Parks and Recreation Sites

Milne Stadium was a New Deal project built in 1939. -Aurelio Sanchez

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Milroy Park Club House, which serves as a community center in Houston TX. 

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed Milton Lake Park in Rahway, New Jersey during the Great Depression.

"The Division of Grazing (Grazing Service as of 1939) operated the greatest number of CCC programs in the state. There were several reasons for this. First of all, Nevada has the largest public domain (nonallocated federal acreage) of any of the forty-eight states. With little trouble, Nevada's elected officials and stockmen easily persuaded national CCC officials to approve requests for several new grazing camps, notwithstanding national CCC program budget cuts. Second, following passage of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, a large workforce was needed to implement its ambitious provisions. Even with CCC assistance, the amount of work needing to...

"WPA’s legacy is visible today in those and many other ways" in Wilkes-Barre. "Thanks to WPA labor, ... he Miner Park and Hollenback swimming pools were built." The pool is no longer extant.

The Lake Clara bridge, boat house, band shell and retaining wall were all built by WPA workers of native limestone and are still standing. The bandshell was completed in 1938.

Regarding New Deal work at this site, Flynn writes: "Structures at this facility include a greenhouse, annex, and landscaping. The landscaping includes a rock wall and long trench on a hill side behind the building."

Minetta Green was built circa 1935 with the help of the New Deal. The agency involved in funding or completing the work is unknown to the Living New Deal. During the 1930s, Robert Moses used New Deal funding and labor to build public park facilities, yet rarely credited the New Deal agencies that supported the projects. Because he prohibited the placement of New Deal plaques and corner stones, we have few sources that tie pubic parks in New York to New Deal agencies. However, several of Moses’ statements reveal the large scale of federal funding for parks  For a detailed...

The NYC Parks site explains the origins of this playground: "In 1934 Board of Transportation granted the Department of Parks a permit to develop this parcel as a playground which opened the following year." The November 1935 press release announcing the playground's official opening explained that it, and the other six playgrounds opened on the same day (one of which was attended by WPA administrator Harry Hopkins), collectively contained: "2 basketball diamonds, 1 basketball court, 4 bocci courts, 4 handball courts, 2 horizontal bars, 2 horizontal ladders and 3 horse shoe pitching courts for adults; for the youngsters, 6 jungle gyms,...

Minetta Triangle was built circa 1935 with the help of the New Deal. The agency involved in funding or completing the work is unknown to the Living New Deal. During the 1930s, Robert Moses used New Deal funding and labor to build public park facilities, yet rarely credited the New Deal agencies that supported the projects. Because he prohibited the placement of New Deal plaques and corner stones, we have few sources that tie pubic parks in New York to New Deal agencies. However, several of Moses’ statements reveal the large scale of federal funding for parks  For a detailed discussion...

Throughout the 1930s, CCC and WPA crews made extensive improvements to the already popular Minnehaha Park, site of Minnehaha Falls. Federal workers built impressive stone retaining walls throughout the 170-acre park, staircases from the upper park down to the creek, and bridges, all from native limestone. Improvements have since been made to the park, including a Pergola Garden and most recently a river overlook and playground area. The stonework has remained largely intact, and the park continues to draw a steady stream of both locals and tourists.

Established by the Minnesota legislature in 1905 to allow public access to Minneopa Falls, the Minneopa State Park was enlarged and improved during the New Deal period by Works Progress Administration funding. WPA workers improved the falls with new stairs, built public hiking trails, and constructed seven new buildings, including a public shelter, new maintenance buildings, restrooms, and other structures. Constructed from local sandstone and lumber, the seven rustic-styled WPA buildings constructed on the site were added to the National Historic Register in 1989.  

The WPA built several structures for the Minnesota State Fair from 1935-1940, including the art deco Horticulture building, the horse barn and decorative friezes, the sheep and poultry barn, the swine barn, the commissary building and the 4-H building. From a 2011 Finance & Commerce article: “If the Fair had a great architectural era, said Granger , it would have been the years before and during World War II, when the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed some of the most beloved Art Deco-influenced buildings, among them the Horse Barn, 4-H, Sheep & Poultry, Swine and Commissary.”

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) relocated and reconstructed the former United States Mint Building in Charlotte, North Carolina: now the Mint Museum. The project was completed at a cost of $46,724.75. "Between 1932 and 1935 communities throughout North Carolina, including Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, benefited from a broad array of public works funded primarily by Washington.  These included the reconstruction in Eastover of the former United States Mint Building ..." Furthermore, the FERA improved and graded the grounds at the site.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed San Francisco's Mission Playground, located at 19th and (what was then known as) Angelica Streets, during the Great Depression. The park is still in use today. Painted swimming pool and dressing rooms, repaired basketball court, children's area and installed lighting system, rehabilitated entire area, graded, built walls, 2 tennis courts, 1 basketball court. This was one of the older playgrounds in need of repairs.--Healy, p. 66.

Franciscan Monks established the Spanish Mission San Francisco de los Tejas in what is now East Texas in 1690. The monks were forced by the local Indians to abandon the mission in 1693. The monks burned the mission when they left. The discovery of a Spanish cannon barrel led to the park's development near the village of Weches, where the CCC set up a reforestation camp in 1933. The Texas Forest Service developed San Francisco Mission State Forest as a tourist attraction and commemoration of early Texas history, just in time for the Texas Centennial celebration in 1936. Those individuals involved in...

The Missouri State Fairgrounds have been located at this site since the start of the 20th century. The WPA did extensive work on the site in the 1930s. There were many buildings built by the WPA. The entry gates on the north side, the Donnell building, the infield stands in the track, and the Speed Horse Barn remain.  The WPA also improved the roads and walkways throughout the park. Main gate: "Built in 1939 this Art Deco/Art Moderne rendering in steel and concrete consist of three individual ticket booths spanned by steel arch work containing the Missouri State Seal and the...

The Mitchell Bay Shelter Cabin is a historic cabin in the Admiralty Island National Monument. It is one of several cabins in the Tongass National Forest built for public recreation during the 1930s, and is part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route. “Civilian Conservation Corps workers built the Mitchell Bay shelter cabin during the 1930s. It is a three-sided Adirondack style shelter. It has a peeled log superstructure and shake walls and roof. The cabin visually looks like the original. The sill logs have been recently replaced. The bottoms of the posts show where old nails have been removed to replace the sill...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers developed Holyoke's Mitchell Field ca. 1937.

"A retaining wall and fence were erected along the north boundary; The pool in the sunken garden of Mitchell Park was cleaned and repaired."

"President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided a work force, which pushed the Modoc Forest development work years ahead. A special camp was built at Hackamore in 1933 and maintained there almost until the abandonment of the Corps in 1942. Spike camps from this main camp were established when necessary but the gentle nature of the Modoc terrain allowed workers from the main camp to reach out much further than in the average forest area... ...By the end of 1933 there were some thirty sizeable CWA crews working out from their homes on Modoc Forest projects. A large number...

"Moeur Park North and South is located at the NE and SE corners of Mill Avenue and Curry Road. Moeur Park ramadas and associated structures are identified in the 1997 Tempe Multiple Resource Area Update (#255) as individually eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Built in U.S. Park Services style, these roadway, rest, and landscape elements are typical of the New Deal Works Administration Era (WPA). Field stone and concrete materials were used by the WPA to construct features throughout the park. These include; raised planters, stairs, planter borders, stone benches, stone tables, an automobile...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) developed "miles of downhill and cross-country ski trails that became the Mohawk Mountain Ski Area."

Both the CCC and the WPA developed Tulsa's Mohawk Park: "The National Park Service took over planning of structures in Mohawk Park from the City Park Department. The WPA workers built bridges, roads and shelters to blend in with the natural landscape. They also brought waterlines and restrooms into Mohawk for the first time."   (www.cityoftulsa.org) "Urban parks in Tulsa and Oklahoma also owed much to the CCC... One Tulsa camp turned miles of raw, often swampy land into Mohawk Park."   (Historical Atlas in Oklahoma)  

“WPA projects both directly and indirectly affected fish and wildlife. More than 300 fish hatcheries were built or enlarged nationwide. Creating fish hatcheries was important economically, as well as for sport fisherman….Some of the fish hatcheries established or improved by WPA were located in or near Cherokee, Durant, Lawton, Tishomingo, Krebs, Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City, and Mohawk Park in Tulsa. A fish hatchery is on the city lake at Holdenville in Hughes County, where the WPA built a caretaker cottage and office building. With few details of location given, fish hatcheries have been hard to locate 70 years later. At...

From the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: “The administration building and four log cabins built by the CCC at Mohawk Trail were featured in Albert Good’s 1938 book, Park and Recreation Structures, as outstanding examples of CCC rustic design and are still used today.”

Mojave received a $60,000 natatorium (swimming pool) from the PWA.

The Mole Harbor Shelter Lookout/Cabin is a historic cabin in the Admiralty Island National Monument. It is one of several cabins in the Tongass National Forest built for public recreation during the 1930s, and is part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route. “Civilian Conservation Corps workers built the Mole Harbor Shelter Cabin in the Adirondack style as a three-sided shelter along the Admiralty Island canoe route. It has a peeled log superstructure and shake walls and roof. The structure is well-maintained, and its current appearance is similar to its original appearance. None of the roof or wall shakes is original. The front...

The Civilian Conservation Corps planted trees on 400 acres and built 6 recreational cabins on Mona Island.

This 6.1-acre historic district includes three rustic buildings, a dam and the surrounding recreational grounds. It was a joint project of the U.S. Forest Service, the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration. The work consisted of the construction of several additional features such as campgrounds and roads which are not part of the historic district. The buildings and dam are in excellent condition and appear almost exactly as they did when originally built. The district sits within a significant glacial tunnel channel and esker system that were created during the pleistocene. A segment of the Ice Age National...

The Kaiser Pass Road (opened in 1927) resulted in increased travel to Mono Hot Springs on the west side of the Sierra Nevada near Huntington Lake – one of the best-known hot springs in California. Therefore, the Forest Service decided to utilize the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to upgrade the facilities there. In 1934, the CCC men constructed a bathhouse and several auxiliary buildings over the concrete-walled springs on the south side of the San Joaquin River.  On the north side of the river, the CCC built a campground. The buildings were torn down in 1963 and a new bathhouse built on...

The WPA constructed stone walks, walls, benches, tables, fireplace, pavilions, and footbridges to build Monocacy Park between 1936 and 1937. A swimming pool was also constructed above the dam, but this feature is no longer in use due to sediment. Mcall.com: "The Monocacy Park bridge features two 30-foot towers of hand-cut stone. The creek had to be diverted, most likely with sandbags, to enable the stone masons to erect the towers. Block and tackle, a series of ropes and pulleys, had to be used to set the pieces in place." As of 2016 the park is under restoration.

This USDA building is a U.S. Treasury project from 1936-37. According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce: “Dedicated in 1937, the USDA building symbolized increased importance of the Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service in the New Deal era. It housed offices for Civilian Conservation Corps projects and local New Deal programs designed to assist rural farmers and woodsmen. The rectangular, three-story, Neo-Classical designed building is constructed of red brick with stone trim. The original grading and landscaping around the exterior of the building was done with CCC labor. Most notable is the woodpaneled interior reception/entrance area where two...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration funded improvements at the Monroe Playground in Washington DC in 1934-1935. The work consisted of the following improvements: “Graded, moved and remodeled shelter-house, relocated equipment.” (Report of the Government of the District of Columbia 1935) FERA, 1934-1935, “Retaining wall 72 feet long.” (Report of the Government of the District of Columbia 1936) WPA, 1937-1938, “Additional fencing; reconstruction of toilets.” (Report of the Government of the District of Columbia 1938)

The Monroe swimming pool was undertaken in Monroe, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The Monroe swimming pool at Forsythe Park was constructed for approximately $100,000 and was described as "one of the finest fresh water inland natatoriums in the county" (Work report made by WPA, 1937, p. 10). It operated without cost to community members (New Deal Network, 2003).

An 80 acre park in the San Gabriel Mountains that was the site for CCC camp F-131 that was constructed May 26, 1933. One of 20 camps in the Angeles National Forest. "The U.S. Forest Service extended the fire road from White Saddle to join a network of fire roads around Monrovia Peak. Most of the labor was done by the C.C.C."

Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in 1937: "Harold F. DePue, manager of the North Montana State fair, announced two new structures—the Future Farmers' building and a horse barn—have been completed at the fair plant here. The buildings were erected through co-operation of Cascade county, the PWA and the fair commission. A third new unit—the mercantile building, Is near completion."

"Montauk State Park is located on 633 acres of land in the southern portion of Dent County, twenty-one miles southwest of Salem, Missouri. The outstanding natural feature of the park is a spring that forms an excellent trout stream near the head of the Current River. An old mill, rehabilitated by CCC enrollees, is an important historical feature of the park. In addition to working on the old mill, Veterans Company 1770 constructed a dam and bridge, tourist cabins, and other park buildings. Fire, heavy use, and modernization have taken their toll at Montauk, leaving few of the original CCC...

The seven-acre Montclair Park in Oakland was built with the aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938-40.  This gem of a park lies just north of Montclair Village in the Oakland hills and below Montclair Elementary School.   At the center of the park is a large, oval, stone-lined pond that is home to ducks, turtles and koi carp (giant goldfish), as well as occasional Canada geese.  The pond is an extension of the Lake Merritt bird sanctuary and therefore protected by federal wildlife laws.   The park also includes extensive rock walls and stairs, large lawns and trees, tennis courts,...

The seven-acre Montclair Park in Oakland was built with the aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938-40.  This gem of a park lies just north of Montclair Village in the Oakland hills and below Montclair Elementary School.   The park features a picnic area, children's playground and a play area under a group of large trees, as well as a large lawn area for general play.  The park also includes a recreation center, duck pond, baseball field, tennis courts and extensive rock walls and stairs.   The City of Oakland Recreation Department put in $90,000 for the park and recreation...