“During the depression years (1938-39) the Central Grade School in Anchorage was built in Art Deco design, as a PWA (Public Works Administration) project of the Roosevelt Administration.” (ed.gov) The building was located on Fifth Avenue between F St. and G… read more
A WPA press release from Nov. 1937 reported: “More than 150 schools have been repaired and the grounds improved and landscaped [in Washington State], and five brand new schools in the state were erected entirely by WPA with a small… read more
The present Central High School building in Philadelphia was constructed as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $1,084,950 grant for the project, which was undertaken in 1937-1938. PWA Docket No. PA [W]1549. C.W. Short and R…. read more
Downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota’s historic Central High School building received an auditorium constructed with the assistance of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the 1930s. The building has since been expanded with further additions. Federal Writers’ Project: “CENTRAL… read more
The addition of an auditorium and gymnasium, since demolished, was completed for the 1924 Central High School building, along with improvements to the athletic field and athletic building. Architects N. W. Overstreet and A. H. Town designed the additions in… read more
Central High School was built in 1931. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) added a “school room equipment.” The WPA cost was $3,085.66. The WPA also did work on the football field and grounds improvements. The WPA cost was $4,750.76.
The WPA built the music hall at this high school. This hall still functions as a music classroom, as well as a storage space for textbooks.
The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair work to the Central High School in San Juan.
The no-longer-extant Central Islip State Hospital “was the largest psychiatric institution ever to exist in the United States.” Two WPA projects at the hospital involved the following: 1. “Painting brick walls of various buildings of [the] institution, $23,557.” 2. “Removal… read more
The former Queens Central Library, located at 89-14 Parsons Blvd., “opened in 1930 and was expanded with WPA funds in 1941.” “The current Central Library is a product of its era. In the mid-1960s, instead of renovating the existing library… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and carried our maintenance work for the Central Library (The Seattle Public Library). The HistoryLink.org website to highlights the history of the first of three libraries that have existed in downtown Seattle: “Since 1906,… read more
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 Brooklyn Public Library’s… read more
According to Town Reports, works was performed at the CMS by the New Deal. 1933 The following is a list of the various projects which have been carried on during the past three months through the use of C.W.A. Funds…. read more
"This little building provides elementary school facilities for the township of Manor, which is an agricultural district lying along the Susquehanna River. It is one story in height with a partial basement and provides four classrooms. The project included the… read more
Also known as Mustang Hall, the Central School auditorium was built by the WPA in 1939. A 2013 report on the school’s history explains: “Mustang Hall also exemplifies the architectural characteristics of the Art Deco style with Mission Revival influences… read more
The Central School in DeRuyter, NY was originally known as the Central Grade and High School. This PWA project (Docket No. NY 6983) was completed during the 1930s. The building has since been expanded. The school was designed by Carl… read more
The Downsville Central School in Downsville, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $108,245 grant for the project, whose total cost was $232,607. Construction occurred between Nov. 1938 and… read more
Romulus Central School was constructed as a New Deal project during the Great Depression. Funding was financed in part by the federal Public Works Administration, which contributed a $129,681 grant toward the project’s $289,095 final cost. Construction occurred between 1938… read more
The Central School in Salem, New York was constructed during the 1930s with the benefit of federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. 1505-DS). The original building is now part of an expanded educational facility.
Truxton, New York’s Central School was built during the 1930s. The project’s construction was aided by federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. NY 6488).
The Central and High School in Union Springs, New York was constructed during the 1930s. The federal Public Works Administration contributed funds that enabled the project’s development. PWA Docket No. NY 1233 provided a grant of $146,250 to the school… read more
The former Mt. Upton Central School, located on the west side of NY-8 just north of the intersection in central Mt. Upton, was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $62,000 loan… read more
The federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) contributed to the development of Rock Hill’s original North Side School. “School buildings and classroom additions went up at Central School, Northside School, Arcade-Victoria School, and Ebenezer Avenue School, with A. D. Gilchrist the… read more
Altona, New York’s Central School was constructed during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. NY 1236). The building was designed by Plattsburgh architect Alvin W. Inman. The former school is now part… read more
Chestertown, New York’s Central Grade & High School was constructed during the 1930s with the assistance federal Public Works Administration funds (Docket No. NY 3629). The old Central School, on State Route 9, still stands, though its current use is… read more
“The old Central School in Vernal was torn down in 1942 and a new Central School was built in the PWA Moderne style with WPA funds on the site of the old school.” The exact location and status of the… read more
“A 1938 project supported by the school district, town leaders and a PWA grant resulted in a building used for school and sports functions as well as an auditorium for public gatherings. It is the largest auditorium in the San… read more
This WPA school was built in 1936-1937 as the Southwest High School. It is now the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School. This school has been added onto multiple times and the front of the original building is not… read more
Anthony Chabot Elementary School was originally built as the Claremont Annex School in 1927, but it was renamed in 1930 for Anthony Chabot, an early settler in Oakland who built the first city water works by damming nearby Temescal Creek…. read more
The first building on this campus was opened as part of the Chaffey College of Agriculture in 1885. It became the Ontario High School in 1901 and the present Chaffey High School in 1911. In 1916, the Chaffey Junior College… read more
The auditorium for Chalk School was constructed in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration. Architect Penn Jeffries Krouse designed the addition to the school. It has most recently operated as the Calvary Christian School.
CUSD: “In 1939, a new gymnasium was constructed on the high school campus, immediately southwest of the old gymnasium. Built at a cost of $70,000, the new structure had a cafeteria at the rear, with dressing rooms for boys and… read more
“Building has ahslar quarry-faced limestone walls laid in a random range. Dressed stone details include beltcourses and arched entry surround. The symmetrical facade has a 9-bay central block. At its center the castellated entry surround projects slightly from the building… read more
Charity Hospital was constructed between 1936 and 1940 in central New Orleans, about a mile north of the downtown by today’s Interstate 10. Charity Hospital was one of two teaching hospitals which were part of the Medical Center of… read more
A $15,000 improvement project was allotted for Natchez Charity hospital, the oldest charity hospital in Mississippi, for main building and nurses’ home. The hospital was constructed 1849-1852, 3.5 stories, and was destroyed by fire in 1984. It became the Natchez… read more
$4,600 project was allotted for Vicksburg Charities hospital for main building and nurses’ home renovations in 1934. The building that began as the city hospital in the 1840s because a state institution around 1871, operated from a former plantation mansion…. read more
According to the Minnesota Historical Society: “By the 1930s, the boyhood home of famous aviator Charles A. Lindbergh had been badly damaged by souvenir-hunters. In 1936, the WPA began restoration of the house, which, along with the adjoining farmland, had… read more
Charles E. Nash Elementary School was originally constructed in 1927 and received a small addition in 1936. It’s likely that the addition was completed as the result of New Deal funding, but that has not been verified. It has been… read more
The WPA improved the school building and graded and leveled the school grounds.
Built by the PWA. The school’s website still displays an allegiance to the school’s namesake, showing rotating photos of Charles Lindbergh and his airplane.
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
