In 1934, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) furnished the cost of labor for the construction of a playground behind Center School in Hatfield, Massachusetts. The 35-man project cost the Town of Hatfield only the price of materials for the… read more
Central Park was originally established in the 1860s, but New Deal workers carried out massive improvements to the park from 1934 to 1938. In addition to the many specific projects listed by name, there were any number of improvements done with… read more
On May 4, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the opening of “three new perimeter playgrounds for children of pre-school age” in Central Park. One, at 68th St. and Central Park West, appears to be what is now known as… read more
After the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was launched in April 1935 (renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939), it quickly became the main source of relief funds and labor for the NYC Parks Department. Heckscher Playground in Central Park was… read more
On May 4, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the opening of “three new perimeter playgrounds for children of pre-school age” in Central Park. One, at 77th St. and 5th Ave., is now called the James Michael Levin Playground. Although… read more
A June 1936 press release from the Department of Parks announced the opening of four new playgrounds along Central Park West at 81st, 84th, 96th and 100th Streets. This playground at 84th St. is now known as Mariners’ Playground. It… read more
On May 4, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the opening of “three new perimeter playgrounds for children of pre-school age” in Central Park. One, at 100th St. and 5th Ave., is now called the Robert Bendheim Playground. Although the… read more
A June 1936 press release from the Department of Parks announced the opening of four new playgrounds along Central Park West at 81st, 84th, 96th and 100th Streets. This playground at 96th St. is now known as the Rudin Family… read more
The history of Rumsey Playfield, the site of the City’s popular SummerStage festival and other performances, is closely tied to the WPA. In 1864, a building was constructed on this site first as the Ladies Refreshment Saloon and soon became… read more
A June 1936 press release from the Department of Parks announced the opening of four new playgrounds along Central Park West at 81st, 84th, 96th and 100th Streets. This playground at 100th St. is now known as the Tarr Family… read more
Charles R. Adams Park is a 32-acre public city park located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. The park is surrounded by the neighborhood of Cascade Heights. Construction of the park began in the mid-1930s, and the dedication ceremony took place in… read more
On June 25, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the completion of a reconstructed area at this neighborhood park in Chelsea, explaining: “…the reconstructed area will have a large play area with one ball field, handball courts, complete play equipment… read more
This small park near the waterfront in Chelsea was first acquired by the NYC Parks Department in 1915. In 1923, the park was named in honor of Thomas F. Smith, a Chelsea native turned successful politician. It was further transformed… read more
Today’s NYC Parks website explains that: “The land now occupied by Cherry Clinton Playground was owned by the Board of Education through the first few decades of the 20th century, and was used as the Seventh Ward Athletic Field until… read more
In 1936, the Washington Post reported that improvement work was going forward at several city playgrounds, the Chevy Chase Recreation Center playground among them. This would have been part of a major New Deal park renovation effort across the district…. read more
The Seattle Park Department acquired the land for Colman Playground in 1910, shortly after the opening of nearby Colman School. A regrading project in the early 1910s made the site suitable for picnics and baseball, but otherwise the Park Department… read more
Columbus Park, located in Manhattan’s Chinatown, was one of the city’s earliest major parks. By the early 1930s, it was quite rundown. New Deal programs greatly remodeled and upgraded the park and its facilities. In October 1934, the Department of… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed three tennis courts at what was known as Cookerow Park / playground in Boonton, New Jersey. The exact location or status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
Corlears Hook Park is located on the Lower East Side across FDR Drive from the East River. The park was completed in 1905. In 1934, the Department of Parks announced the opening of a new playground in the park constructed… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began improvements at Bellingham WA’s Cornwall Memorial Park in 1937. The WPA also allocated $29,000 for the construction of a state-of-the-art bowling green at the site. This was in addition to earlier improvements, which included… read more
NYC Parks recounts: “The land that is now Corona Golf Playground was previously a strip of wasteland, known as the Corona Ash Dumps. In his classic novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald described the area as ‘a valley of… read more
Tennis court and playground construction along 15th Street beginning with cliff shoring, earth-moving work atop Corona Heights (once called Red Rock Hill), photographed on Jan 21, 1937. The flattened areas just north of the hill’s summit rock outcrop and high… read more
This small playground in East Harlem was named after “New York City’s first African American Deputy Commissioner of Cultural Affairs.” NYC Parks explains that the City acquired this land in 1936. In June 1937, Parks announced the completion of a… read more
This playground is named for the first African American to be killed in the American War of Independence. It opened on October 28, 1934, along with two other playgrounds, one in Manhattan and one in the Bronx. The press release… read more
A June 1936 press release announced the opening of a new playground at this site in Crocheron Park with “a large central grass panel surrounded by play apparatus for small children.” NYC Parks confirms that this playground was built on… read more
The park existed before the Depression, but was completely rebuilt in 1934-41 by the WPA: “As ice skating grew popular in the Bronx around the turn of the century, Parks paved the perimeter of Indian Pond and installed a warming… read more
NYC Parks explains: “O’Connell Playground opened on July 15, 1934, and is one of nine playgrounds that were built by Parks through the War Memorial Fund. The Fund was established in 1921 with $250,000 collected by the Police Department. In… read more
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed an athletic field at the former Danvers Agricultural School in Danvers, Massachusetts. From a W.P.A. Bulletin: Students, townspeople, and particularly young children will be benefited on completion of a six acre WPA Athletic Field… read more
This park was first established in 1901. In October 1941, the WPA and the Department of Parks completed the reconstruction of the park: “The old pavilion and comfort station was demolished and replaced by a modern brick building. The play… read more
Now known as Decatur Playground, this playground adjacent to Public School 35 opened in September 1942. It is jointly operated by Parks and the Board of Education. A press release announced the completion of the playground: “The playground, approximately 200… read more
“When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used landscape and park projects to provide relief and hope for America. The second great period of park building occurred during this ten year period when the CWA and… read more
Formerly known as Liberty Park, this site was acquired by the City in late 1936. In July 1937, Parks announced that “the new playground…is the first section of a large recreational area which is being constructed to be completed. It… read more
On October 1937, Parks announced the opening of a new playground in what later became known as Dome Playground: “At Dahill Road and 38th Street, also in Brooklyn, the new playground, the wading pool section of which was opened some… read more
The Downing Street Playground was built circa 1935 with the help of the New Deal. The agency involved in funding or completing the work is unknown to the Living New Deal. During his tenure as Parks Commissioner, Robert Moses used… read more
Now a part of the much larger Calvert Vaux Park (also still referred to as Dreier-Offerman Park), this smaller playground at Cropsey Ave. and Bay 46th St. was constructed by the Department of Parks in 1934. Mayor La Guardia attended… read more
This playground on the edge of Forest Park in Queens is named after Glendale’s original name: Dry Harbor. The NYC Parks site explains that it was “constructed in 1934 with swings, see-saws, a wavy slide, a flagpole, and a schoolyard… read more
Dunbar Playground is named after African American poet Paul Dunbar. It was opened by the New York Department of Parks on September 23, 1935. The department press release stated that the playground would be “equipped with a wading pool, shuffle… read more
Although Duniway Park was founded in 1918 to serve residents in south Portland, improvements had been limited and those who used it complained of the odors associated with the landfill that originally established the playground area. In 1934, the Oregon’s… read more
Dyker Beach Park, located just south of the Dyker Beach Golf Course and north of the Belt Parkway was assembled in eight stages between 1895 and 1934. In 1942, the WPA and the Department of Parks completed extensive work on… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed East Newark’s first playground. The 50′-by-100′ facility opened July 13, 1936. Located on Searing Avenue between Passaic and Grant Avenues, the playground is no longer extant.