Colleges and Universities Sites

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the West Barn, East Barn, and Milking Parlor at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh NC. Construction of a dairy plant complex comprising barns, managers residence, and other buildings, on a farm managed by the North Carolina State College. In the 1970s, the site became part of the North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

North Dakota State University was originally known as the North Dakota Agricultural College. The name was changed in 1960. The campus newspaper The Collegiate reported on Nov 5, 1937: "Up for approval before the local WPA council is an NDSC campus improvement, building renovation, and general landscaping plan involving expenditures amounting to $65,000. Out of the President's office just a few hours ago broke the news that Mr. Theodore Loy, WPAdministrator for this district, has in his hands at this moment an application for approval of the plan as drawn up by Business Manager S. W. Hagen, Mr. Edward Nelson, Board of...

The newspaper of what was then the North Dakota Agricultural College, The Spectrum of April 14, 1939 reported: "Student health fees, accumulating over a period of several years, will help finance the building of a $25,000 student health center on the campus, announces President Frank L. Eversull. Plans have been made for the project to be accomplished through WPA assistance. Tentative plans call for $10,000 of the student health fund to be augmented by $15,000 WPA money, although final arrangements have been on the WPA appropriation. Dr. Eversull adds that WPA officials have promised help in securing definite approval of the...

Two identical dorm buildings: Muller Hall and North Hall, were constructed at the same time as part of a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied a $65,454 grant for the project, whose total cost was $145,454. North Hall was originally constructed as a men's dormitory, and it is located at the intersection of Eagle Blvd. and Aggie Ave. Specifically, it is at the northwest corner of this intersection, facing along Eagle Blvd., kitty corner from Muller Hall (which fronts the east side of Aggie Ave.) "These residence halls were completely built by hand; cement and bricks were off-loaded from trains and placed in wagons pulled by mules and...

A 1985 Oklahoma Landmark Inventory identifies the perimeter wall around parts of the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College to be a Works Progress Administration (project), built in 1937-8: The campus of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College is partially encompassed by a WPA constructed rock fence. This double rock, 4 foot high and 18 inch thick fence is constructed of uncut and uncoursed native sandstone. It extends north to south some 150 feet, and east to west some 470 feet. Support piers with stone caps are situated on 49 foot centers; end columns have stone caps and are taller, up to the top of which the fence...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) gave the Arizona State Teachers College a grant of $105,000 and a loan of $313,000 to build housing on the campus – today's Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.  These were North Hall, expansion of Taylor Hall and Cottage City (see links to these projects at right).  The grant and loan also provided for the  installation of a new heating system for the campus and fire escapes for all buildings.   In addition, a Civil Works Administration (CWA) project in 1933-34 allowed the campus to fence the athletic field and build bleachers, add roads and curbs, and remove an old...

The New Deal provided the funds to build a large group of cottages for student housing – known as "Cottage City" – at what was then Arizona Teachers' College.   The Public Works Administration (PWA) made a grant of $57,900 and the state of Arizona added $20,000 to build 50 2-room cottages.  Construction was done in 1939 by 60 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees (no doubt from the Mt. Elden camp).  The units were small at 25x14 feet, built with rock walls and cement floors, plus running water.  There were three additional buildings for laundry and showers. More cottages were added...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) gave the Arizona State Teachers College a grant of $105,000 and a loan of $313,000 to build housing on the campus – today's Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.  These were North Hall, expansion of Taylor Hall and Cottage City. North Hall was constructed in 1935 as a women's dormitory at what was then the Arizona State Teachers' College.  It completed the "Women's Quadragle" at the north end of the college, at a time when most students at the college were women seeking careers as school teachers. The architecture of North Hall is brick Neoclassical, or Georgian, which...

In 1934 the Flagstaff school board received a grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA) for a new elementary school on the south side of town. Additional funds came from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The South Beaver School was meant to serve the largely Mexican, Native and Black children of the neighborhood.  The school board had declared its intentions to build the school since 1918 but never came up with the funds until the New Deal stepped in. The PWA under Harold Ickes was n0ted for funding minority schools across the country. The school building was constructed with volcanic malpais,...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) gave the Arizona State Teachers College a grant of $105,000 and a loan of $313,000 to build housing on the campus – today's Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff.  These were North Hall, expansion of Taylor Hall and Cottage City. Taylor Hall had been built in 1905 as a girls' dormitory and switched to men in 1908.  An earlier expansion had added a north wing to the original building (the date of the photograph in NAU library is given as 1937, but that's not possible given the car and clothing in the scene). The New Deal expansion...

The Works Progress Administration built a swimming center for Northwestern State University. Northwestern State University closed the Nesom Natatorium in May of 2012.

The “Nursing and Health Professions Building” is among the four remnant buildings, out of nine, that had been built on A-State Campus during the depth of the depression. In September 1933, the ASU Board of Trustee considered plan for four new structures including “Education Building,” “Power Plant Building,” “Armory-Gymnasium,” and “Common Building.” The Common Building was later named “State Hall” in the mid of the 20th Century, then recently called “College of Nursing and Health Professions.” Interestingly, uniquely and funnily, the Common Building was built in 1935 from the top down. It was built as six-story building, on the site...

CCC and WPA crews constructed this football stadium for the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City. From the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Quarterly: "With the help of Works Project Administration (WPA) laborers and a $50,000 WPA grant, development continued from 1932 through 1936.* The Alumni Association raised the remaining funds to finish the field by contacting the school's 750 alumni through meetings held in 26 alumni regions around the country. With the successful fundraising drive, the $132,000 O'Harra Memorial Stadium was dedicated on September 16, 1938. Black Hills businesses and government agencies also provided valuable...

Links Magazine reports that the par-71 Ohio State University Golf Course was built "during the Depression with a grant from the WPA ... his strategic gem was restored in 2006 by Buckeye legend Jack Nicklaus, who returned the course to Alister MacKenzie's original vision." The course opened in 1938. Nicklaus.com: "Alister MacKenzie, the architect of Cypress Point and Augusta National, designed Ohio State’s Scarlet course in 1931 but died in 1934, before ground was broken. Thankfully, Perry Maxwell oversaw the construction, which was completed in 1938. Scarlet has been home to Ohio State players like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf and John Cook,...

Several projects on what is now the Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) campus in Goodwell, OK were enabled by multiple New Deal agencies. Among the work undertaken were the construction of two new buildings by the P.W.A., and the renovation of other facilities by the W.P.A.

"The Administration Building, complete with a library, offices, six classrooms, two gymnasiums and a swimming pool, opens in September 1936. Funded by a loan and grant from the federal Public Works Administration, the cost is $123,000. In continuous use ever since, this Federal Revival-style facility is named for Old Dominion's third president, Alfred B. Rollins Jr., in 1996."   (https://www.odu.edu)

The former, since-demolished Hesper Hall building at OPSU was improved with W.P.A. funds. "In 1935, the Oklahoma State Legislature allowed PAMC to purchase WPA bonds to defray the cost of renovating Hesper Hall to become the library and the museum and to build a new dormitory and to repair campus buildings." The building has long since been demolished.

The North Texas State College's Orchestra Hall was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building (also known as Music Hall), which was located at Chestnut St. and Ave. C, has since been demolished and replaced. The P.W.A. contributed $40,000 toward the project, which was dedicated on April 27, 1937. "PWA funds made it possible for UNT to provided better academic and residential facilities. In 1936 a new band and orchestra hall was constructed using a PWA grant and a bond issue from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. This was the first use of a dormitory funding opportunity to finance...

Pennsylvania State University's Osmond Laboratory was one of a dozen buildings constructed on the campus during the Great Depression as part of a massive construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The building is still in use today.

Located behind the Dance-Gymnastics Laboratory Building, the outdoor swimming pool (and accompanying brick entrance building) was constructed between 1928 and 1940 by the W.P.A. The W.P.A. contributed $25,000 toward the project. While the building is still extant, the pool itself was filled in ca. 2014.

"The Outdoor Theater was built as a gift of the Class of 1915, and designed by one of its members and the university's first architecture graduate, Leon LeGrand. It was built in cooperation with the Work Projects Administration. The Art Deco stage was nearly demolished and replaced in 1977, but protests prompted its renovation and the addition of concrete terraced seating. It is a contributing property to the Clemson University Historic District II (NRHP)."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Paris Junior College Main Building in Paris TX. An article about the PJC Stadium being built by the WPA the article states that: "The same administrative force that constructed the main building and is now building a gymnasium at the new PJC plant will be in charge of stadium work. W. C. Christenson is superintendent of the college job, and John Mahaffey timekeeper."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Paris Junior College Stadium in Paris TX. A 1941 article published in the Paris News provides details about the new project: "Construction of Noyes Stadium, a $100.000 athletic' plant for Paris Junior College, begins Monday (Feb. 10, 1941). Upon receiving a work order from the state WPA office, Walter Phelan, Lamar County's general superintendent. Friday afternoon notified President J. R. McLemore that work would get under way next week. One hundred and twenty-five men have already been assigned to the project. The same administrative force that constructed the main building and is now building a gymnasium at the new...

Federal support was critical to restoring Pasadena City College (formerly Pasadena Junior College, or PJC) after it sustained extensive damage in the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. Immediately following the earthquake, the college received part of the $919,654 granted to the Pasadena school system by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Three damaged buildings were demolished and fifty steam-heated tents were erected, coming to be known as "Tent City." "Classes were conducted in Tent City for three long, long years, during which time both students and teachers experienced many hardships" (Dodge, p. 30). In the meantime, Public Works Administration (PWA) grants—alongside the sale...

Pennsylvania State University's Pattee Library was one of a dozen buildings constructed on the campus during the Great Depression as part of a massive construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The building, which has since been added to, is still in use today.

Several projects at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) were undertaken with New Deal assistance. "An extensive paving program was also started with New Deal funds of $10,500." Begun in 1934, this most likely involved the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.).

NYA boys on the Pearl River Junior College campus erected a vocational building, while the girls worked in home economics. Hancock Hall was completed 1938 by the National Youth Administration. The architect was Robert William Naef. The building was destroyed in 1961.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed an addition to Purdue University's Peirce Hall, then the Physics Building.

Then known as the Pennsylvania State College, Pennsylvania State University benefited during the Great Depression from a massive construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA provided a $1,446,000 grant for the project, whose final cost was $4,189,100. Construction occurred between February 1938 and August 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1874.) Twelve buildings were constructed on the campus, including numerous academic buildings. PSU.edu: "Charles Klauder had continued to revise his campus master plan as new buildings were added on the ground. A major revision came in 1937 in anticipation of major federal funding for public works. To meet long-delayed needs of...

The Public Works Administration funded the construction an auditorium building at the Junior College (today Phoenix College) in Phoenix. The facade architecture features Art Deco elements and white plaster finish. The auditorium is still in service today at Phoenix College.  

"In 1939 Phoenix College moved from its old location to a new site at Thomas and 15th. The architectural firm of Lescher and Mahoney was hired with Public Works Administration funds to design the first six buildings for the new campus. The Liberal Arts and Science buildings; a gym; a combination library, auditorium and administration building; a cafeteria; and a central heating plant formed the core of the college for many years. Although some now support different activities, all six buildings are still standing. The lower level of the new library contains two paintings funded by the Federal Emergency Relief...

"The kidney-shaped lake is surrounded by a grassy lawn dotted with mature trees and shrubs. A gravel path encircles the lake. Two modern bridges with metal railings cross the lake near its center... The current bridge is a modern addition to the lake as is the picnic shelter. Research suggests that this was a CWA project completed in 1934."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) began construction on "a collegiate-sized pool with underwater lighting and an adjacent bath house" in 1936 at what is now Valdosta State University. The school was completed by the state in 1938.  The exact position of the pool on the campus is unknown to Living New Deal; the pool has since been replaced.

Porter Hall was one of multiple buildings constructed on the GCSU campus with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. "The Music and Theater Building facing Wilkinson St. was constructed in 1939 over and around a 1912 steam plant, partly with Public Works Administration money and partly by funds from a bequest by Louisa Porter Gilmer Minis of Savannah."

In September 1935, the Public Works Administration (PWA) allotted $41,818 for the construction of faculty homes at Potomac State College (PSC), in Keyser, West Virginia. The allotment consisted of a $23,000 loan and an $18,818 grant. The Tri-State Construction and Building Company of Ashland, Kentucky, won the bid to construct the homes, and broke ground in April 1936. In its April 24, 1936 edition, the PSC student newspaper, The Pasquino, reported that “The homes will be built on the property of the school on the site of the old golf course. Three buildings will be erected on the site. One will...

In 1935, the Public Works Administration (PWA) awarded $41,818 for the construction of faculty homes at Potomac State College (PSC), Keyser, West Virginia. The current Farm Shop appears to have been the "tool shed" included in the original contract for those homes. The Tri-State Construction Company was awarded the contract to build the homes, and a report in April 1936 said that, “First signs of construction on the Potomac State faculty homes here are seen with the construction of a tool shed. Mr. Gates of the Tri-State Construction Company, Ashland, Ky., is here supervising the preliminary work” (Mineral Daily News and...

Potomac State College (PSC) in Keyser, West Virginia, received a great deal of aid from the New Deal’s National Youth Administration (NYA). As early as October 1935, 45 PSC students were in the NYA program (34 men and 11 women), with their financial assistance ranging from "thirty dollars, the lowest amount allotted any individual a term, to one hundred dollars" (The Pasquino, 10-9-1935). A year later, with NYA enrollment growing to over 50 students, Ernest E. Church, the president of PSC, summarized the arrangement: "The whole N.Y.A. program is to assist worthy students to secure a college education by providing necessary...

Work on Stayman Field began in December 1932 (before the New Deal) with funding from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). The initial construction was completed in November 1933. The stadium was named after Joseph W. Stayman, the president of Potomac State College from 1921 to 1936. In December 1933, it was reported that a crew of workers from the New Deal’s Civil Works Administration (CWA) had begun work on the expansion of Stayman Field, from its original “450 feet, by 270, to a long rectangle of 700 feet” (The Pasquino, 12-12-1933). The expansion facilitated better maintenance for the football field, and...

A description of Works Progress Administration (WPA) work: "Potsdam Normal School was given a modern athletic field, with a baseball field, tennis courts, etc." What was then Potsdam Normal School now comprises part of SUNY Potsdam.

"Dedicated by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in 1941 as Georgia State Women's College Library and officially named for Richard Holmes Powell, the first president of the institution, in 1947. It served as the library for the college for 30 years before Odum Library was constructed. Powell now houses an auditorium, the offices of Career Services, Co-op Education, Testing, Housing, the Counseling Center, and Alcohol and Other Drug Education." (Wikipedia) The building "represented the fifth project designed for the campus by the firm of Edwards and Sawyard. Later, the completed building was dedicated by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1941 ..." (Wikipedia)