Schools Sites

In 1934, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) furnished the cost of labor for the construction of a playground behind Center School in Hatfield, Massachusetts. The 35-man project cost the Town of Hatfield only the price of materials for the project ($982), while the federal government paid for the labor (3,028). The Center School itself was constructed as Hatfield's middle school in 1914. The building much later became the Western Massachusetts Regional Library and, as of 2016, has been vacant for about 10 years. It appears that the playground was demolished at some point as the aerial view of the site shows...

Built in 1939 as a public school in Holmdel NJ. Excerpt from the July 27th 1939 Red Bank Register: "Nearing completion at Centerville in Holmdel township is a new public school, the construction of which is being done entirely by WPA mechanics The Holmdel township board of education is supplying most of the materials and the WPA is supplying the labor, sand, gravel and concrete." Today the building is used for professional offices.

Central Elementary School in Union City, Tennessee was undertaken by the Public Works Administration (PWA) during the Great Depression. The PWA Moderne building, with a distinctive blend of classicism and Art Deco style, was designed to stand out from the more conservative architecture of Union City. Local reformers celebrated its "fireproof construction, circulation flow, ample light and air, structural insulation, sound proofing, sanitary floors, attractive furniture, drinking fountains, modern plumbing, and its auditorium," (Van West, pg. 114). The total federal cost for school construction reached $105,000, while student workers trained in wood- and metalworking by the National Youth Administration (NYA) furnished...

This two story brick high school building was constructed with funding from the PWA in 1936. It was designed by architects Knecht, McCarty, and Thebaud, Inc. of Grand Rapids, and Ralph L. Bauer, Architect of Traverse City. It now houses Central Grade School.

"During the depression years (1938-39) the Central Grade School in Anchorage was built in Art Deco design, as a PWA (Public Works Administration) project of the Roosevelt Administration." (ed.gov) The building was located on Fifth Avenue between F St. and G St. It is no longer extant. PWA Docket No. AK W1023.

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 Kirkland, Washington. The precise location and the present status of the school building are unknown to Living New Deal. One story published in 2011 states that the WPA school constructed in Kirkland no longer exists.

The present Central High School building in Philadelphia was constructed as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $1,084,950 grant for the project, which was undertaken in 1937-1938. PWA Docket No. PA 1549. C.W. Short and R. Stanley-Brown: The first Central High School in Philadelphia was built in 1838 and was the oldest high school in the United States outside of New England. It was replaced in 1844 and in 1900. This project replaces that erected in 1900. The building provides an extensive administration suite including a doctor's office, an infirmary, 28 classrooms, a lunch room for 1,000, a faculty...

Downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota's historic Central High School building received an auditorium constructed with the assistance of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the 1930s. The building has since been expanded with further additions. Federal Writers' Project: "CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, 1st and 2nd Aves. N. between 4th and 5th Sts., has an auditorium unit constructed entirely without windows. It was the first public building in North Dakota to utilize indirect lighting throughout. It was erected in 1936-37 with WPA assistance at a cost of $275,000, and includes a pipe organ, the gift of the Grand Forks Music Association."

The addition of an auditorium and gymnasium, since demolished, was completed for the 1924 Central High School building, along with improvements to the athletic field and athletic building. Architects N. W. Overstreet and A. H. Town designed the additions in 1936. Public Works Administration project 1148 was approved 7/21/1936 for $34,363 grant. Construction began 12/21/1936 and was completed 11/18/1937 for a total cost of $78,366.

Central High School was built in 1931. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) added a "school room equipment." The WPA cost was $3,085.66. The WPA also did work on the football field and grounds improvements. The WPA cost was $4,750.76.

The WPA built the music hall at this high school. This hall still functions as a music classroom, as well as a storage space for textbooks.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair work to the Central High School in San Juan.

"This little building provides elementary school facilities for the township of Manor, which is an agricultural district lying along the Susquehanna River. It is one story in height with a partial basement and provides four classrooms. The project included the construction of an approach drive and the landscaping of the site. The building is nonfireproof. The exterior walls are red brick, the trim, porches, shutters, cupola, and gable sheathing are wood, and the roof is slate. The floors of all rooms are maple and those of the corridors are asphalt tile. The project was...

Also known as Mustang Hall, the Central School auditorium was built by the WPA in 1939. A 2013 report on the school's history explains: "Mustang Hall also exemplifies the architectural characteristics of the Art Deco style with Mission Revival influences executed in a WPA institutional building... The Mission Revival style characteristics displayed include: the terra cotta tile roof, the stucco wall finish, and the gable roofs. Some of the Art Deco style characteristics include the flat roofs, vertical entry porch, and the chevron patterned tiles."

The Central School in DeRuyter, NY was originally known as the Central Grade and High School. This PWA project (Docket No. NY 6983) was completed during the 1930s. The building has since been expanded. The school was designed by Carl W. Clark of Cortland, NY and constructed by Kirkpatrick & Chappell of Binghampton.

The Downsville Central School in Downsville, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $108,245 grant for the project, whose total cost was $232,607. Construction occurred between Nov. 1938 and Nov. 1939. PWA Docket No. NY 1634

Romulus Central School was constructed as a New Deal project during the Great Depression. Funding was financed in part by the federal Public Works Administration, which contributed a $129,681 grant toward the project's $289,095 final cost. Construction occurred between 1938 and 1939. The facility has since been greatly enlarged. PWA Docket No. NY 1500

The Central School in Salem, New York was constructed during the 1930s with the benefit of federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. 1505-DS). The original building is now part of an expanded educational facility.

Truxton, New York’s Central School was built during the 1930s. The project’s construction was aided by federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. NY 6488).

The Central and High School in Union Springs, New York was constructed during the 1930s. The federal Public Works Administration contributed funds that enabled the project's development. PWA Docket No. NY 1233 provided a grant of $146,250 to the school district for the building's construction. The total cost of the project was $326,961. Construction on the school began March 1936 and was finished November 1937. The building has since been added to.

The former Mt. Upton Central School, located on the west side of NY-8 just north of the intersection in central Mt. Upton, was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $62,000 loan and $26,757 grant for the project, whose total cost was $102,066. Construction occurred between Oct. 1934 and Nov. 1935. The school has since relocated, and this building is currently abandoned. PWA Docket No. NY 6049

The federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) contributed to the development of Rock Hill's original North Side School. "School buildings and classroom additions went up at Central School, Northside School, Arcade-Victoria School, and Ebenezer Avenue School, with A. D. Gilchrist the architect for all these PWA projects." The former Central School has since been demolished and replaced.

Altona, New York's Central School was constructed during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. NY 1236). The building was designed by Plattsburgh architect Alvin W. Inman. The former school is now part of the Altona Correctional Facility, a medium-security institution, with the building serving as "the central administrative and school building." (Wikipedia)

Atchison, Kansas's Central School was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $65,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $173,019. Work started in Oct. 1937 and was completed in Jul. 1938. The former school is now privately owned and slated to become an apartment complex. PWA Docket No. KS 1073

Chestertown, New York's Central Grade & High School was constructed during the 1930s with the assistance federal Public Works Administration funds (Docket No. NY 3629). The old Central School, on State Route 9, still stands, though its current use is unknown; a new central school has since been constructed on State Route 8.

The Central School in Vernal was built in 1940-41 with the help of the Works Projects Administration (WPA) (by then part of the Federal Works Administration), according to  a plaque in the entrance lobby.  An older Central School was torn down to make way for this building. The design of the long, two-story building is brick Moderne, with strong horizontal lines and lovely curved section to the left of the entrance.  There is a L-shaped wing on the south side.  The windows and their openings have been radically altered (probably to deal with summer heat). The building now has "Central Education Center"...

"A 1938 project supported by the school district, town leaders and a PWA grant resulted in a building used for school and sports functions as well as an auditorium for public gatherings. It is the largest auditorium in the San Luis Valley that continues to serve in the same capacity for which it was built. It is the only Monte Vista example of the work of prominent architect Charles E. Thomas incorporating Mission, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Romanesque elements. The PWA grant provided 45 percent of the building’s cost and WPA workers were involved in some aspects of the project."

This WPA school was built in 1936-1937 as the Southwest High School. It is now the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School. This school has been added onto multiple times and the front of the original building is not visible from the street. The front of the school is within an interior courtyard. 5 statues by Fred Morie representing “Youthful Leadership” were created during the original project. These statues have been moved to the front of the modern part of the building.

Anthony Chabot Elementary School was originally built as the Claremont Annex School in 1927, but it was renamed in 1930 for Anthony Chabot, an early settler in Oakland who built the first city water works by damming nearby Temescal Creek. The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded a new addition to the school in 1935 and it was built in 1936 and completed in 1937.  It was called the Assembly building at the time, but now serves as the library and is known as the Annex.  It stands on the east side of the original school; both face north. We have not found...

The first building on this campus was opened as part of the Chaffey College of Agriculture in 1885. It became the Ontario High School in 1901 and the present Chaffey High School in 1911. In 1916, the Chaffey Junior College of Agriculture was added as a postgraduate department to the high school. The junior college maintained a presence on the campus until 1959 when it moved to its present location in Alta Loma. After the destructive Long Beach earthquake of 1933, first SERA and then the WPA were extensively involved with the construction of a number of buildings on the...

The auditorium for Chalk School was constructed in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration. Architect Penn Jeffries Krouse designed the addition to the school. It has most recently operated as the Calvary Christian School.

CUSD: "In 1939, a new gymnasium was constructed on the high school campus, immediately southwest of the old gymnasium. Built at a cost of $70,000, the new structure had a cafeteria at the rear, with dressing rooms for boys and girls in the basement. An April 13, 1939 article in the Chandler Arizonan touted the new building as “one of the finest in Arizona … as modern as up-to-date builders and equipment furnishers can make it.” The work was funded by a $33,000 bond issue as well as a $27,000 federal grant from the Public Works Administration. The original gymnasium...

"Building has ahslar quarry-faced limestone walls laid in a random range. Dressed stone details include beltcourses and arched entry surround. The symmetrical facade has a 9-bay central block. At its center the castellated entry surround projects slightly from the building wall. Four-bay wings project in front of the central block. Modern 4/4 metal windows fill the original openings. A later gymnasium addition behind the original school has large blank walls...Damaged by tornado spring/summer 2008. Additions to school in 1952, 1959 and 1984. Original windows replaced recently. This school was constructed as an elementary and middle school in 1935. Construction of...

The Public Works Administration contributed $35,000 for the construction of a new auditorium and gymnasium for David Anderson High School. Ground was broken for the project on December 9th 1937 and the structure was dedicated on October 3rd 1938. The total cost of the project was $70,000. The general construction contract went to the George H. Whike Construction Company of Canton Ohio. The building has since been renamed and currently serves as a juvenile court.

Charles E. Nash Elementary School was originally constructed in 1927 and received a small addition in 1936. It's likely that the addition was completed as the result of New Deal funding, but that has not been verified. It has been verified that the grounds were landscaped through the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Among the improvements were these terraces and stairs on the north side of the grounds constructed circa 1936. The improvements were designed by Hare & Hare of Kansas City, Mo.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved the Charles H. Lee Elementary School building(s) and graded/leveled the grounds.

"During the Great Depression, the old wooden building used by the academy was replaced in 1936 with one made of sandstone built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). While this school was being constructed, school was held in the Methodist church building behind what was then Weaver’s Store. The WPA building is in use today by the school district, with the Bayou Dota Masonic Lodge No. 126 holding its meetings upstairs. In 1952, the Charlotte and Cord schools merged to form the Cord-Charlotte School District. In 2004, Cord-Charlotte consolidated with the Newark school district to create the Cedar Ridge School...

Moss Point, Mississippi's Charlotte Hyatt Elementary School was constructed during the Great Depression with the assistance of federal funds. The "one-story building with brick and white mortar, cast stone, seven classrooms, an auditorium, a clinic room, an office and a boiler room" (Watson, nd) began construction after approval of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Moss Point issued $40,000 in school bonds and PWA provided the remainder of funds.

The Charlotte Valley Central School in Davenport, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $94,091 grant for the project, whose total cost was $200,180. Construction was completed in Nov. 1939. PWA Docket No. NY 1776

In 1933/4 the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) furnished the labor for redecoration / painting full interior of what was then known as the "south Center School." Living New Deal believes this to be the building now known as Charter Oak Elementary School.