Schools Sites

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...

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,...

This one floor elementary school was built by the 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...

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.

Originally constructed as the town's high school during the 1930s, Mars Hill, North Carolina's striking stone Cornerstone Apartments—a private apartment complex—was constructed by the federal Works Progress Administration as the town's high school during the 1930s. The Rustic Revival-style building has also been known as Mars Hill School and Mars Hill Elementary School, and later, as Mars Hill's Community Center. It features a stone and concrete foundation, stone walls, and asphalt roof.

The Marshall school was originally constructed in the late 19th century and was a brick building. It was rebuilt in the late 1920s and featured a classic Greek-style entrance. Some work was done in 1931 but ruined by the 1933 earthquake. The WPA demolished and reconstructed the Marshall school in an Art Deco style in the 1930s in at least two official WPA projects. One at a cost of $26,602 in federal funds and $35,380 total. Another at a cost of $17,861 in federal funds and $$25,841 total. Major reconstruction was done in 1990 with a new addition to the front...

The stunning Marshall Junior High School in Clovis, New Mexico was constructed in 1936 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) provided a $55,271 grant for the project, whose total cost was $123,102. P.W.A. Docket No. N.M. 1008

1 of 4 school reconstruction projects including Willard, Monterey Vista, and Emerson schools that were supervised by the Garvey School District in Los Angeles, with some funding, and labor provided by L.A.C.R.A. (Los Angeles County Relief Agency) that rebuilt following the Long Beach earthquake in 1933. "Project #1 B4 479 LACRA Labor - $13,071.00 Sponsor - $10,011.00 As these jobs were all handled through one superintendent employed by Sponsor, the work on each structure was so arranged that the skilled workers were passed along from one job to another and unusually good progress was made on all schools. The Emerson, Willard, and Marshall schools are...

With the provision of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding, the City of Marshfield, Oregon replaced its crowded, thirty-year-old high school in 1939-1940 on the same site. Local funds covered 55% of project costs. The New Deal era campus construction included the main classroom building, an auditorium, and a new gym. At the time, the new gym was referred to as the west gym. Portland architect Francis Marion Stokes designed the concrete Art Deco structure. Additional buildings were added later to accommodate the high school's growth and changing needs but the Marshfield classroom building and Auditorium still dominate the eastern facade. Residents voted...

Laredo, Texas's historic Martin High School was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. The building is still in use today. The PWA supplied a $250,000 loan and $101,853 grant toward the $352,283 total cost of the project. Work occurred between August 1935 and April 1937. (PWA Docket No. TX 5725)

Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School (formerly Santa Barbara Avenue Elementary School), which opened in 1914, 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...

Presently known as Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet High School, Nashville's historic Pearl High School was built in 1936-37 with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Pearl High School was built expressly to serve Nashville's African American community (which was wholly segregated at the time).  It was described at the time as the finest school for Blacks in the South, according to the University of South Carolina Museum of Education. Designed by the nation's first African American architecture firm of McKissack & McKissack, the school features a "stripped classicism highlighted by creative, abstract grillwork in an Art Deco manner above the central entrance"...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work on all school buildings in the city of Bayonne ca. 1939. Work on the Mary J. Donohoe School building included "painting, repairing, and general improvement work."

Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School (formerly Jacob Riis High School), which opened in 1925, 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...

"The Marysville High School/Junior High School Complex is located in a residential neighborhood two blocks south of the historic Marshall County Courthouse and approximately two blocks southwest of Marysville’s business district. The complex occupies 12 acres; three buildings (the high school, junior high school, and transportation building), one structure (the stadium), and two objects (the stone gate piers) contribute to the historic significance of the property. The stadium and playing field were constructed near the center of the property in 1937, followed by the Art Deco high school designed by Louis H. Spencer at the northeast corner of the property...

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. Mathews Elementary School, built in 1916, was one of the schools that received repairs under the package. The renovations designed by Giesecke and Harris included a new roof and painting the exterior of the building. The Texas Historical Commission designated the school a Recorded Texas...

"The Mauldin Cultural Center, on the same grounds as the Gosnell cabin, is also historical. The building, built between 1935 and 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, was a high school until 1957, then an elementary school until 2002. The City of Mauldin has owned the property since 2005." (blogspot)

The Mayflower School was built and the cost of $9,500 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with the help of a PWA grant. Lester Troster, a local architect and superintendent of the regional Bureau of Indian Affairs, designed the two story structure.1 The architectural features include Colonial Revival elements. "The accentuated doors with decorative pediments and pilasters, symmetrically-balanced windows and center door, double hung sashes and multiple panes are indicative of the Colonial Revival (1880-1955) style." "The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs built Mayflower School in 1933-1934 to serve as a model for Native schools in Alaska. The Bureau wanted the school to provide...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out improvements at the Maypearl Intermediate School in Maypearl TX. Except from Waxahachie Daily Light dated 4/17/1941: "The project covering improvements at the Maypearl School reopened April 11 after having been suspended since Oct. 1940 waiting for delivery of materials. The Maypearl School improvement project is set for a total expenditure of $74,396.40, the Federal Government to furnish $51,395, and the sponsor, the Maypearl Independent School District, to furnish $23,000. This project will employ an average of 42 workers for approximately another month at which time it is expected the new building and all ground improvements will be...

In 1985 this small school was nominated to the Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory and National Register of Historic Places as a WPA site, and it was far from the only such school in Oklahoma. "In Oklahoma towns such as Tatums, Mazie, Madill and others, the Works Project Administration offered jobs to minorities and educational opportunities for their children... Many schools built in Oklahoma by the WPA were constructed by minority workers and benefited their children. Many of these schools still stand 50 years later."   (https://newsok.com) An Oklahoma Library Commission Report also lists a 1939 WPA built library at a school in Mazie - most...

McAlister Intermediate School was first constructed as a high school for Suffield, CT. The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied a $112,500 grant for the school's development, whose total cost was $243,597. Construction occurred between Oct. 1938 and Nov. 1939. The building has since been expanded. PWA Docket No. CT X1311

The Works Progress Administration built the McCarty School in the vicinity of Elmore City, OK. Contributor note: "The McCarty School was built to educate children in the rural area northeast of Elmore City. This two-room school is located in an area known as McCarty, although there is no town per se. When built in 1939, it was the only building in the area. It stands on the northwest corner of the intersection of County Roads 1620E and 3190N, about six miles northeast of Elmore City. This is a one-story, two-classroom school with a gabled roof. The building appears to be vacant at this time....

CK McClatchy Senior High School in Sacramento CA was built in 1937 with aid from the Public Works Administration (PWA) of the New Deal.  The school was designed by the local architectural firm of Starks and Flanders, which designed other landmark buildings in downtown Sacramento, including the Elks Temple, the U.S. Post Office, and the Courthouse. Ground was broken on May 20 and the school dedicated on September 19, 1937.  The school bears the name of C.K. McClatchy, the late editor and owner of The Sacramento Bee and a powerful figure in Sacramento and Central Valley politics during his life. The school included...

Bonner Springs, Kansas received a new school in 1935, constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The facility, located at 110 S Nettleton Ave., is now known as McDanield Learning Center. The building features a 1934 cornerstone and distinctive brickwork. Above the main entrance is an inscription: Dedicated to Character. The PWA provided a $22,500 grant for the project, whose total cost was $83,435. Construction started in May 1934 and was completed in May 1935. PWA Docket No. 3229.

Charlottesville, Virginia's historic former McIntire High School building was constructed during the 1930s with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building now houses a private Christian school, The Covenant School.

McKinley Avenue Elementary School (formerly Seventy-Ninth Street Elementary School), which opened in 1925, 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...