Education and Health Sites

An inventory of WPA project photographs compiled by Becky Jordan at Iowa State University includes reference to numerous public works projects undertaken by the agency in Iowa between 1935 and 1940. The collection of 1,271 photographs documents the variety and extent of New Deal related efforts undertaken in the Hawkeye State. Improvements at what was then the Sunnycrest Sanatorium in Dubuque (Project 469) are included among the many WPA projects described in the collection. The facility now serves as Sunnycrest Manor, a senior living center.

"Deming has an impressive list of WPA projects: Deming Public Library, Country Club, Junior High, Morgan Hall, Columbus School, Sunshine School, Hospital addition, Park, street paving, sewer work, curbs and trees plus a National Guard building." -Phyllis Eileen Banks

This school was originally built for children with physical disabilities. It later became a continuation high school, and currently houses the SFUSD Cal-SAFE program, the Hilltop School, and various community agencies. At the time of its construction, it housed 18 classrooms, a courtyard and a therapeutic bathing pool. It was situated near Buena Vista Elementary School, which was also designed for children with various health ailments. The first floor of the building was devoted to crippled children and provided facilities for their education and care. The patio provided a play area in which they could move about freely in their...

The Physical Science Building (now Swain Hall West) houses Indiana University's Physics and Astronomy departments. Estimates for building construction began in 1938, and the building was completed in 1940 by the Federal Works Agency (FWA).

The Works Progress Administration built the Swampton School in Swampton KY circa 1938.

The Sweetwater Hospital in Nolan County, eventually renamed Simmons Memorial Hospital, was the first official hospital in Sweetwater, Texas. The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the SweetWater Memorial Hospital in 1936. Sweetwater Hospital was an L-shaped one-story brick hospital, which cost around $85,000 in bond issues. The PWA funded the construction of  a hospital with the most "modern practices'' and hospital designs. The vicinity could accommodate up to 34 patients, which was enough for the small town, and included medical rooms, maternity wards, operating rooms, and air conditioning. However, the city needed to solicit bids in January for...

A new swimming pool and municipal park were built in 1934 using Civil Works Administration funds. The school playground was furnished, athletic field improved with grading and concrete seats, teacher's home renovated, and repairs made to the high school. Dedication ceremonies were held May 4, 1934.

This addition to the Switzer School was to the north of the building constructed in 1899 and replaced the original Switzer School which was built in 1882. The addition was completed in 1939 with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and designed by Nate Downes. The entry is marked with cut stone and Switzer School in raised lettering. It has a brick modern deco style and consists of 12 classrooms, 6 to a floor and a large hall on the first level. It is in the process of being repurposed.

The University of North Texas's Marquis Hall was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. "1936 was also the date when construction started on a new library building. The first library, now known as Curry Hall, had been opened in 1912. The new structure, currently known as Sycamore Hall, was located on Avenue B and opened in 1937. Government funds made it possible for construction to take place and in 1938 a grant from the Carnegie Corporation helped North Texas to purchase books." The building which was dedicated on April 27, 1937.

When the school for African American students burned in 1935, Belton sought a federal grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA) to replace the school and repair and renovate three other schools. PWA project 1431 for a grant of $13,590 was awarded 9/25/1935. Newspaper items used the terms PWA and WPA in referencing the new T. B. Harris School and repairs to the other city schools, but total amounts equal the cited costs and dates in the Texas region PWA records and it seems evident that the funds were provided by the Public Works Administration. Funds were secured in the...

In 1935, the City of McMinnville applied for a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant to construct a public library on the grounds of Linfield College. As explained in the region's major newspaper, the Oregonian, the library was to be built by the city with a local bond ($36,000) and the PWA grant ($29,250). In this unusual arrangement, the City leased the library to Linfield, making the college responsible for its maintenance and operation. Initially, the public could use the library by paying the same fee for access required of the students. Located on the northwest edge of campus, the Linfield-McMinnville Library...

Taft Union High School's main building was constructed with federal help under the New Deal.  It is an elegant Art Moderne (Art Deco) facility with lovely decorative elements, particularly the colored bas-reliefs (probably terra cotta). The original Taft Union HS had been built in 1917 with local funds, but the state declared it unsafe in 1934 – most likely because of the great Long Beach earthquake in 1933.  It was not torn down entirely, but reconstructed and expanded. The federal government offered a grant of $51,000 in 1935 – almost surely from the Public Works Administration (PWA).   The county passed a...

Originally built as the Lincoln Negro School by the WPA in 1937-38. It is now the administration building for Tahlequah Public Schools. The Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination describes the structure: "The old segregated, negro school at Tahlequah is rectangular...and constructed of cut, rusticated and coursed native stone. Masonry is excellent... This structure is significant in that it was constructed for the black community of Tahlequah with black workers made destitute by the depression. It provided an economic salve for the laborers and a boost to their self-esteem. The building also enhanced the quality of education for the segregated youngsters it served, replacing...

In 1933/4 the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) furnished the labor for construction of a new gymnasium floor at the now-former Talcott Junior High School in West Hartford, Connecticut.

The accompanying photograph is of a view of the town in the 1930s. Tanner Hall is seen on the center-left side of the picture. The WPA building was initially used as a gymnasium and was later extensively remodeled. It is now a Community Center. Other buildings that are seen in the photograph are Farnsworth Pool, Little Hall, yacht basins with covered boathouses, the city dock, sea walls and Trailer City, among the public building and lakefront beautification projects funded by the Works Progress Administration and directed by Mayor George Walker in the 1930s. In his seven-year tenure as mayor, Walker secured more...

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 buildings in Taos County. These include: The old high school (now part of the middle school); Taos Valley School on Randall Street; the fire station; the fish hatchery; the old Post Office, and over a dozen schools.

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 buildings in Taos County. These include: The old high school (now part of the middle school); Taos Valley School on Randall Street; the fire station; the fish hatchery; the old Post Office, and over a dozen schools.

"The major accomplishment according to Superintendent Nickerson was the beginning of construction on a new elementary school, which would be named the John S. Tapley School, designed to replace the two buildings being used at that time. The new building was a Federal Public Works Project, which meant that 45%, or $29,250, of the $65,000 cost was paid by the federal government. The building committee of Francis Thwing, Marion L Tapley, Daniel M Marshall, Harold York and Harold Bridges, worked long and hard, coming up with a plan for a two story plus basement, 60 by 100 foot building of...

The Works Progress Administration built the  Tarrant City Library in Tarrant AL.  The original construction on the Tarrant City Library began in 1936, and was completed in 1937. Today, the former library is the Tarrant Senior Citizen Center.

Taylor Middle School was built by the PWA in 1939 as the Millbrae Elementary School. There is a PWA plaque in the west wall of the front vestibule of the school entry.

This grade school, elsewhere listed as "Taylors Colored School," is reported in the National Archives as the first completed PWA project in the country. No other information, including location or current status, is available. See link in sources for corroboration of name. Location listed below is inferred based on current location of Edward E. Taylor Elementary, constructed in 1954, which could have replaced the original school. Since the original school was for black children in segregated Columbia, and the Census tract surrounding the current site of Taylor Elementary was 92% black in 1970, the location is plausible.

The superintendent's house for the Hurricane School complex was constructed 1938 by the National Youth Administration as project W. P. 5206, Application 921. The stone veneer house used stone from the NYA quarry in Pontotoc County and shingles from the NYA sawmill. Superintendent of construction was B. McGraw. The house is no longer extant.

The National Youth Administration (NYA) constructed a teacher's home in Minter City between 1937-1939 as W. P. 5857 application #1102. The construction is documented photographically in the Series 2018 NYA scrapbook. Location of the building was determined from the map in the MDAH Historic Records Inventory.

One of two teacherages constructed for the Hickory Flat school district, this building is no longer extant. It was probably demolished to allow the construction of the new gymnasium, as its former location was where the gymnasium parking lot is currently located.

This teacherage (meant to house teachers for the town school) was one of two constructed by the National Youth Administration in 1939 for the Hickory Flat school. It remains in use by the school.

The National Youth Administration completed a teacherage at the Purvis school as W. P. 4487, Application #82 Purvis Teachers Home No. 1. The house foundation was "...placed at old site on school grounds. Faulty construction and other reasons necessitated moving 50 yards across road. The use of sheathing and subfloor is unusual for this section of State" (Series 2018).

The teachers house at Clara Consolidated School was constructed 1938 by the National Youth Administration. It is extant on the school grounds, but current use is unknown.

Housing of teachers had been a long-term problem at Bingham High School in the remote mining town of Copperton, Utah. School district policy required teachers live within the boundaries of the school at which they taught and teachers could not rent the company homes in Copperton which were reserved for copper miners. A small apartment building had been previously built next to the high school, but the three-room units were inadequate for teachers with families. Thus in 1939 two duplex houses ($21,000 total) were funded as part of a $151,000 WPA application for improvements to the Jordan School District buildings....

The National Youth Administration built a combination teacher's home and dormitory for the Lincoln County Training School for African Americans as W. P. 4306 in 1937-1938. Construction was supervised by John Quincy Martin and employed 20 boys for four months. Located on the west side of Highway 51, the building was 60 feet x 26 feet and contained 5 rooms for students, 2 apartments for instructors, and a receiving room at the entrance. The building was constructed of salvaged materials and painted brown with white trim, and white throughout the interior. Professor D. E. Magee and a committee of citizens...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) executed the “construction of a house for teachers at Diamond School.” The cost was $2,497.87.

Teaneck High School had been completed in 1928, but the PWA funded the addition of the school's 'junior wing' in 1936.

"Teaneck is a rapidly growing residential community in the metropolitan area of New York City. The former library building became inadequate. Alterations were made to the present building and two end wings were added. The old portion is shown in the middle of the photograph. The wing at the left is divided by low shelving into three spaces for delivery, reading, and reference. The lower portion of the walls is covered with continuous book shelving. The wing at the right contains the children's room, document vault, toilets, and the librarian's room, office, and kitchenette. The exterior walls are brick with wood cornices...

The University of Houston's old Industrial Building, now known as the Technology Annex, was constructed with the assistance of the Work Projects Administration, a New Deal agency. Houston, a history and guide: "Newest of the units is the INDUSTRIAL BUILDING (open workdays), north east of the central quadrangle. The first of a six-structure center planned for industrial training in a proposed north quadrangle, the one-story building harmonises in design with the other edifices and, like them, is finished in Texas limestone. Over-all dimensions are 310 feet by 150 feet. Following the industrial style, windows almost completely encircle the building. Its central facade...

The WPA demolished and reconstructed the building and improved the grounds and facilities of a school in the Temple Unified School District. Exact location and current status unknown.

Temple University's Sullivan Hall was originally built as the university library (Sullivan Memorial Library) during the Great Depression. Its construction was enabled by the federal Public Works Administration, which provided a $550,000 loan for the project (whose final cost was $555,334). Construction occurred between September 1934 and February 1936. (PWA Docket No. 1326.) "Sullivan Memorial Library (PWA Project 1326) opened in 1936 as Temple's first freestanding Library. It was built with a bequest from Thomas D. Sullivan, a local warehouse owner, and with federal funds from the New Deal Emergency Relief Act. During the Christmas holidays in 1935, books and equipment...

Bristol's Tennessee High School was constructed between 1937 and 1939 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the Great Depression. The building is an exemplary example of Colonial Revival school architecture.

Tennessee State University was established in 1909 as Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State College, a land-grant college.  It is the only state-funded historically Black college or university in Tennessee. The New Deal helped a great deal to  build up the Tennessee A & I College campus in the 1930s. Early in 1935, the college announced the opening of six new buildings on campus: Practice Hall, Administration and Health, Men’s Hall (East), Hale Hall, Wilson Hall, and Science Hall (Harned). These were almost certainly funded by the New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA).  It is hard to imagine the college having the...

The University of North Texas's Chilton Hall was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. provided roughly $209,000 for the construction of it and Chilton Hall. "UNT received PWA grants for two more dorms, one for men and one for women in 1938. The women’s dorm was named Terrill Hall, after the third president, and last president of the private normal, Menter B. Terrill. It was located between Sycamore and Mulberry Streets. The dorm had no cafeteria, residents crossed the street to take their meals at Marquis Hall."

The PWA built several facilities for the Territorial Hospital complex. Initially, the hospital accommodated patients from the Oahu Insane Asylum, founded by King Kamehameha IV in 1866 on the Iolani Palace grounds in Honolulu.1 The Territorial Hospital expanded and later became the Hawaii State Hospital.4 "On January 6, 1930 the Oahu Asylum closed and the U.S. Army moved the 549 patients to the new Territorial Hospital in Kaneohe. Even at its opening in 1930, the newly named Territorial Hospital was over-crowded, Overburdened facilities have been the situation ever since. It was not yet been possible for the Legislature to provide sufficient appropriations so that adequate...