Brainard School – Brainard NE
In 1935, Brainard was given a grant of $24,000.00 from the Public Works Administration (PWA) for the construction of a new school. The total cost of the school was estimated to be $52,000.00.
Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville – Louisville KY
The WPA completed this law school building in 1938-39 when it was known simply as the University of Louisville Law School. The project submitter reports that the building’s WPA heritage is locally known, and is also referenced in a letter… read more
Brantly Elementary School – Antlers OK
“The greatest legacy of the WPA in Oklahoma may be the hundreds of WPA-built buildings that are still in use. To most citizens, the public buildings are the most visible remains of a work relief program that truly benefited the… read more
Breese Gymnasium – Cullowhee NC
Breese Gymnasium was completed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939 on the campus of Western Carolina Teacher’s College, now Western Carolina University. It was named for William E. Breese, a trustee of the college who was influential in… read more
Brenham High School Gymnasium – Brenham TX
“Constructed with locally available building materials in the traditions of the Rustic Style, the Brenham High School Gymnasium combines a native fieldstone veneer with metal factory-sash and massing reminiscent of the International Style. Ranging from 1 to 3 stories, the… read more
Bret Harte Junior High School – Hayward CA
This school was supposedly constructed by WPA funds that were then matched by the community. The school has been heavily altered but the original outdoor amphitheater remains behind the gym.
Brevard College Stone Fence and Gate – Brevard NC
The stone wall at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina, was erected by the Works Progress Administration in 1936-37. Portions run along French Broad Avenue and North Broad Street. At the intersection of the streets, the walls are connected with… read more
Bridgton Academy – Bridgton ME
Bridgton Academy is an all-male college preparatory in Bridgton, Maine. Founded in 1808, the school sits at the northern tip of Long Lake in North Bridgton, Maine. The school has been NEASC accredited since 1934, making it one of the… read more
Bristol School (former) – Bristol TX
Text from the state historical marker reads: “The community’s first school was housed in a multi-purpose building erected here in 1870. The Bristol School district was established in 1877. Youth from throughout the area attended Bristol schoolhouse built in 1886… read more
Bronte High School – Bronte TX
The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed the former high school building and attendant perimeter wall in 1938-9. A W.P.A. plaque remains on site. It is located in front of the new high school, on the remains of the step entrance to… read more
Brookland Education Campus at Bunker Hill – Washington DC
The Brookland Education Campus at Bunker Hill, NE, encompasses the former Bunker Hill Elementary School, which was built during the New Deal era. The new facility includes middle school. Initial plans were made in 1938 for a full, two-story building… read more
Brooklyn Children’s Museum Assistance – Brooklyn NY
According to a Brooklyn Children’s Museum history: 1930s “The Work Progress Administration (WPA) brings more than 200 docents, artists, carpenters, printers, and clerks to work at the Museum during the Depression. Over 200 volunteers support museum projects including the construction… read more
Brooklyn College – Brooklyn NY
Brooklyn College was created in the 1930s with the assistance of the New Deal. The five original buildings, including a library and gymnasium, were built with PWA funding and the grounds were landscaped by WPA workers. The college’s web page… read more
Brooklyn College: Boylan Hall – Brooklyn NY
Boylan Hall is one of the original buildings on the Brooklyn College campus, serving originally as the Administrative and Academic Building. It was constructed as part of a massive federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project undertaken during the Great Depression.
Brooklyn College: Heating Plant – Brooklyn NY
The Heating Plant at Brooklyn College is one of the original buildings on the school’s campus, constructed as part of a massive federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project undertaken during the Great Depression. Construction was completed c. 1936.
Brooklyn College: Ingersoll Hall – Brooklyn NY
Ingersoll Hall is one of the original buildings on the Brooklyn College campus, constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project undertaken during the Great Depression, 1935 t0 1937.
Brooklyn College: Landscaping – Brooklyn NY
The buildings of Brooklyn College were financed by a massive federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project undertaken during the Great Depression. After the buildings were constructed, Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers worked on improving the campus, primarily through landscaping efforts, beginning in 1938…. read more
Brooklyn College: Library – Brooklyn NY
The Brooklyn College Library is one of the original buildings on the campus, part of a massive federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project undertaken in 1935-37. Construction on the library building began in 1936. The library houses WPA murals by Olindo… read more
Brooklyn College: Roosevelt Hall – Brooklyn NY
Roosevelt Hall is one of the five original buildings on the Brooklyn College campus, then serving as the school’s gymnasium. It was built as part of a massive federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project undertaken during the Great Depression, 1935-37. Construction took place ca. 1936…. read more
Brooklyn Museum Improvements – Brooklyn NY
The WPA contributed to several improvements at the Brooklyn Museum during the 1930s. According to the Federal Writers’ Project: “During the past few years a WPA project has been making the [Brooklyn M]useum one of the most modern and pleasantly… read more
Brooklyn New School Addition – Brooklyn NY
Formerly known as Public School 142, what is now the Brooklyn New School building received a five-story addition in 1938-9 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $191,250 grant for the school, whose total construction cost… read more
Brooklyn Technical High School – Brooklyn NY
A WPA photo of students of the Brooklyn Technical High School says that the school itself was constructed by the PWA. The school’s website says that ground was broken on the site in 1930 and the school was ready for… read more
Brown’s Prairie School – Washington TX
In 1888, a church and school building was erected in a central location at newly-divided Brown’s Prairie, with the Reverend David Buchmueller as pastor and teacher. By 1911, a new wooden six-room school building was used each Sunday, with one… read more
Brown’s Prairie School (former) – Washington Co. TX
A small rural schoolhouse was built in 1939 by the WPA for students in the rural community of Brown’s Prairie, replacing a 1911 wooden one-room schoolhouse. Brown’s Prairie School as described on a Texas Historical Marker located on the site of… read more
Brunswick High School (demolished) – Brunswick ME
Constructed in 1935. A new High School was built in 1995 due to overcrowding. Demolished in 2009. The Harriet Beecher Stowe elementary school was built on the same location in 2011 and incorporates an art deco bas relief and a… read more
Brush School Improvements – Santa Rosa CA
The WPA made extensive improvements to Brush School, Santa Rosa, California, under Official Project Number 65-3-364. The work to the one-room school house included building stone retaining walls, a playground and a presumed tennis court (Goddard, 1976: 72-74). Though now… read more
Bryan Hall (I.U.) – Bloomington IN
The William Lowe Bryan Administration Building at Indiana University was originally completed in 1936 with PWA funding. At the time it was simply named the Administration Building. It was renamed in 1957 after William Lowe Bryan. It is located at… read more
Bryant Elementary School – San Francisco CA
The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded construction of the Buena Vista Elementary School (now Bryant Elementary) in the 1930s. We believe that the New Deal building is still in place. A record card for the project in the National Archives… read more
Bryant Park Outdoor Reading Room – New York NY
The Works Progress Administration set up an outdoor library in Bryant Park. The “Reading Room” began in 1935 and closed in 1944. Today the park still serves as the site of an outdoor library, opened in 2003.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Rainbow Point – Bryce Canyon UT
Rainbow Point was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) in 1939, and it has three different components. First is the overlook area. This has been refurbished in recent years, but the original stone and metal railings can be seen outside of the… read more
Buford School Building – Buford AR
The WPA was established in Baxter County in fall 1935, and the school was one of the first major projects undertaken by the agency in North Arkansas (Story, 1992). The “irregular-plan, single-story building” featured Craftsman influence of “exposed rafters and… read more
Burbank Elementary School – Modesto CA
Burbank Elementary School was built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The original school appears to consist of three buildings, all long and low in the style of Spanish mission residential buildings. All have covered, pillared breezeways along… read more
Burbank High School – Burbank CA
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) partially demolished and rebuilt Burbank High School in Burbank, CA, which had suffered damage in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.
Burdette School (former) – Burdette AR
The English Revival Style, red-brick, one-story school building was constructed in the town’s existing school complex by the WPA in 1939. The large front wing and the smaller rear wing are connected by a large auditorium that intersects both wings… read more
Burgwin Elementary School – Pittsburgh PA
"The construction of the Burgwin School, in a residential district adjacent to a mill and commercial district, made possible the elimination of the old Hazelwood School built in 1875, and of the Glenwood School built in 1882, both of which… read more
Burleson Gymnasium – Burleson TX
In August 1935, the Burleson Independent School District (BISD) applied for a grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA) for the construction of a one-story, semi-fireproof combination auditorium, gymnasium and classroom school building. In October of the same year, the… read more
Burnet Woods: Trailside Nature Museum – Cincinnati OH
“Trailside Nature Museum: This fieldstone building was completed in 1939, a combined project between the PWA and the CCC and designed by Freund. It reflects the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright with its horizontal design and rustic stone work. All… read more
Burpee Museum of Natural History – Rockford IL
Construction of Rockford’s Burpee Museum of Natural History was undertaken as a federal Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) project.
Burrowes Building (PSU) – State College PA
Pennsylvania State University’s Burrowes Building 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… read more