Colleges and Universities Sites

Multiple New Deal agencies, including the Public Works Administration (P.W.A.), Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), and National Youth Administration (N.Y.A.), were involved in dramatically developing and transforming what was then the Texas State College for Women (now Texas Woman's University) in Denton. Federal assistance was responsible for several new buildings on campus in addition to other facilities such as a recently closed outdoor swimming pool. In all New Deal programs helped the institution effectively double its infrastructure.

"The lack of facilities in the plant made it impossible to meet the demand for an increase in the student body until funds appropriated by the State legislature and a P.W.A. grant made possible the construction of several buildings, one of which was this barracks. It is substantially the same both architecturally and as to construction as the Murray barracks which were built in 1926. It is 4 stories in height and is built around an inner courtyard surrounded with balconies. It provides 52 rooms, 2 toilet rooms, 2 dressing rooms, and 2 shower rooms on each floor....

"The lack of facilities in the plant made it impossible to meet the demand for an increase in the student body until funds appropriated by the State legislature and a P.W.A. grant made possible the construction of several buildings, one of which was this barracks. It is substantially the same both architecturally and as to construction as the Murray barracks which were built in 1926. It is 4 stories in height and is built around an inner courtyard surrounded with balconies. It provides 52 rooms, 2 toilet rooms, 2 dressing rooms, and 2 shower rooms on each floor....

Lock Haven University's Thomas Field House was one of several facilities constructed during the late 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building is still in service.

Thornwell College, a dormitory building on the University of South Carolina campus in Columbia, SC, was expanded in 1937, "part of an extensive building program on campus launched in the late 1930s as part of the New Deal. Originally planned as a student union building, Maxcy College and new wings at Thornwell College were erected at a cost of $225,000, a portion of which was paid for by the Public Works Administration." (USC) "New wings, then named Coker and McBryde, were added in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal building program." (USC) The building is located at the north...

Multiple New Deal-supported construction projects were undertaken on the campus of Winthrop University during the 1930s. "While a U.S. senator, Byrnes arranged for Works Project Administration funds to be used with matching state funds to construct three campus buildings – the auditorium, Thurmond Building, and Macfeat Nursery School, now the Macfeat House, a reception area created from the former Academic Computing Center." (winthrop.edu)

Townsend Hall, originally called the Practice Building, is the home of the MU education department and when built, included the practice school and University High school. It was built with PWA funding in 1935-36.

Kirk Memorial was built as the campus museum at the southern end of the north quad.  It has a design reminiscent of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.

This large classroom building that greatly expanded the capacity of the then Missouri State Teacher’s College. Designed by Bonsack & Pearce, it has classic lines and is highly functional. It is still in use.

The north quad is still at the northernmost point of the Truman Sate University campus.  During the extensive construction that occurred during the 30’s, the north quad was renovated by landscape architects Hare & Hare from Kansas City.  The trees are now old and mature and the buildings continue to be used and are either being renovated or have undergone renovation.

This building addition currently houses the University Art Museum. Originally, it was a junior high in the college’s lab school.

Around 1938, the PWA extended Tubman Hall through the addition of two east and west wings, thus creating an H-shaped plan. "Harriet Tubman Hall opened in 1921 and is the oldest building on the campus of Bowie State University. Named after the leader of the Underground Railroad and heroine to the African American race, this residence hall is known for having a strong sense of community. It currently houses approximately 162 female students. Tubman is very cozy and personal and it cultivates an environment that fosters the development of healthy, well-rounded young women."   (https://www.bowiestate.edu) The PWA also enlarged Banneker Hall around the...

This WPA angel fresco sits in the Richardson Hall administration building at the Southwest corner of the campus at Hermann and Laguna. With the recent plans for demolition, parts of the building have been demolished and access to this fresco appears to have been privatized. The fresco may have been painted by Hebe Daum.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro's Alumni House was constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the 1930s. "The Alumni House was built and furnished for about $155,000, which included a Public Works Administration grant of $31,400. Every dollar received was used to its fullest. The design. The materials. Even the core skeleton of the building." (UNCG.edu)

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro's Spencer Hall was extensively renovated as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the 1930s. "In 1938 came a thorough-going modernization and improvement ... It was ... the ready availability of the New Deal's Public Works Administration funds that provided the critical stimulus. The changes were, in fact, considerable, at least as to interior details, amenities, and appointments. Not the least of them was the end of the old oaken washstands, with the bowl and pitcher for the morning ablutions with water fetched hither from elsewhere. And scarcely less momentous was...

The University Health Service Building on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. "The University Health Service Building, completed in 1940, is on Fletcher (formerly Twelfth) Street adjacent to the W. K. Kellogg Institute and across the street from the Michigan League. The building was erected as the result of action by the Regents in August, 1938, applying to the government for PWA funds to aid in financing its construction (R. P., 1936-39, pp. 638-40). President Ruthven announced in November of the same...

The University of Alabama's Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library was built in 1939 with the aid of funding provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). It is located on the site of the first library on campus. The first university library, known as the Rotunda, was destroyed during the Civil War and its ruins can be found underneath the semi-circular plaza in front of the building. Gorgas Library supports teaching and research needs in humanities, social sciences, and government information as the campus’ main library. Among the research libraries in the state of Alabama, Gorgas Library provides the latest technology-driven services...

Hardaway Hall is located on the University of Alabama campus on 7th Ave. It is the engineering building. "The new structure is T-shaped in plan, the front portion being 2 stories in height and the rear wing 1 story. On the first floor are hydraulic, fuel, and aviation laboratories together with instrument and storage rooms. On the second floor are 10 classrooms, offices, and an auditorium. The building is fireproof throughout. The exterior walls are faced with red brick and trimmed with limestone. The pitched roofs are covered with asbestos shingles and the flat roofs with composition. The project was completed...

Bureau of Mines is building 116 on the campus map. "Of the 11 experimental stations of the Bureau of Mines, 9 are located at State universities where they have the advantage of educational facilities and cooperation with the State agencies. This one, at Tuscaloosa, was built on a site of 2 1/2 acres donated by the university. The building is three stories in height and 50 by 159 feet in plan and provides offices, conference rooms, assembly rooms, a library, a machine shop, assay rooms, and several laboratories for many different purposes. These laboratories are so arranged that they may be expanded...

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Science Building (today known as the Chemistry Building) at the University of Arizona at Tucson. The structure was designed by Roy Place and built in 1936. A 1986 National Register of Historic Places form describes the formal qualities of the building: “The Chemistry - Physics Building is a two-story red brick building constructed in the Italian Romanesque Revival style. However, the two main entrances are classical in detail. The building faces north on to the mall. Its walls are constructed in English Bond; there is a concrete base with ashlar markings. There are...

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Administration building at the University of Arizona at Tucson. The structure was designed by Roy Place and was built in 1937. Today the building is known as the Robert L. Nugent Building and serves as the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the auditorium at the University of Arizona, Tucson campus. It was designed by campus architect Roy Place. The venue opened in 1937 and hosted musical programs, plays, and lectures for students and the general public. The auditorium is known today as Centennial Hall.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of Gila Residence Hall at the University of Arizona at Tucson. The building served as a women’s dormitory. The structure was designed by Roy Place and built in 1937. It was renovated in 1988 and added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Humanities Building at the University of Arizona at Tucson. The structure was designed by Roy Place and built in 1935. A 1986 National Register of Historic Places form describes the formal qualities of the building: “The two story brick classroom building, facing north to North Campus Drive, is in the Italian Romanesque Revival style. The brickwork is English Bond. There is a concrete base with distinct ashlar patterning. There is a recessed entry highlighted by terracotta columns (in-antis) having abstract basket-weave capitals. A triple arch composition over the entry has two terra cotta...

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of Yuma Residence Hall at the University of Arizona at Tucson. The structure was designed by Roy Place and was built in 1937. The building served as a women’s dormitory.

"In 1934 University of Arizona President Homer Shantz persuaded Arizona's governor and state legislature to request funding from the Public Works Administration for a major building program on the university campus. PWA funds supported the construction of numerous buildings, seven of which still stand: the Arizona State Museum, Chemistry, Humanities (CESL), Auditorium (Centennial Hall), Administration (Nugent Hall), and two women's dormitories (Gila and Yuma Halls). The seven buildings were designed by Tucson architect Roy Place in the Spanish/Italian Romanesque style. They display large, rounded arches over windows and entryways; the masonry façades contain multiple materials of contrasting colors in decorative...

The Works Progress Administration built the entrance gate to the University of Arizona, Tucson campus, circa 1937.

"These illustrations are of the new museum building on the campus of the University of Arizona. It is 76 by 140 feet with a museum room on the first floor 87 by 70 feet, two small rooms each 31 by 23 feet, and offices for the curator and staff. A mezzanine exhibition gallery extends around the building. Construction is semifireproof with exterior walls of brick trimmed with stone. The project was completed in March 1937. The project cost of $1,043,174 included 16 buildings for the university." The museum is located at 1013 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Infirmary, which was part of the PWA expansion of the University of Arizona. The structure was completed in May, 1936. The infirmary was remodeled as the Student Health Center in 1964.  

"The structure illustrated on this page was erected by the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture to provide an erosion-control nursery and laboratories for the growing and testing of soil-protecting trees, bushes, plants, and grasses, as well as facilities for seed assembling and distribution. The building is of adobe construction and contains offices, a conference room, rooms for seed storage and packing, and a dark room. The greenhouse is typical greenhouse construction. The project was completed in August 1935 and the P.W.A. allotment was $17,190." The greenhouse may have recently been demolished (https://parentseyes.arizona.edu/placesinthesun/beginnings.php).

The Publics Works Administration funded the construction of ROTC stables, infirmary, and barracks for the cavalry training program. Interestingly, by the time of completion horses were already practically obsolete within the US military. Within five years, "cavalry" would mean meant tanks, not horses. "The R. O. T. C. Stables was another PWA project, designed by Roy Place and built by the M. M. Sundt Co. It is located on the north side of Warren Avenue, north of the University of Arizona Medical Center, next to the old UA polo field. It was completed in March, 1936. Original cost was $24,342. Later,...

"The University of Arizona carried out a rather extensive building program with the aid of the P.W.A. The women's building is characteristic of the architecture that was adopted for all buildings and has a somewhat north Italian medieval flavor and blends with the surroundings. The building is part one and part two stories in height. On the first floor is a women's gymnasium, 61 by 90 feet, with special exercise and locker rooms adjoining. There is also a swimming pool, 30 by 75 feet, furnished with underwater lighting and a modern sterilizing and filtering plant. On the second floor is a...

"While PWA funding was typically focused on local school districts in the public school system, seven buildings were constructed on the University of Arkansas campus using this funding. Buildings constructed with PWA funds during this period include Vol-Walker Hall (1935), the Chemistry Building (1936), Gibson Hall (1937), the Men’s Gymnasium (1937), Ozark Hall (1940), the Home Economics Building (1940), and Memorial Hall (1940). While the design oversight for these buildings was provided by Jamieson & Spearl based on the guidance of their 1925 plan, the construction documents and project administration for many of these buildings was completed by local Arkansas...

Originally the fine arts building, and now the music building. "This structure houses the various fine arts departments of the college. On the first floor are the offices, recitation and class rooms, and a small auditorium seating 185. The second floor is given up entirely to recitation and practice rooms. The building is semifireproof, the exterior walls being faced with random rock-faced stone ashlar trimmed with cut limestone. The plan permits of easy enlargement. The project was completed in May 1935. The construction cost was $94,856 and the project cost $105,897."

"The Livestock and Forestry Research Station - known as the Batesville Station - is a 3,000-acre unit developed to do research with beef cattle management/production and forestry. The primary focus of this unit is to do large-scale replicated forage utilizing three of the predominate forages commonly used in Arkansas – Kentucky fescue, Bermuda grass and winter annuals on approximately 1,250 acres of pasture and hay areas. Research is conducted using the 350-head brood cow herd. The forestry program is comprised of 1,750 acres of upland hardwood timber and shortleaf pine. These tracts of timber are managed to enhance productivity, species...

"Although there was already a chemistry building on campus, by 1925 it had become too small. There were plans to build a new building by the Arkansas General Assembly in 1927, and was scheduled to be built in 1931. However, the Great Depression delayed these plans. In January 1934, $1,165,000 was made available for the construction of both a new chemistry building and Vol Walker Library. These funds came from the Public Works Administration, and not the Arkansas legislature. Opened in December 1935, the building housed the chemistry, zoology, geology, philosophy, and psychology departments. Eventually, the growing University forced all of these...

"The University of Arkansas Campus Historic District is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2009. The district covers the historic core of the University of Arkansas campus, including 25 buildings. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on September 23, 2009 and the listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of October 2, 2009. The historical core of campus was built in many phases, coincident with when funding was available to build. Beginning with the construction of Old Main in...

"The new men's dormitory at the University of Arkansas is divided into three separate units, each having its own entrances and stairway. The building is 55 by 189 feet in plan and 3 stories in height. On the first floor are 19 double rooms, a lobby, and a social room. The second and third floors each provide 21 double rooms, so that the entire building can accommodate 122 students. The structure is fireproof, with reinforced concrete floor and roof slabs and exterior walls of brick trimmed with stone. It was completed in August 1937 at a...

"After completion of the PWA-funded University Library and Chemistry Building, the University received an additional $413,000 loan and $337,909 grant from the PWA for the construction of three additional buildings on campus. The PWA funds were used to construct the Home Economics Building (now the Human Environmental Sciences Building), Student Union (now known as Memorial Hall), and the Classroom Building (now Ozark Hall). Architects for all three of these buildings were Haralson & Mott of Fort Smith with Mann & Wanger of Little Rock. The three-story Home Economics Building, constructed in 1940, is a masonry building of Indiana white limestone...

"The new building is 3 stories in height. On the ground floor are locker, storage, and utility rooms. The gymnasium and auditorium occupy the entire first floor. A small second floor, across the front of the building, contains offices. There is an additional entrance to the ground floor from the outside. The building is 115 by 169 feet. The playing floor of the gymnasium is 103 by 135 feet, sufficient for 2 practice basketball courts when the bleacher seats are folded. When these seats are open the floor space provides a standard basketball court, and 2,112 spectators may be seated....