Education and Health Sites

Now (2023) apparently unused, but still owned by Madison (Indiana) Consolidated Schools. Gym was built by WPA in 1938 behind the 1926 Lancaster Township Grade and High School. School was replaced with a new building attached to the gym.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Durant Public School in 1940-42. N. W. Overstreet and Associates designed the Art Moderne school building and  W. E. Rubush of Meridian was the superintendent of construction. The building is 181 feet by 138 feet, with a 2-story central auditorium joining together two single-story wings.  The Durant school system made two applications to the federal government for aid in building a new school.  Public Works Administration application x1330 was returned unfunded due to lack of funds. A Works Progress Administration application was submitted in 1940 and approved for project no. 41133 for an allotment of...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a shop building, incinerator plant, and remodeled the bus stop at Durham High School.  It appears that the shop building still stands, if considerably altered.  There is no sign of the incinerator and the bus stop could not be located.

The Dutch Flat Grammar School dates to the mid 19th century. In 1939, the WPA built the tennis court area which still remains. The school saw its last graduating class in 1962, and the building was subsequently turned into the Dutch Flat Community Center.

Dwight Hall, located in the southeast portion of the Framingham State University campus, was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA contributed $96,750 of the project's $238,556 final cost. Construction began at the end of Dec. 1935 and was completed in 1937. PWA Docket No. MA 1138.

On August 22, 1935, the Grant County Board of Education submitted a WPA proposal to build a new school in Dwyer, a homesteading community straddling the Mimbres River, 40 miles southeast of the county seat in Silver City. The board had been busy the summer and into the fall, preparing similar project proposals for far-flung rural school districts in the county. It justified the need for the Dwyer school, stating in the application that the original adobe schoolhouse, constructed 30 years prior, “is unsafe and is beyond repair. It is poorly lighted and hard to heat sufficiently for pupils’ needs,” concluding, “a...

The Dyess Colony Hospital served not only as a local medical care facility, but also a cost-effective alternative to the hospitals in the area. The cost of general medical services was about half of the state’s rate, and the price for surgery was about one third. This was also one of the first hospitals at the time to try to encourage women to come into the hospital for pregnancies, rather than the more traditional stay at home births. The hospital itself no longer exists, but there is a plague in front of the land where it historically was. While the...

The Works Progress Administration built an entrance gate for the E. W. Luther Elementary School track. A plaque installed on the structure reads: "WPA 1036." The gate marks the back entrance to the school's athletic field.  

In December 1939 the Eagle Bend School burned down, causing $110,000 in damage and destroying a gymnasium constructed by the Public Works Administration in 1934. While deliberating on new construction on January 31, 1940, the members of the Eagle Bend School Board applied for $52,000 of Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) funding to complete the rebuilding of the school. Blueprints were drawn by architect, E.F. Broomhall from Duluth, MN., and A.C. Dunn was the W.P.A. area engineer. The project employed a variety of local laborers and businesses to supplement W.P.A. labor. Carpenters Gust Berggren and Olof Edmonds received an additional 50-cent per...

The New Deal helped to construct the Eagle Pass high school at 1610 Del Rio Boulevard in the mid-to-late 1930s. It operated as a high school until 1972 before becoming a middle school. It is now an elementary school. According to contributor William Gunter there is a WPA plaque on the building with the date 1936. However, an article in the American Educational History Journal puts the year at 1938.  

Eagle Rock Elementary School, which opened in 1923, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

The school was constructed 1935-1936 with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.  It is similar in design to the one at Union City, TN, also designed by Tisdale and Pinson and funded by the PWA.  According to Carroll Van West (2001), “Eakin was one of Nashville’s early New Deal projects.”  The PWA Modern design features a “square Doric classical colonnade and courtyard creating an impressive entrance” (p. 101).  designed and built by the Nashville firm of Tisdale and Pinson."   (https://www.nashville.gov) The Cavert Junior High School, which is directly adjacent to the Eakin School, was built ten years earlier in 1926. Both are listed as...

A school for "Mexican-American children" was constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $13,091 grant for the project, whose total cost was $29,215. Construction began in January and was completed in July 1936. The school was later known as the Earl Bell School. It was demolished in 1979 after abandonment. A 1963 USGS map places the Earl Bell School on the south side of E 5th Street between Peach St. and Sycamore St. PWA Docket No. 1177.

What is now-Earl L. Vandermeulen High School was improved by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1936. According to the Suffolk County News, these improvements included "concrete walks, pavement, and drains on grounds of Port Jefferson High School and athletic field."

In 1940 the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) supported the construction of Earlsboro High School in Oklahoma. According to the Waymarking site for this building, the town of Earlsboro had a population of 486 in 1940. Without the resources provided by the WPA, the town would not have been able to afford to build the school at the time. In the words of the Oklahoma Preservation Survey, "the WPA brought federal funds to help meet construction costs. Without this help Earlsboro would not have the facilities it has today. In constructing the buildings, the WPA hired unemployed residents of the...

Originally called Kern County High School, East Bakersfield High School was constructed by the PWA in 1938.

This parish training school for African American students was undertaken in Lake Providence, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The funding was allocated as part of a joint project with the construction of an elementary and secondary school in Lake Providence and a bond was issued for the construction of the parish training school in 1937. The school was destroyed by fire in a suspected arson in 1959 (Leighninger, 2007). The exact location of the school is unknown to Living New Deal.

This school was constructed by the PWA at the same time as West Elementary school in Jefferson City. It includes some of the West school Modern Deco elements, but has a red brick façade with decorative brick and concrete elements.  It is currently being used by the Jefferson City, but is in the process of extensive remodeling that includes the initial construction information.    

In 1936, the WPA added a rear auditorium and cafeteria to the East End Italianate/Craftsman school originally constructed in 1888.

The facility now known as East Hall was originally constructed as the "Isolation Building" for Florida Industrial School for Girls, a reformatory. It was constructed in 1936 as a New Deal-aided project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) supplied a $27,727 grant for the project, whose total cost was $65,660. (It is possible that the grant enabled other construction on the grounds as well.) Wikipedia: "East Hall is an historic one-story red brick building located at 307 Southeast 26th Terrace in Ocala, Florida, United States. Designed by architect Frank Parzaile, it was built in 1936 by the Public Works Administration. On July...

Then constructed as the East Harlem Health and Teaching Center, what is now known as the East Harlem District Health Center was built with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $239,000 loan and $343,700 grant for the project, whose total cost was $1,253,244. Construction occurred between November 1935 and December 1937. PWA Docket No. NY 9049. A March 1935 Parks Department press release discussing the construction of the health center also describes plans to build a playground on the building's roof that would "spare nothing in the way of ingenuity in developing this area into the city's most...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals” work at the East Hill School on St. Croix.

The Civil Works Administration completed repairs and improvements at the Birmingham's East Lake Branch Library. The New Deal mural "Fairy Tale Scenes," painted by Carrie Hill, and commissioned by the Federal Art Project, is located in the children's room at the East Lake Branch Library.

East Lampeter Township in Pennsylvania received a new school building in 1937 as part of a New Deal project; the facility was financed in part by the Public Works Administration. The PWA supplied a $50,768 grant for the project, whose total cost was $122,170. The location and status of the facility is presently unknown to Living New Deal. Interestingly, the township had intended to auction off the "little red schoolhouses," attended by local Amish children, which this facility replaced. However, the motion was blocked by a Federal judge on March 2, 1938, and the sect won the right to continue sending their children to 'simple'...

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve the former East Main Street School in Amsterdam, New York during the 1930s. WPA work included the modest contributions of "painting walls, ceilings, windows, doors, and cornice" as well as varnishing. The building has since been repurposed as a church.

In 1934 the PWA built this third floor addition to the existing high school building, which was completed in 1908. The Colonial Revival building was later occupied by the junior high, which itself later moved out. It is currently elderly housing known as Taunton Plaza. The architects of the addition were William R. Walker & Son of Providence.

The University of Michigan's East Quadrangle was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. "Professor Lewis M. Gram, Director of Physical Plant Extension, submitted a communication to the Regents on August 22, 1938, proposing the construction of the Health Service, a women's dormitory (Stockwell Hall), and an addition of two floors to the University Hospital. The Regents acted favorably on this proposal and added a fourth project for a men's dormitory to accommodate 410 men and to make an addition to the University Power Plant. Application to Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works...

In 1933 the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) furnished the labor for the installation of four light bulbs per classroom in what was then known as the East School. The next year the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) undertook repair work in the basement of the school; repaired concrete floors; and plastered walls. Furthermore F.E.R.A. labor re-painted the school's exterior, conducted roof repairs, repointed bricks, and continued the undertaking of lighting improvements. The school was closed and demolished. West Hartford Library explains that Whiting Lane Elementary School was constructed to replace the East School in 1954. However, it was not built on...

The PWA built this six-classroom elementary school in 1937 (docket #1093-RD). It remained in use until 1997, when it was demolished. The site is now East Side Park. Note: the Nampa School District history linked below indicates that the WPA built the school, while the record is found in the PWA archives with a docket listed.

The East Stadium-Dormitory for what was then known as State Teachers College was completed 1939 with funding from PWA and college revenue bonds. It originally was built as a stadium and the men's dormitory was under the east stand of the stadium. It was project X1314 for a total cost of $140,000. The project was approved September 13, 1938 and completed November 15, 1939. Contractor was B. L. Knost of Pass Christian. The concrete building/stadium was on the east side of the Faulkner athletic field, seating 6,000. The dormitory housed 165 men and opened for move-in November 2, 1939. Mrs....

Then known as the East Stroudsburg State Teachers College, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA provided a $202,000 grant for the project, whose final cost was $627,788. Primary construction work occurred between 1938 and 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1855.) Four buildings were constructed on the campus, including a gymnasium, dorm, and dining hall. The buildings are still extant.

The PWA constructed this building to house the Eastern High School for Girls in 1936-38. In 1979, it became a coeducational school. The school closed in 1986. The buildings were renovated in the 1990s and are now being used for offices by the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. The PWA's 1939 buildings survey described the new school as follows: "This high school…occupies a site of 24 acres in Venable Park, which is developed into an athletic field, a quarter-mile running track, fields for archery, handball, tennis, and badminton courts.   Of the 75 classrooms, 25 are equipped for special instruction. There are also a...

In 1942, the Washington Post reported the allocation of $12,925 to the Federal Works Agency (FWA) for new construction and/or improvements to Eastern High School's recreation center.  The report does not specify what work was to be done. The current status of the New Deal improvements is unkonwn. The baseball diamond part of the high school fields may well have its origin in the work of the early 1940s. The high school itself, constructed in 1923, was not a New Deal project.

Eastern New Mexico University saw great improvements resulting from the efforts and funding of multiple New Deal programs. The campus is home to several outstanding New Deal buildings and artworks.

The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds provided funding for the construction of numerous facilities as Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake, Washington.

Several projects at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) were undertaken with New Deal funds. "The biggest project undertaken using funds from the federal government was the development of an airport, supported by partial grants from the WPA. In 1940, the government bequeathed the WPA $25 million for the construction of airports. The WPA provided approximately $154,970 towards such a project on the campus of the Agricultural and Mechanical College to Texas. The airport was completed in 1941 and another $75,000 was given by the WPA to light the finished runways. The Agricultural and Mechanical College...

Eastman Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1923, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

The historic former Eaton Grade School building in Eaton, New York was, Living New Deal believes, originally one of two similarly designed school buildings built in the Town of Eaton as part of a New Deal project. The PWA provided a $185,625 grant for a project that included the Morrisville Central School. Construction on both schools began in 1936. The school building is now privately owned and fenced off. PWA Docket No. NY 1118-A.

Eau Claire Senior High School was constructed in 1925-1926 to replace an aging structure on Lake and 4th St. The new high school had extensive basement renovation in the summer of 1938 carried out by the National Youth Administration (NYA), part of the Works Progress Administration. The work done to the structure allowed for a 20X60-foot room to be made to show films and slides. A steel backstop was added as well to create an indoor firing range for the High School .22 Rifle Club. The building now serves as the Eau Claire School District administrative offices.

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 architect for all these PWA projects."