Schools Sites

'The Lugonia Kindergarten is entirely detached from other buildings on the school site. It is a one story and basement structure which contains one classroom, a group room, a library, and workroom, and a covered arcade or cloister. To break the monotony of the concrete surfaces of the ceiling, cork panels have been inserted in the roof slab and on the sides of the arched ceiling beams, which not only are decorative, but are of acoustical value. The low tile wainscot has inserts of colored tile illustrating Mother Goose and other characters of fairy tales and fables. The construction is designed to...

Many useful things were done during the New Deal in this coastal community whose population in 1930 was 2,135, including work on several local schools. The 1934 town report describes: Federal assistance for milk distribution in the schools. The report also describes how: "The Federal Emergency Relief Administration aided greatly in improving our school buildings and grounds. The Spofford building was completely redecorated, desks repaired and varnished and other minor repairs made. The Duck Cove building was painted inside and outside and the roof shingled. All of the desks at the Luman Warren building were varnished. The garage built in the basement of...

"This school is constructed of buff-colored brick, with darker tan brick around window and entrance openings. The rounded brick walls at the entrance gives the building an Art Deco look. The school was part of a WPA project funded in 193-1940 in the amount of $63,557, which includes a bus barn not shown. The school is listed in the Oklahoma Landmark Inventory database. Their survey done in 1987 shows that a considerable updating has been completed on the window units of the school since their photos were taken."   (waymarking.com)

Lyme Township School #2 was constructed in 1937 as a New Deal project, with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA provided a $26,182 grant for the project, whose total cost was $63,028. The building is presently vacant. PWA Docket No. OH 1228

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an eight-classroom school building: the former Mabel Elementary School—as well as sanitary privies for said school—in Mabel, near Zionville, North Carolina. It was one of many educational facilities constructed by the WPA in Watauga County. The historic Mabel School has since been replaced, and the location and status of the WPA structure is unknown to Living New Deal.

"This new vocational high school is part of an extensive school construction program in Toledo which involved 19 new school buildings and repair work on many others. It is a unit for boys in the upper 3 years of high school, is 3 stories in height and contains an auditorium with a stage, a library, gymnasium, 17 classrooms, 12 laboratories, and 18 shops where students can learn the fundamentals of engineering mechanics by dismantling and assembling standard equipment and in which the essentials of many trades are taught. The building is fireproof, of structural steel and reinforced concrete....

The Works Progress Administration spent $995 on renovations to the former Madison County Agricultural High School and employed 14 workers on the project. The school complex was located between Camden Road and McCarty Road, just East of Mississippi Highway 17.

The PWA provided funds for the construction of Lincoln School in 1940. From Wikipedia: In addition to Lincoln, the new elementary schools included Monroe, Madison, Washington, Jefferson, and McKinley. Lincoln was the only new facility to be built on the location of one of the older buildings. The floor plans for all six school buildings was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Smith & Childs, and they are all similar in layout. Local architects were employed to design the stylistic features for each building.  

The historic former Madison School building in Sandusky, Ohio was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. provided a $66,138 grant for the project, whose total cost was $146,768. Construction occurred between 1938 and 1939. P.W.A. Docket No. OH 2026

The Public Works Administration (PWA) approved a grant for construction of the Madras Grade School in 1938. The original, $35,000 four-room school building plus auditorium was designed by the Portland architectural firm of Roald & Schneider and constructed by Baldwin & Whier of Hood River. Substantial renovation work has expanded the school, currently called the Madras Elementary School. The front facade, however, retains much of its orginal colonial revival appearance. The one-story, red brick building is decorated with simplified classical details.

The Works Progress Administration built a new school in Mafolie on St. Thomas.

"This WPA building was erected in 1936 on the original site of the rock school building. The rock building was so sturdy that the workers were unable to tear down all the walls. It is said part of the original school building makes up the walls of the WPA gymnasium. This building had the only stage in town and was used for plays as well as many a graduating class ceremonies." -Magdalena Historic Walking Tour Today, the gym is preserved and used by the local London Frontier Theatre Company.

Magnolia Elementary school (originally called the Oakdale Union School) was constructed in 1938 with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). There is a PWA plaque by the entrance door.   The school building is single-story with one long classroom wing.  Behind the main building is a two-story auditorium.  The architecture is streamline Moderne, which was nicely highlighted in blue trim when we visited in 2023.  There is a 1938 New Deal mural by Herman Struck in the school.  

Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Magnolia Elementary School Gymnasium. The architect of record was Harry E. Boyle & Co. Architects and Engineers of Evansville, Indiana. PWA Docket No. KY-1375-F. The structure is currently part of a complex called “The Old School Market.” It houses a professional office space and a restaurant. The gym is an entertainment venue used for events such as weddings, entertainment, family reunions, and other community events. The Gym was originally built for the Magnolia High School. Later, the school became an Elementary School. It was decommissioned in 2006.  It’s been privately owned since then. The gym...

Herman Struck painted a mural for the Magnolia Elementary School (formerly the Oakdale Union School) in Oakdale, California.   The mural was probably paid for by the Federal Art Project (FAP) and hung when the school was completed in 1938, but both those claims need to be verified. The mural hangs in the present school library, formerly the kindergarten room.

Maine, New York's Central School was built in 1940; its construction was enabled by the provision of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded new construction or improvement work for the Makapala School, near Niulii and Kapaau, on the Big Island. The PWA grant amounted to $6,750, and the work was carried out in 1938. The project, listed as Docket No. TH-1071-F, was part of the PWA’s non-federal projects expenditure for the Territory of Hawaii for 1938-1939.

Malabar 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...

In 1941, workers with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Malaga School and the sidewalk in front.

"Immediately following Thanksgiving, work will begin on the grounds of the Malaga School, Chelan County ... Funds from WPA in the amount of $18,083 have been provided for excavating, grading, leveling and covering the ground with a top soil. The sponsors, School District #115, will provide $4,400 to be added to the WPA grant and men from WPA rolls will complete the work by July 1, 1938." The precise location and the present status of the school building are unknown to Living New Deal.

The old section of Malakoff Elementary School, locally referred to as the “Rock Building” or the “Old Rock School,” was constructed of brown fieldstone in 1940 as part of the federal Works Projects Administration (WPA).

Then known as the Lincoln School, this school was improved by the WPA in 1937-1938. In his book on Berkeley and the New Deal, Harvey Smith reports that "Research has not yet revealed what improvements were made, but earthquake safety was undoubtedly on the minds of school administrators" (p. 53).

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) installed a heating system atWorcester's  Malvern Road School in 1937.

Manchester Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1907, 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 is situated on a 22-acre lot, rolling in character, and overlooks Manhasset Bay. The grounds are arranged for football and baseball fields, archery, junior playgrounds, tennis courts, and landscaped areas. The building is not symmetrical in plan. It contains seven classrooms of the types used in the best modern schools and also a large greenhouse where flowers are grown and transplanted into the school gardens by the pupils. It is of fire-resistant construction with special interior finish. The exterior walls are brick, trimmed with stone. Its over-all dimensions are 312 by 144...

Designed by Watson L. Hawk, Mann Elementary School was built in 1935 with New Deal funding. The style is WPA/PWA Moderne. 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 with...

The Manteo School Gym, a large white building near the corner of Devon Street and US Highway 64 was built by the Works Progress Administration. The building was recently demolished.

Manual Arts High School, which opened in 1910, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. Architects John and Donald Parkinson designed a Moderne-style campus of reinforced concrete, featuring horizontal banding, rounded corners, concrete grilles, and tiled entries. 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,...

A grant from the Works Progress Administration funded the construction of an addition to Seattle's former Maple Leaf Grade School during the late 1930s. The school, which was part of the Maple Leaf School District at the time, was located on the northeast corner of Northeast 100th Street and 32nd Avenue NE. The original school building, situated at the northern end of the site, was completed in 1926. Four years later, an addition to the school was built to accommodate the increasing number of children who attended the school. As the surrounding neighborhood continued to grow during the 1920s and 1930s,...

Mar Vista elementary school was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935.

This school is also known locally as “the little school” and although the façade is predominately native rock, the entry has a more “modern” appearance with concrete and the rock work is rather spare as compared with the more elaborate rock work at the Scopus school. The entry goes into the school between the 2 floors with the whole school below the level of the street. It is one of many stone schoolhouses in Bollinger County and the largest along with the Lutesville school.

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 announced that the agency had allotted $1,028 "to install a furnace and lights and for general repairs at the Marblemount school, Skagit County." Marblemount no longer maintains a school. The exact location and status of the facility are unknown to Living New Deal.

Margaretville Central School in Margaretville, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building bears a 1939 cornerstone, and a "Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works" (PWA) plaque.

  The October 3, 1938 edition of the Daily Pacific Builder reported that $207,500 in PWA funds had been awarded for the construction of the Marina Junior High auditorium. Construction on the main building seems to have begun earlier.

1000 seats, concrete.

Although initial applications for WPA help were rejected in 1935, this WPA project replaced the old Mariposa High School in 1937. A page from the 1937 yearbook described the new school: "Our move into the new school has been a great advantage to both the students and the faculty. It has made teaching a great deal easier." "Every room is supplied with the necessary conveniences that we did not have in the old school. Telephones connected with the office are in each room. There is plenty of closet space, blackboard space, and steam heist. A new system of ringing the bells also...

The construction of Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, CA, was primarily funded by Public Works Administration (PWA) grants in 1938. The Daily Pacific Builder cites bids being collected for contracts on the school's administration, physical education, and industrial arts buildings, as well as for heating and ventilation work. According to the school's website, "The morning of December 19, 1938 dawned damp and cool. Nevertheless, workmen eager to earn a day's pay huddled in groups in the field that sloped downward toward the streetcar tracks, airport hangers, and a Valley Boulevard awakening to light work-bound traffic. As they waited for their...

Among the many sanitary privies constructed by Work Project Administration (WPA) employees across America from 1935-1943, two latrines remain at Mark Prairie School near Canby, Oregon. Using the concrete vault design, these simple structures represented a significant increase in public health for rural schools and other primarily rural public and private facilities with an estimated 2.3 million WPA latrines installed across the country. The WPA reworked a U.S. Public Health Service concrete vault model outhouse to simplify its production. The standardized design produced a four foot by five foot wood-frame building with wood cladding and a braced-board door.. The interior specifications...

This stately brick school was constructed by the PWA in 1934. Classic elementary school that has undergone renovation for handicap accessibility, though there are still some issues.  The school has been added onto extensively.  The original rock walls surrounding the school and playground are still present.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) granted the Marple Newtown Joint School District $32,500 of a $70,000 project to alter and expand the former high school building (see PWA voucher image). The structure is located at the intersection of Media Line Road and West Chester Pike in Newtown Square, PA. This school building was destroyed by fire in April of 1956, but the former school building has been repurposed into the district's administration building. Pieces of the PWA funded project are still visible in the lobby of this building.