Military and Public Safety Sites

The Works Progress Administration built the Fire Department in Cordell, OK. Contributor note: "Cordell Fire Department is located in a two-story stone building at 203 E. Clay Street. The stones are laid randomly, and there is a continuous concrete lintel above the second floor windows. A WPA shield on the building shows that it was constructed in 1941. The building has a flat roof. Second story windows are not boarded and we assume that level is still in use. The entrance consists of a single recessed door and window under a cloth awning. The remaining windows are singles and doubles. Access to the...

The Town of Palmer, Massachusetts's website states: "1938 showed a major change for the Fire Department. The sixth chief was elected, a new engine house built, and new fire apparatus purchased. The structure of the department changed also. A study committee chosen in January returned in September with a proposal by the Federal Government Public Works Administration. The Fire District had only eight weeks to act on the proposal, however the proposal was approved that night. The Palmer Fire District was the first in the nation chosen by the P.W.A. for this project which was to spur economic growth in the...

Rockland, Massachusetts received a new fire station with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Construction on the building began in 1938 and was completed 1939. The building, which has since been extended, is still in use today. The PWA contributed $27,000 of the $60,857 total final cost of the project. PWA Docket No. MA 1440.

Smithfield, Rhode Island's Fire Department building in Greenville was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project between December 1938 and June 1939. The PWA supplied a $14,040 grant; the total cost of the project was $31,427. (PWA Docket No. RI 1165)

The federal Public Works Administration provided a $182,970 grant for the construction of a new headquarters building for Rochester, New York's Fire Department during the Great Depression. Construction began November 1935. The project was completed at a total cost of $404,319 in May 1937. (PWA Docket No. NY 1154.) "Rochester Fire Department Headquarters and Shops is a historic fire department complex located at Rochester in Monroe County, New York. The complex incorporates two structures: the headquarters building and shops building. The Headquarters Building is triangular in plan and is two stories in height and of buff colored brick construction with light...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the branch fire station at the western corner at Avenue A and W. 16th St. The building, which, as of 2015, houses Engine Company 4 and Rescue Squad 1, has been in use since 1940.

E. R. A. funds were used to assist the Mansfield, Massachusetts Fire Department with upkeep and beautification in 1934. "The Central Station received a coat of paint on all outside wood and metal surfaces during the year, also part of the inside walls and ceilings were painted." Three Fire Department trucks and a pump were also painted with the aid of E. R. A. funds.

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve New Rochelle's, New York's Fire department Station #2 (Company #2 firehouse) during the 1930s. Station #2, which was built in 1926, is still in use today. One WPA project, which involved numerous municipal buildings in New Rochelle including this (in fact, including New Rochelle firehouses #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6), was described by the WPA in its project rolls: "Work includes performing carpentry, masonry, and sheet metal work; excavating and constructing walls; painting, placing tile, and roofing." WPA Official Project No. 665-21-2-635.

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve New Rochelle's, New York's Fire department Station #3 (Company #3 firehouse) during the 1930s. Station #3, which was built in 1902, is still in use today. One WPA project, which involved numerous municipal buildings in New Rochelle including this (in fact, including New Rochelle firehouses #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6), was described by the WPA in its project rolls: "Work includes performing carpentry, masonry, and sheet metal work; excavating and constructing walls; painting, placing tile, and roofing." WPA Official Project No. 665-21-2-635.

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve New Rochelle's, New York's Fire department Station #4 (Company #4 firehouse) during the 1930s. Station #4, which was built in 1911, is still in use today. One WPA project, which involved numerous municipal buildings in New Rochelle including this (in fact, including New Rochelle firehouses #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6), was described by the WPA in its project rolls: "Work includes performing carpentry, masonry, and sheet metal work; excavating and constructing walls; painting, placing tile, and roofing." WPA Official Project No. 665-21-2-635.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers constructed a fire drill practicing tower in Fitchburg, Mass. The drill tower was located at 28 Oliver St in Fitchburg. It was built behind an already existing fire station. The drill tower along with the fire state were demolished in early 2017.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a fire hall in Kief, North Dakota. It was dedicated at the end of Sept. 1937. The location and status of the structure is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) constructed a fire hall in Max, north Dakota in 1935. "When completed the building will house governmental offices and a jail in addition to fire-fighting equipment." The current fire hall in Max is located at 202 2nd Ave. It is unknown if this is the Depression-era structure.

This small stone building was constructed as the town hall and fire hall in 1938. A 2008 photo on flickr shows the building still standing, but the Living New Deal has not been able to confirm the building's exact location or current use.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a fire hall in Vale, South Dakota. The exact location and status of the project is unknown to Living New Deal.

Now known as the Billy Sheridan Fire Headquarters Building, what was then Winder's new post office was constructed in 1935 with federal Treasury Department funds. An example of New Deal artwork created for the building has since been relocated.

The Firehouse in the newspaper article below still stands, and is in fact the current Llano City Hall. Excerpt from The Llano News, 05 Dec 1940: "Specifications for the building were prepared by W. A. Burton, Llano architect and engineer. The building is a two- story of rock-face ashlar construction. The ground floor provided space for four fire trucks, a dressing room and bath for the firemen and a large office which served as a meeting place for the city council and the city's business. Upstairs there was a large combined assembly room and recreational hall for the members of the Llano Volunteer...

Sayville's Suffolk County News reported that Central Islip, New York's new $63,000 fire house would be constructed with the PWA bearing "45 per cent of the cost of construction, or approximately $28,192." The Central Islip Fire Department writes: "Construction began on the new Fire House at #96 Carleton Avenue in April of 1937 – this building was completed in a short period of time, and the Department moved to this new location on October 16, 1937." Construction began on a fire house to replace the 1937 structure in 1988, and "the official move from the 1937 Fire House to the new building...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Central Fire Headquarters in 1938. The facility provided offices for the Fire Chief and other officers. It also served as San Antonio Fire Station #1 from 1938 until 2011, and is currently home to the San Antonio Fire Museum.

This station was NYA project Number 5403-Y-10.

The rock fire station was constructed as federal National Youth Administration (NYA) project 4686-Y-10 in May 1938.

The fire station in Munising, Michigan was constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied an $11,124 grant for the project, whose total cost was $24,920. Construction occurred in 1938-9. The building also housed the Department of Public Works. Firefighting operations may have been relocated. PWA Docket No. MI 1537

New London received a new fire station in 1939. It replaced a facility damaged during a hurricane the previous year. The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied a $13,752 grant for the project, whose total cost was $30,792. Construction occurred between Dec. 1938 and Aug. 1939. PWA Docket No. CT X1405

Constructed in 1939-40, the former New Orleans Fire Department Station Number 2 is one of three firehouses built by the WPA in the Crescent City in the late 1930s. Located in the Lakeview neighborhood, south of Lake Pontchartrain, it consists of a brick-clad, cross-gabled, house-type plan containing one bay. Modest regional influences are expressed through the wrought-iron porch supports and a balconette at the top of the front gable. At the rear is a lower gabled addition holding sleeping quarters. Hurricane Katrina devastated this section of the Lakeview commercial district. The fire station is one of a few buildings pre-dating...

The accompanying photograph portrays the Winter Garden Fire Station at 127 Boyd Street, constructed by the WPA in 1938. Shown in the photograph is Hoyle Pounds. He was Fire Chief for over 40 years. The firetruck seen in the first bay now belongs to the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation. As of 2013, the building is in the process of being repurposed as the new home of the Winter Garden Art Association under a three-year lease. Hoyle Pounds was born in Ocoee, FL, in 1893 to John Richard "Bud" and Martha "Mattie" Carrol Pounds, who came from Doraville, GA. Hoyle went to local...

The WPA constructed the firehouse on 51st Street in Woodside, Queens.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a firehouse for the Kern County Fire Department in the town of Delano at Jefferson and 12th Avenue. It has since been replaced by Fire Station #34 at the same site. A total of $600,000 in federal funds was spent on fire stations at Delano, Fellows, Woody, Maricopa and East Bakersfield.

The former firehouse in downtown Greenfield, Massachusetts was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The facility was demolished in 2021 to make room for a new library. Per Short and Stanley-Brown: The city of Greenfield, with a population of 15,500 in 1930, had not only outgrown its old fire headquarters but the location of the old building in the business district had become undesirable due to traffic congestion. The new building has space for seven pieces of apparatus, as well as the chief's quarters and a watch room on the first floor. On the second floor are a recreation room, two...

Originally the East Fire Department of Birmingham serving the Lakeview Community, Fire Company 8 was one of two stations build in response to the 1905 Tarriff assessment. Due to its proximity to Station 3 it was moved to the north side and the former station location many know. Amid concerns about roof failures, contaminated water, mold and asbestos, the station was closed on May 9, 2016 and its firefighters and equipment assigned to other stations in Inglenook and Avondale. A new station was completed with 3 bays housing Engine 8 and Rescue 8 in 2018 near the old station and...

Construction through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) began in 1935 with 18" stone quarried from a nearby ranch and was completed in 1937. This building housed the Volunteer Fire Department downstairs and City Hall upstairs until the 1970's. As of 2017 "the walls are solid and still standing but interior walls, floors, and roof are in great disrepair." The building was demolished on August 19, 2020.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed construction of the former National Guard Armory in Falls City, Nebraska. "edicated on December 11, 1936. It was converted in 1972 to a City Hall and is currently the Falls City fire station."

Magna, Utah received a new fire station as part of a New Deal project. We believe the agency involved to be the Works Progress Administration (WPA); however the exact location and present status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration built a fire station in Mason, circa 1939. Rubble Masonry Building with brick trim. One large three truck room. 1 equipment room. 1 shower room. 2 rest rooms. Upstairs 4 rooms, 1 rest room. Building has a reinforced concrete foundation and concrete floors. This building is now Mason County Law Enforcement Center. It sits on the corner of the Mason County Courthouse lawn.

The historic former fire station in Williamson, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The facility was constructed four three months in 1936. PWA Docket No. 7122

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) provided the labor for painting the then-fire station in Maynard, Massachusetts in 1934, at what was hailed "quite a savings" to local taxpayers. The old fire station was located at the site of what is now a private business (as of 2017, The Paper Store) on Nason St. Work was continued by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), which also installed a new fire alarm system with new fire alarm boxes.

Originally constructed as Fire Station #3, this single door fire station in University City, Missouri was completed in 1939 with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The brick façade has a blond color. The door is framed with cut stone. Crew quarters are on the second floor. Since being renovated in 2005, it is now called Fire Station #2.

Green Bay's Fire Station No. 3 was constructed in 1937 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. supplied a $17,550 grant for the project, whose total cost was $49,352. PWA Docket No. WI 1367

The Public Works Administration helped to fund the construction of the former Muskogee Fire Department Fire Station 3, located on West Okmulgee Ave. The 3-bay fire station has two large bays for fire trucks and a smaller bay to the west. It features a white Deco/Moderne design, replete with a curved wall with windows on the east side, concrete lettering above the doors, a flat roof, and horizontal striping of contrasting dark color. It presently houses the Muskogee Habitat for Humanity store and offices. PWA Docket No. OK 1279

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Fire Station 5 in Topeka KS. Operations have since relocated, though the building still stands. "Station No. 7 shares an identical floor plan and similar architectural features to two other fire stations in Topeka, those being Fire Station No. 5 at the southwest corner of SW 17th Street and SW Topeka Blvd, and Fire Station No. 6 at the southwest corner of NE Seward Ave. and NE Woodruff Ave. in the Oakland neighborhood. All three were WPA projects, and all were designed by the same architectural firm of Cuthbert and Suehrk."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Fire Station 7 in Topeka KS.  “This station was constructed in 1935 through Works Progress Administration to service the growing Oakland neighborhood, and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad yards, located just a few blocks to the west and south." "On October 2, 2020, the National Parks Service considered the nomination of Fire Station No. 6, and officially listed the building on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review (KHBR) officially approved this nomination on August 1, 2020 for inclusion of the Register of Historic Kansas Places."