Education and Health Sites

The PWA helped build Bear Lake Middle School (docket #1058-D), originally a high school. The school is still in use today.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed the Historical Museum at the Trailside Museums and Zoo, Bear Mountain State Park, Bear Mountain, NY. The Trailside Museums and Zoo, built during the years 1932-35, expanded an earlier Trailside Museum in the park that dated to the 1920s. The naturalistic style of the building, which ties the structure to the landscape around the building, recalls the "Park Service Rustic" design of Herbert Maier, who designed a building for the Trailside Museums completed in 1927. Maier went on to work in both Grand Canyon and Yellowstone national parks.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Bear River High School, in Tremonton, Box Elder County. Docket # 1018-R (Utah). The architect of record was J. Nelson. The condition of this structure is unknown to the Living New Deal.

The National Youth Administration constructed a teacher's home in the Waynesboro vicinity, Beat 4 as W. P. 5193. It was designed by the Mississippi School Building Service, who provided free plans to superintendents.

The Beaver Dam school in Bleckley County, Georgia, served African-American children and was rebuilt by the WPA between 1935 and 1936. (Current status and exact location within Bleckley County unknown to the Living New Deal)

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funding for a new high school for Beaverhead County schools in Dillon, Montana, constructed in 1939. The PWA had become a part of the new Federal Works Agency that year.. The design of the two-story school is a very striking Moderne, painted in a desert beige with white bas-relief columns. The entrance portions for the classrooms and the auditorium project outward slightly, while the doorways are recessed. There are glass-block windows over the auditorium entrance. The school is still in use.

On October 31, 1935, the City of Austin accepted a grant from the Public Works Administration not to exceed $286,363 to cover 45% of the costs of building new schools, and making additions and repairs to existing schools. The voters of Austin also passed a $350,000 bond package to cover the city’s share of the costs. Becker Elementary School was one of the new schools built. The student population increased rapidly to the point that there was a need for Becker Elementary School to be expanded. In 1939, the city approved an addition to the school, using part of an additional...

Originally constructed as a high school, what is now Bee Log Elementary School was built in 1938 with assistance from the Works Progress Administration (WPA); it was one of five schools built by the WPA in Yancey County, North Carolina.

Beeson Hall was one of multiple buildings constructed on the GCSU campus with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. It was completed in 1937.

A WPA press release from Nov. 1937 reported: "More than 150 schools have been repaired and the grounds improved and landscaped , and five brand new schools in the state were erected entirely by WPA with a small percentage of sponsored funds," among which was a new school in Belfair, Washington. The precise location and the present status of the school building are unknown to Living New Deal.

Bell High 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 me...

The school was originally built in 1853. "In 1934, the WPA raised the building and added a basement, as well as an entryway." The building is still standing, but is apparently no longer used as a school.

The approximately $5 million Bellevue Hospital was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the 1930s. The present status of the New Deal structures within hospital complex, which has been extensively renovated, is unknown to Living New Deal.

"The Bellingham High School is one of the largest and finest structures of this type erected recently in northwest Washington. It is 3 stories in height with sufficient basement to take care of the heating system. It provides 20 standard classrooms; laboratories for chemistry, physics, biology, and agriculture; a woodworking shop; a machine shop; an automobile repair shop; rooms for music, arts and crafts, mechanical drawing, domestic science, office practice, typing, and stenography; a band and orchestra room; lunchrooms; a boys' gymnasium; a girls' gymnasium; an auditorium with a stage; a library; conference rooms; study rooms; and administrative offices....

Belvin Hall was the first student residence constructed on the campus of Sam Houston State University, then called Sam Houston State Teachers College. With an occupancy of 92, the building has remained a women-only residence since it opened. The Public Works Administration financed the four-story red brick building with a $150,000 grant and loan package. The college built on an addition called Buchanan Hall in 1945 to support the increasing population of the school. Now known as Belvin-Buchanan Hall, the combined structure houses 209 girls.

The Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the former Ben Franklin School in Shawnee, Oklahoma during the late 1930s. The Living New Deal suspects that, like Washington School, another New Deal construction Project in Shawnee, the New Deal building replaced the older Ben Franklin School building which had been constructed in 1904. The description on the Waymarking webpage for this site reads as follows: "This is a two-story brick school with a flat roof and concrete coping. The entrance is slightly recessed with a concrete block surround. All windows have continuous brick sills. On the first level, north of the entrance are...

Benjamin Allen Hall is named after an early 20th Century Lincoln University president and was built as a dormitory by the PWA in 1936.  It served as housing for black legislators who could not find rooms at hotels in Jefferson City during legislative sessions.  A professor of sociology, Oliver Cromwell Cox, was unable to find suitable housing when he arrived to teach in 1948 and resided in the dormitory for the next 20 years.

The former Benjamin Franklin High School—which opened in 1916 at the site of today's Monte Vista Street Elementary School—was renovated with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. Benjamin Franklin High School moved to its current location in the 1960s, after the original campus suffered structural damage from earthquakes and was demolished. 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...

Originally constructed as a high school, what is now Norwalk's Benjamin Franklin Middle School was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. contributed a $407,676 grant for the project, whose total cost was $909,689. Primary construction occurred between Dec. 1935 and Nov. 1937. The building also houses examples of New Deal artwork installed soon after the building's completion. P.W.A. Docket No. CT 1128 This school has closed and it is now the Crystal Theatre. Arrangements to see the murals can be made by calling the Crystal Theatre at 203-847-4850.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals” work at the Benjamin Franklin School (renamed Guy Benjamin School) on St. John.

This large 3 story brick building overlooks the east side of the Lincoln University campus and was “named in honor of Private Logan Bennett of the 65th U.S. Colored Infantry, who contributed money for Lincoln’s founding.” It was built in 1938 by the PWA as a women’s dormitory.

What is now Benson Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was constructed in 1937-8 with the assistance of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $37,933 grant for the project, whose total cost was $84,817. Construction began in Dec. 1937 and was largely completed in October 1938. The school is now part of an expanded school and administrative campus known as the Benson Educational Complex. The original building is in the shape of an 'L' along Mueller and Dean Streets, and still features original floors, ceilings, and pull-up classroom closet doors, as well as its old auditorium stage. A Federal...

The WPA constructed Benton High School in 1937. It was used as a high school until 1957, and then as an elementary school until 1970, after which it was put to community uses before being closed. It is a long, wide, linear school with hips at both ends and a gabled entrance in the center and at both ends.  The concrete above the central entrance clearly shows the school name. Quoins are present at all exterior corners.  The school is in good condition with windows intact - they may have been restored by the Benton Community Betterment Corp. (see second...

The historic former Benton School Gymnasium was constructed, in part, as a WPA project. The building now houses a religious organization. WisconsinHistory.org: "A brick gymnasium structure that has a round arched roof. Round recessed arched areas that unite the two level, single windows decorate the arched front facade. White stone bands contrast with the brick to form a decorated pattern on the symmetrically designed frnot facade. The projecting central bay emphasizes the four doored entrance. The auditorium addition was constructed as a WPA project. This building is important as a visual landmark to the community and some architectural importance as a WPA...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) provided labor for the improvement of Bergen Pines, the Bergen County Hospital, in Paramus, N.J. The CWA converted swampland into a "fifteen-acre recreation haven" for the grounds.

It served as the Berkeley County Library from 1938 to 1970. The building was moved from Library Street around the corner to 221 First Street in 1969 and continued to serve customers until the grand opening of the new library (on the site of the original library) in 1970. From 1970 to 1988, the building was used by the Berkeley County Department of Social Services. It was then sold to Robert D. Calcote, DMD, and served as one of his orthodontist offices from 1988-2020.

The Berkeley Community Theater, part of Berkeley High School, was started with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1941.  The foundation was laid and the street framework erected when World War II interrupted further work in 1942.  It stood like that until it could be finished and dedicated in 1950. The Community Theater is a Moderne/Art Deco-style building constructed of reinforced concrete and finished in stucco.  The design has striking curves and masses, and it is decorated with cast stone bas-reliefs by prominent local artists (see linked pages). The building has three parts: the 3,500 seat Berkeley Community Theater,...

The G and H buildings were New Deal added to Berkeley High School in the 1930s, almost surely funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA).  The origin and amount of funds need to be confirmed, as do the years of construction (they were probably completed in 1940). When they were built, the G and H buildings were known as the Industrial Arts and Sciences buildings, a name still inscribed along the exterior on the west side, Both buildings front on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, with the H building to the north on the corner of Allston Way.  The H building has...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed rehabilitation work at the Berkeley Springs Sanitarium. The work was done following the 1936 spring floods that had damaged the facilities. The high water left behind mold and debris in the Sanitarium building. The work done by WPA crews also included repairing and cleaning the pool, which used water from the therapeutic Berkeley Springs.

The beautiful Bernal Heights Library on Cortland Avenue in San Francisco was built in 1940 by the Works Projects Administration (WPA), after it had become part of the Federal Works Administration (FWA) in 1939. The library is built of reinforced concrete and finished in Mission Revival style with stucco exterior and tile roof.  The interior features lofty ceilings, large windows, and lovely hanging light fixtures. The floors, entrance and bathrooms are all tiled and the ceiling beams are hand-painted in abstract designs.   The shelving and furniture appear to be the original, made of solid oak, and the layout looks to be...

The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed a gymnasium at the old high school for the Berryhill school district in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (now within the city limits of Charlotte). The structure, whose exact location is unknown to Living New Deal, no longer exists. "The Long Creek High School Gymnasium was one of eight facilities of its general type constructed in Mecklenburg County under the arrangements outlined above, the others being at the high schools then in the local school districts of Huntersville, Paw Creek, Pineville, Sharon, Oakhurst, Berryhill, and Bain. Only the Long Creek Gymnasium survives from this initial...

The single story stone building was designed in a "Plain Traditional" style with "minimal Craftsman influences" and included a stone chimney on the western elevation (Story, 1992). The building was constructed by 50 local laborers employed by the WPA.

This monumental building was constructed in 1939 for  offices of the Berwyn Township’s Public Health District.  It was funded in part by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (i.e., the PWA). It was designed by Berwyn resident Vladimir Novak and is listed on National Register of Historic Places.

This WPA-constructed school was built in 1937 when the town was called Berwyn. Contributor note: "The Old Berwyn School at 45-47 Prairie Street was built by the WPA in 1937-1938. It is a one-story beige brick building with a flat roof. Two recessed entrances face east, each with double glass doors. The north side of the building is currently the Gene Autry post office; the south end houses the Gene Autry Museum. At the curb, a set of terracotta veneer steps lead to the front walk. (We never have understood why so many old schools had these steps which had three steps...

"The park contains remains from a prehistoric communal dwelling constructed by the Salado people. The site was inhabited from 1225 to 1400 A.D. Irene Vickrey conducted the first formal archaeological investigation starting in 1935. Funding for her salary and her laborers came from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and later the Works Progress Administration. She and her workmen excavated over 200 rooms and 350 burial sites. Vickrey worked on the excavation until January 1946. Her cause of death was due to heart failure due to a long term health condition. Her death left the excavations incomplete and her results unpublished. The...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a 12-classroom school building: Bethel Elementary School in Sugar Grove, North Carolina. It was one of many educational facilities constructed by the WPA in Watauga County.

"This senior high school has been built on a plot of ground not only large enough for athletic fields and tennis courts but of sufficient size to allow for future buildings when the school needs to expand. The main building contains 13 classrooms, English classrooms with stages, laboratories for science and biology, rooms for music and domestic science, a library, and a cafeteria. The construction is steel and concrete, with exterior walls of brick trimmed with stone and wood. It was completed in September 1935 at a construction cost of $218,440 and a project cost of $287,419."

Longport, New Jersey's Betty Bacharach Home for Afflicted Children was constructed in 1924, before the Great Depression. However, the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an addition, featuring a "new physiotherapy pool and treatment unit" at the site starting in 1936. The old Betty Bacharach Home is now the Borough Hall building.

While the main buildings of Beverly Hills High School date to 1927, the unique "Swim Gym" was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939. Designed by Stiles O. Clements, the gym features a basketball court that can be opened to access a 25-yard swimming pool below. It has appeared in films such as It's a Wonderful Life and Clueless.  

WPA funded two projects for the Bexar County Boys' School in 1939. Construction of a greenhouse for the facility, which served as a "juvenile delinquent" training school was authorized in December 1939, with WPA funding $2,213 and Bexar County funding $968 and employing 30 workers. A workshop, 30x85 feet, "...for inmates at the Bexar County Training School for Boys" replaced a building previously destroyed by fire (Boys Home Gets $15,000 Shop, 1940). WPA funded $10,738.50 of the cost of the workshop and Bexar County funded $4,397.62. Plans were drawn by Russell White, Bexar County engineer. The workshop was constructed of...