O’Neil Park – Quincy MA

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor remodeled and rebuilt O’Neil Park in Quincy.

Oakes Field – South Charleston WV

The Works Progress Administration built the Oakes Field in South Charleston in 1939. The western edge of the stadium shares a common boundary with the former US Naval Ordinance plant. The field has an entrance to residential areas at 4th… read more

Oakes Field House (former Recreation Building) – South Charleston WV

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Oakes Field House (former Recreation Building) in South Charleston in 1939. The Recreation Building, as it was called in 1939, is a two-story brick building with gable and seven bays facing 3rd… read more

Olinville Playground – Bronx NY

Although the history of this park is difficult to pin down, researcher Frank da Cruz makes a compelling argument that this is one of many WPA playgrounds built during the New Deal. First, it is located at the North end… read more

Owensboro High School: Rash Stadium Additions – Owensboro KY

The Works Progress Administration built additions and made improvements to the Rash Stadium in Owensboro. The current home side was built in 1940 as one of the WPA programs in Owensboro, KY. In 1940, the WPA appropriated $30,926 for the… read more

Paerdegat Park – Brooklyn NY

The New York Times reported in 1941 that, as part of WPA efforts, Brooklyn would receive six new playgrounds, located at: “Third Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, Second Avenue and Fifty-fifth Street, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Fifty-second Street, Albany and Foster… read more

Palisades Recreation Center and Playground Development – Washington DC

Palisades Playground and Park was developed by New Deal agencies in the mid-1930s. The field house was built with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1936. That same year, the Washington Post reported that Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers had… read more

Park Point Beach House and Recreation Field – Duluth MN

The Park Point Beach House and adjacent recreation field, located in Park Point on Minnesota Point, were constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Parkersburg High School Running Track – Parkersburg WV

The National Youth Administration built a running track for the Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg. At the time of its construction this was the only half-mile track in West Virginia.

Passannante Ballfield – New York NY

According to the NYC Parks website: “The site of this ballfield was acquired by the City of New York for the construction of the Independent Subway whose line curves from the Avenue of the Americas to West Houston Street. In… read more

Pelham Bay Park Improvements – Bronx NY

Pelham Bay Park, the largest in the city of New York (three times the size of Central Park), sits on Pelham Bay in the northeast corner of The Bronx. It was established in 1888, when The Bronx was still separate… read more

People’s Park Playground – Bronx NY

“Peoples Park on Brook Avenue and East 141st Street in the Bronx, June 22, 2015. The New York City Parks Department press release for July 27, 1934, announces the opening of fourteen playgrounds on August 11, including: PLAYGROUND at 141st… read more

Perry High School (former) Athletic Field – Pittsburgh PA

A project involving construction of an athletic field at Perry High School (now Perry Traditional Academy) was undertaken in 1936 as part of a New Deal project, sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA provided a $17,994 grant for the project, whose… read more

Peter Minuit Playground – New York NY

The property for this playground and the adjacent school (P.S. 108 also known as the Peter Minuit School) were both acquired in 1941. The Board of Education cleared old buildings and constructed the school on the West half of the… read more

Phoenix Park Development – Delavan WI

“[W]ith federal WPA funds in 1935, a tennis court and shuffle board facilities were erected” at Phoenix Park in Delavan.

Pierce Memorial Field – East Providence RI

Pierce Memorial Field was constructed as a federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression. “The site of the athletic field was an abandoned gravel pit … [which] had gradually been developing into a public dump, … taking… read more

Pinocchio Playground – Glendale NY

On September 30, 1941, Parks announced the opening of a new playground behind Public School 119 to be shared by the Department of Parks and the Board of Education. The press release explained that the playground was divided in two… read more

Pulaski Park – Bronx NY

The NYC Department of Parks announced the official opening of Pulaski Park (named in honor of Revolutionary War soldier Casimir Pulaski) on October 11, 1939: “The park was named in honor of Pulaski ten years ago. The reconstruction was done… read more

Queensbridge Park – Long Island City NY

Parks acquired this land to the West and the South of the WPA’s Queensbridge Housing development in 1939. The press release announcing the completion of a WPA playground on the site in July 1941 explained: “The southerly section lying alongside… read more

Quimby Field – Gardiner ME

“The Quimby Athletic Field of Gardiner was enlarged to make a combination baseball and football field at a cost of $17,257.08 of which $1,368.50 was spent for material. There were 11,700 cubic yards of earth moved and 300 cubic yards… read more

R. H. Watkins Stadium Improvements – Laurel MS

A WPA project for $21,000 improvements at the Laurel Municipal Stadium included brick seats to accommodate 3,000, a brick stadium house, brick wall at the south end of the stadium, permanent parking space, brick walls, brick ticket booths and replacing… read more

Rancho Cienega Playground – Los Angeles CA

A 1938 report from the Los Angeles Department of Playground and Recreation describes the WPA’s role in creating the Rancho Cienega recreation area: “Forerunner of the great regional recreation centers of the future, the Rancho Cienega Playground was the outstanding… read more

Randall’s Island Park – New York NY

Randall’s Island Park cover more than 400 acres of the 500+ acre island.  It contains dozens of tennis courts, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, playgrounds and other recreational facilities, as well as paths, greenways and a marsh.  Frank da Cruz summarizes the extensive… read more

Raymond M. O’Connor Park – Bayside NY

The Raymond M. O’Connor Park and the Kennedy Playground within it were developed with federal relief funds in the 1930s. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed work on the park in 1935. The NYC Parks site explains that the park… read more

Recreation Center Grandstand – Ocala FL

The Works Progress Administration built the Recreation Center Grandstand in Ocala FL.

Recreation Field – Montpelier VT

Montpelier’s Recreation Field was developed as a New Deal project in 1938-9. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $45,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was listed as $100,052. PWA Docket No. Vt. 1088-F. The facility was described in… read more

Red Hook Park – Brooklyn NY

Red Hook Park in Brooklyn was one of several major parks and hundreds of playgrounds created in New York City with Federal funds in the New Deal era. In this 1938 text, Robert Moses describes the work accomplished in New York… read more

Rienzi Playground – Bronx NY

On December 4, 1941, the NYC Department of Parks announced the start of construction on two new playgrounds in the Bronx, including what is now known as Rienzi Playground. The release explains that the WPA was removing sixteen 1-3 story… read more

Riverside Park Reconstruction – New York NY

Riverside Park is a 6.7-mile long waterside public park in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, running between the Hudson River and Riverside Drive. Its origins go back to Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux,  the designers of Central Park in the… read more

Riverside Park: Athletic Fields – New York NY

Researcher Frank da Cruz explains that: “By 1934, the park was in terrible shape; Robert Moses and the NY City Parks Department, using New Deal funding, designers, and labor completely leveled the original park and replaced it with a new… read more

Rock Creek Park: Improvements – Washington DC

The New Deal contributed substantially to the betterment of Rock Creek Park in the 1930s.  This involved a number of federal agencies. Rock Creek Park is a key greenway in the District of Columbia and, at 1750 acres, is almost… read more

Rosewood Park Improvements – Austin TX

Rosewood Park is a 13.9-acre neighborhood park in East Austin. The land for Rosewood Park was purchased by the City of Austin in 1929 and developed as the first African-American park in Austin. The Civil Works Administration helped make improvements… read more

School Athletic Field – Madison ME

An article dated Jan. 11, 1934 speaks of New Deal assistance for the town, including the construction of a new athletic field: “Madison High School is to have one of the finest athletic fields in the state of Maine, thanks… read more

School Athletic Stadium – Clinton OK

The Works Progress Administration built a school athletic stadium in Clinton, OK. Contributor note: “The original WPA school was razed due to deterioration. This field was originally given to the town for use as a Little League field in the… read more

Sedgwick School Athletic Area – West Hartford CT

In 1933/4 the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) furnished the labor toward the development of an athletic area / playground at Sedgwick Middle School in West Hartford—specifically the planting of elm trees at the northern and western sides of the… read more

Selke Field – St. Cloud MN

The Selke Field Stone Wall was built in 1937 and was funded by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A) during the Great Depression. Chris Tessari, the construction crew foreman, and Harry Phinney, the W.P.A representative, both played a large role in… read more

Seth Low Playground – Brooklyn NY

This five-acre playground in Brooklyn was first established in 1924. In 1941 the WPA completed an extensive reconstruction of the main area of the park as well as the addition of a new 1/4 acre sitting area (Bealin Triangle) separated… read more

Seward Park – New York NY

When the recreation area in Seward Park first opened in 1903, it was “the first permanent, municipally built playground in the United States” (NYC Parks). The park was significantly redeveloped during the New Deal. In April 1935, relief workers completed… read more

Sgt. William Dougherty Playground – Brooklyn NY

This modest playground near the Northern edge of Brooklyn was developed under the New Deal. A Department of Parks press release from April 1, 1935 announced the opening of this playground “constructed with Work Relief Funds” and went on to… read more

Sharpe Memorial Park Arena – Purcell OK

The Works Progress Administration built the Sharpe Memorial Park Arena in Purcell OK. Contributor note: “The building of these grandstands showed the openness the WPA had to building items which were of particular interest to the local community – hence a… read more