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 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
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed a field house at American Legion Field in Boston, Mass. WPA Bulletin: WPA workmen have erected a modern field house, essential for the health and convenience of those who use the recreational facilities at the… 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
On July 2, 1938, the Department of Parks announced the opening of a playground on the site of what is now the Astoria Health Playground: “In Queens, at 14th Street south of 31st Avenue adjacent to the Astoria Health Center,… read more
From NYC Parks: “In 1918, the War Memorial Fund was established to create a $1 million Memorial Arch to commemorate those killed in World War I. The organizers were forced to adjust their plans when they were only able to… 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
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
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
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was very active in Rocky Mountain National Park during the 1930s. The Bear Lake Comfort Station, located on the Bear Lake trail, is one of the many structures in the park built by CCC enrollees…. read more
In 1913 the City of Tyler purchased the land for Bergfeld Park. Starting in 1936, the Works Progress Administration made improvements to the park including a stone amphitheater, rock culverts, and a rock lined creek, restrooms, and tennis courts. The… 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
“Dramatic views off of the 200-foot bluff and from the CCC-built loop road are among the featured attractions of this 382-acre park. Early morning or sunset, joggers, walkers and cyclists circle the loop, enjoying these views as they exercise. An… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Civil Works Administration (CWA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted extensive development work at Massachusetts’s Blue Hills Reservation. Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission annual reports detail the work of the CCC over time. 1933 report: “In the latter… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) pursued a number of improvements at Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota in 1938. Initial improvement plans called for the “construction of a bathhouse, facilities for picnicking and camping and general recreation.” The WPA also… read more
The park remained largely unimproved until the mid-1930s, when the Civilian Conservation Corps boys arrived (though there seems to be some uncertainty about exactly when the actual construction work began, two different contemporaneous sources reveal that as of the spring… read more
The City acquired Breininger Park (previously known as Braddock Park) in 1938. The Department of Parks officially announced the opening of the park in August 1939: “In Queens, the new playground is located at Braddock Avenue and 240 Street, in… read more
“Until 1937, the north portion of Bronx Park was owned by the NY Botanical Garden and the NY Zoological Society and had no public facilities such as paths, lighting, playgrounds, or athletic fields. As part of the Bronx River Parkway… read more
“Waring Playground in Bronx Park, across Bronx Park East from the block between Waring Avenue and Thwaite Place, June 17, 2015. It opened on September 28, 1939, as part of the larger project of developing the land turned over by… read more
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
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was present in Death Valley National Monument from 1933 to 1942. Among their many projects in the monument, the CCC ‘boys’ created five campgrounds and picnic areas. Texas Spring campground was the first and largest,… read more
During the 1930s, with the help of Works Progress Administration funds and labor, the Seattle Park Department made significant improvements to Cascade Playground. Among these improvements was the construction of a small brick comfort station in the northeast corner of… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was extremely active in Grand Canyon National Park from 1933 to 1942. There were six CCC camps on the North Rim, South Rim and in the canyon itself and seven companies active over the decade:… read more
The Works Progress Administration built restroom facilities in Central Park in Davis, in 1937. Davis Wiki: “The WPA Building houses the public restrooms on the northeast corner of Central Park. It was built in 1937 as a WPA project and was… read more
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed a bathing beach and recreation site along the Charles River by the end of Longfellow Bridge, in 1936. The project included a baseball diamond, benches, and shelters. WPA Bulletin: Children from Boston’s hot and… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Colliding Rivers Overlook (or Viewpoint), where the North Umpqua and Little Rivers come together. The work as presumably done in 1938, the same year the CCC constructed the Glide Ranger Station just across… read more
“Built by the CCC in 1937, to accommodate the recreational needs of visitors to Colorado National Monument, the station is significant for its association with … relief programs during the Great Depression. It is a strong example of National Park… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carried out major work at Colossal Cave and the surrounding park north of Vail AZ (now a suburb of Tucson, but far to the east in the 1930s). They improved access for visitors to the… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carried out major work at Colossal Cave and the surrounding park north of Vail AZ (now a suburb of Tucson, but far to the east in the 1930s). They improved access for visitors to the… read more
Columbus Park, located in Manhattan’s Chinatown, was one of the city’s earliest major parks. By the early 1930s, it was quite rundown. New Deal programs greatly remodeled and upgraded the park and its facilities. In October 1934, the Department of… read more
On June 8, 1938, the Department of Parks announced the completion of the redesign and reconstruction of Cooper Park (now also known as Cooper Triangle). The site was the location of an important political speech by Abraham Lincoln in 1860…. read more
Atop the hill that is now known as Coronado Heights Park sits an iconic castle, picnic areas, and restrooms that were constructed by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s. Indeed in 1936 the Lindsborg Historical Society sold… read more
This playground is named for the first African American to be killed in the American War of Independence. It opened on October 28, 1934, along with two other playgrounds, one in Manhattan and one in the Bronx. The press release… read more
NYC Parks explains that, “By 1936, the City had turned the area into a park with picnic grounds, winding walks, an enlarged lake for wintertime skating, and thousands of trees.” On April 3, 1937, the Department of Parks announced the… 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
Prior to the construction of I-94, Crystal Springs North Dakota was a mandatory stop for many early motorists traveling down old U.S. Highway 10, the state’s first Highway. The Crystal Springs Fountain is located about one mile northeast of Crystal… read more
NYC Parks explains: “O’Connell Playground opened on July 15, 1934, and is one of nine playgrounds that were built by Parks through the War Memorial Fund. The Fund was established in 1921 with $250,000 collected by the Police Department. In… read more
This park was first established in 1901. In October 1941, the WPA and the Department of Parks completed the reconstruction of the park: “The old pavilion and comfort station was demolished and replaced by a modern brick building. The play… 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