Parks and Recreation Sites

"During the 1930s numerous improvement projects were carried out through federal relief programs. A Civilian Conservation Corps Camp of about 200 young men was located in the beech woods where the former Caddy Camp building stands. Gift and loans were solicited to match the Works Progress Administration funds, making possible the building of nature trails and roads, picnic sites, cabins, tennis courts, the outdoor theater, Camp Russel, and the entire Crispin Center area. Crispin Center - with its large swimming pool, golf shop and Pine Room area - has changed little on the outside. Built in 1937-38 of natural sandstone, much...

oglebayfoundation.org, 2012: "Several dozen Works Progress Administration (WPA) workmen began construction on the Oglebay pool in late 1936, using a federal grant of $68,000, supplemented by a loan from the Sarita Oglebay Russel trust (with the loan to be paid back with pool revenue). John Hargleroad, operations director for the Wheeling Park Commission, shares information about the unique original plumbing. “All the rain water that fell in the area, plus the drains in the locker rooms, flowed into the pool,” he says. “Flush and fill pools were very common at that time.” Although the pool opened quietly to the public in late...

Links Magazine reports that the par-71 Ohio State University Golf Course was built "during the Depression with a grant from the WPA ... his strategic gem was restored in 2006 by Buckeye legend Jack Nicklaus, who returned the course to Alister MacKenzie's original vision." The course opened in 1938. Nicklaus.com: "Alister MacKenzie, the architect of Cypress Point and Augusta National, designed Ohio State’s Scarlet course in 1931 but died in 1934, before ground was broken. Thankfully, Perry Maxwell oversaw the construction, which was completed in 1938. Scarlet has been home to Ohio State players like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf and John Cook,...

The Okefenokee Swamp had long been a site of habitation in southern Georgia. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, "An all-black unit of the Civilian Conservation Corps was transferred to the refuge, and between 1937 and 1941 they developed facilities there, which are still in use today. Designating the Okefenokee a wildlife refuge preserved the swamp but drove out its residents. Swamp dwellers were told they could no longer kill bears and wildcats in order to protect their livestock. The residents found it impossible to support themselves, and over time they moved away. All residents were likely gone by 1958....

"This building is one of nine livestock exposition-type buildings in Oklahoma, built by the WPA. The WPA completed this one-story native stone building in April 1942. It served as a livestock exposition building and was first used at the Okmulgee County Free Fair on September 23-26, 1942. This area was used as the local fairgrounds until the 1970s. An average of 84 men worked two years completing the building. Its native stone blocks are laid unevenly which speaks of the unskilled WPA labor used to construct it. The building was the first in a series of fairgrounds buildings planned, one to...

The Shelter House/Chapel was constructed with native limestone in 1937 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) project and renovated in 1984. The one-story, asymmetrical Mission-style chapel now houses the cemetery office. Oriented west, the building features an L-shaped footprint. The facade, located on the west elevation, has a parapet roof with a bell tower capped with brick trim. Two angel sculptures sit on each side of the bell tower. Two replacement doors are centered at this elevation. An opening with a replacement window also is located at the main elevation near the southwest corner of the chapel. An...

"A sports stadium was constructed at the Norfolk Division in 1936. The stadium cost approximately $300,000; money was appropriated through municipal funds and from the Virginia Emergency Relief Administration and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). During the summers, the stadium and a swimming pool in the Administration Building were used as a temporary summer camp for approximately 125 Norfolk boys and girls. ...The stadium continues to serve as a home to ODU's field hockey and lacrosse teams."   (https://www.lib.odu.edu)

By the 1930s, the Old Erie Canal that once formed the heart of the Village of Jordan was no longer a functioning canal. It was given new life by being converted into a landscaped park in the 1930s, with significant help from the WPA. The old Jordan Aqueduct has been incorporated into the park. The park "remains a visual tool for understanding the canal and aqueduct construction" (www.livingplaces.com).

Researcher Frank da Cruz reasons persuasively here that this playground beside the Jerome Park Reservoir was a New Deal project: "t Reservoir and Sedgwick Avenues to Old Fort Four Park (its proper name according to the Parks Department website), but labeled as Fort Four Playground. It was opened in late 1934, some months before Strong Street Playground at the other end of Washington's Walk. Not the press releases, nor any other material I can find, give any credit to the New Deal for this park but since it was built in the same time frame on the same street...

The Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in 1938: "City officials are improving the tourist park near Old Fort park. WPA workers have put a new cement floor in the building used for cooking; water has been piped in, casings, windows and doors installed new and the grounds improved."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted development work at Old Mill State Park. The park contains a 25-acre historic district that includes eight structures built by the WPA in 1937, including a suspension bridge and a water tower.

On the east corner of Staunton Avenue and 7th Street in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia (New Deal Era US 21, US 50 and WV 2) is the New Deal Highway Maker. In the same location there are two non-New Deal markers -- The Toll House which was marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1925. This site was also marked with a Old Tollgate House State Historical marker in 1965 for the Old Toll House. The West Virginia historical marker program began in 1934 with the beginning research for the markers with the intention of placing markers around...

Built by the WPA in 1938 and still in use. It is also known as the Karl King Bandshell. "Hired to design the structure was Henry Kamphoefner, a young architect from Sioux City who had won international recognition for a pavilion which was constructed in Sioux City in 1935.  When completed in 1938 the Fort Dodge Bandshell was already considered an excellent example of Modern Movement Architecture.  It is made wholly of reinforced concrete cast in smooth-lined forms. WPA funding took care of 85% of the $45,000 cost, the City of Fort Dodge making up the remainder. The Oleson Park Music...

Although the history of this park is difficult to pin down, researcher Frank da Cruz makes a compelling argument that this is one of many WPA playgrounds built during the New Deal. First, it is located at the North end of Bronx Park, where all the development was done by the WPA. As da Cruz explains, "The timing is right too; the Parks Department says, 'Parks obtained the land for Olinville Playground in conjunction with the construction of the Bronx River Parkway extension in 1938'" - a period in which literally hundreds of municipal parks were developed by the WPA....

In 1934, The Civil Works Administration built a latrine and wading pool on land in the Olmos Creek floodplain. The City Council of San Antonio named the area Franklin Fields in 1940, presumably in honor of President Franklin Roosevelt. The area was to be "fully developed as a natural forest area and to include various fields, all manner of recreation facilities, as well as for the purpose of conservation and the preservation of the natural beauty of this place." The park received additional federal funds for development in July 1940, when the park was designated a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp....

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop Olympic National Park, including constructing the park's headquarters, during the 1930s.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to construct Olympic National Park Headquarters beginning in 1939. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funds for the construction of the Headquarters district, which is now listed to the National Register of Historic Places. HistoryLink.org: "Like national and state parks around the country, the newly created Olympic park relied heavily on the CCC and other Depression-relief agencies of Roosevelt's New Deal for funding and labor. A headquarters was obviously a top priority, and nearly half the $470,000 that the federal Public Works Administration (PWA) allocated to the National Park Service in 1938 for the new park was...

The NYC Parks website explains that the park's name comes from the fact that "Queens’ last one-room schoolhouse occupied this site from the time of its construction in 1879 until its demolition to make room for a public park in 1934." The press release announcing the opening of the playground within the park in December 1935 explained that it, and the other 12 playgrounds opened on the same day, collectively contained: "88 small swings; 72 large swings; 36 seesaws; 14 playhouses; 15 large slides; 11 sand tables; 10 garden swings; 7 small slides; 7 small tables; 6 handball courts; 6 jungle...

The gazebo bandstand and pool in Upper Onondaga Park in Syracuse, New York were renovated by the Works Progress Administration. They remain in use to this day. Further information is needed about the exact time period of the renovation project.

W.P.A. project description: "Blue Hills Headquarters; a 120-foot by 40-foot by 14-foot fieldstone and brick garage with a reinforced concrete slab roof and steel girders and lally columns, was completed at the division's headquarters on Hillside Avenue, Milton." "Operations Yard. This area includes a cluster of utilitarian structures, both historic and non-historic, around a central work area. There are four historic buildings: a maintenance garage, Repair Shop #1, Repair Shop #2, and the Carpenter’s Shop. The first three are constructed of brick and mortar; all have cracked mortar and/or damaged bricks. The fourth building is wood framed and shingled. All were developed...

Originally known as the Roddey Burdine Stadium, the historic former Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida was built with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1936-1937. The structure was demolished in 2008.

The FERA started and the WPA completed the Orangebrook Golf Course (which has since been expanded).  

Orchard Beach is an artificial beach 6,000 feet long on Pelham Bay in Pelham Bay Park on the east side of The Bronx, built by WPA workers under the direction of the New York City Parks Department. It required a major reconfiguration of the shoreline and sand imported from the Atlantic coast.  It included many auxillary improvements, most notably a large bathhouse behind the beach.  Researcher Frank da Cruz sums up New Deal involvement in developing the area based on multiple Parks Department press releases from the 1930s: "Orchard Beach  created by the federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) from a plan developed in...

"Orchard Beach State Park is located on the shore of Lake Michigan, two miles north of the center of Manistee. The park's 211 acres are split by M-110 and it is the portion west of the highway, comprising 57 acres, that is included in this nomination. This section is one-quarter of a mile wide at its widest point, one-half of a mile long and has 3000 feet of shoreline. The park's terrain is gently rolling and sparsely wooded with a steep bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. Many trees and shrubs planted by the CCC are still growing within the park, as...

This former Department of Forestry building was purchased by a private owner to preserve and live in after it was vacated by the DoF in 2011. From the Nugget Newspaper: "County records show that the residence was built in 1938. What is still unclear is who built the building. One former resident had heard that a private construction company from Salem built the structure; not the Civilian Conservation , who built many of the department buildings throughout the state. However, Bill Willitts found the CCC marker cut into the siding of the building in one of the rooms, showing that there was...

From the National Park Service's Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary for Richmond: "The Works Progress Administration built the wide drive and stone retaining walls along Oregon Hill Park in the late 1930s, and the city rebuilt these in 2007 after substantial damage from tropical storm Gaston." The retaining wall at the location below was completely rebuilt using original stones, according to Corman Construction, the contractor on the project: "Due to the park’s historic nature, the existing stone masonry wall had to be meticulously dismantled stone by stone, cleaned, and reinstalled on a new retaining wall, consisting of a cantilevered concrete...

Suffolk County News reported that between 1935 and 1936, the WPA "improved recreational facilities in following State Parks : Sunken Meadow, Heckscher, Wildwood, Orient Point and Hither Hills..."

In 1934, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed exercise equipment on Ocean Front Walk in Santa Monica, CA, immediately south of the Santa Monica Pier. Known today as Original Muscle Beach, the recreation area—which includes ropes, bars, swings, etc.—is considered the "birthplace of the physical fitness boom of the twentieth century." According to the City of Santa Monica's travel and tourism website, "What began as a venue for people in Santa Monica to watch acrobats, gymnasts, wrestlers, and stunt performers practice their fantastical acts for films being shot during the Great Depression (to distract people’s attention from their own financial crises),...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the original theater used to launch the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland OR in 1935, as part of general improvements the WPA was making to Lithia Park at the time. Over the years, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has became a major cultural draw on the West Coast, with several theaters in Ashland and Portland.  It all started in 1935 under drama teacher Angus Bowman of Southern Oregon (Teachers) College in Ashland, who asked the city to let him and his students perform Shakespeare as part of the annual July 4th festival.  Bowman designed a rough copy...

The WPA constructed the clubhouse on this golf course circa 1940 to 1943.

"CCC Company 895 was organized at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and sent to Hosa Lodge, Colorado, on June 17, 1933. The Company moved to Rainbow Lakes (Camp SP-1-C) in Nederland, Colorado on June 30, 1933. On October 1, 1933, the company moved to Lincoln Park (Camp SP-2-0) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On June 6, 1935, at the end of a fund drive, citizens of Bartlesville and Pawhuska had raised enough money to buy the property that would become Osage Hills State Park. Preliminary construction of the Osage Hills CCC camp buildings began on October 4, 1935, by a local team of about...

"The Madrid ballpark, the first lighted ballpark in New Mexico and possibly North America, was built in 1920 by the Employees Club in the old coal mine days. The Grandstand with it's unusual tin roof was added in 1928. Extensive stonework was later added by the WPA in 1935. In a town of 3000 at its height as many as 6000 visitors per event attended ball games, rodeos, multicultural events, and Toyland during the Madrid Christmas celebrations. The Madrid Miners were New Mexico's only AA Minor League Team, and their reputation for winning pennants became widespread. The Madrid Employees Club supplied...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Ostrander Ski Hut in 1941.  The ski hut is a two-story stone structure, in the classic National Park rustic style. It was built  for cross-country skiers, meant to be part of a larger system of winter trails and huts along the Sierra Crest that never were developed. The hut sits in a small glacial cirque at the edge of Ostrander Lake. Very basic overnight accommodations and cooking facilities are available at the hut. It sleeps 25 people and has bunks, mattresses, wood stove, a kitchen with a gas stove for cooking and assorted pots...

Oswald West State Park, known for its quiet, secluded beach and its picturesque trail system, was established in the early days of the Depression. At that time, it was known as Short Sands Beach State Park. A Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp was located within the park from 1939 through 1941. During those years, the CCC enrollees worked primarily on developing the park's trail system. The CCC Camp improved the park property as work on the Neah-kah-nie section of the Coast Highway (Highway 101) underwent construction. Before the nine-mile section of road between Cannon Beach and Manzanita opened, access to Short...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was present in Death Valley National Monument  from 1933 to 1942.  The main CCC camp was at Cow Creek, just north of the park headquarters and visitors center at Furnace Creek.  CCC 'boys' built the basic infrastructure of the new monument, such as grading roads, erecting buildings for park staff and operations, and building campgrounds – activities so large that they are treated on separate pages.  In addition, the CCC worked to develop wells and springs, install water pipes, and string electric and telephone lines to make the park habitable.  Other improvements were an airplane landing strip and...

Otis Park and Golf Course encompasses nearly 150 acres and features a collection of historic limestone structures from the early 20th century. It was acquired by the City of Bedford, Indiana in 1935 as a gift from Fred B. Otis, a Bedford newspaperman. The majority of the construction on the grounds between 1937 and 1941 and was funded with grants from the Works Progress Administration. On of the park's features, a band shell, was planned by Indiana WPA engineers and is the only band shell of its kind in the nation built by WPA.

One of these bridges, featuring round arches with a jagged top, is constructed of flat stones and is covered with asphalt.   The other is a combination stone-concrtete bridge, with an asphalt path. Both were constructed in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

This flat stone structure was constructed in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Flat stone, 2 gable sections, joined by enclosure, constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937.

This gazebo, featuring limestone benches, was completed in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).