Education and Health Sites

Virginia Tech's Smyth Hall, originally known as the Natural Science Building, "was built in 1939 at a cost of $127,650," and was constructed as part of a larger Public Works Administration (PWA) project on the campus. It was part of a broader development of several buildings on its corner of campus that involved both the PWA and the Work Projects Administration (PWA). The building was sometimes referred to as "agricultural unit two," and has since been extended.

The Students Activity Building at the Virginia Polytechnic institute in Blacksburg, Virginia was built as part of a Public Works Administration (PWA) project in 1937. The original building was completed in May of 1937 and was 54,366 square feet. The building was renamed the “Squires Hall” in 1949 and then “the Squires Student Center” in 1970. Though the building has had two major renovations, and the outside has been substantially changed, the inner core of the building still consists of the original Squires Hall. The facility also contains two ballrooms, a 510-seat theater and dining areas.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) paid for a municipal hospital for Visalia CA in 1936.  The 68 bed facility served the community of Visalia until 1969, when it was demolished to make way for the new Kaweah Delta Medical center (pictured).

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed San Francisco's old Visitacion Nursery School during the Great Depression. The agency: Built a new community center with facilities for a nursery school.--Healy, p.72.

"In later audits 'school' and 'auditorium' listed separately. Could be separate buildings?" Contributor note: The auditorium is attached to the school. The structure was renovated a few years prior to 2018.

"18 classrooms. Includes auditorium; in later audits 'school' and 'auditorium' listed separately. Same year as Glen Park. Could be separate buildings?"

Concrete,1 story addition, 2 rooms

Originally the Fine Arts Building, Texas Woman University's Visual Arts Building was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds in 1936.

One of more than 40 new vocational units added to Mississippi schools following an increase in federal funds in 1937, the white wood frame Vocational Agriculture and Home Economics building was constructed by the National Youth Administration.

"The Ecru High School FFA/FHA Building was built in 1938 by the National Youth Administration (NYA), a New Deal agency. The NYA was created by executive order in 1935 to provide vocational training to young people while also furnishing a stipend allowing participants to remain in school. One NYA project involved building and renovating school buildings. There were a number of NYA built school buildings in Mississippi, primarily used for vocational education. However, that number is declining. The Ecru building, clad in 'native stone,' retains its exterior features, including pent awnings over the doors and 9/9 double hung sash windows....

This rock building was constructed by federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) and remains in use as part of the Ethel school complex.

The National Youth Administration constructed a vocational building for the Heidelberg vicinity school complex in 1941.

The Lauderdale Consolidated School Vocational Building was constructed in 1937 by the National Youth Administration. The rock veneer building is a Mississippi Landmark and still extant, although not in use.

The National Youth Administration built the Beulah-Hubbard Consolidated School's vocational/home economics building in 1938. Although some buildings and ruins remain of the complex, it is unknown if the vocational building is one of them.

A vocational building was constructed at the Magee School Complex in Magee, Mississippi during the Great Depression using standard plans. The building was undertaken with the assistance of labor provided by Civil Works Administration (CWA), a job creation program established under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The CWA was designed to provide temporary employment for manual laborers and was replaced with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) after 1934.

PWA project W1101 erected a two-story brick veneer vocational building and home economics building in 1935. Architect R. J. Moor designed the building and it was built by A. M. Allen of Moorhead at a cost of $8,230. A grant of $4,450 and loan of $5,500 were awarded Sep. 25, 1935. School bonds were issued following an election November 1935. Construction began Feb. 5, 1936 and was completed Oct. 15, 1936.

The one-story building was Proj. Miss. 1305. It is still standing at the coordinates below.

The National Youth Administration constructed the 1938 1-story vocational building at the Union High School. Superintendent of construction was Simon Brown. The building remains in use by the school system.

Home Consolidate School constructed a vocational building in 1938 as Work Project 5209 Application #924, National Youth Administration. The project employed 25 boys, and the concrete blocks were made at the project.

The National Youth Administration built the vocational building for the Pearl River County Training School in 1941. The building was one part of a complex of buildings constructed for African American students between 1900 and 1951.

The Vardaman High School vocational building was completed in 1941 by the National Youth Administration of Mississippi. It remains part of the Vardaman School Complex. An addition was added to the building at some point.

The Works Progress Administration built a vocational education building in Elmore City, OK. Contributor note: "This is a rectangular one-story building constructed of rusticated native sandstone, which is painted a brick color. The roof is gabled. The south entrance is recessed under a wood porch. The window units which extend to the eaves have been partially filled with wood siding, leaving a fixed window pane. Windows on the north side of the building have been covered with wood siding. The building is currently occupied by the Billy Joan English Library"

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed the former vocational school in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed a gym for the former vocational school in New Bedford, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: Building materials salvaged from WPA Demolition Projects are used in the New Bedford WPA construction of the Vocational School Gymnasium. Many skilled workmen are busy on this project. The location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

The vocational teacher's home was constructed by the National Youth Administration (NYA) with supervision from NYA supervisor Carl R. Furr in 1937. The project began in September and was completed in November 1937. None of the young men on the project had experience in carpentry prior to the work.

The historic Jay Volunteer Fire Department building was, Living New Deal believes, originally one of several similarly designed school buildings built in the area as part of a New Deal project. Their construction was enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA), which provided a $178,140 loan and $56,289 grant, effectively covering the entire $230,491 total project cost. PWA Docket No. NY 2624

W. C. Stripling Middle School was originally constructed as W. C. Stripling High School in 1927. In 1933-34, the grounds were landscaped by the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration FERA), and the Texas Relief Administration. The landscaping was designed by Hare & Hare of Kansas City, MO.   It created a raised and level area on the north side of the school, held in place by a ~5-foot buff sandstone retaining wall (and steps). There are tennis courts above the wall and a football field with running track below.  It is not certain if those were part of...

Original school erected in 1916. Under the auspices of the New Deal, the Public Works Administration [PWA) administered the School Building-Aid Program that provided funds for much-needed additions to the Adamson High School building in 1938. This project added wings on the east and west ends of the original building, extending the main hallways which provided a long-awaited art room on the first floor as well as a chemistry lab and choir suite. On the east end were a biology lab, physics lab, woodshop, basement facilities for the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), and a football locker room, so that student...

The Works Progress Administration built a brick addition for the W.S. Neal High School in Brewton, Escambia County. The new addition housed a library, several classrooms, a study room, a conference room, and other school uses. The new facilities expanded the capacity of a previously overcrowded school and allowed for the enrollment of new students. The school is still in service today.

Wadsworth Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1912, 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...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded additions and improvement work for the Boys’ School (also known as the Waiale'e Home for Wayward Boys or the Waiale'e Industrial School for Boys) on the North Shore of Oahu. The PWA grant amounted to $61,364. The work was carried out in 1938. The project, listed as Docket No. TH-1033-F, was part of the PWA’s non-federal projects expenditures for the Territory of Hawaii for 1938-1939.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded new construction or improvement work on a school in the Waikele neighborhood in the City and County of Honolulu. The PWA grant amounted to $74,700, and the work was carried out in 1938. The project, listed as Docket No. TH-1091-F, was part of the PWA’s non-federal projects expenditure for the Territory of Hawaii for 1938-1939.

In 1935, a contract was awarded for the construction of support buildings and dorms at the Waimano Training School and Hospital (WTSH), originally named the Waimano Home for the Feeble Minded. The facility was originally an incarceration facility for individuals with developmental disabilities. The contract, listed as Public Works Administration Docket No. T. H. 8029, included “a new unit for boys at Waimano Home, Pearl City, for the sum of $177,341, of which $53,200 was a federal grant.” These auxiliary buildings have been slated for demolition as of 1999, but current status of the structures is unknown to the Living New Deal. The...

The Works Progress Administration built the Wainwright School in Wainwright. The north side of the school has the entry and three triangular-peaked gable ends which extend to the ground. The east side has three tall, narrow windows with rounded tops, the center is the main entrance which is flanked by glass. The stone is of the red native rock cut into irregular shaped rectangles. “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...

The Works Progress Administration built the Wainwright School and Gymnasium in Wainwright. The structure is built of red native rock cut into irregular shaped rectangles. The gym to the southwest has tall windows, rounded at the top. The Historic Preservation Survey states that it was one of the last educational complexes constructed in Oklahoma.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Wakefield Public Library in Wakefield, Kansas in 1938. The library is still in use.

Wakeman School #2 (Western Reserve High School #1) in Wakeman, Ohio was constructed in 1937 as a New Deal project, with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA provided a $45,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $100,100. The school was demolished in 2003. PWA Docket No. OH 1379

The Works Progress Administration built the Walker County Library, adjacent to the WPA-built Walker County Courthouse in Jasper.

The Works Progress Administration built the Walker School & Gymnasium in Pauls Valley OK. Contributor note: "The Walker School and Gymnasium is located on County Road 1570 (Longmeier Lake Road), east of Pauls Valley. This is an 8-room school which is in ruins and no longer in use. The school is L-shaped, with the gymnasium forming a U-shape. It is 169 feet across the front and 83 ft. down each side. The school was a WPA project in 1939. This school is one-story red brick with a flat roof, except for the higher barrel roof on the gymnasium. The main entrance is recessed...

The local high school received a $15,000 CWA football stadium in 1934. The stadium is not located on the school property, but rather a few blocks away in Wallace Park. While the site no longer functions as a football stadium, the stone bleachers are still standing, and now overlook two baseball diamonds.