housing projects. Initially comprised of 744 units in 74 buildings constructed on 30.9 acres, the project was bordered by St. Bernard Avenue to Gibson Street and Senate Street to St. Denis Streets. Architects Herbert A. Benson, George Christy, and William Spink designed the buildings "to echo the brick townhouses of the Vieux Carre" (Historic American Buildings Survey, 1933). Similar to other public housing units in New Orleans, they reflected elements of the period including porches and balconies with metalwork and canopies. Unlike other units,...