Parks and Recreation Sites

With the help of Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor, the Seattle Park Department made improvements to the Georgetown Playground at South Homer Street and Corson Avenue. In 1936, WPA workers built a reinforced concrete wading pool along the eastern edge of the playground. According to Park Department records, “This pool was made so that the water can be maintained at two different depths; one at 18 inches for wading and the other at 30 inches so the children can learn to swim.” The Park Department provided $1,384 worth of materials for the pool and the WPA provided the paid labor....

Later known as Heisman Gym, Georgia Tech's old Auditorium / Gymnasium Building was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.  The building "was projected to be built in two phases with the first costing $93,000 and the second $116,000. It was the "first completely reinforced concrete structure on campus, began in June of 1935," The Auditorium was completed in January 1936. "The building's second phase of construction was completed and dedicated on September 30, 1938, with a swimming pool section, financed by Georgia Tech, and completed in June of 1939." The WPA contributed to the latter stage of construction. The...

Description of a project undertaken by the W.P.A. in 1937: "Gerry's Landing, Charles River Lower Basin; a project for the improvement of this area was started in 1936 and completed during the year. Extensive improvements were made which involved work of grading, loaming and seeding grass areas, filling of low lands, construction of gravel walks, service roads, etc."

Gertrude B. Kelly Playground was one of five model playgrounds designed after Robert Moses assumed control of the New York City Parks Department in 1934. These playgrounds were "meant to serve as templates for further playground designs and included standard features such as a play house, flagpole, chlorinated footbath, wading pool, handball and basketball courts, play equipment, drinking fountains, shade trees, and shrubs." (nycgovparks) Mayor LaGuardia presided over the dedication ceremony for this playground in August, 1934. A Parks Department press release announcing the opening of this and several other playgrounds explained that "The labor and materials for the construction of...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) companies 385 and 1355—both African American units—restored, improved, and maintained Gettysburg National Military Park between 1933 and 1942. CCC projects in and around the battlefield included: road, trail, and fence construction; tree planting and maintenance; tree and stump removal; firefighting; snow shoveling; and utility pipe installation (presumably for water, sewage, or drainage). “The CCC also reconstructed the XII Corps earthworks on Culp’s Hill and provided manpower for the 75th anniversary commemoration of the battle in 1938” (James J. Campi, Jr., Hallowed Ground, 2013).   The CCC worked with the National Park Service (NPS) to plan projects with...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Vermont's Gifford Woods State Park during the 1930s. "Development of Gifford Woods State Park began in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps ...  In 1933 and 1934, CCC crews constructed the park office and ranger’s quarters, picnic area, stone restroom building, trails, the park entrance and parking area. In 1939 the CCC constructed a camping area."

The Catwalk National Scenic Trail had originally started out as a line that brought water from the mountains down to a mill in the valley. "This initial pipeline was constructed in 1893 and an additional 18-inch pipeline was added during 1897. The pipeline was closed in 1913 and fell into disrepair until the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was assigned the task of rebuilding it in 1935. The CCC-built Catwalk served the public until 1961. Major storms and floods had taken its total on the CCC-built Catwalk and, early in 1961, the Forest Service began reconstruction of this most unusual trail....

The Works Progress Administration built tennis courts for the Gilbert High School in Gilbert, Maricopa County. The original Gilbert High School, now the Gilbert Historical Museum, is located at 10 South Gilbert Road and was built in 1917. The building pictured in the background of the tennis court construction is still in place. Looking at the arrangement of windows and roofline, the courts would have been south of the building. That space is now occupied by a newer building meaning the tennis courts are no longer extant. 

The early development of Gilbert State Park included a complex of stone buildings designed by L.D. Cox. A CCC camp was located here in 1933-41, and workers substantially increased the park’s facilities, constructing a tourist camp, shelters, and more than twenty wood-frame cabins with wavy-edged siding. Cabins were built in three different plans and two sizes, accommodating either four or six people. The smaller ones were modest, while the larger cabins had more elaborate interior finishes. The CCC program also included construction of dams, a wildlife refuge, a pond for waterfowl propagation, a deer yard, walks, roads and bridle paths,...

A March 27, 1936 Department of Parks press release announced the opening of this new WPA playground: "The Department of Parks will open ten new playgrounds Saturday, March 28, making a total of 125 added to the recreational system in two years. …at White, McKibben and Bogart Streets there will be three hand-ball courts, three shuffle-board courts, three horseshoe pitching courts, three basketball courts and swings… All of these playgrounds were constructed as Works Progress Administration projects." In July of the same year, Parks announced the further completion of "a large game area, a wading pool and complete apparatus for children" and benches "placed...

Completed the final work for a standardized playground.--Healy, p. 58.

While constructing central Washington's Vantage Highway in 1927, road workers uncovered the fossil remains of a diverse petrified forest. Over several years, local geologist George Beck advocated for the need to create a state park for preservation purposes. That goal was achieved in 1935 and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees began work to realize Beck's vision. From 1935 through 1938, the CCC developed the park. This work included unearthing and protecting the petrified logs in the park area as well as building structures for the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. The National Park Service designed the structures and guided the CCC...

Winchester.us: "Ginn Field was laid out as a playground and three tennis courts were built. The other main project at that time was grading the field, accomplished by the WPA in 1938-40. The work of improving the field also included continuing the road from Manchester Field, building a road leading out to Bacon Street and creating a walk leading from tennis court to train station at Wedgemere, building an 800-foot-long stone retaining wall, and installing 360 feet of drain pipe at the field and more drains in 1942 to carry off water which made roadway impassable in rainy weather."

Construction of Shenandoah PA’s Girard Park began in September of 1936 with the support of funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA allocated $93,000 for the development of the sixteen-acre park, with the rest of the cost to be shared with the city of Shenandoah. According to a contemporary report in Parks & Recreation magazine, Girard Park “was first designed for a bandstand but the newest plans call for children’s playground equipment, which will probably place the park cost at more than the anticipated $134,000.” The public park has played a central role in the community life of Shenandoah since...

Destroyed in Cedar Fire.

"One regional example of these structures is the Vineland High School Stadium, built by the WPA and dedicated in October 1938. It was soon after renamed Gittone Memorial Field in honor of Harry A. Gittone, proponent of local scholastic sports programs. Gittone Stadium was planned as part of the Vineland High School campus in 1926 when land was acquired, extending the school grounds south to Montrose Street. For the next ten years, improvements to the field continued and it was used for physical training and track. Football games were held at Landis Park until 1938. in 1930, a state championship win...

"Glacier National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Montana, on the Canada–United States border with the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2) and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles (41,000 km2)... The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New...

" The Cut Bank Ranger Station in Glacier National Park was one of the first buildings built in Glacier by the National Park Service. Built in 1917, the design is in keeping with park hotel structures built by the Great Northern Railway in a Swiss chalet style that predated the fully developed National Park Service Rustic style. The station was manned year-round until the late 1930s when it became a summer-only station. It was one of the first National Park Service-built facilities in Glacier. The design pre-dates the standardized National Park Service Rustic style, using a similar but simplified construction technique resembling...

"Glacier National Park is located in the U.S. state of Montana, bordering the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2) and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles (41,000 km2)... The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal relief agency for young men, played...

"The Headquarters Historic District of Glacier National Park comprises the administrative and housing buildings near West Glacier, Montana on the west side of the park. The area contains a mixture of styles, ranging from National Park Service Rustic to more modern structures built immediately after World War II. Many of the buildings were built by labor from the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Post-World War II development consists primarily of housing developed under the Mission 66 initiative. Significant buildings in the National Park Service Rustic style include the Superintendent's Residence (1923), the original Administration Building (1923), and a...

The federal Bureau of Public Roads (BPR), funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA), built the 15.7 mile Glacier Point Road from Chinquapin Flat on the Wawona Road to Glacier Point, 1933-35. This project was part of a complete overhaul of Yosemite National Park roads carried out under the New Deal in the 1930s. The Glacier Point Road replaced a primitive saddle road built in the 1870s. Surveys for the route were done in 1930-31 and grading began in 1932. Then, funding for the project became available through the National Industrial Recovery Act, which created the PWA.    "The new road was to...

The Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2915 (F-12) built a ranger station in the vicinity of Glacier, Whatcom County.

"Pre-dating 1910, the station is one of the oldest U.S. Forest Service administrative sites in Colorado. Extensively remodeled by the Civilian Conservation Corps during 1935-36, the station was part of the campaign of natural resources enhancement undertaken during the New Deal era. The five wood-frame buildings comprising the station reflect the Forest Service’s ideals of simplicity, harmony with nature, and use of natural materials."   (www.historycolorado.org)

"Originally known as University Stadium, was built in 1936 at a cost of only $335,000 as a Works Progress Administration project. Originally the natural seating bowl held 8,000 in two sideline grandstands. There was a grass hill at the south end of the stadium, and at the open (north) end of the bowl were two stone towers (still standing), that served as makeshift housing for the football team in its early years. Following World War II, the stadium was renovated, with many glass elements. Because of this, and the city's concentration on the industry, the stadium was renamed the...

(10.42 Acres) Chenery and Elk Streets. Constructed playground, clubhouse and recreation center. Built new entrance, widened 2 tennis courts to regulation size, graded large portion of field, 3 volleyball courts. Clubhouse contains gymnasium, director's office, community theatre and specialy accomodations for women and children. Used daily by children and by adults in evening.--Healy, p. 63.

Constructed by the WPA under projects 3635, 6994, 7706 and 9392 in 1938. When constructed it was called the Verdugo Municipal Recreation Center and was sponsored by the city of Glendale. "This project, costing a total of $736,422 of which $650,731 was supplied by the Federal Government, consisted of the construction of an auditorium containing 560,000 cubic feet with facilities for plays, concerts, conventions, dances and other public gatherings. A 50 meter swimming pool of the modern cloverleaf design, and conforming to intercollegiate and international specifications, was built together with a reinforced concrete grandstand. A connecting bathhouse containing 160,00 cubic feet...

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed a wading pool at Flendale Park in Everett, Mass.

In Sept. 1941 the New York Times described a playground being constructed by the WPA in Queens at "Central Avenue and Seventieth Street." This site, Glendale Playground, is still in use today. The site is also known as the "Uncle" Vito E. Maranzano Glendale Playground. New York City's Parks Department writes: "In 1940-41 Parks acquired the school property and an adjacent parcel for a new playground, which opened in 1942. On the cleared site, laborers from the Federal Works Projects Administration built handball and basketball courts, a softball diamond, swings, slides, seesaws, a jungle gym, a comfort station, and a free play...

"In 1939, the WPA constructed tennis courts (no longer in existence), rock retaining walls, concrete footbridges, and stone drainage ditches. The retaining wall has vertical piers at the top, which served as parking ‘curbs’ for street level parking.”   There is a “WPA shield engraved on a rock in the drainage ditch area.”

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed greatly to the development of the park system in Woonsocket, R.I. Globe Park benefited from landscaping improvements and the construction of picnic areas and fireplaces.

Mount Rainier was the nation's fifth National Park, established 1899. During the Great Depression the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps greatly aided the park's development. The CCC constructed numerous fire lookout towers, including that at Gobbler's Knob in 1933. Elevation: 5,485 feet. Wikipedia: "One of four fire lookouts remaining in the park, the lookout is used for visitor services during summer weekends. The building is about 14 feet by 14 feet, and was designed by the National Park Service Branch of Plans and designs under the supervision of Acting Chief Architect Edwin A. Nickel."

WPA crews built fireplaces and reproduction Narragansett Indian villages for Warwick's 300th anniversary in 1936. Crews also built a field house in the park, but it does not appear to be extant. The precise location of fireplaces is unclear in the roughly 400 acre park.

This stone and concrete grandstand was constructed by local Stevens Point workers in 1938 with money from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to provide a venue for viewing football games. It is located in Goerke Park, a 26-acre sports park located near P.J. Jacobs High School, also built by WPA workers. It is still in use today.

The Gold Beach Ranger Station is located at the southern part of town just off of Hwy 101. The Gold Beach Ranger Station is a CCC-built complex of multiple buildings completed in 1937. There is a bronze plaque located at the base of a flag pole in the center of the visitors' parking lot that recognizes the Ranger Station in the National Register of Historic Places on April 8, 1986. The buildings at this site were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, Companies 2523 and 1652 as well as Forest Service employees. They were designed by W.J. Turner and officially opened to...

This building was originally built as a mining exhibit hall for the 20th Agricultural District Fairgrounds. It became the first Placer County Museum in 1948. The WPA built much of the rest of the Gold Country Fairgrounds as well.

The CCC expanded the Gold Creek Ranger Station of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest NV in northern Nevada. "The root cellar was expanded in the 1930s by CCC labor, using faced stone from the nearby Hammond Mine."

Raquette Lake is the largest lake in the southwestern portion of the Adirondack Park in  upstate New York.  It is famous as the site of some of the earliest and grandest of the "Camps" established by wealthy New Yorkers in the Gilded Age of the 19th century – which were, in fact, grand summer homes owned by families like the Durants, Vanderbilts, and Morgans). The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Eighth Lake Camp, established in  1933, did improvements to the state campground at Golden Beach on the southeastern flank of Raquette Lake, which the Department of Conservation had created in 1929 (on...

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 the park. Between 1935 and 1936, WPA workers excavated more than 7500 cubic yards of earth from a landslide-prone area along Golden Gardens Drive and used it to fill in a low area north of the park bathhouse, adding two acres of usable beachfront to the park. During this period, workers also cleared timber and removed tree stumps throughout the eastern...

The little-known archery field at the west end of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco was built by Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief laborers.  It is still in regular use.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and its relief workers built the Angler's Lodge and Casting Pools in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, for the benefit of the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club. In return, Club members agreed to help train anyone who asked, a pledge they still honor.  The club had previously used nearby Stow Lake, which could only accommodate a few casters at a time, so the club encouraged the Golden Gate Park directors to ask the WPA to new facilities. The project was done in 1938 and the facility opened in March 1939. The first national casting tournament was...