Parks and Recreation Sites

According to the Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory, Swan Park "is comprised of a lake, with the dam and sides and small rock islands created by WPA labor out of cut native sandstone." As the name suggests, the park is designed to provide a habitat for swans and other birds.

The website of Williams Architects lists as one of their projects, reconstruction work on a New Deal Project. "Formerly known as the Pottawatomie Pool, the Park District dediciated the new renovation to the Swanson Family in honor of the late Algert S. Swanson who served on the St. Charles Township Park Board when the pool was constructed and his daughter, Carol Swanson Glemza, a long-time Park District employee.The renovation of an existing Works Progress Association (WPA) era pool includes replacement of the existing shallow pool with a new zero depth entry activity pool, restoration of the main pool to provide an...

According to one comment on an article regarding New Deal work in this part of Massachusetts, "In Wrentham the tennis courts in Wm. H. Sweat Park, in the center were built with WPA funds and labor after filling in a small pond and the original spring. The walls along Bank St. for the park along with the masonry walls around the thn Town Offices/Center School lot were also reconstructed at that time."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an athletic complex for the high schools in Butte, Montana, The complex included a football field, quarter mile running track and tennis courts, which can still be seen in the satellite photo. The football field is now called Swede Dahlberg Field, next to West Elementary School (we are unsure if the tennis courts come under that designation). The WPA contributed almost $60,000 in relief labor for the athletic fields. Given the high unemployment in the mining district of Butte, WPA jobs were vital for the survival of workers in the Great Depression.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a swimming pool and bathhouse in Swenson Park in Spur TX. The pool was built between 1935 and 1937 and closed in 2009. A WPA marker in front of the bathhouse reads: "Works Progress Administration  1935-1937."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a swimming pool and a bathhouse at the north side of Parkersburg City Park. The project was completed in June 1936. The Wood County Historical Society published 1937 excerpts from The Parkersburg News periodical, attesting to the work carried out by the WPA in Parkersburg: "The Parkersburg News Feb. 2, 1937 Advance bath house project: Two crews of 30 men working on municipal swimming pool; to be completed Decoration Day The bath house at the municipal swimming pool in City Park is rapidly approaching completion. Installation of showers and other plumbing fixtures, together with construction of dressing booths remain to be...

A municipal swimming pool in Bradford, PA was built in 1939 as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $66,922 grant for the pool construction project in Bradford, whose total cost was $146,095. PWA Docket No. PA 2110

The Works Progress Administration built a public pool in Carbon Hill circa 1937. The exact location and condition of the structure is unknown to the Living New Deal. According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, “The Great Depression hit Carbon Hill particularly hard as the coal mines on which it depended for three-quarters of its employment and income shut down completely. With the monetary aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA), which was supplemented by local sponsors, many Carbon Hill residents found work on projects that improved the town's infrastructure. In addition to street improvements, townspeople helped put in a new...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a swimming pool in Gering, Nebraska. The location and status of the structure are presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The federal Civil Works Administration constructed a municipal swimming pool at Memorial Park in Grove City, Pennsylvania between 1933 and 1934. The status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

This handsome swimming pool facility was built by the WPA from 1936-37.

The swimming pool was Mississippi project 6871 approved on June 20, 1934. A $4,000 loan and a $1, 783 grant was provided by the Public Works Administration toward the estimated total cost of $6,500. The bids were advertised on August 19, the contract was awarded on September 27, and construction started on October 1. The pool was completed on December 13, 1934 for a total cost of $6,995. According to the Enterprise-Tocsin ("Park renovation starts Saturday"), the swimming pool was located at the park on Brookside Avenue.

In December 1936, Mayor R. G. Kryger received word that the city’s proposal for a swimming pool had been approved by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The proposed pool would measure 146 by 60 feet, and would be constructed of concrete. The project would also include a bath house measuring 32 by 68 feet and a filtration system. The WPA had committed $6,225.00 on labor and $1,809.50 on supplies and materials. The city of Neligh would be required to furnish materials and supplies in the amount of $6,275.91. The total cost was anticipated to be $14,510.41. Neligh would have to...

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed a pool in Pearsall, Texas. The entrance to the pool area is marked. Rock wall, rock decorations at edge of pool, and rock wall on one side of pool filtering equipment. The pool is located behind the Pearsall Junior High.

The 285,000 gallon concrete pool was started August 25, 1936 and completed a year later. It was officially dedicated in 1938. Total cost of construction for the pool, walkways, rock house for living quarters for the caretakers, showers, concession room, filtration plan, and smaller rock clubhouse for the golf course was $36,000, of which the city funded $5,000.

The Works Progress Administration built a Public Swimming Pool in Tempe at the "municipal park"—possibly what is now the Papago Park complex. Project # 126, circa 1936. The exact location and condition of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.

"The Villisca Swimming Pool was built in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration, (WPA), which was a government program that found work for those unemployed by the Great Depression. This was at a cost of approximately $40,000."   (https://www.villisca.com) The WPA also built an athletic field as part of the same project, which is probably the field still next to the pool today.

Per the Odessa American, 1939, the Public Works Administration (PWA) supported the financing of the construction of the former public swimming pool in McCamey, Texas: The new swimming pool at McCamey opened June 2, 1939. The new $50,000 swimming pool was built by Upton County as a PWA project. The new pool, recently completed, is one of the finest of its kind in this section of the state. It Is modern in every detail, and is now open to the public free of charge. It is equipped with the latest filtration system that will assure swimmers of pure water at all...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) and Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed a swimming pool for Ashland, starting in 1935. The pool was built along what was then municipal land along Granite Street, which no longer exists. A late-1800s map of the town suggests that the pool might have been located either along what is now Raymond Marcheti St. or at the approximate location of what is now David Mindess School. WPA Bulletin, 1937: Water, water everywhere but not a place to swim ... a paradoxical predicament provoking to Ashland residents will be solved next season when the Ashland WPA Swimming Pool...

This former swimming pool was built in 1938 for the cost of $2,000 and at this time is filled in with rock and is a playground. The original pool buildings, however, still appear to be standing with the classic art deco font saying "Swim Pool." The pool was in operation at least until 1965 when severe problems with leakage was reported, but may well have been used until 1976 when a new pool was built.

"The Mt. Lebanon swimming pool was built in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration project. In the 1970s, it underwent renovation." The exact location of the pool is unknown to Living New Deal.

The original municipal swimming pool at the city park in Tipton, Indiana was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The facility has since been replaced.

The city swimming pool in Macon was designed by Irwin Dunbar from Kirksville, MO.  It is still in use with the original wooden bathhouse.  Note the inverted u-shaped concrete elevations in the center of the pool for diving.  At one time, it was considered the largest pool in the state.

The pool and bathhouse were built in 1939 under the auspices of the federal Public Works Administration. Full restoration was carried out by the community from 1999 to 2007 at a cost of $265,000.

A new swimming pool and municipal park were built in 1934 using Civil Works Administration funds. The school playground was furnished, athletic field improved with grading and concrete seats, teacher's home renovated, and repairs made to the high school. Dedication ceremonies were held May 4, 1934.

"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...

The swimming pool in Kansas City's Swope Park was built in 1941-1942 as a Work Projects Administration (WPA) project, "sponsored by the City of Kansas City. James D. Marshall and M. Dwight Brown, architects and engineers, developed the plans for the pools and the building. Hare and Hare, landscape architects, designed the landscaping. The pool opened on July 30, 1942. Closed in 2003 for renovations, the pool reopened in 2004."

"The site contains two historic buildings: a forest ranger residence and a small barn with corral. Both buildings sit adjacent to the perennially flowing Sycamore Creek in an open forest of piñon pine and juniper and shaded by large sycamore trees along the creek. The buildings were constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees between 1940 and 1941. The cabin contains original CCC-constructed furniture. Recently restored, the cabin is now part of the Forest Service rental program, "Rooms with a View" and is available to the public for daily rental."

An Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners described early New Deal work in the park: "This is one of the most important parks in Los Angeles to picnickers. Practically all State Societies and other large groups hold their picnics here as there are ample facilities in the way of accommodating crowds, speaker platforms, and a public address system. In the Arroyo, east of the park, 15,840 lineal feet of new roads were constructed, with the help of Reconstruction Finance corporation and County Welfare workmen, which caused the removal of 73,500 cubic yards of dirt. Rip-rap...

Sycamore Park received extensive improvements with assistance from the WPA and the NYA. Pictured here is a WPA shelter and drinking fountain built in 1935-36. The structures were designed by Hare & Hare of Kanas City, Missouri. The Fort Worth Park Department's 1937-38 Annual Report details later New Deal improvements to the park: "Through an agreement with the Board of Education, an area in the southeast section of this park was set aside for an amphitheater which is now under construction by the WPA. This will not only be an addition to the park facilities but will be an additional feature to...

Sycamore Pool is a large, beautiful, outdoor swimming facility built on Big Chico Creek at the One-Mile Recreation Area of Bidwell Park in Chico California.  Hence, the pool is also known as One-Mile Pool. he creek was dammed by the city in the 1920s, but the pool was cemented and finished out by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s, as part of several WPA improvements to Bidwell Park.   There are tile depth markers every six feet or so along the pool's edge. The lifeguard chairs look original, but that is uncertain. A bridge across the dam was built later using state Land & Water...

"The Sylvan Lake Hotel, erected for the Custer State Park Board, is located about 37 miles southwest of Rapid City on the shore of a beautiful lake, surrounded by rugged hills and woods. The building contains 29 guest rooms, a large lounge, dining room, and kitchen. The lounge is the equivalent of 2 stories in height with wood walls of random width knotty-pine boards, exposed wood roof trusses, a wood ceiling, and a random width oak-plank floor. The construction is a combination of native-stone walls and wood frame. The project was completed in September...

The old "Beverage Garden" is part of the Jefferson Barracks Historic Site in Sylvan Springs Park. It was constructed by the CCC in 1939. It consists of a sunken patio with a stream running through it and surrounded by decorative walls of stone in a classic CCC type construction. There is a plaque in the wall on the east side of the gardens. It served as a “beer garden” in the run-up to and during WW2, being immediately adjacent to Jefferson Barracks. It is no longer in use, however much of the stonework remains.

“Built in a public park in 1931, the Sylvan Theater Historic District reflects a movement that took place throughout the United States in the 1930s. It was a movement to expand the facilities of parks beyond the passive enjoyment of natural and cultivated landscape, and playground and sports activities, to include facilities for pageants, drama, music, and other cultural interests. The outdoor theater was the natural solution to providing such facilities to all citizens at a minimum cost, and many, like the Sylvan Theater in Des Moines, were built in this period. In Des Moines, as elsewhere, its outdoor theater...

WPA Bulletin, 1937: "On a misty, dismal day last April, a WPA crew started work on the wild and undeveloped 70-acre Bemis tract of land in the rear of the Chicopee High School, which is being converted into the city's first public recreational field. Today the physical change of a large part of the land is decidedly noticeable. Here workmen have graded, leveled and filled this area into a huge flat field which will contain a football and baseball field, a running track, eight tennis courts, three basketball courts, a field house and service building, a grandstand and a parking...

"T.O. Fuller State Park is a state park in the city of Memphis in West Tennessee. It consists of 1,138 acres (4.6 km²) of mostly forest located in South Memphis on Mitchell Road. It is the only state park within the city limits and is one of the few locations within the city suitable for wildlife. The park is named in honor of Dr. Thomas O. Fuller, who spent his life empowering and educating African Americans. The park facilities were originally built for the use of African Americans in the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was the second...

The Waymarking site for this park celebrates Federal Works Progress Administration's (WPA) 1939 construction/ rock work in this city park. It says: "This park is located on rolling land, which shows off beautifully the WPA structures. An Historical Society write-up shows the park being built in 1936, however, a bronze shield on the bathhouse shows 1939...." According to the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Survey, "WPA work within Wewoka Park includes a stone wall that completely encircles the park, a swimming pool and bathhouse, native stone footbridges, a stone bandstand, and a park office." It goes on to point out that Wewoka Park exemplifies...

This park in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn was built by the Department of Parks in 1934. The press release announcing its opening described the facilities as including "a general girls' play field a boys' play field, a wading pool, basketball court, and an area for outdoor playground apparatus. Handball courts are also provided for boys. A brick recreation building with toilet facilities and indoor playrooms is being constructed.” The NYC Parks site also says that several Pin oaks were planted "in the hope that they might provide much needed areas of shade in the future." Although these sources do not...

"Table Rock State Park is a 3,083-acre (12.48 km2) park at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Pickens County, South Carolina. The park includes Pinnacle Mountain, the tallest mountain totally within the state. The park features a lodge restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that includes a kitchen and a 72-seat dining room. There are two park lakes with seasonal swimming permitted and hiking trails that lead to the Pinnacle Mountain Summit (two routes), Mill Creek Falls, and the summit of Table Rock. A nature center offers educational programs, and there are picnic shelters and a playground. The 1.9-mile...

Constructed in 1935-37 with WPA labor, the 26,500-seat stadium came as part of a massive New Deal project to expand New Orleans’s City Park. Richard Koch, an architect on the park board and the architectural firm of Weiss, Dreyfous and Seifert, designed the stadium. The architectural firm had reached national exposure after Governor P. Huey Long selected it in 1934 to design the new Art Deco State Capitol in Baton Rouge. Built of poured reinforced concrete, the stadium’s upper seating rests on a series of stout columns arranged in an oval, allowing for curved seating. The space between the terrace seating and...