Schools Sites

When constructed by the WPA in 1937-39, Barretts Elementary School was a two room school built of limestone. The school has been extended several times since then, but the original WPA construction is still used as the school kindergarten today.

This school was built as an elementary school with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1938.  It later became a junior high school and was named for William Pitt Bartlett, a Porterville benefactor. The building is single-story and the design by W.D. Coates is Moderne (Art Deco). The main building front still looked unchanged as of 2009, except for probable window replacement. There are new aluminum windows on the small building on the south, and new aluminum doors on the back side. There have been at least 2 additions for new classrooms since it was built.

The elementary school in Basalt, Colorado was originally built as the town's high school in 1937-38. The school was paid for, in part, with a $20,970 federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant, which covered nearly half of the $46,504 total project cost.  Alterations to the building were undertaken in 2000, and the original structure is now a part of a larger elementary school complex.  

"This high school is planned so that when the need arises additions may be made. The present building is T-shaped in plan and two stories in height. It provides seven classrooms, teachers' rooms, a principal's office, a chemical laboratory, a library, and a combination auditorium-gymnasium with a stage and bleachers. The auditorium-gymnasium is so arranged that it may be used by the community as well as by the school. The construction is fireproof throughout. The exterior walls are red face brick with wood trim. The columns at the entrance of the auditorium are limestone. The volume of the building is 573,780 cubic...

Bayside High School was constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. allocated $2,067,274 for the construction of the facility: $1,480,000 as a loan and $587,274 as a grant. The building bears a 1935 cornerstone and was completed December 1936. The PWA docket number for this project was NY-2735.

The original Beach School was built in 1913 but declared an earthquake hazard and torn down in 1934.  It was replaced in two phases: the main wing in 1936 and the rear classroom wing and auditorium in 1940 (PHS 2007). The new school included 8 classrooms, a kindergarten, offices, a health room and an auditorium. There had been three previous efforts to replace schools and temporary buildings at schools in Piedmont in the 1920s, but the bond issues lost.   After the school board sought and gained funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA), a new bond issue passed in December...

In 1933/4 the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) furnished the labor for redecoration / painting full interior of the now-former Beach Park School in West Hartford, Connecticut. The building now houses the School for Young Children at the University of Saint Joseph.

Built in 1936-37, occupied for school use on September 7, 1937. In 1875, the school district built a wood frame schoolhouse near the center of town. In 1903, the board built a masonry building to replace the frame school. In 1935, a fire destroyed the school. The building was insured for $35,000, but the estimated loss was $100.000. The new school served the entire township, since Indiana officials had been encouraging public school consolidation since the 1890s. Public Works Administration awarded a grant for $57, 348 to fill the gap. Additionally, the town sold bonds to fund the school. The...

The PWA helped build Bear Lake Middle School (docket #1058-D), originally a high school. The school is still in use today.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Bear River High School, in Tremonton, Box Elder County. Docket # 1018-R (Utah). The architect of record was J. Nelson. The condition of this structure is unknown to the Living New Deal.

The Beaver Dam school in Bleckley County, Georgia, served African-American children and was rebuilt by the WPA between 1935 and 1936. (Current status and exact location within Bleckley County unknown to the Living New Deal)

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funding for a new high school for Beaverhead County schools in Dillon, Montana, constructed in 1939. The PWA had become a part of the new Federal Works Agency that year.. The design of the two-story school is a very striking Moderne, painted in a desert beige with white bas-relief columns. The entrance portions for the classrooms and the auditorium project outward slightly, while the doorways are recessed. There are glass-block windows over the auditorium entrance. The school is still in use.

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. Becker Elementary School was one of the new schools built. The student population increased rapidly to the point that there was a need for Becker Elementary School to be expanded. In 1939, the city approved an addition to the school, using part of an additional...

Originally constructed as a high school, what is now Bee Log Elementary School was built in 1938 with assistance from the Works Progress Administration (WPA); it was one of five schools built by the WPA in Yancey County, North Carolina.

A WPA press release from Nov. 1937 reported: "More than 150 schools have been repaired and the grounds improved and landscaped , and five brand new schools in the state were erected entirely by WPA with a small percentage of sponsored funds," among which was a new school in Belfair, Washington. The precise location and the present status of the school building are unknown to Living New Deal.

Bell High School, which opened in 1926, 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 me...

The school was originally built in 1853. "In 1934, the WPA raised the building and added a basement, as well as an entryway." The building is still standing, but is apparently no longer used as a school.

"The Bellingham High School is one of the largest and finest structures of this type erected recently in northwest Washington. It is 3 stories in height with sufficient basement to take care of the heating system. It provides 20 standard classrooms; laboratories for chemistry, physics, biology, and agriculture; a woodworking shop; a machine shop; an automobile repair shop; rooms for music, arts and crafts, mechanical drawing, domestic science, office practice, typing, and stenography; a band and orchestra room; lunchrooms; a boys' gymnasium; a girls' gymnasium; an auditorium with a stage; a library; conference rooms; study rooms; and administrative offices....

Belvin Hall was the first student residence constructed on the campus of Sam Houston State University, then called Sam Houston State Teachers College. With an occupancy of 92, the building has remained a women-only residence since it opened. The Public Works Administration financed the four-story red brick building with a $150,000 grant and loan package. The college built on an addition called Buchanan Hall in 1945 to support the increasing population of the school. Now known as Belvin-Buchanan Hall, the combined structure houses 209 girls.

The Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the former Ben Franklin School in Shawnee, Oklahoma during the late 1930s. The Living New Deal suspects that, like Washington School, another New Deal construction Project in Shawnee, the New Deal building replaced the older Ben Franklin School building which had been constructed in 1904. The description on the Waymarking webpage for this site reads as follows: "This is a two-story brick school with a flat roof and concrete coping. The entrance is slightly recessed with a concrete block surround. All windows have continuous brick sills. On the first level, north of the entrance are...

The former Benjamin Franklin High School—which opened in 1916 at the site of today's Monte Vista Street Elementary School—was renovated with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. Benjamin Franklin High School moved to its current location in the 1960s, after the original campus suffered structural damage from earthquakes and was demolished. 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...

Originally constructed as a high school, what is now Norwalk's Benjamin Franklin Middle School was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. contributed a $407,676 grant for the project, whose total cost was $909,689. Primary construction occurred between Dec. 1935 and Nov. 1937. The building also houses examples of New Deal artwork installed soon after the building's completion. P.W.A. Docket No. CT 1128 This school has closed and it is now the Crystal Theatre. Arrangements to see the murals can be made by calling the Crystal Theatre at 203-847-4850.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals” work at the Benjamin Franklin School (renamed Guy Benjamin School) on St. John.

What is now Benson Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was constructed in 1937-8 with the assistance of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $37,933 grant for the project, whose total cost was $84,817. Construction began in Dec. 1937 and was largely completed in October 1938. The school is now part of an expanded school and administrative campus known as the Benson Educational Complex. The original building is in the shape of an 'L' along Mueller and Dean Streets, and still features original floors, ceilings, and pull-up classroom closet doors, as well as its old auditorium stage. A Federal...

The WPA constructed Benton High School in 1937. It was used as a high school until 1957, and then as an elementary school until 1970, after which it was put to community uses before being closed. It is a long, wide, linear school with hips at both ends and a gabled entrance in the center and at both ends.  The concrete above the central entrance clearly shows the school name. Quoins are present at all exterior corners.  The school is in good condition with windows intact - they may have been restored by the Benton Community Betterment Corp. (see second...

The Berkeley Community Theater, part of Berkeley High School, was started with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1941.  The foundation was laid and the street framework erected when World War II interrupted further work in 1942.  It stood like that until it could be finished and dedicated in 1950. The Community Theater is a Moderne/Art Deco-style building constructed of reinforced concrete and finished in stucco.  The design has striking curves and masses, and it is decorated with cast stone bas-reliefs by prominent local artists (see linked pages). The building has three parts: the 3,500 seat Berkeley Community Theater,...

The G and H buildings were New Deal added to Berkeley High School in the 1930s, almost surely funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA).  The origin and amount of funds need to be confirmed, as do the years of construction (they were probably completed in 1940). When they were built, the G and H buildings were known as the Industrial Arts and Sciences buildings, a name still inscribed along the exterior on the west side, Both buildings front on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, with the H building to the north on the corner of Allston Way.  The H building has...

The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed a gymnasium at the old high school for the Berryhill school district in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (now within the city limits of Charlotte). The structure, whose exact location is unknown to Living New Deal, no longer exists. "The Long Creek High School Gymnasium was one of eight facilities of its general type constructed in Mecklenburg County under the arrangements outlined above, the others being at the high schools then in the local school districts of Huntersville, Paw Creek, Pineville, Sharon, Oakhurst, Berryhill, and Bain. Only the Long Creek Gymnasium survives from this initial...

This WPA-constructed school was built in 1937 when the town was called Berwyn. Contributor note: "The Old Berwyn School at 45-47 Prairie Street was built by the WPA in 1937-1938. It is a one-story beige brick building with a flat roof. Two recessed entrances face east, each with double glass doors. The north side of the building is currently the Gene Autry post office; the south end houses the Gene Autry Museum. At the curb, a set of terracotta veneer steps lead to the front walk. (We never have understood why so many old schools had these steps which had three steps...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a 12-classroom school building: Bethel Elementary School in Sugar Grove, North Carolina. It was one of many educational facilities constructed by the WPA in Watauga County.

"This senior high school has been built on a plot of ground not only large enough for athletic fields and tennis courts but of sufficient size to allow for future buildings when the school needs to expand. The main building contains 13 classrooms, English classrooms with stages, laboratories for science and biology, rooms for music and domestic science, a library, and a cafeteria. The construction is steel and concrete, with exterior walls of brick trimmed with stone and wood. It was completed in September 1935 at a construction cost of $218,440 and a project cost of $287,419."

While the main buildings of Beverly Hills High School date to 1927, the unique "Swim Gym" was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939. Designed by Stiles O. Clements, the gym features a basketball court that can be opened to access a 25-yard swimming pool below. It has appeared in films such as It's a Wonderful Life and Clueless.  

WPA funded two projects for the Bexar County Boys' School in 1939. Construction of a greenhouse for the facility, which served as a "juvenile delinquent" training school was authorized in December 1939, with WPA funding $2,213 and Bexar County funding $968 and employing 30 workers. A workshop, 30x85 feet, "...for inmates at the Bexar County Training School for Boys" replaced a building previously destroyed by fire (Boys Home Gets $15,000 Shop, 1940). WPA funded $10,738.50 of the cost of the workshop and Bexar County funded $4,397.62. Plans were drawn by Russell White, Bexar County engineer. The workshop was constructed of...

"Situated in a grassy, tree-covered field in a remote area. the abandoned Big Four School building was constructed in 1915, but remodeled so extensively in the 1930's by the Works Progress Administration bar it is actually more representative of this time period." (National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form) The exact location of the building along Route 383 in Providence, Arkansas and the status of the structure are presently unknown to Living New Deal.

"The Big Horn Academy Historic District includes the Big Horn Academy constructed in 1916 of rusticated sandstone and the Cowley Gymnasium/Community Hall built in 1936 of lodgepole pine logs. In 1936 the Gymnasium and Community Hall was constructed adjacent to the Cowley High School as part of a Works Progress Administration project." The log gym lies behind the old school building, which presently houses school district administrative offices.

Billinghurst Junior High school named after long time Reno superintendent of schools (1908-1935), Benson Dillon Billinghurst had improvements made during the New Deal Era consisting of two new double tennis courts and a rock and cement retaining wall around the school playing fields. The rock walls are there today, but the tennis courts are now basketball courts. The school is no longer there. The site has become part of a large public park in the middle of Reno.

The new athletic field commenced development in 1940, prior to beginning the new Junior High in 1942. The $17,000 project included "grading, drainage and fencing of the new field" (Daily Herald, January 1, 1940). It included a playing field, three practice fields, and a quarter mile track. The field was used for the first time by Biloxi High School vs. Moss Point on September 17, 1941 (Biloxi will use new school field).

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) initially funded the project, but closed it due to lack of WPA labor in Biloxi (The Daily Herald, 1941). WPA expended $27,937 on the school construction. The design indicated eighteen classrooms, home economics, science and manual training facilities. In addition to the WPA funding, voters approved bonds for $47,000. The bids for building, plumbing and heating exceeded the funding available (The Biloxi Schools, p. 7-8). Additional funding was sought from the Federal Works Agency to complete the building, and it opened in September 1943 (Biloxi Schools).

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built football and baseball fields for the former Bingham High School in Copperton, Utah.   Over the last 150 years, there have been five successive Bingham High Schools in the Bingham Canyon Area, part of the present  Jordan School District, including the current one in the town of West Jordan. The WPA athletic fields were built for  the fourth version of the high school, located in the town of Copperton. The High School transitioned to a Junior High School in 1996 and the fields were still in use then. The football stadium was demolished in 2002. Remnants...

Birmingham School #2 in Birmingham, Ohio received an auditorium/gymnasium addition in 1936 as a New Deal project, with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA provided a $11,371 grant for the project, whose total cost was $25,667. The building was demolished in 1995. PWA Docket No. OH 1185