Parks and Recreation Sites

Multiple substantial building projects were undertaken on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville during the Great Depression. The federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) was responsible for an enormous amount of that new development at the time. However, the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) contributed as well. The W.P.A. built a new stadium for the fledgling institution. Now known as Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, the venue has served as the home for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks since its opening in 1938. A 1940 W.P.A. document described the need and benefits of the new stadium: Because of the suddenly acquired national fame...

The PWA constructed this gymnasium in a style and native rock façade that echoed existing buildings on the UCMO campus. It is now known as Morrow Hall, and is still actively used for the gymnasium and Physical Education department.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the University of Cincinnati: Student Union Building in Cincinnati OH in Cincinnati OH. The building was fireproof and had central heating. It contained the University Book Store, a lunge, a 700-seat dining hall, and private dining rooms. The project was completed in October of 1937. The construction cost was $564,005 and the total cost was $599,747.

Completed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939, the Mary Rippon Outdoor theater is located on the University of Colorado campus between the Henderson Building (see post on Henderson Building) and the Hellems Art and Sciences Building.  Mary Rippon is believed to be the first female professor at the University of Colorado and the first woman in the United States to teach at a state university. The theater was designed by George Reynolds, a professor of English and one of the founders of the theater department. The theater was officially completed in 1939, but no plays were staged there until 1944.  Because...

"The lava rock Andrews Amphitheatre at the University of Hawai'I (1935) was designed by architect Ralph Fishbourne with Professor Arthur R. Keller serving as the consulting engineer. The University covered the $5,213 cost for materials while the FERA paid for the labor."

The University of Houston's old Industrial Building, now known as the Technology Annex, was constructed with the assistance of the Work Projects Administration, a New Deal agency. Houston, a history and guide: "Most of the heavily wooded campus was made available through donations of the Settegast and Ben Taub estates, of 75 acres and 35 acres respectively. The school board purchased a small tract. On the grounds are 101 varieties of trees and shrubs. This campus in 1941 was being improved by a large-scale landscaping program designed by Hare and Hare of Kansas City, Missouri, in cooperation with the Work Projects...

Taylor Stadium, also known as Rollie Greeno Track and Al Cassel Field, was built in 1934-35 by the CWA: "The stadium was originally named Roosevelt Stadium, but later re-named for Frank B. Taylor, long time Dean of the College and a sports enthusiast. It was a Civilian Works Administration project of the depression years." The stadium was renovated in 1985 and again in 1999.

The UMN Cloquet Forestry Center (CFC) is the primary research and demonstration forest for the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, currently a research and outreach center (ROC) for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences. The Cloquet Forestry Center was called the Cloquet Forest Experiment Station when the CCC was active in providing skilled labor to the University. Projects completed at the CFC by some of the men stationed at Big Lake Camp S79 from July 1933 to June 1937 include: - the construction of five and a half miles of fire break and truck trails. - brushing and improvement of 15...

At the University of Mississippi, "...funds from New Deal agencies were also used for improvements in the university's athletic facilities. The baseball field was graded and enhanced and a new grandstand was added. The golf course was also enlarged and reconstructed, with new grass greens replacing the sand greens" (Sansing, 1999, p. 254).

A project grant of $20,000 supported the construction of an Olympic-sized swimming pool west of the gymnasium in July 1936.

The concrete structure football stadium was begun in 1937 with a capacity for 18,000 (Sansing) or 24,000 (Oxford Campus and University Buildings). The new stadium was proposed as a WPA project in 1936, and completed in 1941. The west side was completed in 1938 (Walton).

"The recreational area known as Lewis Fields at the University of New Hampshire was begun in December of 1933 and finished in September of 1936. It was named for President Edward M. Lewis. The facility was built using funds from the various federal relief agencies set up to help alleviate unemployment during the Great Depression of the 1930's."  (https://www.izaak.unh.edu) Lewis Fields includes "six fields for football, soccer, and lacrosse, four baseball diamonds, a cinder track with a 220-yard straightaway, pits and runways for jumping and vaulting, fourteen composition and six clay tennis courts, concrete bleachers seating 1,750 spectators at baseball games...

This outdoor, one acre, "flow-through" pool was constructed by the WPA in 1937-38 on the UNH campus near the center of town. It has been a popular site ever since. This summer, the university announced plans to close the pool, but there is an ongoing, and growing effort to preserve this historic site.

The Public Works Administration funded the University of Northern Iowa Women's Gymnasium Improvements and Pool Addition in Cedar Falls IA. The building now houses the university's Innovation Teaching and Technology Center. "In August 1935, the Board of Education announced plans for a large remodeling project for the Women's Gymnasium.  The basement would be devoted entirely to dressing rooms.  New floors and fireproof stairs would be installed.  And an addition would be put onto the west side of the building to house a 36 X 90 foot swimming pool, with seating for five hundred spectators.  The pool would be three feet six...

Men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked from 1934 to 1941 on the Arboretum of University of Wisconsin Madison, providing the majority of the labor needed to establish the ecological communities that make up the Arboretum. This was accomplished by excavating and moving land to return farmland to it’s natural condition as well as reintroducing native plants. Between 1900-1920 there were many civic leaders of the fast-growing city of Madison, Wisconsin interested in returning the countryside to it’s natural glory. These leaders recognized the importance of the conservation of open spaces for the citizens of the city. To ensure the...

The Works Progress Administration constructed a university laboratory building in Centennial, Albany County. The camp had been founded near Mullen Creek in 1935 by a CCC camp (possibly F-36). The University of Wyoming later used the facility as a recreation camp. During WWII, the camp was used by the Army and Air Force. The facility has been demolished. The former location of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration built the university Main Hall east wing in Centennial, Albany County. The camp had been founded near Mullen Creek in 1935 by a CCC camp (possibly F-36). The University of Wyoming later used the facility as a recreation camp. During WWII, the camp was used by the Army and Air Force. The facility has been demolished. The former location and condition of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.

W.P.A. project description: "Blue Hills Reservation at Unquity Road and Canton Avenue, Milton; to develop an area of eighteen acres for playground and skating use." The location and status of these facilities is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was active in Jerome, a copper mining town hit hard by the Great Depression.  The WPA hired out-of-work miners for several projects in Jerome and nearby towns, c. 1937-38.  One of those projects is "Upper Park" on the hillside between upper Main Street and Clark Street. The parks consist of two parts.  Along Main Street a spacious, curving bank of stone risers is flanked by stairways and stone walls, with a short pair of central stairs and a metal drinking fountain.  The stairways lead up to a small area with grass and trees, backed by a...

The Union Creek Historic District on the upper Rogue River in Union Creek, Oregon, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places because it is a fine representative of a type of rustic resort popular in the early 20th century and has been little altered since the 1930s.  There are almost one hundred buildings and other facilities in the Union Creek Historic District, almost all of which conform to the Forest Service plans of the 1920s and 30s.  Roughly a third were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1933 to 1942, working out of the Upper...

"The Upper Sandy Guard Station Cabin, built in 1935, is an exceptional expression of a "rugged" Rustic style U.S. Forest Service building constructed by skilled local carpenters and laborers assisted by men employed under one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal work relief programs. Funded by the Emergency Relief Appropriations (ERA) Act of 1935, and cooperating funds from the City of Portland, the cabin was built along the newly constructed Timberline Trail specifically to provide housing for an administrative guard to protect the Bull Run Division watershed, the source of the City of Portland's drinking water supply, from public...

From the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: “This 2660 acre forest offers visitors a natural diversity of flora and fauna accented with historically significant contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The focal point of the forest is located at 205 Westboro Road in Upton, where visitor parking, the main trail head and park information is available. One has the opportunity to survey the grounds and exterior of a number of CCC structures located at this site."

In 1940, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) built the Urho Saari Swim Stadium in El Segundo, CA. It was named after the world famous swimming and water polo coach. Today, the 25-yard pool—known as "the Plunge"—is administered by the El Segundo Recreation and Parks Department. It closed for extensive renovations in 2021 and is expected to re-open in 2025. There are two bas-reliefs at the entrance to the stadium, of a male and female swimmer; it is unknown whether they are New Deal art projects.

The historic stone amphitheater on Old Main Hill at Utah State University in Logan, Utah was constructed in 1934 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the USU Classes of 1925 and 1926. The amphitheater is still in use, but one can see that the original wooden seats have long since been removed, leaving traces of their metal supports.  

The utility area is the principle maintenance station of Rocky Mountain National Park. It is located near the Beaver Meadows entrance at Estes Park CO. It is a large complex of functional buildings, including offices, shops, garages, and storage, centered around a maintenance yard and machine shop (plus a substantial residential area for park employees).  The National Park Service began construction of the area in the 1920s and completed it in the 1930s with the help of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor.   The CCC was present in the park from 1933 to 1942 and...

In Sept. 1941 the New York Times described a playground being constructed by the WPA in Queens at "Utopia Parkway and Seventy-third Avenue." This site, Utopia Playground, is still in use today. New York City's Parks Department writes: "Utopia Playground was opened on January 1, 1942. Parks acquired the majority of the site, which was formerly the home of an old country school, on March 7, 1940. The remaining portion was obtained on January 7, 1941 by condemnation and immediately became part of the original Parks property. In 1943, Local Law 32 gave the playground its current name."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted landscaping work at the now-former VA Hospital, located northeast of the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City. The property, now a luxury condo complex, is now privately owned. Its location has been described as 12th Avenue and E Street; the former VA Hospital building is closest to Capitol Park Ave.

"In 1924 a group of prominent Los Angeles African Americans, led by actor and real estate developer Sidney P. Dones and including Norman O. Houston, Joe and Charlotta Bass, Hattie S. Baldwin among others, bought 1,000 acres in Santa Clarita Valley forty miles north of the city to build a vacation resort for African Americans. These investors, who called their proposed community Eureka Villa, envisioned a resort area of cabins located on half-acre lots, free from the prejudices and restrictions of the city. The resort featured a community house, tennis courts, baseball fields, hiking trails and a nine-hole golf course....

“The CCC built a number of tourist and campground facilities and trails at the new Valley of Fire State Park. They built stone visitor cabins, ramadas for shade, and roads into natural points of interest at the Valley of Fire. From parking areas, several trail systems leading to the blazing red-rock formations and petroglyph sites were also constructed.” --The Civilian Conservation Corps in Nevada The sandstone cabins pictured here were originally built as a shelter for passing travelers and are now part of a picnic area.

The Valley View Golf Course is a municipal course located in Utica's extensive Roscoe Conkling city park.  The course was originally built in the mid-1920s, then redesigned by famed golf architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. with financial aid (and probably workers) from the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  The works appears to have been done in 1939 and the course reopened in 1940.   A 1936 article in Golf Digest notes that: "Utica, N.Y.—Muny course to have WPA $40,000 in improvements and alterations. Robert Trent Jones, Jr., golf architect."  The WPA's role is forgotten on the course's official site, which states that, "The...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) worked to develop and improve the playground at Seattle's Van Asselt School. A photo at the U of Washington shows a field of stumps and clearing efforts with the caption "State of Wash., E.R.A. - K.C.D., Project # 508, Dec. 28, 1933, Neg. No 47; Van Asselt School playfield." The Van Asselt school was built on donated land from the late 19th century from an early settler Henry Van Asselt, Built in 1909 - 1950. Rebuilt in 1950 - 2000. Closed in 2000 and moved to the current school a few blocks south.

Researcher Frank da Cruz explains: "Van Cortlandt Golf Course occupies the center of Van Cortlandt Park. When it opened in 1895, it was the nation's first municipal golf course, and the first one open to the public. Worked on and ultimately heavily modified by the Parks Department using New Deal funding and relief labor, 1936-1941." The golf course was improved with funds from the CWA, TERA, and WPA.

The New Deal Network's website explains that in the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) National Youth Administration (NYA) constructed a foot path in Van Cortlandt Park that divided two picnic areas within the park. The website tells us that the foot path consisted of "...over 13,000 feet of paved path all completed by NYA." The work included pouring "...4 inches of cinder concrete and then, 2 inches of colprovia for the finished surface. Gutters built adjacent to the paths for drainage."

The New Deal Network Website explains that the retaining wall pictured here was constructed in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) National Youth Administration (NYA) in Van Cortlandt Park. The photo's caption notes that "The bridle path is cindered; the complete length, which was constructed entirely by the boys, is 8,000 linear feet." This was one of three retaining walls in the park. The retaining wall shown in the photo encircled the entire area (NDN).

The Van Cortlandt Park Parade Ground is a 43-acre field on the southwest edge of Van Cortlandt Park. Researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that it "was built in 1901 as a training area for the New York National Guard. In the 1930s, Robert Moses, New York City's first citywide parks commissioner, redesigned the Parade Ground as athletic fields. Today it is a large flat area where every conceivable kind of game is played, from Irish football to bocce ball to cricket, not to mention (American) football and soccer (fútbol)." Three baseball fields were opened on the Parade Grounds in May,...

Van Cortlandt Park's Southwest Playground opened in 1939 as part of Van Cortlandt Stadium, a New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. A Department of Parks press release shows that the WPA (the agency involved in almost all Parks work at the time) had also already constructed six handball courts in this corner of the Park by December 1936.

The NY Parks Department website explains: "Constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Van Cortlandt Stadium opened on September 22, 1939. New York City, under the direction of Moses and Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia (1882-1947), was able to secure a great deal of WPA funding. Park construction was one of the many projects undertaken by the WPA, an unprecedented federal program initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) as a component of the New Deal. Mayor La Guardia and Parks Commissioner Moses conducted the opening ceremonies with an exhibition football game between Manhattan College and Fordham University." The 1939 press release...

Van Damme State Park in Mendocino County CA was purchased by the state of California for its newly-established state park system in 1934, after the death of the landowner, Charles Van Damme. As with so many of the original California state parks, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) moved in to develop the site for camping and recreation in the 1930s.  According to Engbeck, CCC Company 572 built a new access road and a water system, expanded the campground by adding tables, stoves, and cupboards, and added a picnic area.  They also built a park staff residence and a community recreation hall,...

The Works Progress Administration built facilities at Van Doren Park in Bird City, Kansas. The park buildings were constructed with stone from Beaver Creek and the Kuhrt Ranch quarry.      

Van Meter State Park was established on land donated by “Miss Annie” Vanmeter in 1932 in memory of her husband, land that had been in the family since 1834. The state park is in the Missouri River valley including both land in the floor of the valley, the “Pinnacles”, and land on top of the bluff. It was populated by the Oneota, prehistoric ancestors of the Missouri Indians. At one time, the village on the bluffs had 5,000 inhabitants. The state park interprets both the landscape and the influence of the Indian inhabitants of the area. The CCC developed the park, including...