This small playground on Houston St. between Essex and Norfolk was constructed by the Department of Parks in 1934 as a playground for small children. According to the press release announcing its opening, it originally contained “a shelter house, basketball… read more
Part of the Ala Moana Park complex, the Lawn Bowling Green was designed by architect Harry Sims Bent and built with the help of federal funds and FERA and CWA labor. “Constructed in 1939, the lawn bowling green was the last of… read more
Part of the Ala Moana Park complex, the Sports Pavilion and Banyan Court were designed by architect Harry Sims Bent and built with the help of federal funds and FERA and CWA labor. “The simple concrete exterior walls of the… read more
San Antonio’s historic Alamo Stadium was constructed at/near the site of an abandoned rock quarry by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938-40. The facility was dedicated September 20, 1940. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places… read more
In January 1940, the Parks Department announced the completion of a complete renovation of what is now the Alexander Hamilton Playground: “At the Hamilton Place area, the old playground has been entirely reconstructed to provide for wider and more intensive… read more
“The Allerton Ballfields are not mentioned by name in the NYC Parks Department Press releases because they were part of the same project: the construction of a large playground alongside four ball fields. Today they have separate labels: French Charley’s… read more
An August 1935 Parks Department press release lists Alley Pond Park as one of seventy-three play areas developed in the preceding year with “city, state and federal relief funds.” The release describes this park as having play areas designed for… read more
The New Deal had a large impact on Maynard’s Alumni Field. In 1933 the Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) surfaced the running track, built a concrete foundation for bleachers, graded a field next to the highway, and surfaced tennis courts. The… read more
The Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed a stadium and athletic field at what was then known as Appalachian State Teachers College (A.S.T.C.). Work was completed in 1939. Per The News and Observer, the college has “a class one field on… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed a municipal baseball park in Arcata, California, just north of the City Hall. The work was first approved in 1936, finalized in 1937 and then completed in 1938 (WPA funding was greatly reduced in… read more
St. Nicholas Park is a long stretch of park between Harlem and Manhattanville, reaching from 127th St. to 141st St. The park contains two playgrounds. The larger one at 129th St., known as St. Nicholas Playground, opened before the New… read more
Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center/Park was developed between 1936 and 1939 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), working with the Oakland Recreation Department. The WPA funded the project for around $60,000 in 1935 (Chronicle 1935). The 16 acre site on Arroyo… read more
The Astoria Heights Playground, covering most of the block between 30th Rd., 31st Ave., 45th St. and 46th St., was developed by the Parks Department and the WPA in two stages between 1937 and 1938. In September 1937, a playground… read more
The 56-acre park dates from the early 20th century, but “major improvements in Astoria Park were undertaken by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and the Works Progress Administration during a hot summer in 1936. The stunning pool complex opened on July… read more
Kearney State Teachers College was granted almost $10,000.00 in a WPA grant to improve its athletic facilities. The project was planned to be very “inclusive.” It included improving the current football and athletic field at the college, and leveling and… read more
The WPA participated in the building of this athletic field in American Falls. It is unclear where the site pictured is located, but if it is still extant Stebbins Park next to American Falls High School seems to be the… read more
The Works Progress Administration accomplished work on the athletic field and recreational center for the former High School and Grammar school, now the Antioch Middle School and Fremont Elementary School. WPA Project No. 165-3-3518, App. Date 10-6-36, $6,970, Total Funds… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed an athletic field in Garfield, N.J. The exact location of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed an athletic field in Hudson. WPA Bulletin: The town of Hudson recently dedicated its new WPA Athletic Field during ceremonies featured by a night football game between the Hudson and Methuen High School teams…. read more
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers worked to develop an athletic field in Brookfield, Massachusetts. From a W.P.A. Bulletin: Swish of tennis tackets, the bite of spiked running shoes, and the smart crack of ash wood meeting hoorsehide will soon sound… read more
Park improvements were one of many projects in the city that employed citizens in 1934 under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. According to the town report “Lewiston Athletic Park: General repairs and painting inside and out of the grand stand…. read more
“The landscape was planned and supervised by Phillip Wyman, a landscape architect from Milwaukee in the 1930’s. This park holds an important geographical position in the visual landscape of the city. Badger Park is an 81/2 acre park, developed in… read more
The New York Times reported in 1941 that WPA labor was to develop a playground at Bailey Avenue and West 234th Street in the Bronx. Bailey Playground now resides on that site: “WPA crews are busy on twelve other parks… read more
The Works Progress Administration built the Baird High School gym, football field, and wall in Baird TX.
New York City’s Parks Department website states: “During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981) and the Works Progress Administration constructed recreational facilities in the park, including a boat landing, several playgrounds, tennis and handball courts, baseball… read more
WPA Bulletin, 1937: “The sharp crack of wood meeting horsehide will dedicate the completion of a baseball diamond being built by WPA on land bequeathed the city by Thomas S. Pierce.”
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to construct a athletic field at Baltimore City College. Maryland WPA Project #15.
Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1936, Barnett Field hosted the Fargo-Morehead Twins minor league baseball team until 1960. Barnett Field was demolished in 1963.
This park is located on the site of a former tenement and adjacent to what was the first free public bathhouse when it opened in 1901. This and other early bathhouses were built for the sake of public sanitation after… read more
In 1936 the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a baseball diamond and a covered grandstand for the Greene Town Team in a park that is still referred to today as Ball Flats. Ball flats is a public recreation area “located… read more
“The Athletic Field at Vinalhaven may well be classed as a fine type of work project – a project on which the ERA, the town and private citizens cooperated to make possible work, health and pleasure. About thirty-five years ago… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built bleachers for a baseball field in Sonora, California. This field is part of a larger group of athletic fields behind the building know as “The Dome”, a former elementary school building, long abandoned, that… read more
The National Youth Administration built a baseball stadium in St. Marys WV, Pleasants County. Project No. 8904. The exact location of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.
Bath Beach Park, named for the surrounding neighborhood, was acquired by the City in 1937. In 1941-1942, the WPA completed extensive work on the park. A press release announcing the opening explained: “Located on a knoll on the center line… read more
Parks first constructed a playground at the intersection of 182nd St. and Belmont Ave. in 1937. A press release from July of that year announced the opening of “five playgrounds, constructed by the Department of Parks with relief labor and… read more
The bulk of present day Bensonhurst Park was first established in 1895. Two further parcels were added later. In 1942, the WPA completed major work on the park: “The Department of Parks announces the completion of work in connection with… read more
Five years after the WPA built a new pool and bathhouse in Betsy Head Park, the Parks Department announced the completion of the rehabilitation of the south section of the rest of the park, bounded by Livonia and Dumont Avenues,… read more
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… read more
Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of an athletic field at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg PA. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction… read more
Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Centennial Gymnasium building at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg PA. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, benefited during the Great Depression from a large… read more