The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) each worked to develop the Washoe Country Club in Reno, Nevada. The historic golf course is still in use today. Work began in May 1935 (by the FERA)… read more
The Watauga County Courthouse complex in Boone, North Carolina “includes a Works Projects Administration funded building as part of its annex.” The striking stone building “was completed in 1939 and housed the Watauga County Library from 1946 through 1997.” The… read more
Construction for Watauga State Park began in 1939 with the CCC arrival to survey, clear land, and begin dam construction and other facilities (Van West, 2001). Kingsport Times (Sept. 18, 1939) indicated the name Watauga was rejected due to so… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted work to improve the Watchung Reservation as part of a massive collection of New Deal improvements to the Union County Parks System.
An inventive Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollee came up with the idea of making a glacial boulder into a drinking fountain by drilling a hole through the boulder and piping in water from a nearby creek. The Water-In-A-Rock fountain is… read more
Relief workers from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped carve out and construct the Waterside Theatre at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island. The theater has undergone renovations and changes over the years… read more
In 1942, the Washington Post reported the allocation of $11,382 to the Federal Works Agency (FWA) for new construction and/or improvements to the Buchanan Recreation Center, adjacent to the Buchanan School in the city’s southeast quadrant. The Buchanan school is… read more
“From 1935 until 1941, young men at the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp SP44 in Watkins Glen State Park built park buildings, trails, stonework, bridges, and many other projects.” The buildings of the CCC camp now serve as the Hidden Valley… read more
“The Sentry Bridge dates back to the 1930s and was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The bridge is located at Watkins Glen State Park near the main entrance to the Gorge Trail …”
“The largest of West Virginia’s state parks, at 10,100 acres, Watoga is also among the oldest, dating back to the first land acquisitions by the West Virginia Game and Fish Commission in the 1920s. The park is located in southern… read more
The 3.3-acre Watson Gleason Playground, located in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx, was constructed with WPA labor. New York City’s Parks Department writes: “In 1938 the City of New York acquired the entire block bounded by Watson, Noble, Gleason,… read more
Town Report, 1938: National Youth Administration An average of 35 young people from needy families have been given part time employment by this branch of the W.P.A., on various worthy and useful projects. The boys have improved the land at… read more
The Wawona Covered Bridge is one of only 12 covered bridges in California and the only one in Yosemite. It was originally built by Galen Clark as a modified queen post truss without a cover in 1868, making it the oldest… read more
The New Deal made possible the construction of a ranger station in the Wawona area, which was added to Yosemite National Park in 1932. The present complex includes a ranger station and an interpretation office, as well as two ranger residences,… read more
The New Deal made possible the construction of a ranger station in the Wawona area, which was added to Yosemite National Park in 1932. The ranger station complex includes two ranger residences and accompanying garages. These buildings still exist, but are… read more
New Deal agencies played a major role in the transformation of the narrow and dangerous Wawona wagon trail into a safe and comfortable route into Yosemite Valley. The route from the South Entrance to the Valley floor is 27 miles…. read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) amphitheater was built ca. 1935-36. A 1985 National Register nomination form for Creek County described the site: “This amphitheater is a two-story, rectangular (35′ x 25′) structure constructed of cut, coursed, and rusticated native stone… read more
This Works Progress Administration (WPA) amphitheater was built ca. 1935-36. A 1985 National Register nomination form for Creek County described the site: “This amphitheater is a two-story, rectangular (35′ x 25′) structure constructed of cut, coursed, and rusticated native stone… read more
This small Brooklyn playground was opened by the Department of Parks in December 1935. The press release announcing the opening explained that it, and the other 12 playgrounds opened on the same day, collectively contained: “88 small swings; 72 large… read more
This gymnasium was a PWA project (docket #1052-D), labeled as a high school but now part of the Weiser Middle School campus.
The Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) supported the construction of welfare housing in Houlton ME between 1933 and 1935. Excerpts from the Annual Town Reports, Houlton Maine: 1933 Partial… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps built facilities at the Wellington State Beach. The work included several structures, picnic facilities, and the landscaping of the beach. Brief history of the park, from NH State Parks: “One dollar; what will it buy today? In… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed Festival Hall, an auditorium, at the Wells County Fairgrounds, located at the southeast corner of North Dakota Highway 15 and U.S. Highway 52. “Also constructed during the depression years was Festival Hall (1938)…. read more
According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, “Some of the park development and most of the road systems are attributed to Civilian Conservation Corps activities in the 1930s.”
An inventory of WPA project photographs compiled by Becky Jordan at Iowa State University includes reference to numerous public works projects undertaken by the agency in Iowa between 1935 and 1940. The collection of 1,271 photographs documents the variety and… read more
One of architect Clarence “Cap” Wigington’s distinctive St. Paul structures, the West Minnehaha Recreation Center was built between 1937 and 1938 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Wigington was the first black municipal architect in the country, and many of… read more
The W.P.A. was responsible for construction of the band shell at West Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
West Potomac Park lies just below the National Mall and encircles the Tidal Basin. It is the site of many national landmarks, including the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, George Mason Memorial, and Martin Luther… read more
WPA workers completed several improvement projects at West Queen Anne Playfield between 1936 and 1939. The largest of these projects was the construction of a combination shelter house, grandstand, and baseball backstop near the intersection of West Blaine Street and… read more
W.P.A. project description: “West Roxbury Parkway; all the rough work involved in the construction of a road and parking space at the top of Bellevue Hill has been completed. The finished surfacing (bituminous) will be done in the spring of… read more
WPA Official Project No. 65-97-60 allocated $2,267,810 for “repair and reconstruction of the waterfront between 23 and 34 Streets” in the west side of Manhattan along the Hudson River. Another document referred to the project as “modernizing” the area. Much… read more
Then known as West Texas State Teachers College, the campus of what is now West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) was greatly impacted by the New Deal. Notably, multiple sizable construction projects were accomplished with the aid of Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds…. read more
Westenfield Corporation initially developed Westenfield Park in 1932, and the City of Austin operated the swimming pool that year. The City of Austin acquired the park in 1937. The Austin Recreation Department worked with the National Youth Administration in the… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a grandstand at the Uintah County fairgrounds, now known as the Uintah County Western Park. We do not know the year of construction. A report on historic sites in and around Vernal, Utah, says… read more
Westfall Station was a former Sierra National Forest station that housed “Type III wildland fire engines that are typically staffed with five to seven firefighters. Our specialized engines carry equipment to spray water and foam and are equipped to respond… read more
In 1935, the City of Portland Bureau of Planning approved the development of a city park to serve the Westmoreland neighborhood, which had rapidly developed during the previous twenty years without the benefit of any park or playground facilities. The… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve what was known as the “Merchantville borough park” in Merchantville, New Jersey ca. 1936. The park in question is most likely what is known as Westwood Park.
The Works Progress Administration built a bridge and walls in Whatcom Falls Park, in the vicinity of Bellingham. The bridge is in good condition and is located 100 yards from the park entrance.
The federal Works Progress Administration constructed a fieldhouse at what is now Wheeler Athletic Complex, in (West) Duluth, Minnesota.
“A Public Works Administration grant of $42,545 was allocated for a pool at Wheeling Park to replace the obsolete facility that dated to the early 1900s. The grant was matched locally by a gift of $52,000 from businessman W.E. Stone…. read more