Colleges and Universities Sites

The University of Texas opened on September 15, 1883 with the completion of its Victorian style main building. The university was funded by a combination of state appropriations and annual distributions from the Permanent University Fund (PUF), an endowment of 2.1 million acres of land in West Texas. Initially, the PUF provided minimal income from leasing the land for grazing cattle, but when the first oil was discovered on the land on May 28, 1923, the university was set to receive a windfall. However, it was not until 1930, that all the details were worked out on how the money...

Due in part to the growing number of men returning to college after World War I, the student body of the University of Texas at Austin increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. Plans for Prather Dormitory for men were approved by the Board of Regents in September 1935. The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the building with a grant of $110,454 and loan of $135,000. The cornerstone of the building marks the building as "Project No. 9229-Y of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works." Now called Prather Residence...

The student body of the University of Texas increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. The university added Andrews Dormitory for women and Roberts Dormitory for men in 1936. The Public Works Administration provided a grant of $114,000 and a loan of $354,000 for these two buildings of which $220,000 went to build Roberts. The university named Roberts Dormitory in honor of Oran Milo Roberts who served as Governor of Texas from 1878 to 1883. The building is of Spanish Renaissance style architecture with cream bricks and a red tile roof...

As part of the planning for the 1936 Texas Centennial, academics, citizens and other politicians desired to create a state museum for Texas. They wanted the museum to contribute to the conservation of the historic treasures of Texas and also to the educational system of the state. The American Legion Texas Centennial Committee, The University of Texas at Austin and Texas Congressman James "Buck" Buchanan worked together to secure $300,000 from the Public Works Administration for the Texas Memorial Museum. In addition, the Legislature of the State of Texas appropriated $225,000 for furnishing and equipping the museum and for gathering and...

The PWA built two dormitories in 1936 for what was then called the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy. The two dorms are Benedict and Worrell Halls, both of which are still standing. The school's newspaper, The Prospector, reported in April 1936 that "Construction started April 15, 1936 on the two PWA allocated dormitories for 102 men and women students," and that school officials believed the new dormitories would help attract more and stronger students to the school.

Originally called Davis Hall, this building was a PWA project for a dormitory at North Texas Agricultural College in Arlington, TX. The building is now known as Brazos House and the college is now known as the University of Texas at Arlington. It was dedicated in 1936. Brazos House has been demolished and turned into a campus park.

Multiple building construction projects were undertaken at the University of Utah during the Great Depression. The old library (now Crocker Science Center) and Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse are both Public Works Administration (PWA) projects that are still in use. Carlson Hall, another PWA construction, has since been demolished. The present status of a fourth building, the Seismograph Building, is presently unknown to Living New Deal. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was involved with the creation of artwork at the old library. From a 2013 retrospective on Carlson Hall, the women's dormitory: "After bequest to the U, the University administration approached the...

Carlson Hall, formerly located at the southwest corner of the University of Utah campus, served multiple roles over the years. Originally constructed as a women’s dorm, the building later housed a dining room, classrooms, and offices. The building was funded by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (see photo on plaque). It was demolished ca. 2013. The Quinney School of Law is located here now. The have a wonderful tribute to Carlson Hall inside the first floor front door (in a nook accross from the First Floor information desk). This includes the New Deal funding information, an original brick, a...

The old fieldhouse, built in 1939, was home to the University of Utah basketball team for thirty years. It was built with a combination of bonded debt by the university and Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.   It appears to be used for intermural athletics today.  

The Public Works Administration paid for a seismograph building on the campus of the University of Utah.  It sat next to the old Bureau of Mines building.  Both were demolished to make way for the Frederick Albert Sutton building for the College of Mines and Earth Sciences, opened in 2009.  (They were located behind the present Sutton Building where the parking garage now stands).

The building was designed by the firm of Ashton & Evans and constructed as a PWA project in 1935. In 1969, a new library was built on campus and the Thomas Building was converted into the Utah Museum of Natural History, which recently moved to a new home on the eastern flank of the university. The structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The former George Thomas Library is being converted to the Crocker Science Center (with major additions) as of 2016-17. Of the $20,000,000 spent in Utah by the Public Works Administration (PWA) for public works projects, the "most imposing" of...

The National Youth Administration (NYA) renovated and remodeled the south wing of Converse Hall at the University of Vermont. The newly remodeled wing served as cooperative living quarters for male students. Pictured with the NYA sign is Lee Arthur, the supervisor of the project.

"The Mabel Louise Southwick Building is the women's recreation building at the university. It is T-shaped in plan and is two stories and a basement in height. The basement contains a combination recreation hall and auditorium with a large stage, locker and utility rooms. Lounges and sitting rooms occupy the first floor. On the second floor are meeting rooms and a recreation hall with a small stage. The structure is fireproof throughout, the exterior walls being red brick trimmed with marble. It has a volume of 458,000 cubic feet and was completed in November 1936 at a construction cost of $263,237...

The Burlington-born artist Raymond Pease was commissioned by the Public Works of Art Program to paint a mural at Perkins Hall at the University of Vermont. The mural was covered with drywall during renovations in 1992. It was rediscovered in 2019 at Perkins Hall and it will be relocated to the Perkins Geology Museum.

"The attendance at the University of Virginia had risen to 2,700 students and the accommodations for the library in the rotunda building had become entirely inadequate. The university, accordingly, secured a loan and grant from the P.W.A. and erected the new 'Alderman Library' building. Due to great differences of level on the site, the building is two stories high on the front and five stories in the rear. The basement contains a receiving room and general storage. On the first floor are offices, archives, and stack space. The second floor is occupied by reserve book rooms, rooms for public documents, and...

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 stated: "The finishing touches to the creation of what is said will be the most beautiful college campus in tho west will begin this week with the opening operations of a new Works Progress Administration project. The plans designed, under a series of projects of which this is the culminating one, will give the University of Washington a campus second to none in boauty of landscape, according to the university buildings and grounds engineers. The WPA grant for the present project is the largest single federal allotment to the university and, according to present estimates,...

Men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked from 1934 to 1941 on the Arboretum of University of Wisconsin Madison, providing the majority of the labor needed to establish the ecological communities that make up the Arboretum. This was accomplished by excavating and moving land to return farmland to it’s natural condition as well as reintroducing native plants. Between 1900-1920 there were many civic leaders of the fast-growing city of Madison, Wisconsin interested in returning the countryside to it’s natural glory. These leaders recognized the importance of the conservation of open spaces for the citizens of the city. To ensure the...

The Works Progress Administration constructed a university laboratory building in Centennial, Albany County. The camp had been founded near Mullen Creek in 1935 by a CCC camp (possibly F-36). The University of Wyoming later used the facility as a recreation camp. During WWII, the camp was used by the Army and Air Force. The facility has been demolished. The former location of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration built the university Main Hall east wing in Centennial, Albany County. The camp had been founded near Mullen Creek in 1935 by a CCC camp (possibly F-36). The University of Wyoming later used the facility as a recreation camp. During WWII, the camp was used by the Army and Air Force. The facility has been demolished. The former location and condition of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.

The Arts and Sciences Auditorium, originally known as the Liberal Arts Building, on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project during the Great Depression. The P.W.A. provided a $213,700 loan and $100,600 grand toward the project, whose total cost was $366,755. Construction occurred between Feb. 1935 and Jun. 1936. PWA Docket No. WY 5152

The Works Progress Administration conducted work on women's dormitories at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The structure was designed in Collegiate Gothic style by Wilbur Hitchcock. Today the building serves as Knight Hall and houses Student Services.

The Wyoming Union building on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project during the Great Depression. The P.W.A. provided a $128,250 grant toward the project, whose total cost was $295,955. Construction occurred between Nov. 1937 and Feb. 1939. PWA Docket No. WY 1059-DS

The PWA built the three original buildings of Carbon Junior College, now Utah State University Eastern, from 1937-38. In 2015, the last of these original buildings was demolished. From "A Look Back at the Old SAC": "Carbon College, created as a four-year junior college, would house four grades: junior and senior years of high school and freshman and sophomore years of college. This arrangement constituted a new educational concept drafted for junior colleges in the United States. The 27-room, main classroom building included academic studies, agricultural, business and cosmetology. 'Cosmetology, the latter course to be somewhat of an innovation in the Utah...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Home Economics building at the Utah State University. The structure was built in 1935-36 and designed by Leslie Hodgson & Myrl McClenahan.  It is a two story, yellow brick, Moderne structure with bas-relief columns between every set of windows, white decorative elements capping the columns, and a slightly projecting entrance with somewhat gothic windows over the doors. According to a USU Historical Buildings guide, “On October 18, 1933 the federal Public Works Administrator announced allotments in excess of ten million dollars for non-federal projects. As part of the allotment given to the...

Lund Hall on the Utah State University campus in Logan, Utah, was constructed in 1936-37 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). Architect of this Women's Residence Hall was the Salt Lake City-based firm of Young & Hansen and the general contractor was Frank Campion. It was "...one of over 230 public works buildings constructed in Utah under various New Deal programs during the Depression years of the 1930s and '40s. The construction of public works buildings, of which only 130 are extant and well preserved, not only offered temporary work relief, but also provided long-term benefits in the form...

The historic stone amphitheater on Old Main Hill at Utah State University in Logan, Utah was constructed in 1934 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the USU Classes of 1925 and 1926. The amphitheater is still in use, but one can see that the original wooden seats have long since been removed, leaving traces of their metal supports.  

Victor Vaughan Dormitory on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. (PWA Docket No. NY 1559)

The Richmond Professional Institute (RPI) was an educational institution established in 1917. It eventually merged with the Medical College of Virginia to become the Monroe Park Campus of the Virginia Commonwealth University. In the 1930s, as the Richmond Professional Institute, it received significant support from the WPA: "When the Great Depression hit and RPI continued to receive no state support, the federal government stepped in to fill the gap. With the help of the Works Progress Administration, many of the buildings were renovated during the depression. In fact, Dr. Hibbs was quoted as saying, That if it had not been for the...

The campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia—or, as it was then known, as Virginia Polytechnic Institute (V.P.I.)—was dramatically developed as part of numerous New Deal projects during the Great Depression. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided multiple rounds of funding for the construction of several buildings on campus from the mid-1930s to early 1940s. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was also active on the campus. Public Works Administration-financed buildings included: Burruss Hall Graduate Life Center (originally Faculty Center) Owens Hall Eggleston Hall (Main, East, and West) East Campbell Hall Military Building (orig. Utilities Building) Hutcheson Hall Smyth Hall (orig. Natural...

Virginia Tech's Agnew Hall, originally known as the Home Economics Building, was constructed as a Work Projects Administration (WPA) project and dedicated in 1940. It was part of a broader development of several buildings on its corner of campus that involved both the WPA and the Public Works Administration (PWA).

The Armory, now part of the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, was originally constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project in 1936. The PWA supplied an $18,000 grant for the then-National Guard armory, whose total cost was $42,544. Primary construction began in January and was completed in December 1936. The project is sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), including on a historic information board outside the building's entrance. Once it had fulfilled its original purpose the facility served as an auditorium for what was then the nearby Blacksburg High School. Per VT.edu, the Armory was...

Burruss Hall serves as the main administration building for what was then the Virginia Polytechnic and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the building, originally called the Teaching and Administration Building, was constructed with a grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA) from 1934-1936. The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was involved with the project as well. It contains a 3,003-seat auditorium that is still widely used. The ceiling and walls of the auditorium were decorated with geometric designs as part of the project. In addition to the original building, two wings and a...

Virginia Tech's former Commerce Hall was remodeled as part of a larger Public Works Administration (PWA) project on the campus. The New York Times identifies this "business administration" building as a PWA project dedicated in August 1940. VT.edu, re: Commencement Hall: "Remodeled 1939 to house business administration and renamed Commerce Hall (not to be confused with a later Commerce Hall, now Pamplin Hall). Demolished in 1957."

Virginia Tech's East Campbell Hall dormitory was constructed as part of a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. Also known as Campbell Hall's east wing, the structure was constructed in 1940; whereas Main Campbell Hall was built in 1930, prior to the advent of the New Deal. A plaque on the building credits the Public Works Administration.

Virginia Tech's Eggleston Hall dormitory was constructed in stages, as part of two Public Works Administration (PWA) projects during the Great Depression. Main Eggleston Hall (440 Drillfield Drive) was constructed first and completed in 1935. Main Eggleston was one of four buildings on the campus completed as part of a massive PWA-sponsored project that cost $1.2 million (PWA Docket No. VA 1790). Its wings: East Eggleston Hall (410 Drillfield Drive) and West Eggleston Hall (500 Drillfield Drive) were added later, in 1940. Plaques along their respective walls where the buildings are connected to Main Eggleston Hall identify both wings as part of...

Now known as the Graduate Life Center, what was originally the Faculty Center—a dormitory on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia—was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project in the mid-1930s. It was one of four buildings on the campus completed as part of a massive PWA-sponsored project that cost $1.2 million. The building has since been dramatically extended to the southeast. PWA Docket No. VA 1790.

Virginia Tech's Hutcheson Hall, originally known as New Agricultural Hall, "was built in 1940 at a cost of $206,000," 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 one," and was expanded in 1950 toward Smyth Hall.

Now known as the Military Building, what was originally the utilities building was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project in the mid-1930s. It was one of four buildings on the campus completed as part of a massive PWA-sponsored project that cost $1.2 million. The building has since been expanded. PWA Docket No. VA 1790.

Virginia Tech's Owens Hall dining facility was constructed as part of a larger Public Works Administration (PWA) project on the campus. VT.edu: "When completed in 1939, Owens Dining Center, which seated 2,240 diners, covered the greatest area of any structure on campus."

Virginia Tech's Seitz Hall, originally known as the Agricultural Engineering Building, was constructed as a Work Projects Administration (WPA) project and dedicated in 1940. It was part of a broader development of several buildings on its corner of campus that involved both the WPA and the Public Works Administration (PWA).