Youth employed by the National Youth Administration carried out maintenance work at the Mona Airfield on Mona Island. “Campos is one of the Mona boys engaged in clearing and maintaining the Mona Air Field, strategic L-shaped landing field controlling historic Mona… read more
The Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) undertook construction and development work at what was then Moore Army Airfield, a part of Fort Devens development. “Clear small brush and prepare for construction of a landing field” Official Project Number: 165‐14‐4057 Sponsor: Commanding… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Morgantown Airport in Morgantown. Pictured are WPA crews grading and leveling the runways of the new airfield, in 1936.
“Work was started on the Morristown Municipal Airport this morning by an engineering party ….It is expected that about 100 men will be put to work tomorrow and Wednesday will see the balance of the men at work… The money… read more
The municipal airport, which no longer exists, was completed with funds and labor provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Ocean City Municipal Airport in New Jersey was constructed as a New Deal project, with the aid of Civil Works Administration (CWA) labor, in 1934. The facility officially opened in 1935, and it is still in service.
This place is extraordinary, a reminder of the days when air travel was a special occasion for which one dressed up. There’s a fireplace in the comfortable waiting lobby, and fountains where you stroll outside to board the planes. It’s… read more
Asheville, North Carolina’s old airport (since replaced by Asheville Regional Airport, which is located at a different site) was developed in part by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). “The Federal Works Progress Administration spends $170,000 to build one paved… read more
"Roswell was one of four New Mexico cities designated to have an art center. The current Roswell Museum and Art Center, built in 1937, was known as the Federal Art Center. The original building has been incorporated into all the… read more
The Works Progress Administration built a hangar and administration building for the municipal airport in Tuscaloosa, now known as Tuscaloosa Regional Airport.
Municipal reports for fiscal year 1934 document that the town voted & raised $591 for a C.W.A road project. No details are given as to what was worked on. The 1936 report explains that federal money was spent constructed a… read more
The Works Progress Administration constructed concrete runways in 1941 at the newly established Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. The base was closed in 1993; Myrtle Beach International Airport occupies the former Air Force Base site and much of the land of… read more
Nashua Airport at Boire Field is a public use airport located northwest of Nashua. Municipal reports from the 1930s detail New Deal assistance building the airport. A 1934 report explained that local authorities had been authorized to buy land, which… read more
Nashville International Airport was first constructed by the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program. Tennessee Encyclopedia: “Some of Tennessee’s largest WPA projects reflected the arrival of the age of flight. WPA workers … built major airports in Memphis, Chattanooga,… read more
The Works Progress Administration built a National Guard Squadron facility at the Municipal Airport in Birmingham, in 1936.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement and development work at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey. WPA project details: “Construct and rehabilitate buildings and facilities” Official Project Number: 109‐3‐22‐13 Total project cost: $10,000.00 Sponsor: U.S. Navy… read more
The former Squantum Naval Reserve Aviation Base / Naval Air Station was improved and expanded in part during the 1930s with federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) funds and labor. W.P.A. project details: “Install telephone systems” Official Project Number: 165‐14‐4005 Total… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the airport in Nevada City. In mid 1935, $10,547 from the WPA went into “Airport improvements.” WPA Proj. No. 79703, $10,547, Oct. 18, 1935. According to Paul Freeman of the Abandoned Airfields website, “the 1948… read more
The Works Progress Administration had an active presence in New Bedford, providing funds for massive construction and city improvement efforts. Suggestions for an airfield near New Bedford first appear in documents from 1936, proposing a route “via Fall River and… read more
The original Newark Airport terminal building, then known as Building 1, was built in 1934-35 with New Deal funding. Newark Airport holds a special place in aviation history, with the first paved runway and the first terminal that provided a… read more
New Deal agencies greatly improved the Newark Airport, opened in 1928, during the 1930s. The Public Works Administration (PWA) supplied a $31,635 grant toward an airport repair project whose final cost was $129,978 (PWA Docket No. NJ 1146). Construction on… read more
A photograph at the U of Washington shows workers clearing land for an airstrip. E.R.A. – K.C.D., Proj. 2749, Mar. 19, 1934, Neg. 7; North Bend Airport From Google Maps, there is no trace of an airport at the location… read more
The Works Progress Administration built what was then Harrison County Airport in Clarksburg. The airport serves today as the North Central West Virginia Airport.
One of 6 airports considered very important by the State Military Commission in 1940 for use as a military base. A 1940 Maine State Legislature report records that construction of the base was done by the W.P.A. Under FERA/MERA (Maine Emergency… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) modernized and expanded the administration building at the original Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of Oakland International Airport). The project was sponsored by the Port of Oakland and cost $70,000. The work added… read more
New Deal agencies did a variety of work on the five hangars at the Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of the Oakland International Airport) and later built a new hangar for the Naval Reserve Air Base at the… read more
The Works Projects Administration (WPA) built the first hanger, runway and road for the Navy Reserve Air Base at the Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of the Oakland International Airport). Then, in 1940 the WPA authorized $237,000 for… read more
New Deal agencies were called upon several times to expand the runways at the growing Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of the Oakland International Airport). In the early 1930s, this involved bringing in quarried stone for fill to… read more
In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed a fire-fighting water supply system and laid drainage tile under the Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of the Oakland International Airport). The drainage system covered 3.6 million square feet and… read more
During the late 1930s the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped to develop what was then Ogdensburg’s new municipal airport.
This WPA project replaced a much smaller airport to the west of the present airport. It was a $350,000 project and was met with much fanfare, completed just after the start of WW II.
In 1936, the City of Oroville acquired 188 acres of grazing land north of the city to build a municipal airport. During 1941, the Works Project Administration (WPA) aided the city in extending the runways and increasing the airport’s footprint… read more
“Between 1935 and 1940, Massachusetts and the federal government, primarily using Works Project Administration funds, constructed 63 buildings (all but Buildings 102 and the old Williams Hospital have since been demolished) and two, 500-foot (150 m) wide turf runways at… read more
The Oxford Municipal Airport was constructed in the 1930s, most likely in 1937 which is the first time it appeared in the Airport Directory, which also indicated construction was under way on an additional runway. It is unclear from available… read more
“The development of the Pensacola International Airport began during the Great Depression. Conner Hagler, owner of the San Carlos Hotel, and Harry Blanchard, a barnstorming pilot originally from Virginia, bought 504 acres of thick woodland on Skinner’s Mill Road (12th… read more
“Peter O. Knight Airport…is an airport on Davis Islands, five minutes (3 NM or 5.6 km or 3.5 mi[1]) from downtown Tampa, Florida. Built as a Works Progress Administration project, it was Tampa’s main airport from 1935 to 1945, and is still used… read more
“The WPA’s good works in Philadelphia included … construction of the Municipal (later Philadelphia International) Airport …”
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted millions of dollars (not even adjusted for inflation) of improvement and development work at the Picatinny Arsenal and a sub-installation, the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Depot, in New Jersey. Work involved the construction… read more
“The Works Progress Administration constructed the Greenville Airport in 1940 on land that was jointly owned by the city of Greenville and Pitt County. A Civil Pilot training Program operated from the airport until it was leased by the United… read more