Parks and Recreation Sites

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 diamonds, and a football field."

St. Paul's west side "contains two W.P.A. built recreational structures, the Harriet Island Pavilion and the Baker Playground building at 670 S. Waseca Street."

(100 Acres) Constructed gutters, paths, seepage pits, culverts, storm water inlets, etc. This work completed previously built park roads.--Healy, p. 55. Most of the rock for gutters is to be quarried on the property.--Mooser, p. 82.

The current Balboa Park Club was built in 1915 as the New Mexico building for the Panama-Pacific Exhibition.  It was redesigned by the WPA for the 1935-6 California Pacific International Exposition.

Two oil on canvas murals, entitled "Farm Landscape" and "Point Loma," were painted by Charles Reiffel on a commission from the WPA Federal Art Project in 1937. They were originally installed at Memorial Junior High School and now hang in the San Diego History Center downstairs at the Casa de Balboa. Each mural measures 10' x 10'. Some contemporary critics called Reiffel "America's Van Gogh" (Balboa Park Beat, October 2012).

Frederick Schweigardt (1885 - 1948) was a student of the Stuttgart and Munich art academies in Germany, Schweigardt also studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris, where he received first prize at the Paris Exposition of 1913. Schweigardt was named the "official sculptor for the exposition," much to the surprise of San Diego's local sculptors. For the exposition, Schweigardt sculpted a large fountain, "Four Cornerstones of Americans Democracy," for the Hall of Education (now the Balboa Park Club). Schweigardt also sculpted a bronze relief plaque honoring D.C. Collier, director of the 1915 exposition, which can still be seen on the west wall...

Built by the WPA.  Originally called the Federal Building and then the Hall of Champions.

SERA crews built this small fire station in Balboa Park in conjunction with the California Pacific International Exhibition – the first structure built. It is unclear if it survives, and if so where it is located.

Originally built in 1915 as the Foreign Arts Building for the Panama-California Exposition, it was renovated and expanded in 1935, with WPA money for the California-Pacific International Exposition. Rose Hanks created an incised relief doorway depicting Junipero Serra for the fair.

This 4' high Indiana limestone sculpture and fountain by Donal Hord is titled "Woman of Tehuantepec" and is located in the courtyard of the House of Hospitality at San Diego's Balboa Park.

Named for the numerous Pepper Trees that provide shade to the picnic area, the popular Pepper Grove offers picnic grounds with 15 tables and an extensive playground for children.

The Bald Creek Elementary School and accompanying gym were constructed in 1938 with the assistance of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and provided labor for an improvement and beautification program in Norfolk’s Ballentine Park in 1937. The WPA allocated $12, 836 for the project with the city adding an additional $4,884. “The project call for the extension of drains, building of a culvert, excavation for a lake, the grading and building of walkways and the planting of shrubs and trees.” The efforts of WPA work crews resulted in a beautiful park that shared property with the old Ballentine School. In recent years, the vacant school building was demolished and replaced by new townhouses and lofts. Nonetheless, the...

WPA Bulletin, 1937: "The sharp crack of wood meeting horsehide will dedicate the completion of a baseball diamond being built by WPA on land bequeathed the city by Thomas S. Pierce."

The National Youth Administration built park facilities in Ballinger City Park. The marker is installed in a rock wall lining the park road. Park amenities include an old bridge, picnic tables, a low bench, a couple of buildings, and retaining walls.

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. They first built barracks, a mess hall and a kitchen to support 130 to 200 men and their supervisors. This would be home for the next few years. The CCC men crafted a 1.3-acre pool around the springs, along with a concession building, two bath houses, San Solomon Courts, and other improvements in the park. They used local limestone and fashioned adobe bricks...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to construct a athletic field at Baltimore City College. Maryland WPA Project #15.

Bancroft Park in Colorado Springs is still widely used. The bandstand is still in good condition. There are several Pickle Ball courts that are still in use. Previously, there was a large lake that was (probably) constructed by WPA employees. You can still see the remnants of this lake. "Bancroft Park has been a park since the early 20th century when the old Bancroft School was torn down. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the band shell in 1935 and this historic square has been the site of many a concert, event and open-air market since then."

A band shell in Clay Center's Dexter Park was constructed in 1934. The work is often attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). However, since the WPA did not exist until 1935, it is likely that that the band shell was actually constructed by one of the WPA's predecessor agencies: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) or Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), each of which was active in 1934.

"The Band Shell built as a WPA project in 1935 sets as a centerpiece on the east side of Swensson Park. Many times during the year, you can experience concerts, special performances, and 50 years of local Broadway RFD outdoor theatre productions." Today the Swensson band shell houses "Broadway RFD," the longest running outdoor theater in Kansas.

"Bandelier was established as a National Monument in 1916, but until the mid-30s the only visitor facility in Frijoles Canyon was a lodge built in 1909 by Judge A. J. Abbott. Even by 1925 when George and Evelyn Frey acquired the lease to run the lodge, the only way for visitors to access the canyon bottom and the lodge was on foot. Much of the Freys food came from their garden and livestock, but everything else - visitors, archeologists, supplies, and the Freys themselves whenever they had to get groceries or mail - had to come down this trail. In 1932,...

"Residents of Laramie are probably familiar with the large concrete semi-dome that anchors the southwest corner of Washington Park. The Edgar J. Lewis bandshell has become a staple in the community as Laramie's only public outdoor stage. It is a memorial, in a way, to University of Wyoming music professor Edgar J. Lewis for whom the bandshell is named. It was renamed in the 1980s to honor the professor. The concrete structure is also a memorial to events that affected the entire nation for over a decade. The Edgar J. Lewis Bandshell was a Works Progress Administration project that was...

The bandshell in Lingle Town Park, a.k.a. Whipple Park, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1941-2.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a band shell in Melbeta, Nebraska. The location and status of the structure are presently unknown to Living New Deal, though we believe it to be no longer extant.

The Work Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a bandshell in Mikkelson Park in New Hampton, Iowa. Completed in 1937, it cost about $5,000 and could accommodate 55 musicians. It features two locker rooms.

The Work Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a bandshell at Central Park—also known as Centennial Park—in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. It was dedicated in June 1936. There is no bandshell in the park today.

"The existing bandshell was constructed in 1992 to replace and earlier building constructed in 1934. The City received CWA funds to construct the original bandshell adjacent to the stadium in the fairgrounds park. It burned in 1992 and was replaced by the existing concrete block building in 1998. The contributing landscaping consists of the grassy lawn in front of the stage and dense linear segments of deciduous shrubs that follows the curve of the road between Eisenhower Park Road and Pine Street. It is unclear whether this landscaping was part of the CWA project that funded construction of the bandshell or...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a new bandstand "on the public square" in Lisbon, Ohio.  The structure, which measured 32 by 56 feet, contained six tiers of seats and was constructed of native stone. Capacity was 84. The status and location of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

"During the Great Depression the Works Progress Administration paid for work on the school's athletic fields, with the project completed in 1936."   (wikipedia.org)

"Banneker Playground is named in honor of Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), a noted African-American writer and mathematician... This playground is located on Marcy Avenue between Kosciusko Street and Lafayette Avenue. The site was formerly owned by the Board of Transportation, which held it as part of its property for the G subway line. After 1937, the city maintained a park on the site under a permit from the Board of Transportation. The park was originally built by the WPA (Works Progress Administration), a federal program that built 850 airports, 120,000 bridges, and 125,000 public buildings, in addition to its 8,000 parks nationwide." The...

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 responsible for the completion of the historic Banneker Swimming Pool and Bath House in 1933-34.  Those facilities are still in place. Other New Deal work at Banneker included: “...tennis courts built; baseball diamond, football and soccer fields graded and equipped; running track and horseshoe courts installed; landscaping around field house completed.”   (National Archives) Most of this was probably done by the WPA, which...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed downtown Lahaina's Banyan Tree Park.  The park surrounds an immense banyan tree (a variety of tropic ficus) that covers three-quarters of an acre.  It is the largest and best known tree in Hawai'i. There is a stone marker in the park that says the WPA built the park, which presumably means that relief workers landscaped the park, added paving and built benches. It appears that the benches have been replaced recently. A massive wildfire burned through Lahaina in August 2023 and scorched the famous Banyan Tree; it is unknown to Living New Deal whether the tree and park...

Located next to a small scenic stream in a remote mountain setting of the Ouachita National Forest, the Bard Springs Recreation Area offers five Adirondack-type shelters for picnicking. A very small dam on the stream creates a pool of water that is popular with swimmers in the summertime. Once a small campground in the past, this area is now open for day-use only. In 1936, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was involved in the construction of a picnic shelter, bathhouse, & Caddo District Dams 1 and 2. The bathhouse is a single story rustic stone structure, with entrances at either...

Municipal reports from 1935 and 1936 detail WPA work in Barnard Park: 1935 "WPA workers are engaged in making the pond into a more suitable bathing place. They also intend to finish the second tennis court which was begun last year." 1936 "The Playground Commission made an inspection tour at the Playground of the proposed project by the W.P.A. early last Spring. This work was successfully carried on under the direction of Harold Phelps and A. Kenneth Hambleton. The upper end of the pond was filled in, the pond as well as the brook leading into the pond was cleaned and the sides lined...

Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1936, Barnett Field hosted the Fargo-Morehead Twins minor league baseball team until 1960. Barnett Field was demolished in 1963.

In 1942, the Washington Post reported the allocation of $18,204 by the Federal Works Agency (FWA) for new construction and improvements to the Barry Farm Playground. As part of the PlayDC initiative, the recreation center on the site was demolished in 2014 to make way for a new facility. It is unclear if traces of the New Deal work at the playground were lost in the process.

The federal National Youth Administration (NYA) built circular walls surrounding Barton Springs and created a terraced sunken garden. The site can be found along Barton Creek in Zilker Metropolitan Park, just off the Lady Bird Lake Bike Trail. There are two sets of steps leading down into the garden.

The Bartow Civic Recreation Center and pool were built ca. 1933-1935.  Records suggest the project was started by workers in the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and completed by workers in the Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Around 1969-1973, the recreation center became the Oaks School.  In 2005, the Oaks School closed, and the current use of the building is unknown.  The pool no longer exists.  (A new civic center was built in 1967, on Floral Avenue.) The construction of the building was described in great detail by Mary E. Adkins, in the January 27, 1934 edition of the...