The Destroyer USS Cummings DD-365 was built at the United Dry Docks shipyard in Staten Island, New York City, between 1934 and 1935. Funding for the construction of the ship came from the Public Works Administration (PWA) project (see Kermit… read more
The Destroyer USS Mahan DD-364 was built at the United Dry Docks shipyard in Staten Island, New York, between 1934 and 1935. Funding for the construction of the ship came from the Public Works Administration (PWA) project (see Kermit Project, New… read more
United States Penitentiary Terre Haute was built between 1938 and 1940. The Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce raised $50,000 to buy the land. The Public Works Administration largely funded the $3,000,000 cost for the facility. It took 125,000 person-days to… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement on the training ship USS Illinois (later USS Prairie State), stationed off 135th Street on the Hudson River. The boat was sold for scrap in 1956. WPA project details: “Alter and rehabilitate U.S…. read more
USS Lamson (DD-367), Destroyer, was built with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The vessel served during World War II, and sank during the atomic tests on Bikini Atoll in 1946. Today, it is popular diving location.
This is an unusual entry. The PWA assisted in the construction of the USS Mohawk, a Coast Guard cutter launched at Wilmington, Delaware. After World War II, the ship was sold to various parties, and served briefly as a museum… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement on the training ship USS Newton, stationed in Jersey City, NJ. The boat sank in the Hudson River in 1946, and “her hulk was later sold.” WPA project details: “Improve training ship”… read more
The USS Potomac served as Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidential yacht from 1936 until his death in 1945. FDR was a great yachtsman in his youth and loved being aboard the Potomac, which he used for political meetings and fishing trips… read more
U.S.S. Tucker (DD 374), Destroyer, was built with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The vessel served during World War II and was lost in the waters of the Republic of Vanuatu, 1944. The shipwreck is currently turning to reef.
USS Vincennes (CA-44), was built with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The vessel served during World War II and sunk at the Battle of Savo, 1942. It was re-discovered by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
The USS Yorktown (CV 5) Aircraft Carrier, commissioned by the U.S. Navy, was built with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The vessel served during World War II and was lost in the Battle of Midway, 1942. Her wreckage was… read more
“Uncle Sam’s fighting men, stationed at the Army barracks at Vancouver, Wash., will have special cause for celebration next Fourth of July [1938], for the day before is expected to see completion of WPA repairing and general improvement work scheduled… read more
This handsome brick building was constructed by the WPA in 1934 in Centinela Park (otherwise known as Vincent Park). Centinela Park also contains WPA tennis courts.
“Financed by State bond money the Lafayette Veterans Memorial Building was located at the SE corner of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and First Street and constructed during the period 1938-1939 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. Much of the interior… read more
Winnemucca’s Volunteer Fire Department Building was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds between 1938 and 1939. The building, located on South Bridge St. between W. 4th and W. 5th Streets, is still in use today…. read more
The historic Jay Volunteer Fire Department building was, Living New Deal believes, originally one of several similarly designed school buildings built in the area as part of a New Deal project. Their construction was enabled by the federal Public Works Administration… read more
The W.P.A. conducted repair and improvement work on numerous civic facilities in Newton, Massachusetts, including at the former Waban / Lower Falls fire station.
The Works Progress Administration built a new county jail in Jasper, Walker County, circa 1937. The exact location and condition of the structure is unknown to the Living New Deal.
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and its successor, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), both engaged in improvement projects at the old Walter Reed General Hospital (as it was then known). The entire army medical complex, covering around 80 acres, was… read more
The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center began life as the National Naval Medical Center under the New Deal. Congress appropriated the funds in 1937 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected the site in Bethesda, Maryland. Architect Paul Cret designed a… read more
The New Deal funded a fire station at the corner of 8th and F Streets in Wasco. The city fire department moved to a new building in 1984, however, the adobe, red-roofed building at 8th and F is most likely… read more
Washakie County’s Courthouse and Jail in Worland, Wyoming was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. WY 1006-D). The PWA contributed $51,750 in grant money for the $129,657 project. Construction began November 14, 1936… read more
Many improvements were made to the U.S Navy Yard and Naval Ammunition Depot (now called the Washington Navy Yard) throughout the New Deal, from 1934 to 1941. In 1933, the Washington Post reported that $325,000 had been allotted by the… read more
The Works Progress Administration built the Washita County Jail in Cordell OK. Contributor note: “The former Washita County Jail is a one and two-story stucco building constructed as a WPA project in 1940 with an appropriation of $21,000. The two-story… read more
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers constructed a water-storage hole for fire-fighting protection purposes, with respect 25 farms in outlying Billerica, Mass.
The W.P.A. conducted extensive improvement and development projects at the former Watertown Arsenal. Project details: “Rehabilitate and make general improvements to buildings, utilities, facilities, and grounds” Official Project Number: 165‐2‐14‐363 Total project cost: $641,063.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Watertown Arsenal, U.S. Army… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted defense improvement work at the Watervliet Arsenal during the 1930s.
The historic Waynesboro Armory “was built in 1938, and is a one-story, “I”-plan brick building in the Moderne style. It consists of three sections: administration building, drill hall, and stable. Its construction was funded in part by the Public Works… read more
"The Webster Hose, Hook and Ladder Company No. 3 is a unit of the fire department of Ansonia. Its new building is located in a residential area of the city. The first floor houses the apparatus and the second floor… read more
The WPA provided assistance in repairing and otherwise improving the Ninth Regiment / West 14th Street Armory in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The building is no longer extant. “The (22nd) Twenty-Second Regiment / 14th Street Armory (1863) building was… read more
The West End Fire Station, West End Fire Company #3, was built in 1937 with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding. The building is currently used as a fire station museum.
“The Old West Palm Beach National Guard Armory (also known as the Palm Beach County Armory) is a historic site in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 1703 South Lake Avenue. On June 11, 1992, it… read more
This structure was built by the PWA in 1934-5 as the Post Exchange and Utility Building. It now houses the Academy’s Directorate of Public Works. A 1939 PWA publication described the building as follows: “This structure is one of several… read more
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor worked to develop what is now Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport, then Westfield Air Base. Project details: “Make improvements at airport” Official Project Number: 165‐1‐14‐237 Total project cost: $1,178,513.00 Sponsor: Mayor, City of Westfield “Improve field by… read more
“President Roosevelt signed a $750,000 Works Progress Administration (WPA) project bill for the air base’s construction in November 1939. Fourteen hundred WPA and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers cleared the land, and actual construction was started in February 1940.” W.P.A…. read more
The historic former police station for Weymouth, Massachusetts—now the Weymouth Teen Center—was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1936. The building housed law enforcement operations until 1996. The PWA provided a $12,735 grant for the project, whose… read more
WPA crews built the Wheeler Street fire hall in Tonawanda in 1938 for Niagara Hose Company #3.
The Work Projects Administration worked to “improve and alter” the old U.S. Army Building, located at 39 Whitehall Street, during the early 1940s. The building was demolished in 1983.
“The March 11, 1889 Act of the California Legislature authorized the establishment of a school for juvenile offenders. Dedication and laying of cornerstone was done by Governor R. W. Waterman on February 12, 1890. Officially opened as ‘Whittier State School’… read more