Civic Facilities Sites

This classic 1894 brick structure received some attention as part of a large number of New Deal projects being undertaken in the city of Biddeford, Maine. As part of the $120,000.00 Federal expenditures in the town in 1935, the mayor Arthur J. Remillard reported that "A public building project was in operation throughout the year employing 10 men. Under this project many necessary repairs were made to the City Building and to several school- houses. The roof of the City Building was leaking so that rain was ruining all the inside of the building. The edge of the roof was raised...

Champaign's historic City Building was constructed in part with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building replaced a two-story red brick building that had been on site. The New Deal structure bears a 1935 cornerstone and opened in 1937. The P.W.A. supplied a $77,454 grant for the project, whose total cost was $207,617. P.W.A. Docket No. ILL 1357-R

"The Yukon City Hall is a two-story light brick building constructed by the WPA in 1936. It faces north and has a centered entrance. The building has five bays, separated by decorative masonry pilasters, with engraving at the tops. The entrance is a single aluminum and glass door with a narrow sidelight and transom. Beneath the ground floor windows is a stone water table which surrounds the building. Each floors has a single fixed pane window with a stone sill. Across the top of the facade is a wide stone entablature which is engraved "CITY OF YUKON". The WPA shield...

The mayors address in the 1933 town report mentions a Civil Works Administration project for repairs at the 1892 baroque revival style building. "City building is now being rewired, painted and varnished as you may see." This project was part of $239,193.23 spent in the city for unemployment relief. The mayor's address in the 1934 town report mentions an E.R.A. project for modernizing the wiring in City Building.

From its origins in the 19th century, the cemetery in Cottonwood AZ was privately owned and run. A local committee was formed in 1937-38 to maintain the cemetery and it immediately sought federal aid from the New Deal.  Help came from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which fenced the entire site. We have no found a definite date for when the work was done. Notably, the WPA relief workers built a 4-5' stone wall along the front of the property and two entrance gates. The main entrance is notable for its a metal arch reading "Cottonwood Cemetery".   The wall, gates and...

A 1939 Report on WPA works in Southern California describes WPA involvement in the construction of this large city garage, which is still standing today. WPA Work Project No. 996 employed an average of 79 men for 7 months. "Sponsored by the City of Glendale, provided for the completion of a garage building started under the S.E.R.A. (State Emergency Relief Administration) This building, which is located on Isabel Street adjacent to the City Hall, is for the purpose of centrally storing and maintaining city owned trucks, passenger cars and other equipment. The structure is ell-shaped, having a one story portion containing...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed a new/enlarged municipal garage just south of the Convention Hall (Memorial Hall), at the northwest corner of E Ave. B and S. Walnut St. in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Hutchinson News: "The city is acquiring lots just south of Convention Hall facing on Avenue B with a 148 foot front. On the new site is a brick building on the alley across tho court from Convention hall which is now used by the city. The plan is to enlarge it, with an extension to the south of a storage garage to be used for city trucks...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed a new city garage for Medford, Massachusetts. From a W.P.A. Bulletin: Medford's antiquated city garage built to accommodate horse drawn equipment will be replaced with a new Medford WPA city garage now in construction. The new building will contain offices, workrooms, and storage for motor vehicles at present kept in rented quarters. The exact location and present status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an addition to Hackensack, New Jersey's old River St. City Garage in 1936. The addition was used as a truck storage shed. As part of the project a brick wall was constructed between the new and preexisting structures and other work was undertaken at the facility. Visual analysis of old photographs places the garage along River St. near East Kansas St. The structures are no longer extant.

The former Marsac School in Park City, Utah was constructed in 1935-36 with funding from the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The large structure was built to consolidate schools from around the town.  It now serves as the t0wn's city hall. The building was bought 1983  by the city from the school district, which had built a new school complex outside the old town.  It was renovated once, then completely redone again c. 2008, according to the plaques on the south front. Only the state historical plaque mentions the New Deal contribution. The architects were Carl Scott and George Welch of Salt Lake City, and the building is...

On July 25, 1935, the Ainsworth Star-Journal announced that plans were in the works for a new city hall. The Ainsworth City Council had tentatively approved plans for the new building, drawn by Architect J. F. Reynolds of Lincoln. A bond election was required in order to apply for the Public Works Administration (PWA) grant program, and a petition was quickly circulated to ask the city to hold the election. Of those asked to sign the petition, 97 signed without question and only one refused outright. The new city hall building already had a great deal of support, having been...

The historic Alpine City Hall was constructed in 1936 as a New Deal project with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor. It included meeting rooms, an assembly room, public library, jail and fire station. The architecture is a melange of New England Colonial and Renaissance Revival styles, with a bell tower and entry flanked by capped stone pilasters and urns and topped off with a sunburst under the archway.    The Utah State Historic marker, placed in 1992, declares: "...this building represents the significant impact of New Deal programs in providing both jobs and public facilities. It is one of over 240 buildings constructed...

"The new Municipal Building at Ardmore replaces two old structures, one of which was used as the city hall and one as the police station, and makes possible the concentration of all of the municipal departments under one roof. The building is three stories in height and is 72 by 120 feet in plan. The police department, offices for the street super-intendent and health officer, and space for the fire-department apparatus are on the first floor. The second floor is devoted to the council chamber, water department, city manger's office, city engineer's office, and a dormitory for the...

Atchison, Kansas's city hall was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $58,765 grant for the project, whose total cost was $128,185. Work started in Oct. 1938 and was completed in Dec. 1939. PWA Docket No. KS 1434

On September 30, 1937, the City of Austin accepted a grant from the Public Works Administration not to exceed $112,500 to aid in the construction of a city hall and central fire station. The new city hall was a renovation of the existing 1906 city hall with new extensions added. The architectural firm of Page and Southerland designed the new building in the Art Moderne style. The city let the general contract for construction to the Schwarzer-Barron Company on November 22, 1937 for a bid of $145,594. The city council held its first meeting in the building on November 23,...

From the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies: "Bellingham's second City Hall designed by Leonard William Somerville Bindon built under Public Works Administration and Federal Works Agency programs of the New Deal in the Art Deco style. Begun in 1938, it was dedicated on January 4, 1940. two stories with ten two story windows across the front... has three entrance doors in the center front."

Constructed by the WPA in 1936: "The Bigfork City Hall is one of the only original historic buildings still standing in this northwoods town of approximately 450 people. The building, constructed in 1936 as a Depression-era federal relief project, consists of cast concrete exterior walls faced with field stones. Today, the building houses a small clerk’s office, with a public meeting room on the ground level and a VFW meeting hall in the basement and former firehouse bay."   (https://www.mnpreservation.org)

"In Yellowstone County, the New Deal funded projects large and small. Money from the Public Works Administration helped build Billings' City Hall in 1940." The building has been extensively modified.

The Works Progress Administration built the City Hall in Bird City, Kansas. The park buildings were constructed with stone from Beaver Creek and the Kuhrt Ranch quarry.    

"Brentwood is a suburb of St. Louis, a short distance west of the city, and had a population of 2,819 in 1930. Its new city hall is erected in a residential district and provides space for a council chamber, offices for the mayor and the aldermen, the police department, including a small dormitory and a jail, two fire trucks, and the necessary storage and utility room. The building is two stories and a basement in height and is of fireproof construction throughout. The exterior walls are red face brick trimmed with stone. The roof is covered with slate and is surmounted...

Brentwood, Missouri's city hall was constructed in 1935 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.

The Works Projects Administration (WPA) funded the construction of City Hall in Burbank, CA. Completed in 1943, the Moderne-style, reinforced concrete building was designed by architects William Allen and George Lutzi. "Outside, ornate sculpted panels depicting themes of peace, social order and technological progress soften the utilitarian concrete walls of two-story wings flanking a tower. Brass handrailings draw visitors up the steps and into an airy rotunda, brightly illuminated through a cast-concrete grill that forms a decorative facade for the tower. Inside, sound bounces readily across the marble floors and walls, but visitors talk and tread softly, as if in...

"The city hall at Canby is a good example of a municipal building designed to accommodate most of the departments of a small community. The structure provides quarters for the council chamber, light and water departments, police and fire departments, and adequate storage space. The construction consists of concrete foundation walls, brick exterior walls above grade, and frame floors, partitions, and roof. All trim is wood. The building was completed in March 1937 at a construction cost of $10,850 and a project cost of $11,642."

Carlton's stately city hall was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1937.

The City Hall for Clare, Michigan, was begun in 1933 under the auspices of the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and led by architect R. V. Gay. Details of the project's origins can be found in the 1933 document, General Construction Specifications.

Cody, Wyoming's City Hall (originally Town Hall) was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project during the Great Depression. The P.W.A. supplied a $14,400 grant for the project, whose total cost was $32,660. Construction occurred between Oct. 1938 and Apr. 1939. The New Deal structure has been expanded into a larger facility. PWA Docket No. WY 1077

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a "rugged, beautiful" city hall in Corning, Kansas. Per an article in The Axtell Standard, "random sizes of stones form a pleasing effect in the walls." The building bears a 1938 plaque crediting the WPA.

Art Deco City Hall built for $340,000 with Works Progress Administration workers in 1939. The building was designed by architect J. Chris Jensen. An article published in the Daily Nonpareil in 1939 stated that, “Actual work leading to the construction of the proposed $340,000 city hall at the old Merriam Block site started Monday with 40 WPA men assigned to remove piling from the basement excavation and to pave the way for pile driving equipment J. Chris Jensen, architect, said the pile driving equipment will be moved in on the job within the next few days. Workmen, after taking the 500 pilling...

After winning the mayoralty in 1934, Ernest L. Sprague "called for the building of a new city hall because the existing one in Knightsville was a 'fire hazard' ... Within a few months ... Sprague had secured a federal grant from the Public Works Administration to build a new city hall."   (Frias) A 1939 survey of PWA projects describes the still intact city hall as follows: "The new city hall, which houses all of the municipal offices, replaces the old frame town hall built in 1885 which was considered to be a firetrap, and, in addition, made it possible to eliminate...

Crete, Nebraska's historic City Hall was constructed in 1939 with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building is still in service. The PWA supplied a $19,975 grant for the project, whose total cost was $44,109. PWA Docket No. NE 1452

This art deco brick building was constructed by the WPA starting in 1940. "Cuthbert’s Mid-Century Modern City Hall was a project of the WPA, near the tail-end of funding for the New Deal agency. It’s a quiet landmark of governmental architecture and utilitarian design. The lists the names of the committee members who oversaw its construction."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the municipal building in De Leon, Texas. The building has housed various municipal functions over the years, including  the City Hall, Fire Station, Auditorium, and Library. Official project No. 665-66-2-16. File card text: City Hall; City hall and fire station, including Auditorium; reinforced concrete foundation, brick construction, steel trusses in auditorium; also contains library. Two story brick building is still City Hall. But the building now houses a police station instead of a fire station. Plaque on building reads: Works Progress Administration 1938-1939.

"The new city hall at Delaware replaces a building which was built in 1873 and which was destroyed by fire in 1934. Following the fire, the city offices were housed in an abandoned school building, the fire department occupied rented quarters, and municipal prisoners had to be confined in the county jail. The new building was erected on the old site, which has been suitably landscaped. The first floor provides quarters for city offices, the fire department, and a police garage. The second floor houses council chambers, conference rooms, the office of the city engineer, a jail, and quarters for the jailer. The...

Deshler, Ohio's city hall was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937. The building has been in continuous use since construction.

The historic and stately City Hall building in Dover, New Hampshire was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $78.780 grant for the project, whose total cost was $302,847. The building, which was constructed between July 1934 and December 1935, is still in service. PWA Docket No. NH 6185.

"By the 1930s, Eudora was substantial enough to need a city hall.  The city turned to the PWA for assistance in constructing the building, and they received a loan of $9,000 and a grant of $6,142, for a total amount of $16,142.  The estimated total cost for the building was $15,697, so the PWA assistance would more than cover the cost of the building.  The money was allotted on January 5, 1936, and by the time the contract was concluded on May 12, 1936, the cost had shrunk to $14,487, which was the amount specified in the contract.  The project...

Characterized by its Art Deco architectural style, Fairfield City Hall still serves as the seat of city government.  It was remodeled in the early 1990s, and the only interior touches of its Art Deco architectural style are the decorative arches over the doorways.  This building received funding from both the city of Fairfield and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  Mayor Claude Gilley proposed the idea to the city council, and the city purchased the land in April 1941.  The city of Fairfield secured WPA funding in June.  E.B. Van Keuren served as the architect, and construction began July 1st.  The...

The WPA built this city hall, still in use, in Fairview. From the National Register of Historic Places: "The Fairview City Hall, built in 1936, is a one-story stone building with a basically square plan, a raised basement, and a flat roof. There have been no major alterations made to the building. This building represents an excellent example of the stark, abstract classicism associated with the PWA Moderne architectural style in Utah. The principal facade is symmetrically divided into three bays. The central bay is narrower and contains the front door, while the flanking bays have slightly wider windows on both...

Forrest City, Arkansas's City Hall (sometimes known as the Municipal Building) was constructed in 1938-9 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a grant of $9,676 for the project, whose total cost was $22,151. The building "features Art Deco-style detailing in cast-stone on its front façade." PWA Docket No. Ark. 1149

Gardner, Massachusetts's city hall as constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building is still in service. The construction of a new city hall was first mentioned by mayor Fred E. Perry in his 1938 inaugural address. He said he had many plans for the city, “the chief of which was the erection of a new city hall which would be combined with a memorial to the World War veterans." The actual construction of the building could not be started at the time due to the financial constraints that the city faced. Eventually they were able...