The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the mile-long Berkeley Aquatic Park on the bay front south of University Avenue in 1935-37. It was created as a water park for water skiing, canoeing, sculling and model yacht racing, and is still used for… 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
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
“The actual Berkeley Marina, used by many people who sail on the Bay, was constructed as the Berkeley Yacht Harbor in the late 1930s by the Works Progress Administration in conjunction with its nearby work developing Aquatic Park.” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Marina… read more
The National Youth Administration (NYA) constructed the boat house of the Berkeley Yacht Club in 1939.
The waterfront area of Blackstone Park in Providence was a WPA project. However, the photograph below comes from an archive of FERA projects, indicating that agency’s potential involvement as well.
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
"Canyon Lake Park was developed around the 1890s by the Upper Rapid City Company, who planted the Lombardy poplar trees that still line the roads of the park. Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy was a partner in the company that planned to… 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
From an Idaho Falls city press release: “In 1934, the city of Idaho Falls purchased land in Tautphaus Park, then called ‘City Park,’ and in 1935 the first zoo animals were brought to the park. Log buildings were erected throughout… read more
Cove Lake State Park, originally planned as Fort Mountain Park, was the third joint effort of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the National Parks Service (NPS). The initial 668-acre park was built along 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
“Indian Pond and boathouse at Crotona Park, June 2014. The boat house was [] built by the WPA as part of the massive reconstruction of Crotona that was completed in 1941. The pond is covered with algae and choked with… read more
Daingerfield State Park, located in Morris County, Texas, is a 506.913-acre recreational area (including an 80-surface-acre lake), deeded in 1935 by private owners and opened in 1938. The park offers picnicking, camping, boating, fishing, swimming, hiking and nature study. The… read more
The boathouse on the east side of Echo Park Lake was constructed in 1932 with unemployment relief bonds that predated the New Deal program. With the reopening of Echo Park in 2013, after a $45 million renovation, the boathouse now… read more
In 1939-40, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made substantial improvements to Ellis Lake Park, which was originally designed by landscape architect John McLaren in 1924 on an old slough of the Yuba River. It is not clear how much of… read more
In the early 1930s, the City of Austin acquired about 1008 acres of ash and juniper woodland west of the city with a mile of lake front on Lake Austin. In December 1939, Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1805 arrived at… read more
Waymarking: “The Yacht Basin was an undertaking of the WPA (Works Project Administration) that took two years to complete, employing local workers during the Depression. … Located at Mile Marker 135 on the Okeechobee Waterway, 15 miles inland from the… read more
In 1933, a troop of men from the Civilian Conservation Corps troop V-1668, made up of veterans, started building what would become the Fullersburg Forest Preserve. The men built a caretakers cottage (Old Water Mill), a boathouse, bridges, and picnic… read more
The Seattle Park Department utilized funds and labor from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to complete a series of improvement projects at Golden Gardens Park. Much of the work aimed at stabilizing the steep hillsides in the eastern section of… read more
Miami and the surrounding Dade County were effectively without city or county parks until the 1930s. The city got its first park in 1925, after which the city was devastated by a hurricane the following year. The county received its… read more
“HAMLIN BEACH PARK is one of the largest county parks of Monroe. It has an area of 600 acres and includes a mile and a quarter of lake frontage with an excellent bathing beach. Extensive road building and other improvements… read more
An onsite marker commemorates the extensive work of the CCC at this site, reading in part: “This park was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal program sponsored by President Roosevelt. It was administered as… read more
In the early 1930s, at a meeting of the Huntsville-Walker County Chamber of Commerce, it was suggested that a park be built around Huntsville. The Chamber of Commerce took the proposal to the Texas State Parks Board. The board required… read more
“With its dependable water source, abundant fish and game, and natural beauty, the region of Central Texas around the Colorado River and present Inks Lake has been an inviting location for centuries, attracting Native American and German and Anglo settlers…. read more
During the Great Depression, the WPA radically transformed this large park at the Northwest tip of Manhattan, making accessible what is now the only largely non-landscaped park in all of Manhattan. WPA workers built roads, trails and overlooks throughout the… read more
A January 26, 1939 press release by the Department of Parks announced that, “The WPA is at present constructing a boat basin in the Harlem Ship Canal which utilizes the old channel bordering Inwood Hill and Isham Parks [that is] no… read more
Kabetogama Lake CCC Camp number S-81, Company 724 was active in the Kabetogama State Forest from 1933-37. A marker at the site today describes CCC activity in the forest: “In 1934 a CCC camp of 400 men was established a… read more
The CWA built the famous Key West Aquarium in 1934, amid a flurry of relief work by the FERA and the WPA on the island.
Constructed by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1938. Four large stone rings and elaborate stone entrance for walk in entry only; picnic area, playground and boat ramp. Memorial to Civil War Veterans. Concrete wall high on east side of… read more
The extensive Kissena Park was first established in the early 1900s and now forms part of the “Queens Corridor” park system. In addition to building a golf course at the east end of the park in the mid 1930s, in… read more
Pecan Bayou flooded the city of Brownwood in late September of 1900 causing considerable damage to the business district and washing away the train track that served the city. The citizens of Brown County looked for a way to control… read more
This WPA boathouse was built in 1938, and is still standing: “This boathouse is a two-story, rectangular (34′ x 68′) structure constructed of cut, course, and rusticated native stone. It has a parapet roof… The lower level where boats dock,… read more
Lake Corpus Christi State Park is situated along Lake Corpus Christi southwest of Mathis, Texas. The land was leased from the City of Corpus Christi in 1934 and the 356-acre park was opened the same year. The park is currently… read more
“To accommodate the influx of tourists, new park facilities were in demand. With CCC labor, the NPS developed beaches and outdoor facilities in three different areas of the Boulder Dam Recreational Area (later subsumed by Lake Mead National Recreation Area):… read more
“To accommodate the influx of tourists, new park facilities were in demand. With CCC labor, the NPS developed beaches and outdoor facilities in three different areas of the Boulder Dam Recreational Area (later subsumed by Lake Mead National Recreation Area):… read more
Construction on the man-made lake itself began in 1932 and was completed with help from the CCC: “In April of 1933, reforestation camps (Civilian Conservation Corps) were located in Iowa. Camp #773, Camp Roosevelt Civilian Reforestation Army, was stationed at… read more
"Psychological Color Chart; Dr. Oswald's Color Solid" (1940), oil on canvas, is in the west wing.
Beniamino Bufano created two sculptures for the Maritime Museum in 1942 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. “Seal” is a red granite sculpture, and “Animal” a black one.
“Undersea Life” (1938), oil on canvas. The Maritime Museum is still well known for these murals. Federal Art Project (FAP) Artists: Hilaire Hiler
Check out our new map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.