Parks and Recreation Sites

The Recreation Center was completed by CCC laborers in 1935. The style of the Recreation Center is Parks Rustic.

The CCC and the WPA completed many Parks Rustic style shelters at McCormick's Creek State Park from 1935-1940. The coordinates shown are for the Beech Grove Shelter. Coordinates are listed for each of the other sites below: The Beech Grove Shelter is located near the camping area at McCormick's Creek, and was completed by CCC laborers in 1935. McCormick's Creek Picnic Shelter is one of many shelters at McCormick's Creek, completed  by CCC laborers in 1935. (39.287994,-86.727319) The Hillcrest Shelter is located at McCormick's Creek, and was completed  by CCC laborers in 1935. (39.294537,-86.72035) The Redbud Shelter is located at McCormick's Creek. It was...

The Stone Arch bridge located at McCormick's Creek was completed in 1934 by CCC CO 589. The bridge spans fifty feet and was constructed with Indiana Limestone.

One of Rhode Island's largest sports venues, McCoy Stadium was built between 1938 and 1940 by the City of Pawtucket. It was co-designed by Thomas E. Harding, the city engineer, and Mark Linenthal, associate engineer. Home to the Pawtucket Red Sox, it is named for Tom McCoy, mayor of Pawtucket at the time of the stadium's construction. Renovated in 1999. The stadium is currently home of the Pawtucket PawSox. "Presidents Roosevelt and Truman both visited during the 1940s to see the product of the federal building they'd funded."   (Pahigian)

"The Park Auditorium, completed in 1936 as a WPA project, is a domical building, the design of its facade carried out in the straight lines and angles of modern architecture. Constructed with laminated truss-type arches which support the entire roof load, the auditorium has 25,000 sq. ft. of floor space unobstructed by supporting columns. Its acoustics is excellent, owing to the vaulted shape of the roof and the absorbing quality of the timbers in the arches." President Roosevelt toured the site in 1936, The New York Times reporting: " saw a new $17,000 auditorium more than large enough to hold the...

President Roosevelt toured Jamestown, North Dakota in 1936, The New York Times reporting: " saw a new $17,000 auditorium more than large enough to hold the town's population, a current WPA project. It faces a stadium that was begun as a CWA operation and completed, together with an ornamental fence on the property, as an FERA project." The facilities were in what is known now as McElroy Park. The exact location of the stadium within McElroy Park and its present status are unknown to Living New Deal, though it might be what is now known as Jack Brown Stadium.

The McFadden Cabin was built by a City Park benefactor in the 1920's as a recreational facility for New Orleans Girl Scouts (still in use today).  The WPA made improvements as part of its many works projects in the park, which had been recently expanded when the New Deal came into being. A plaque was placed in the stonework at that time.

"The pool at Silver Spring Park (now McGovern Park) was built by the CWA. The WPA built the new bathhouse."

Also referred to as the McKenzie River Campground, the McKenzie Bridge Campground was among the first campgrounds built with Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor in the Willamette National Forest (WNF). The forest supervisor prioritized recreation projects in the WNF, setting a goal that 25% of CCC time be spent on recreational development with the remainder be spent on fire fighting and forest management responsibilities. CCC enrollees from Camp Belknap constructed the McKenzie Bridge Campground, laying out the site's roads and campsites, providing water, and constructing picnic tables as well as the needed facilities for camping and picnicking. Today at McKenzie Bridge...

The WPA did extensive work in McKinley Park, most likely including the water fountain and rose garden pictured below. The brick rest station is also characteristic of WPA work although there is no marker.

The WPA built these unique stone "castles" at McKinley Park in Oklahoma City. "...he most fascinating thing to see, as you come in the park from the east, are two small native stone buildings constructed to look like small castles. They are located on each side of the main drive into the park. The north building is boarded up and appears to possibly have been for storage. The south building has barred windows and a few tables and chairs can still be seen inside. It was difficult to tell whether these buildings are currently in use. The buildings are constructed of native...

Construction of the McKinley Park Hotel began on July 12, 1937 and was largely completed in 1938.  The New Deal’s Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed $350,000 to the project, and the Alaska Railroad contributed an additional $100,000.  “The main building of the unit, designed and constructed under the supervision of the National Park Service , contains 90 guest rooms with accommodations for 120 to 160 persons, dining room facilities, and a lobby. In addition, there is a dormitory for employees, a power house, water reservoir, and provisions for other utilities” (Report of the Governor of Alaska). The hotel was not very...

The WPA made improvements to McKinley Park.

(426 Acres) The work consisted of bulding roads thru the park, involving the excavation of 14,350 cubic yards of rock, macadamizing 400,000 square feet of road and 125,400 square feet of foot paths and bridle paths, construction of 12,172 lineal feet of stone gutter for roads, 7,481 lineal feet of for paths, 17 seepage pits, 56 storm water inlets, laying 2,315 lineal feet of corrugated iron culverts, landscaping park area, creating fire brakes, building fire trails, planting 10,000 trees and shrubs, boxing and transplanting 600 trees. This improvement created an attractive park out of a large tract of land...

A June 1936 press release from the Department of Parks announced the opening of a newly reconstructed playground at the site of what is now McLaughlin Park. It contained a girl's playground "fully equipped with play apparatus, basketball, volley ball and paddle tennis courts." In October 1936, the Department announced the completion of the "reconstruction of the entire park. The area to be opened includes a wading pool and a large boys' playground with a soft ball diamond." Although the announcement does not mention the WPA or other New Deal agencies, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that almost all New...

The since-demolished McLean Stadium of the University of Kentucky was one of many structures that was either constructed or improved with the assistance of federal New Deal funds. "Although unable to secure funding for expanded seating," Eric Moyen writes, the university's Athletic Council "did secure the city of Lexington as a 'project sponsor' for the construction of a press box and running track at the football stadium. The WPA approved a grant in excess of $20,000 for construction, and Lexington paid the remaining $7,000." The site today is known as Stoll Field, the name by which McLean Stadium had been known from...

Red oaks line a section of McLoughlin Boulevard on its southern entry into the City of Portland. The nearly ninety-year-old trees are the legacy of a highway beautification project funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934. The Oregon State Highway Commission selected this section on McLoughlin Boulevard (99E), along with two sections of Barbur Boulevard (99W), for the state's first comprehensive highway beautification program. Members of the Portland Garden Club joined in designing the landscape plans that focused on native plants. Funding for the six-mile section on McLoughlin Boulevard amounted to approximately $15,000, which covered landscape materials and a...

As motorists travel southbound on the Milwaukie section of McLoughlin Boulevard they pass through a corridor of Giant Redwood trees. The Public Works Administration funded the planting of these Sequoia Giantea in 1934. The Oregon State Highway Commission selected six miles of McLoughlin Boulevard (99E) that connects Milwaukie and Portland to launch the state's first comprehensive highway beautification program. The north unit is still marked by red oaks while this southern section is defined by the giant evergreen Redwoods. Funding for the entire six-mile section amounted to approximately $15,000 for landscape materials and the labor required to complete the landscaping.    

Oregon City's Grand Staircase links the historic center with the town's premier park located on a bluff 100-feet above it. Completed in 1939, the stone and cement pathway replaced an old wooden stairway in approximately the same location. Skilled and unskilled Works Progress Administration workers provided the labor for this feature of McLoughlin Promenade. Several aspects of the Grand Staircase make it distinctive. Workers cut a new pathway into the basalt bluff for the staircase. Natural landscaping and a man-made waterfall adjacent to the stairway enhanced the public amenity. Those aspects of the Grand Staircase's design established it as a safe,...

In 1851, Dr. John McLoughlin formally platted Oregon City reserving land along the city's prominent bluff for use as a park and naming that public amenity the Promenade. For decades, the Promenade's minimally improved walkway provided a view of the city's downtown, nearby neighborhoods, and rivers. That changed in 1936 when plans were made to improve the Promenade using skilled and unskilled Works Progress Administration workers. The plans involved three related projects: a stone and concrete pathway, the Grand Staircase, and Singer Falls. John L. Franzen, Oregon City's city manager and a registered engineer, designed all three integrated projects. The stone and...

Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers began construction of the Singer Hill Creek Falls landscape feature in May 1936. Oregon City manager J L Franzen designed the series of five waterfalls as part of improvements to the McLoughlin Promenade. WPA funding was $2500 for the combined waterfall project and the Promenade Staircase. Dropping from the Oregon City bluff at Eighth Street, Singer Creek falls into a series of twenty foot wide pools. Four of the pools create a ten foot drop while the fifth drops twelve feet. WPA masons used stone quarried locally encased in cement to create the park's water feature. This...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed to the improvement of Oklahoma City’s McMechan Park in 1940. “McMechan Park at Oklahoma City, Okla., will be expanded to a 17-acre development,” a reporter noted in January 1940, “according to plans disclosed by Donald Gordon, superintendent of parks. A $12,000 WPA project which will include landscaping, tree planting, grading, and establishment of play areas on the site will be submitted.” According to the Parks and Recreation Department, the WPA expanded the park to include land on both sides of McMechan Parkway. The park still serves as a recreation site for Oklahoma City residents today.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) records in the National Archives report that the WPA constructed a recreation building at the McMillan Playground in northwest DC and that New Deal wood carvings were installed inside. The building opened in 1938. The playground was likely in the Bloomingdale neighborhood near the McMillan reservoir. The Park View DC blog reports that in 1934, Eleanor Roosevelt participated in a tree planting ceremony at the playground, which according to the writer was located at 1st and Bryant streets NW. There no longer appears to be a McMillan Playground, but we are told that the recreation building is still...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded improvements at the McMillan Playground in Washington DC. Completed between 1935 and 1938, the work consisted of “Fencing (2,400 feet, 8-foot); completed installation of drainage system.” The WPA completed the following work: 1935-1936, “new recreation building, begun under Civil Works Administration, carried forward to 70% completion; 4 tennis courts subgraded; grading 500 cubic yards.” (Report of the Government of the District of Columbia  1936) Federal Art Project, 1935-1936, “A fine set of murals depicting games of the eighteenth century has been carved in wood and painted for the McMillan playground house…” . (Report of...

Built by the WPA during the early 1930s.

"Built by Works Progress Administration volunteers in 1933, the Meadow Park Shelter House offered park-goers shady respite before the floods left it in ruins. The emergency grant allows this beloved shelter to remain and be enjoyed."   (https://www.historycolorado.org) The facility was restored and remodeled in 1997 and is listed on the state historic register. Unfortunately, a recent note on the town website explains: "Sadly, the 2013 September flood waters completely destroyed most of the original structure, leaving basically only the chimney still standing. Plans for a new shelter are still pending."   (https://www.townoflyons.com)

In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed a new water system and comfort station at Media Park, a small park at the intersection of Venice Blvd. and Culver Blvd. The lawn area was also renovated, reseeded, and landscaped. Media Park is leased to Culver City by Los Angeles. A theater company, The Actors Gang, is based here at a rebuilt Pacific Electric Railway substation.

Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in northeastern Montana between the Missouri River and the Canadian border. Medicine Lake NWR encompasses 31,702 acres and consists of the 28,438-acre north tract, which includes Medicine Lake, and seventeen smaller water units. The Refuge was established in 1935 under the auspices of the Bureau of Biological Survey to provide breeding and stopover habitat for migratory birds.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) sent workers in to improve the refuge under the direction of the Biological Survey (transformed into the US Fish & Wildlife Service in 1940). The WPA and CCC...

The CCC company 1442 provided labor for the initial development of what was initially known as Shelby State Park, planting trees, damming the lake, and building trails. National Park Service funded the project and labor was provided by CCC, and later, by WPA crews who built cabins and an administration building. The Resettlement Administration supervised the work crews. Planning began in 1933, land clearing in 1935. Additional building was planned, but interrupted by World War II.

This Sheepshead Bay playground was constructed in part using WPA funds. The New York City Parks Department writes: "This parcel of land was vested in the City of New York in 1938 and transferred by the Board of Estimate to Parks in 1940. The playground opened to the public on June 5, 1941, as the 423rd playground in New York City’s parks system, funded in part by the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration (WPA). The playground contained a separate pre-school children’s section with a sand pit, seesaws, slides, swings, and a shower basin, and a surfaced area for adults and adolescents that...

In 1934, town officials resolved to use $2,500 of CWA money for constructing bleachers at Memorial Athletic Field. In 1940, more bleachers  from nearby were moved and set up at Memorial Field.

The Memorial Field of Flushing opened in November, 1934 in a ceremony attended by Mayor LaGuardia. The press release announcing the event described the extensive work carried out with New Deal support: "The land for the Flushing Memorial Playfield was given to the City by the Memorial Field of Flushing, Inc., for the development of a playground. Labor and material were supplied from Work Relief funds. A one-story field house of Colonial design is located in a corner of the playground. Eight tennis courts, eight handball courts and two basketball courts are provided in addition to swings, seesaws, sand tables and other...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a retaining wall at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon, New York during the 1930s. Recent plans for the renovation of Memorial Field have been fitful. The current status of the retaining wall is unknown to the Living New Deal.  

The development of Memorial Park in Mansfield, Massachusetts during the 1930s was made possible by the "Federal Relief Administration" and the Works Progress Administration. The park was dedicated November 11, 1936 and is still in use today.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed to the development Memorial Park. "At the close of the war, when the camp was abandoned, part of the site was acquired by the Hogg brothers, who, in 1924, turned 1,000 acres over to the City at cost. Later, an additional 503 acres were obtained. Hare and Hare, Kansas City landscape architects, planned the improvement work which was carried out during the succeeding years, first as a local, then as a State relief project, and finally under the supervision of the Work Projects Administration."

Among the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects identified as completed in an El Paso Times article from June 7, 1936 was "Memorial Park grading and landscaping, $21,609."

"A significant addition to the park occurred in 1941, with the construction of a large stone pavilion on high ground west of the memorial grove. Architect Leroy Bradley designed the pavilion, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided the labor and materials. The stone was salvaged from old foundations, sidewalks and bridge abutments, and hand-hewn oak beams supported the roof. The west wing of the pavilion was designed to house a park caretaker, and the east wing contained restrooms." "the WPA picnic pavilion is an important historic structure and provides evidence of the Depression recovery period of influence on Fort Wayne’s parks....

Occasionally mis-attributed to the W.P.A., La Crosse's Memorial Pool was constructed in 1938 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. supplied an $31,500 grant for the project, whose total cost was $72,738. The pool was closed in 2016, though as of 2017 it appears the pool will be modernized or rebuilt. PWA Docket No. WI 1436

Grove City's Memorial Park was improved by multiple New Deal programs. "During the late 1930s, a cascading waterfall was added to the memorial as a federal Works Progress Administration project."   The exact location of the waterfall in the park is unknown to Living New Deal.

The WPA conducted extensive work on Memory Grove Park, or Memory Park, including landscaping, building rock walls, cutting paths, and so on.