The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made improvements to the 44-acre Bayview Park in San Francisco on Bayview Hill (or Heights). These included a stone retaining wall along the loop road on the north side of the hill and two sets… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Bernal Recreation Center in San Francisco in 1939-1940. It sits just behind and below the Bernal Heights Public Library. Work consisted of excavating and grading 1,492 cubic yards of rock and soil, building… read more
The Bonnyview School was expanded in the 1930s with the help of the Public Works Administration (PWA). At the same time, the Bonnyview grounds were landscaped and 220 feet of rock retaining wall were built, along with entrance steps…. read more
The Civil Works Administration built perimeter rock and concrete walls around the Boyce Street School, a public elementary school. Currently, the site is a public park and playground.
In the winter of 1933-34, the relief workers of the Civil Works Administration (CWA) built a fine stone wall, 4-6 feet high, around the entire 6.5 acre Citizens’ Cemetery. A metal fence has been added on top of the south… read more
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… read more
The East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) was formed in 1934 and acquired land for parks from the East Bay Municipal Water District in 1936. The first parks were Tilden, Sibley, Temescal and Redwood in the East Bay Hills behind… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped create the old Forest Dale city park in the Sugarhouse section of southern Salt Lake City UT in 1935-37. The name was later changed to Fairmont Park (the adjoining Forest Dale golf course kept… read more
Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers “built a sandstone wall around the entire fort grounds and today the boundary demarcates the Fort McIntosh Historic District.”
Friendly Plaza is a small park in front of historic Colton Hall and the city hall of Monterey, California. The brick courtyard of Friendly Plaza was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project (Owens et al., 2004, p. 139). The decorative… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was extremely active in Grand Canyon National Park throughout the New Deal. The CCC enrollees worked under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS) and some of the projects were funded by the Public… read more
The WPA in West St. Paul: On the west side of Harmon Park, along Charlton, there’s an old stone wall that’s part of the original WPA work to improve the park and fields. Before the 2015 rebuild of the park,… read more
Seawall constructed on Hope St. Built by the Works Progress Administration between 1935 and 1939.
The Works Progress Administration constructed the Jacksonville Beach sea wall in Jacksonville BeachFL. The wall prevented beach erosion and provided protection against high tide. It was completed circa 1938.
The former City Park and Athletic Field (now the Ken Lindley Park) originated in 1908, but major improvements were made with relief labor provided by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in the winter of 1933-34. It is likely that after… read more
The federal WPA (Works Progress Administration) constructed a lava stone curb wall along Ali’i Drive in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii during the Great Depression. The wall, located 6386 Ali’i Drive, bears a WPA plaque.
As noted on a history plaque at the Marshfield IOOF Cemetery: “The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds improvements to Ingersoll Avenue, including a 490-foot-long rock wall at the southern end of the cemetery.” The WPA improvements occurred in 1938 and… read more
Retaining wall that borders the Artists’ Trail in Mill Creek Park. Built by the Works Progress Administration between 1935 and 1936.
The park, formerly City Park, was constructed, including clearing grounds, building bridges, sidewalks, tables, benches entrance, water and lights. An entrance was erected, croquet courts and other conveniences and attractions were built throughout the park. The creek was also walled…. read more
The seven-acre Montclair Park in Oakland was built with the aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938-40. This gem of a park lies just north of Montclair Village in the Oakland hills and below Montclair Elementary School. The… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted extensive development work at Grand Canyon Village, 1933-37, including the rock walls and pillars at the bottom of Navajo Street. The National Park Service CCC Walking Tour adds these details: “The CCC constructed these… read more
In 1935, Works Progress Administration (WPA) stone workers built a retaining wall along the east and west banks of NE 223rd to finish a Multnomah County road improvement. The road project involved constructing a railroad bridge and underpass for improved… read more
The Works Progress Administration constructed the Neptune Beach sea wall in Neptune Beach FL. The wall prevented beach erosion and provided protection against high tide. It was completed circa 1938.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive recreational improvements on Mt. Nebo, the highest and southern-most peak of the Wasatch Mountains. The CCC teams worked out of three camps: F-9 at the south end of the Mt. Nebo Loop, F-3… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built rock retaining walls in Point Richmond, a neighborhood of Richmond CA. The most notable wall is found at 220 Bishop Avenue and was built in 1940. It is six feet high and runs… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Sea Lion Point Rock Wall near Florence, Oregon. According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, “[t]his section of rock wall (.36 miles) extends around Sea Lion Point, providing a pull-out… read more
Relief workers of the federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed a low wall along West Kaahumanu Avenue (then Main Street) in Kahului, Maui in 1939. The wall, which is about 100 yards long, originally formed part of the boundary of… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Lake Temescal Park, now known as Temescal Regional Recreation Area, one of the original units of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD). When the EBRPD was created in 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in making improvements to Timpanogos Cave National Monument in the 1930s. They worked under the supervision of the National Park Service (NPS). A notable contribution of the WPA was… read more
In 1938, the Works Progress Administration completed the tunnel and stonework entrance into the Todd County Courthouse.
Trail Ridge Road is the main route across Rocky Mountain National Park, built in 1929 to 1932 to replace the old Fall River road. It is a marvel of highway engineering and provides stunning views of the park, particularly as… read more
The Tumacácori National Monument was set aside by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 to protect the ruins of the Mission of San Jose de Tumacacori. In 1918, it came under the administration of the National Park Service and its regional… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was active in Jerome, a copper mining town hit hard by the Great Depression. The WPA hired out-of-work miners for several projects in Jerome and nearby towns, c. 1937-38. One of those projects is “Upper… read more
In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) landscaped the grounds of the Utah State Training School in American Fork, just north of Provo UT. The landscaping included a quarter mile-long stone wall along the south property line of the… read more
The Works Progress Administration built a retaining wall to support the residential properties along the length of a sidewalk on Whittle Springs Rd. in North Knoxville. The wall, as well as a WPA inscription, can be found on the east… read more
Woodminster Amphitheater and Cascade is an astonishing feature of Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland hills and one of the largest New Deal projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. Woodminster lies just off Joaquin Miller Road above Highway 13. The… read more