Education and Health Sites

C. K. Colley and Sons designed the "graceful yet understated Tudor Revival" (Van West, 2001, p. 102) school on the site of the former Lockeland mansion with the assistance of the Public Works Administration (PWA) during the Great Depression. The school grounds were expanded during the 1940s and 1961, and the school remains in use as a "Design Center" specializing in literature and Spanish language instruction.

Logan Academy of Global Ecology (formerly Logan Street Elementary School), which opened in 1888, 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...

The Loma Portal school was established in 1914. The WPA made ground improvements in the 1930s.

Loma Vista Elementary School, which opened in 1926, 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 1939 WPA Accomplishment Report for Southern California reported that the WPA improved the grounds at this South Whittier school. The school building itself may also be New Deal, as it shows classic PWA Moderne architecture.

The original structure of Lombard Junior High School was originally constructed in 1939 as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project.

The hewn-limestone school in Lometa, Texas consists of two wings and a central gymnasium. It was the first school building in Lometa to have indoor plumbing. The Works Projects Administration did most of the work and the Public Works Administration provided partial funding under docket W1950.

This WPA built school is still the only high school in Lone Pine, California.

Three buildings at Long Beach City College's Liberal Arts Campus (formerly Long Beach Junior College) were constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding in 1935. The original campus was destroyed by the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. The English building was constructed "of wood frame and stucco, with 17,400 square feet of floor space" (Short & Stanley-Brown, 1939). The building's status—extant or not—is yet to be confirmed. The physical-science and language/social-science buildings were also completed with PWA funding at this time.

Three buildings at Long Beach City College's Liberal Arts Campus (formerly Long Beach Junior College) were constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding in 1935. The original campus was destroyed by the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. The language/social-science building "has 20,700 square feet of floor area and is constructed of wood frame and stucco" (Short & Stanley-Brown, 1939). The building's status—extant or not—is yet to be confirmed. The physical-science and English buildings were also completed with PWA funding at this time.

Three buildings at Long Beach City College's Liberal Arts Campus (formerly Long Beach Junior College) were constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding in 1935. The original campus was destroyed by the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. The physical-science building was "constructed of steel frame and studding, providing approximately 24,000 square feet of usable floor area" (Short & Stanley-Brown, 1939). The building's status—extant or not—is yet to be confirmed. The English and language/social-science buildings were also completed with PWA funding at this time.

The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed the Long Creek High School Gymnasium and the school's attendant recreational grandstand in Huntersville, North Carolina. "The Long Creek High School Gymnasium and Grandstand are the only surviving structures from the initial phase of Federally-assisted school construction in Mecklenburg County." The structures "are tangible reminders of how the New Deal relief programs changed rural life in Mecklenburg County." (cmhpf.org) "Long Creek High School opened in 1923 as part of a program of comprehensive school consolidation in Mecklenburg County.  The Long Creek High School Gymnasium and Grandstand were constructed in 1934 initially under arrangements approved...

Long Hall, on the campus of Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building originally housed the university's Agriculture department, though it now houses the Biology department. The PWA supplied a $220,000 loan and a $180,000 for the building's construction, which was completed at a final cost of $400,888. Construction on the building began in March 1936 and was completed April 1937. (PWA Docket No. SC 1016)  

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed a tunnel at the former Long Island Hospital in Boston Harbor, connecting the primary facility with its chapel. WPA Bulletin: Previous to WPA inmates of the Long Island Hospital were unable to attend church services during inclement weather as the hospital and chapel were not connected. WPA has constructed a 210 foot tunnel from the hospital to the chapel and a wooden approach similar to the chapel design.

The Long Pine School project was begun and left unfinished by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Emergency Relief Agency (ERA). As a result, the school’s roof leaked and the heat did not work. Because the school district’s finances were not robust enough to pay to finish the project itself, the district proposed to finish the project with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Included in the work was a renovation of all the units within the building including painting all surfaces, sanding and varnishing all floors, doors, desks and furniture, the excavation and cementing of the basement of the...

Longfellow Elementary School was built in 1935, likely with New Deal funding. It is unclear if the 1935 structure(s) survived subsequent additions/remodels. The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. “On August 29, 1933, Long Beach citizens approved a $4,930,000 bond measure for the rebuilding of schools. Applications for approximately thirty-five schools were filed with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Public Works Administration (PWA); federal grants up to thirty percent of labor and material costs were obtained. To minimize costs, building materials were salvaged from damaged buildings, some schools were rehabilitated, and new schools were constructed...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) renovated what is now known as Longfellow House during the 1930s. The WPA converted the building into the Longfellow Community Library; the project was completed in 1937.

The Atlas of Historic New Mexico Maps, produced with assistance from the New Mexico Humanities Council and the New Mexico Chapter of the National New Deal Preservation Association, lists a number of New Deal schools in Raton Kearny Elementary, Longfellow Elementary, Columbian School, and Raton Junior-Senior High School are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at the former Longfellow School (now town hall) in Millville, Massachusetts. Work included painting the exterior of the Longfellow School buildings, a project which "gave employment to 4 men for a period of eight weeks."

The rock veneer school building was constructed using rock from the nearby Tishomingo County NYA quarry, and lumber from the NYA sawmill at Longview. A gymnasium (no longer extant) and a teacher's house were also constructed in Longview. The school is currently in use as a private home. The second entry of double doors was altered at some point to install double windows in its place. An addition has been added to the rear of the building.

The Houston Independent School District and the Public Works Administration (PWA) erected the Adele Looscan Elementary School in 1936 under PWA project number TEX-1057R. Looscan is still an active elementary school for the Houston ISD.

Lopez School, WP-52, was started Sept 25, 1935 and completed Dec 13, 1935. Federal funds included $1003 and sponsor contribution was $296 for repairs and renovations to the 1925 1.5 story building. The front lawn was graded and prepared for drainage, and an adjacent lot graded for a playground. The exterior woodwork was painted, and some interior painting and plastering of the cafeteria ceiling completed. The project included payroll for 14 laborers and 9 skilled workers of $809.04. The school was demolished September 2000.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the historic and photogenic public library building in Lordsburg, New Mexico. NRHP: "The Lordsburg-Hidalgo County Library is a single-story adobe building constructed in 1936-1937 as part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) cost-sharing program with the Town of Lordsburg and Hidalgo County. The library is situated west of the corner of Third Street and Second Avenue within the town limits of Lordsburg, New Mexico. The library is approximately rectangular in plan, measuring at a maximum 61.0 by 54.3 feet or 3,057 square feet. There have been a minimal number of alterations to the building. With...

Lorena Street Elementary School, which opened in 1913, 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...

This school was constructed in part with funds provided by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works in 1937, and bears the name of an important early town denizen. A well-constructed building, it has since been repurposed and, until recently, served as the Cape Girardeau City Hall and Municipal Court.  

The Los Angeles Center for Advanced Studies was launched in 1977 as the first magnet school in LA and used various facilities such as a temple, an unused building at Hamilton High School, and a closed Catholic School at Pico and Arlington before moving to the current site in 1986. It now occupies the campus of the former Louis Pasteur Middle School, which was built in 1939 with aid from the Public Works Administration (PWA) – sometimes called by its full name, the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, as in this case. It is probable that the Pasteur Middle School was built...

'This institution covers an area of approximately nine city blocks. The life-science building, the chemistry building, and the library are included in this project. The life-science building contains on two floors: two zoology, one anatomy, one biology, one botany, and one physiology laboratory; two lecture rooms, two classrooms, two workrooms, a dark room, and offices, stockrooms and storerooms. The construction, of concrete, is fireproof and designed to resist earthquakes. It was completed in May 1938 at an estimated construction cost of $108,667 and a project cost of $119,845.'

The Los Angeles County General Hospital (today's Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center) was constructed between 1927 and 1933. By 1939, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) had carried out improvements to the iconic Art Deco hospital in Los Angeles, CA. The hospital's construction was funded by a bond measure and voluntary tax increase. "In December 1933, the new concrete monument to public health opened to the public. The 1,680-bed facility had cost the County $12 million and encompassed more than one million square feet. The USC Keck School of Medicine, which had partnered with the County since its founding in 1885, would...

"Built in 1941, this Public Works Administration "Streamlined Moderne" building was the base for an auto ferry which crossed the channel at regular intervals from San Pedro to a sister building on Terminal Island. It served navy personnel, fishing industry employees, and people who wished to avoid the long circuitous route through Wilmington and Industrial Long Beach. With the completion of the Vincent Thomas Bridge in 1963, ferry operations ceased, and the building became an overflow office for the Harbor Department. Saved from deterioration by historically-minded citizens, the building has been beautifully restored, and now houses the largest maritime...

The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. Originally built in 1924, Los Cerritos Elementary School was reconstructed with New Deal funding in 1935. “On August 29, 1933, Long Beach citizens approved a $4,930,000 bond measure for the rebuilding of schools. Applications for approximately thirty-five schools were filed with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Public Works Administration (PWA); federal grants up to thirty percent of labor and material costs were obtained. To minimize costs, building materials were salvaged from damaged buildings, some schools were rehabilitated, and new schools were constructed with basic amenities without cafeterias, libraries,...

This 24' x 9' egg tempera mural "The Legend of New Almaden" by Clay Spohn was originally painted for this high school with support from the WPA Federal Art Project. It was then variously moved, cut into smaller pieces and put in storage before being restored and returned to Los Gatos HS. There is a fascinating account of the controversy surrounding the legend depicted in the mural in this interview with the artist: https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/spohn64.htm

“The Boulder City and Overton Camps are probably best known for their involvement in salvage archaeology, most notably excavations at Lost City in the lower Moapa Valley. The rising Lake Mead threatened a number of important archeological sites along the terraces overlooking the Muddy River. One well-publicized project was at Lost City, a five-mile stretch of Puebloan settlements that were soon to be inundated by Lake Mead. In a race against time, Nevada and NPS officials mobilized the young and energetic labor force and resumed the excavation at Lost City.” --The Civilian Conservation Corps in Nevada

Lou Henry Hoover School in Whittier was built in 1938 by the New Deal.  It has recently been renamed the Lou Henry Hoover School of Fine Arts.  Lou Henry Hoover was the wife of President Herbert Hoover and a played a role in California architectural history by her support of early Modernists. Construction was most likely paid for by the Public Works Administration (PWA), which funded schools throughout Southern California.  A local history claims it was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, but that is unlikely that an outside architect would have been hired from outside by the WPA. The building's style...

The Hoover School of Fine Arts, previously known as the Lou Henry Hoover Elementary School, is graced with beautiful bas-reliefd frieze by Bartolo Mako over the entrance. The frieze depicts a scene of the early Quakers who founded the city of Whittier more than one hundred years ago. The frieze is part of the structure, which was designed by local architect William Harrison, and paid for as part of the building construction.

This impressive art deco museum was built by the PWA: "Completed in 1939 as one of the New Deal’s Public Works projects, the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum is an architectural jewel, in the ultra modern style of the times. Layered inside and out with costly marble, granite and polished aluminum, the circular building surrounds a landscaped courtyard and features hand-cut limestone. Without a doubt, this is one of the most impressive buildings in the state. The original artworks include a monumental fresco on the front portico executed by famed muralist Conrad Albrizio that introduces the public to the beautifully rendered scale dioramas...

The WPA, the PWA and the CWA were all involved in working on the LSU campus from 1934 through the late 1930s. As Professor Robert Leighninger Jr. explains in Building Louisiana: "On a typical day I used to drive to work at Louisiana State University (LSU) past a lake reclaimed from swampland by WPA workers... Parker Coliseum (also a WPA project) at the southeastern edge of campus. As I entered the campus, I passed the Student Health Center (WPA) and Himes Hall (a PWA classroom building). Turning into my parking lot, I passed the northern enclosure of the football stadium (WPA). If...

Louisiana State University's historic Parker Coliseum, also known as the Agricultural Center, was constructed by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937. The building, which contains numerous artistic details created by artists of the period, is still in use today. WPA Project No. 165-64-2016.

The W.P.A. conducted improvement work at the grounds of the former Lovell General Hospital in Shirley, Mass. W.P.A. project details: "Improve grounds" Official Project Number: 265‐2‐14‐66 Total project cost: $48,421.00 Sponsor: Commanding General, Lovell General Hospital, U.S. Army

Originally constructed in 1926, Lowell Elementary School was rehabilitated in 1935 by Edward Leodore Mayberry with New Deal funding following the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. The style is WPA/PWA Moderne. The 1933 earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. “On August 29, 1933, Long Beach citizens approved a $4,930,000 bond measure for the rebuilding of schools. Applications for approximately thirty-five schools were filed with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Public Works Administration (PWA); federal grants up to thirty percent of labor and material costs were obtained. To minimize costs, building materials were salvaged from damaged buildings, some schools were...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor conducted improvement work at Lowell High School in Lowell, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin, from the Lowell Telegram: An extensive job of renovating and re-flcoring has virtually been completed at the High School and Superintendent of Buildings William J. Gargan is authority for the statement that needed repairs were made at other school buildings which would not have been possible without the assistance of WPA.