Maritime Museum: Hiler Mural – San Francisco CA
“Undersea Life” (1938), oil on canvas. The Maritime Museum is still well known for these murals. Federal Art Project (FAP) Artists: Hilaire Hiler
Maritime Museum: Johnson Mosaic – San Francisco CA
Sargent Johnson created this two part project “Sea Forms” for the WPA “comprised of a 30 feet long, 14 feet high greenish-gray slate facade titled, Sea Forms, that was placed over the main entrance to the Maritime Museum on Polk… read more
Matheson Hammock Park – Coral Gables FL
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
Mineral Palace Park – Pueblo CO
The Lake Clara bridge, boat house, band shell and retaining wall [since, at least in part, removed] were all built by WPA workers of native limestone and are still standing. The bandshell was completed in 1938.
Morro Bay State Park – Morro Bay CA
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive improvements Morro Bay State Park, as it did throughout California’s new state park system. These included picnic areas, an entrance road, comfort staton, ranger lodge, and stone walls. The work was continued by… read more
Municipal Dock Improvements – Ogdensburg NY
During the 1930s the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at Ogdensburg’s municipal dock.
Municipal Fish Market – San Pedro CA
An article in the Illustrated Daily News noted that as part of a group of 8 federally funded projects in the early period of the New Deal was “No. 3 – Construction of a municipal fish market in San Pedro…. read more
Municipal Improvements and Work Relief – Berlin NH
Extensive work was done in Berlin by a combination of the CWA, FERA, PWA, NYA, CCC and WPA all during the existence of the New Deal when “in 1935, under the leadership of newly-elected Mayor Arthur Bergeron, the Farmer-Labor Party… read more
Natchez Trace State Park – Wildersville TN
This Tennessee state park was developed by several New Deal “on land bought from residents who could no longer farm the land due to erosion.” (wikipedia.org) “Three New Deal agencies, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC),… read more
Nichols Park – Henryetta OK
“Nichols Park is a municipal park developed between 1938 and 1941 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the National Park Service (NPS). The park is located two miles south of downtown Henryetta in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma… Beginning in October… read more
Orchard Beach – Bronx NY
Orchard Beach is an artificial beach 6,000 feet long on Pelham Bay in Pelham Bay Park on the east side of The Bronx, built by WPA workers under the direction of the New York City Parks Department. It required a major reconfiguration… read more
Ottawa National Forest, Lake Ottawa Recreation Area – Bruce Crossing MI
“Lake Ottawa Recreation area is in a beautiful forested northwoods setting located 5 miles southwest of Iron River, Mi., on the Iron River Ranger District. Located in the general area is Lake Ottawa, Brule Lake, Hagerman Lake, Brule River, Bass… read more
Parker Dam State Park – Penfield PA
3 CCC camps were actively involved in the park’s development from 1933-1942. In addition to repairing the pond and building Parker Dam, the CCC cleared beaches and bought a bathhouse and other bathing facilities. They also carried out extensive reforestation… read more
Pawnee Bathhouse – Pawnee OK
The Pawnee bathhouse was built by the WPA in 1939: “The Pawnee Bath House, a WPA (Work Projects Administration) project built of hand-cut native stone with terraced stairway and landscaping, including a three acre lake for swimming, was originally intended… read more
Pokagon State Park: Beach and Bathhouse – Angola IN
CCC laborers completed the bathhouse in 1939. The bathhouse is located at the original Pokagon beach. The beach at this location was itself a CCC project.
Riverside Park: 79th Street Boat Basin – New York NY
Located along the Henry Hudson Parkway, the 79th Street Boat Basin is a marina, restaurant and still popular Manhattan destination. It was built in the 1930s with extensive New Deal support: “In a way, we owe the existence of the… read more
Rose Creek Reservoir and Dam – Hawthorne NV
“One of the CCC’s most important contributions was the well-engineered twenty-six-million-gallon capacity reservoir and dam in Rose Creek Meadow. The Rose Creek Reservoir was an incredible undertaking due to its location more than halfway up the mountainside. The labor-intensive water… read more
Sacajawea Park – Livingston MT
According to Big Timber Pioneer newspaper, Sacajawea Park in the town of Livingston, MT was one of 55 public parks ‘built or improved’ by the WPA in Montana between fall 1935 and Sept. 1938. The construction of Sacajawea Park involved… read more
San Francisco Aquatic Park – San Francisco CA
Originally the San Francisco Aquatic Park, this area is now officially the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The Park’s distinctive streamline moderne style WPA building (pictured below) stands at the foot of Polk Street. It was originally built as… read more
San Francisco Model Yacht Club – San Francisco CA
In the late 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed “a small club house with rest rooms, lockers, storage and repair room for toy boats at Spreckel’s Lake in Golden Gate Park. The club house is placed in a picturesque… read more
Scott Park – Omro WI
This large island park in Omro, Wisconsin was established in the early 20th century and improved by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the 1930s: “In 1933, an adult swimming pool and a children’s… read more
Sheepshead Bay Development – Brooklyn NY
In the late 1930s, the WPA rebuilt the piers along Emmons Avenue and the pedestrian footbridge spanning Sheepshead Bay. The footbridge connects Emmons Avenue with Shore Boulevard and Manhattan Beach. Excerpt from the (1939) WPA Guide to New York City, Federal… read more
Tingley Beach – Albuquerque NM
"As the economy began to shrink in 1931, the Santa Fe Railway had to cut its Albuquerque workforce by nearly 40 percent and reduce its workweek to four and a-half days. The county tried to help with temporary road jobs,… read more
Tyler State Park – Tyler TX
Tyler State Park was developed by CCC Company 2888 from 1935-1941: “Set into the Piney Woods of East Texas, Tyler State Park reflects two major park development efforts. The first, directed by landscape architect Ben K. Chambers, involved extensive forest… read more
Washington Marina – Washington DC
The Washington Marina was originally called Yacht Basin No. 1 and was part of a multi-million dollar improvement program for the Washington Channel and Southwest Waterfront, funded by both the Army Corps of Engineers and the District Commission (DC government). … read more
Whipple Dam State Park Improvements – Petersburg PA
“Between 1933 and 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a work camp at Owl’s Gap (S-60-PA), east of the park. The corps members built pavilions, roads, beach and restrooms during this period. In 1935, the CCC dismantled the old… read more