Colleges and Universities Sites

A former set of "Spanish-style cottages," known as El Pueblo, was created for married students at what was then West Texas Teachers College. The project, built in 1936, was enabled by Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds: a $27,400 loan and $11,105 grant. A 1936 article in the Canyon News newspaper says the cottages were "located on the northeast corner of campus and are situated in a semi-circle." Satellite imagery shows that the houses were located between Russell Long Blvd. and 2nd Ave.; and east of 26th St. Local sources (see Facebook link under Sources) state that each of the structures was...

Pennsylvania State University's Electrical Engineering West was one of a dozen buildings constructed on the campus during the Great Depression as part of a massive construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The building is still in use today.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted improvement work at the Kansas State Teachers College (now Emporia State University) in Emporia, Kansas. "NORMAL IMPROVEMENT Emporia, Jan. 15. A CWA project involving the expenditure of $3,000, most of which will be for labor has started at the Teachers college. The program provides for finishing rooms in the basement of Union building and redecorating others."

The Suffolk County News reported that the WPA conducted many improvement projects on Long Island between 1935 and 1936, among which were "repairs and painting (exterior and interior) of ... the State Institute of Applied Agriculture at Farmingdale" (the former name of Farmingdale State College).

Terre Haute's historic U.S. Post Office and Court House was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds and completed in 1935. The building has been remodeled by Indiana State University; currently known as Federal Hall, the building houses the Scott School of Business as well as administrative functions.

Columbia College's Federal Hall was originally constructed as a New Deal post office building. When the post office moved to Walnut St, the building was converted into the Federal Building, then became the Youzeum, and now is the office for the nursing program at Columbia College. There were 2 murals for the post office that were moved from the post office to other locations over the time that the building was renovated to be the Federal Building. “Pony Express” was eventually moved to the City Council chambers. “Indians Watching Stagecoach in the Distance” was initially retrieved by the demolition team and...

Pennsylvania State University's Ferguson Building was one of a dozen buildings constructed on the campus during the Great Depression as part of a massive construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The building is still in use today.

McGuinn Hall was a Colonial Revival style men’s dormitory constructed in 1938 on the campus of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), a historically black college founded in Tallahassee, Florida in 1887. A dedication plaque on the wall of McGuinn Hall indicates that it was constructed as a Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works project, number FLA 1092-6-DS. The architect was Rudolph Weaver, F.A.I.A., who served as dean of the University of Florida’s College of Architecture from 1925 until 1944. He designed a number of dormitories for the University of Florida as well as Florida State University. The latter included...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted work in 1933 to construct what is now known as Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium at what was then the Middle State Normal School (Teachers College)—now Middle Tennessee State University. The facility has been enlarged multiple times over the years.

Formerly known as the Army War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair is a U.S. Army post located at the confluence of the Potomac and the Anacostia Rivers. The site has been an army post for more than 200 years. During the New Deal, both the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made extensive improvements to the post. In 1933-34, the CWA did everything from sewer construction and building renovations to adding a bandstand and repairing the bowling alley. Records in the National Archives provide these details: "Building concrete coal bin & retaining walls, south of incinerator; Making necessary branch...

The main campus of Fort Lewis College was moved to Durango, Colorado in 1956, but before then it was located at this site, 16 miles southwest of Durango on what was originally a military site, then a boarding school for Native Americans, then a high school, then a two-year college. Since the 1950s, this has been the site of the San Juan Basin Research Center and is currently connected to Fort Lewis College once more as an auxiliary campus used for agricultural research among other purposes. During the 1930s, New Deal programs contributed important resources to the campus: "Dean Bader faced...

The Franklin Hall dormitory building at OPSU was improved with W.P.A. funds and labor. "By the 1920’s, the dormitory housed only male students, usually forty of them, and was called The Boys’ Dormitory. In 1935, the state legislature and WPA funds allowed funds for some badly needed remodeling. One year later, remodeling provided additional bathroom facilities in the building." Sometimes known as "the white building," the building still stands at the eastern corner of Sewell St. and College Ave.

The University of Mississippi made application to the Public Works Administration September 7, 1935 for grants to help construct five fraternity houses and two sorority houses. Funds in the amount of $2,000 for each structure were requested from PWA, and the university would fund the remaining $3,000 per building.The university requested $45,454 for fraternity and sorority houses according to a separate Clarion-Ledger article.Architects began drawing up plans for the first of ten sorority and fraternity houses, and the establishment of “fraternity row” after being notified funds had been obtained reported architect E. L. Malvaney. Work was ordered to begin on...

Pennsylvania State University's Frear North Laboratory was one of a dozen buildings constructed on the campus during the Great Depression as part of a massive construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The building is still in use today.

The stadium was originally built in 1926, but later improved by the WPA. The archival photo pictured details each feature the WPA worked on at and surrounding this stadium, including new adjacent handball and tennis courts. The WPA work on this stadium was most likely included the 1942 work referred to in the following quote from the stadium's website: "The stadium, originally know as Fresno State College Stadium and renamed for Fresno State's first football coach, Emory Ratcliffe, in 1941, was expanded with a high-rise grandstand on the west side in 1942, boosting the seating capacity to 13,000."   (www.fresnocitycollege.com) This may also...

Variously known as the 1939 Dining Hall, the Seminole Dining Hall and now the William Johnston Building, this Collegiate Gothic style building was constructed by the PWA in 1939. A report from a former Florida State University art student describes the building as follows: “In the fall of 1938, construction of this new Dining Hall began, though it would not be but another two years before it would formally open its doors… The New Dining Hall appeared as a place of reverence that granted a sense of security and comfort at days end. One would proceed up the monumental staircase of the front...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Public Works Administration (PWA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded pre-construction work, buildings, and landscaping as part of the Fullerton Junior College project.  Fullerton Junior College was founded in 1913 and originally shared a campus with Fullerton Union High School. The junior college provided high school graduates with a two-year program. In 1934, the CWA funded the clearing of a lot just east of the high school to prepare for a new campus for the junior college.  The campus was designed by architect Harry K. Vaughn in a Spanish Revival style. The plan was to...

The Work projects Administration (WPA) worked to construct the Military Science Building at Kansas State University in Manhattan. It was renamed Gen. Richard B. Myers Hall in 2006. "The building is home to K-State’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs, and is the only building on campus that was built during World War II." WPA Project No. 165-1-82-218 Cost: $92,595. Sponsor: War Department

Gentry Hall was constructed as a women’s dormitory, named after the second female graduate of the University of Missouri. This was part of the “women’s campus” on the east side of the MU campus and in contrast to how things are done now, there was a separation between the sites of the men’s and women’s dorms.

The Georgia College & State University campus in Milledgeville, Georgia was heavily impacted by New Deal program construction. Multiple buildings were constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds, including Beeson, Sanford, and Porter Halls.

This structure was originally built as the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium in 1907-09. It was thoroughly renovated with WPA assistance in 1938 and given a new facade in 1943. The building was sold to Georgia State University in 1979, and now serves as the school's Alumni Hall, also known as Dahlberg Hall.

Numerous building construction projects on the Georgia Tech campus were enabled by various federal New Deal agencies during the Great Depression. The Civil Works Administration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Public Works Administration (PWA) all contributed support to various projects, some of which are no longer extant.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an addition to Georgia Tech's Brittain Dining Hall.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an addition to the Ceramics Building on the Georgia Tech campus. The addition "comprises the largest portion of the building. The new work doubled the floor space of the department and increased the number of rooms by ten." The exact location of the facility on the Georgia Tech campus, and the building's present status, is unknown to Living New Deal.

"Tech's development continued in the Fall of 1938 with the announcement that the Board of Regents, with Public Works Administration assistance, would spend $350,000 for the construction of four buildings and an addition to a fifth. ... The third building in this program is the Daniels Chemical Addition. Designed by Professor Galley and M. L. Jorgensen, the Addition Building faces on Third Street, and although announced in 1938, work on the building did not start until the summer of 1941. Completed in the Fall of 1942, the final cost of the building was $95,000 and contained the organic and physical...

Georgia Tech's Engineering / Mechanical Drawing Building was constructed during the Great Depression. Located on Cherry Street, the building was located north of the Guggenheim School of Aeronautics by Mechanical Engineering Building. Its current status is unknown to Living New Deal. "The Federal Government continued its support of Tech by assisting the Board of Regents in 1937 with the construction of the Civil Engineering Building and the Mechanical Engineering Drawing Building. This $275,000 project allowed three departments to move out of the Mechanical Engineering Building and the Electrical Engineering Building. It also increased Tech's research capability through a Hydraulics and Highway...

"Tech's development continued in the Fall of 1938 with the announcement that the Board of Regents, with Public Works Administration assistance, would spend $350,000 for the construction of four buildings and an addition to a fifth. Work began on the Howell and Harrison Dormitories by December of 1938."

Later known as Heisman Gym, Georgia Tech's old Auditorium / Gymnasium Building was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.  The building "was projected to be built in two phases with the first costing $93,000 and the second $116,000. It was the "first completely reinforced concrete structure on campus, began in June of 1935," The Auditorium was completed in January 1936. "The building's second phase of construction was completed and dedicated on September 30, 1938, with a swimming pool section, financed by Georgia Tech, and completed in June of 1939." The WPA contributed to the latter stage of construction. The...

Funds provided by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA) enabled the construction of Georgia Tech's Hinman Research Building ca. 1940.

"Tech's development continued in the Fall of 1938 with the announcement that the Board of Regents, with Public Works Administration assistance, would spend $350,000 for the construction of four buildings and an addition to a fifth. Work began on the Howell and Harrison Dormitories by December of 1938."

"The Works Progress Administration which as we have seen sponsored the Gymnasium for Georgia Tech, was also responsible for adding the third and final addition to the Lyman Hall Chemistry Building. Construction began on a three-story "L" shaped addition in February of 1936. This addition has a large, two-storied chemical engineering laboratory 22 feet by 72 feet. The third story of this building contained a lecture room, library, and offices. Designed by Bush-Brown, Galley and Associates, the building followed the Collegiate Gothic of the Emerson Addition in style ..."

"The first building built under the "Civil Works Administration" was the Naval Armory. Constructed on the site of the temporary gym that burned in 1931, the Armory Building was a "no-frills" building. The building was to serve the Atlanta Naval Reserve, the Georgia Tech Naval ROTC unit, and the Communication Reserve of the U. S. Navy. By February of 1934, the foundations were almost completed and all of the labor for this project was being supplied by the Civilian Works Administration." The building was demolished in 1980 to make way for the Edge Athletic Center building.

Georgia Tech's Stephen C. Hall Building was constructed as the Civil Engineering Building. "Today, the Stephen C. Hall Building houses the Writing and Communication programs at Georgia Tech, as part of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts." "The Federal Government continued its support of Tech by assisting the Board of Regents in 1937 with the construction of the Civil Engineering Building and the Mechanical Engineering Drawing Building. This $275,000 project allowed three departments to move out of the Mechanical Engineering Building and the Electrical Engineering Building. It also increased Tech's research capability through a Hydraulics and Highway laboratory in the...

Serious discussion about building a new women's dormitory at Stephen F. Austin began immediately after the programs of the New Deal made the project feasible. The Board of Regents authorized the dorm's construction in July 1936. It took another two years before the appropriations for the women’s dormitory came through. The building was constructed with Public Works Administration funds. Construction started on September 6, 1938 under the supervision of architects Shirley Simon of Henderson and Hal Tucker of Nacogdoches. The building is named for Miss Eleanor H. Gibbs, one of SFA’s favorite members of the original faculty and Head of the...

"Originally known as University Stadium, was built in 1936 at a cost of only $335,000 as a Works Progress Administration project. Originally the natural seating bowl held 8,000 in two sideline grandstands. There was a grass hill at the south end of the stadium, and at the open (north) end of the bowl were two stone towers (still standing), that served as makeshift housing for the football team in its early years. Following World War II, the stadium was renovated, with many glass elements. Because of this, and the city's concentration on the industry, the stadium was renamed the...

Glendale Community College (formerly Junior College) relocated to its present campus in 1937. Several of the campus' original buildings—including the surviving John A. Davitt Administration Building—were constructed between 1936 and 1937 with the support of a bond election and funds matched equally by a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. "The initial campus would consist of four buildings: a 24,000 square-foot Administration Building, a 12,000 square-foot Science Building and men's and women's locker rooms, together totaling 6,960 square feet. This plant would have 32 classrooms and laboratories. Space would be set aside for a student-funded student union, auditorium, liberal arts and classroom...

Goodell Hall was constructed as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. Construction occurred in 1934-5.

Goodison Hall on the campus of Eastern Michigan University was constructed in 1939 during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $156,240 grant. The residence hall, which had been constructed along with King Hall, was demolished in 1998. The site is presently occupied by Marshall Hall. (PWA Docket No. NY 1552)

"Graham Gymnasium at Western New Mexico University in Silver City was built and other buildings were remodeled with WPA funds. The sidewalks, streets and the riverwalk park were a part of the projects. The banks of the Mimbres River in the walk area are shorn up with rock work, a trademark of much of the WPA construction." -Phyllis Eileen Banks

The amphitheater, located on the campus of Southern Arkansas University, was constructed by the NYA in 1936-38.