Formerly known as Norman City Park, this site was established in the late 1890s and considerably improved during the New Deal: “Between 1935 and 1937, under the New Deal programs, several items were constructed in the southwest portion of the… read more
The Blue Room is one of the original dining areas in the WPA Aquatic Park Bathhouse building, within the Aquatic Park NHL District. Original drawings refer to this circular room on the eastern side of the second level as “restaurant.”… 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 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): 1856 CCC Camp SP-47-T operated in this corner of west Texas. The CCC developed Balmorhea State Park, and constructed its iconic pool, between 1935 and 1940. Texas.gov: CCC Company 1856 arrived here in July 1934…. read more
During the 1930s, Banneker Recreation Area was developed as part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program undertaken by the Public Works Administration (PWA), Civil Work Adminstration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Notably, the CWA was… read more
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
This charming stone bathhouse, built by the WPA in 1939, is still in use, with some slight alterations. A 1985 Oklahoma Landmarks Survey of WPA projects in the state describes the structure in detail: “This bathhouse was originally a single-story… read more
In 1937 the Wichita Falls Times described a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in a photo caption: “a bath house … as an addition to city park facilities in Vernon.” The status and location of the project are unknown to Living… read more
The Electra city pool “was built in 1935-36 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the facility includes a stone building with native stone from the area.”
According to a newspaper account, FERA built a new bathhouse at the 4H pool west of Dunbar.It is unclear if the pool that currently exists at the site is the original, and it is believed that the current bathhouse is… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Beachland Park pool and bathhouse in West Hartford CT in 1936.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) reforested “20,000 acres of drifting sand hills and expanded Bessey Forest Nursery producing 30 million saplings for reforestation.” The CCC also “constructed a public campground and picnic area, shelter house, bath houses, and a swimming pool… read more
“The New Mexico State Park system was founded in order to tap funding and labor from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. Bottomless Lakes State Park was the [third] under this new system [and the first in the… read more
Bukolt Park was originally known as Water Works Park: “As with Iverson and Goerke Parks, Water Works Park got its big push during the recovery period of the 1930s when WPA construction was at its peak. Major improvements included landscaping,… read more
According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce: “Cacapon Resort State Park was the first CCC state park to be completed. Camp Morgan was established October 4, 1934 in what is now the main picnic area in the park. The… 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 bathhouse and original swimming pool were built in 1940 with the help of the WPA program. Under County jurisdiction the site was originally named Lapham Park. This name was used until the late 1950’s when it was changed to… read more
There is a three page history of the pool in the Castine Historical Society newsletter by Lynn Parsons (winter 2011) detailing the role of the New Deal in bringing about this fine example of public recreation. According to a Selectman’s… read more
The creation of the Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Tennessee was a multifaceted joint project of the Resettlement Administration, the CCC, the forestry division, NPS and the WPA: “Project development began in the fall of 1935, with forestry personnel,… read more
Naperville’s Centennial Park beach received a bathhouse during the New Deal, which is still standing today: “In 1934, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed the bathhouse, built from limestone taken from the quarry at the facility’s western edge. The completed… read more
One-story, brick, H-shaped building with tile roof. This building was originally constructed by the Works Progress Administration as the swimming pool and bathhouse for Nashville’s Centennial Park. The swimming pool and bathhouse were closed during the Civil Rights movement as… read more
Between 1937 and 1939 the WPA made improvements to Chase Park in Seminole, Oklahoma. The improvements included the construction of a wading pool and bathhouse. The Oklahoma Historic Preservation Survey notes that “…The workers who built the bathhouse and pool… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) transformed what is now Plattsburgh’s City Beach “from a small inadequate watering place to its present high state. The bath house was enlarged, board walk constructed, nearly a mile of sandy beach graded and… read more
A WPA photo (pictured) shows a bathhouse and two swimming pools built by the WPA for what was then the Buffalo City Hospital. The hospital was renamed the Edward J. Meyer Memorial Hospital in 1939, and has since been expanded… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began work on the development of a city park, swimming pool, and golf course in January 1939. Bath houses, seats, wading pool, bandstand, rock veneer golf house with showers, and picnic tables of rock veneer… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded the construction of a city park in Haskell, Texas. A story published in the Abilene Reporter-News in 1937 provides details about the project: “WPA Builds City Park At Haskell HASKELL, Jan. 25 — (AC)–… read more
The park was built by CCC Co. 3804 who were at the park from the spring of 1935 to Aug 1940. According to “Parks for Texas,” CCC work includes the dam and lake, a limestone residence and maintenance area, entrance… read more
The PWA built this pool outside Big Spring near the town’s eponymous spring. Between 2008 and 2011 the pool was demolished and redeveloped as a more modern water park. Based on satellite imagery from Google Earth, no visible traces remain,… read more
“Phoenix has no shortage of [New Deal] projects. The city’s park system is a major benefactor, with huge undertakings in places like South Mountain Park and Encanto Park and smaller projects, such as a bathhouse in Coronado Park…South Mountain Park… read more
“This Olympic-size swimming pool and bathhouse complex opened on July 24, 1936. It was one of ten dedicated that year by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981). The project, funded by a special Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant of $10 million,… read more
The park existed before the Depression, but was completely rebuilt in 1934-41 by the WPA: “As ice skating grew popular in the Bronx around the turn of the century, Parks paved the perimeter of Indian Pond and installed a warming… read more
“Crowley’s Ridge State Park is a 291-acre (118 ha) Arkansas state park in Greene County, Arkansas in the United States atop Crowley’s Ridge. Located on the former homesite of pioneer Benjamin Crowley, the park contains many excellent examples of the work… read more
Works Progress Administration built the Crystal Beach Pool and Bath House in Madison IN. The National Parks Service describes the history of the pool: “Madison’s Crystal Beach Swimming Pool and Bath House are two monuments of the WPA’s work in… read more
“Crystal Lake State Park consists of the park’s recreational area, the bathhouse, and the thin strip of beachfront land along the northern border of Crystal Lake in Barton, Vermont. Crystal Lake is a glacial lake nestled between the mountains and… read more
Between 1933 and 1939, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided labor for the construction of the Virginia Kendall Park Reserve, now Cuyahoga Valley National Park (est. 2000), in Peninsula, Ohio during the Great Depression. 530 acres of land willed and… read more
The David City Park begins long before the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1889, Mrs. Phoebe Miles donated twelve acres to David City for a park, with the stipulation that the city pay the taxes and make improvements. During… read more
The spring-fed Deep Eddy Swimming Pool was originally built in 1916 as part of a private resort on the banks of the Colorado River called “Deep Eddy Bathing Beach.” The City of Austin purchased the resort on May 31, 1935… read more
“When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used landscape and park projects to provide relief and hope for America. The second great period of park building occurred during this ten year period when the CWA and… read more
“Stretching back almost a century ago, the residents of Dell Rapids beat the South Dakota heat with a dip in the Big Sioux River. An historic quartzite bathhouse, built in 1934 as a Civil Works Administration project, is the only… read more
“The Dockton King County Park was created during the Great Depression as a project of the Works Progress Administration. Theo Berry was the local storekeeper and WPA administrator. The original structures, which included a bathhouse, a kitchen building, a bandstand,… read more