Parks and Recreation Sites

This park is located on the site of a former tenement and adjacent to what was the first free public bathhouse when it opened in 1901. This and other early bathhouses were built for the sake of public sanitation after Dr. Simon Baruch lobbied hard for new health laws. In 1939, Dr. Baruch's son donated the land for this park to the city at a time when it was still surrounded by tenements, and in order to provide both a local playground and to improve the bathhouse structure itself. The Department of Parks press release from the park's opening on May...

Located at the peak of Mount Greylock in the Northwestern corner of Massachusetts, Bascom Lodge has been a retreat for hikers and travelers for nearly 80 years. The current structure was built in the 1930s to replace the original lodge which burned down in the late 20s. Bascom Lodge was designed in the craftsman style by Joseph McArthur Vance, an architect from the neighboring city of Pittsfield, Massachusetts who designed several notable local buildings including the Colonial Theatre and the Mahaiwe Theatre. The lodge was constructed by the CCC beginning around 1933 and was opened to the public in 1937....

In 1936 the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a baseball diamond and a covered grandstand for the Greene Town Team in a park that is still referred to today as Ball Flats. Ball flats is a public recreation area "located next to the Chenango River within the Village of Greene...." (Greene Parks & Recreation). An article by the town historian notes that "In the 1930s there were so many strong left-handed batters (Harry Blakeslee, Bill Henninge, Charlie Gillette, Slim Barrows, Sanky Gibson among them) hitting the balls up to North Chenango Street, that they changed the layout of the field to what it...

"The Athletic Field at Vinalhaven may well be classed as a fine type of work project - a project on which the ERA, the town and private citizens cooperated to make possible work, health and pleasure. About thirty-five years ago Vinalhaven granite was being cut and shipped throughout the country, the harbor was crowed with fishing vessels, and baseball "fever" ran high. The use of a piece of swampy pasture land was obtained from the owner. Stumps were grubbed, open ditches dug and the worse parts of the field filled. A diamond and small bleachers followed. From time to time improvements...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built bleachers for a baseball field in Sonora, California.  This field is part of a larger group of athletic fields behind the building know as "The Dome", a former elementary school building, long abandoned, that sits prominently on a hill in Sonora.   The WPA bleachers include a stone retaining wall with stairs and a long, stone drinking fountain.  We do not know the exact date of this work, which is unmarked. The playing field are used by several schools in the area and the bleachers and ballfield sit directly behind and below a building occupied by...

The Rock Valley Baseball Park was built in 1937, and the Works Progress Administration built the grandstand several years later. 

"Concrete bleachers have a concrete shed roof structure supported on steel beams. Brick walls with a concrete cap surround the ball field on the north, east and west, with an entrance at the NE corner. A chain link fence encloses the south side of the ball field. The brick wall surrounding stadium is divided into bays by pilasters on the interior and exterior. On the field side, the wall has with advertising signs painted within each bay...The concession stand and toilet building appear to post-date the original construction. Current bleachers and roof structure are also recent modifications. An appropriation of...

The National Youth Administration built a baseball stadium in St. Marys WV, Pleasants County. Project No. 8904. The exact location of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.  

Although the hatchery was in place at least by 1930, a 1940 publication by a WPA administrator lists the WPA as having worked on the site during the 1930s. The hatchery does not seem to be in use any longer. It is not known whether any of the buildings still exist.

This densely forested area in the 30’s was marginal land having been logged and overgrazed. This prompted the purchase of these marginal farms which were nearly bankrupt and the formation of the Baskett Wildlife Research and Education Center, a function of the University of Missouri. The land had been improved by the CCC with planting of pine, locust, and Osage orange trees as a part of the Mark Twain National Forest. Ashland Lake /dam and the adjacent building with its rock walls were also built by the CCC. The area is located four miles east of Ashland around Ashland Lake off...

Buildings on the facility, a residence and pump house were constructed by the CCC according to the Sierra Historic Restoration Project. "Constructed in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Forest Supervisor’s house is the heart of the North Fork Headquarters compound and the beginning of the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway. As is typical for the CCC buildings of its kind, it deviates from the A-3 model designed by San Francisco architects Blanchard & Maher to accommodate its unique site."

"The CCC camp at Bass River State Forest, Camp S-55, lasted from 1933 to 1942, throughout the entire life of CCC. ... There were usually 200 men at the camp, which was a full complement. The CCC members performed wide range of conservation work. The young men of the CCC built park roads, trails, bridle paths, bridges for vehicles, ponds for fish and waterfowl, lookout towers, nature observatory shelters, picnic areas, cabins, fireplaces, campgrounds, recreational lakes, and landscaping. The most noteworthy feat was the creation of the 67-acre Lake Absegami, by damming two streams flowing through the forest."

This beautiful park is nestled in the "Lost Pines" area of Texas. The park was built as a CCC project and opened to the public in 1937. In September 2011 96% of the park was burned by a devastating wildfire; some of the burn damage is still visible, but the park is regenerating. The fire spared the refectory and the cabins built by the CCC. A CCC pavilion at the overlook suffered damage to the wood roof, but today has been rebuilt. "The architect of Bastrop State Park, Arthur Fehr, followed National Park Service design principles that suggested harmony with the...

Bath Beach Park, named for the surrounding neighborhood, was acquired by the City in 1937. In 1941-1942, the WPA completed extensive work on the park. A press release announcing the opening explained: "Located on a knoll on the center line of 17 Avenue extended is a semi-circular overlook sitting area commanding an unobstructed view over Gravesend Bay and the Lower New York Bay. A concrete ramp skirts the brick surfaced retaining wall which supports the overlook and connects with a 30 foot wide tree and bench lined mall... The smaller western section which is subdivided into six use areas by fencing, benches...

This charming stone bathhouse, built by the WPA in 1939, is still in use, with some slight alterations. A 1985 Oklahoma Landmarks Survey of WPA projects in the state describes the structure in detail: "This bathhouse was originally a single-story structure, but now has two levels. It is a rectangular (55' x 25') building constructed of uncut native stone of auburn and buff colors in masonry of random rubble. The roof is gabled. Shutters were installed on the first floor windows. The entrance to the bathhouse is arched. The entrance to the pool is square. The tent-like structure attached o one...

In 1937 the Wichita Falls Times described a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in a photo caption: "a bath house ... as an addition to city park facilities in Vernon." The status and location of the project are unknown to Living New Deal.

The Electra city pool "was built in 1935-36 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the facility includes a stone building with native stone from the area."

According to a newspaper account, FERA built a new bathhouse at the 4H pool west of Dunbar.It is unclear if the pool that currently exists at the site is the original, and it is believed that the current bathhouse is a replacement of the New Deal project.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) developed a bathing pool at "Reed Park" in Rockland, Mass., in 1937. WPA Bulletin: "Under construction is a wading pool with a sandy bottom. Shrubbery is being planted. The pond shore has been cleared and sanded, steps and platforms have been built and the adjacent land beautified." The exact location of this project is not presently known to Living New Deal.

In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted cleanup efforts at Battery Kemble Park, the site of a Civil War-era fort in the city's western corner. Crews removed underbrush, poisonous plants, and dead trees to make the park more welcoming to the public.

The W.P.A. developed Burlington's Battery Park, including constructing sidewalks and a masonry parapet wall. WPA Project No. 65-12-344

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve the public golf course at Battle Island State Park.

In 1935, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was located at Battle Mountain State Park to improve that state recreational property. The CCC workers built a water system with drinking fountains and a large granite fireplace as well as placing picnic tables throughout the park. The park is located on State Highway 395, nine miles north of the town of Ukiah.  

The federal National Youth Administration (NYA) worked to improve the stadium for Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey in 1938. The NYA "weeded, rolled and marked the stadium track; prepared the broad jump pit; laid out the course of the javelin and discus throw; cut and raked the field; cleaned the field of weeds and debris and cleaned the stadium stands and walked." 18 workers completed the job in two and a half days. Bauerle Field is part of what is now known as Roberto Clemente Park.

"Baxter State Park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park, located in Piscataquis County in north-central Maine. The Park was established by 28 donations of land, in Trust, from Park donor Percival P. Baxter between the years of 1931 and 1962, eventually creating a Park of over 200,000 acres (809 km2) in size."   (https://www.ohranger.com) During the 1930′s, the Civilian Conservation Corps workers from Camp Millinocket, camp Foster Field, camp Baxter Park, & camp Avalanche Brook on the south end worked on access roads in the Mount Katahdin region, including a gravel road from Lake Ambejejus northward between...

Landscaped embankment along Bay Street. Built small recreation building.--Healy, p. 67.

Also known as Island Park, Sarasota's Bayfront Park was developed during the 1930s/40s by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).

"In the early 20th century, commercial use of the Bayou declined, and the Carondelet Canal was filled in. A number of New Orleanians started living in houseboats on the Bayou. Complaints from people in nearby neighborhoods and sanitation concerns led to this being outlawed in the 1930s. A Works Progress Administration cleaned up and beautified the Bayou. A lock was installed near the Lake Pontchartrain end of the Bayou. In the summer of 1955 the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board temporarily drained the Bayou, to clean out debris and material that was causing foul odors. The Bayou then took on...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made improvements to the 44-acre Bayview Park in San Francisco on Bayview Hill (or Heights).  These included a stone retaining wall along the loop road on the north side of the hill and two sets of stone steps on either side that lead to a trail over the crest of the hill.  There is another, mysterious stone path/stairway far below the loop road on the west side of the hill (we do not know if this is also WPA work). Bayview Park dates back to 1902, but is still a relatively isolated and undeveloped part of...

In 1933/4 the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) furnished the labor toward improvements at Beach Park in West Hartford, including the clearing of floral detritus.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers conducted erosion control and other improvement work along Beach Street in Manchester, Mass. WPA Bulletin: Protection from damaging tides is given by this Manchester WPA riprap wall constructed along Beach Street where commercial fishermen and other boatmen use the wall landing. The entire surrounding area was also graded and beautified by WPA.

In 1933/4 the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) furnished the labor toward the development of Beachland Park in West Hartford—specifically the planting of trees and shrubs on the grounds. Work was continued by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.), which took to grading tennis courts on site; improving the baseball field and covering a brook; and remodeling an old creamery on the grounds.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Beachland Park pool and bathhouse in West Hartford CT in 1936.  

Between 1938 and 1941, with funding assistance from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Seattle Park Department completed several improvement projects at Beacon Hill Playground. In the first of these projects, WPA workers re-painted the playground shelter house in 1938. This was part of a city-wide project to paint and repair park buildings that, due to budget cuts, had received little to no maintenance since the early years of the Great Depression. The following year saw the installation of new lighting fixtures to provide nighttime illumination of the playfield. Then, in 1941, WPA workers regraded part of the playfield, installed...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built "roads, trails,bridle paths, vehicle bridges, ponds for fish and waterfowl, lookouttowers, a nature observatory, shelters, picnic areas, fireplaces,campgrounds, recreational lakes, and worked on landscaping and firefighting. Today you can also find a museum devoted to the CCC in New Hampshire here."

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built Bear Canyon Campground at the end of Salt Creek canyon road, FR 048.  CCC camp F-9 was located a few miles up the road and enrollees working from there are known to have built several campgrounds in the area.  Bear Canyon campground has the telltale signs of CCC stonework. The CCC probably built nearby Cottonwood Campground, as well, but it is more non-descript and may be a later Forest Service addition. There are stone retaining walls along Salt Creek behind Bear Canyon campground, which might have been constructed by CCC teams -- but a local resident thinks...

Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive is a 2-mile stretch of Colorado Highway 74 between the towns of Morrison and Idledale, just west of Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. The route is noted for its enclosing granite cliffs and diverse vegetation. During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) raised the bed of the road, which had originally been built by the Denver Motor Club. The project involved the construction of six 20-foot retaining walls along the edge of Bear Creek.

This appproximately 7-acre Lake impounding log earth dam, located in Yellowwood State Forest, was complete in 1939 with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was very active in Rocky Mountain National Park during the 1930s. The Bear Lake Comfort Station, located on the Bear Lake trail, is one of the many structures in the park built by CCC enrollees.   The rubblestone construction is typical of national park Rustic Style of the first half of the 20th century.  The building now serves to house a generator.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

“Bear Mountain State Park is located on the west side of the Hudson River in Orange and Rockland counties of New York… In the 1930s the federal government under Franklin D. Roosevelt was developing plans to preserve the environment as part of the Depression-era public works programs; the Civil Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration, spent five years on projects at the park. Pump houses, reservoirs, sewer systems, vacation lodges, bathrooms, homes for park staff, storage buildings and an administration building were all created through these programs.”   (wikipedia) In addition, a report of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration from 1933 records...