Playgrounds Sites

The seven-acre Montclair Park in Oakland was built with the aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938-40.  This gem of a park lies just north of Montclair Village in the Oakland hills and below Montclair Elementary School.   The park features a picnic area, children's playground and a play area under a group of large trees, as well as a large lawn area for general play.  The park also includes a recreation center, duck pond, baseball field, tennis courts and extensive rock walls and stairs.   The City of Oakland Recreation Department put in $90,000 for the park and recreation...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration funded improvements at the Montrose Park Playground in Washington DC between, 1934-1935. The work consisted of “egraded basketball and volley ball courts.”  

Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped develop Morganfield Legion Park in Morganfield, Kentucky.  The WPA relief workers built a recreation hall (known locally as the "Legion Hut"); a pool and pool house; tennis courts; playgrounds; and a football stadium and field (for Morganfield High School).  These were built in 1936. The city of Morganfield, the local American Legion, and the public school district all sponsored the project.  We do not know when the park was originally set aside or what, if any, improvements had been made before the WPA arrived. Much of the WPA work at the park is still in place. The...

The playground in Morningside Park located at Morningside Avenue, between W 113th and 114th Streets, was one of seven Works Progress Administration (WPA) playgrounds opened in New York City on November 22, 1935.

On September 29, 1941, the Parks Department announced the completion of a reconstructed playground in the northeast corner of Morningside Park: "Two bench-lined tree shaded malls extend along the entire north and east sides of the playground connecting the park entrances with the resurfaced park walks. Sloping ground necessitated the construction of the various subdivisions on different levels retained by high curbs and interconnected by short stairways. The following equipment is provided: Brick comfort station 2 handball courts Wading pool 3 shuffleboard courts 3 basketball courts with removable backstops Pipe frame exercise unit Swings 2 slides Kindergarten Apparatus Area: 2 irrigated sand pits and sitting areas Swings 3 slides 8 seesaws The balance of the work...

Mother Waldron Playground is an urban playground that is bounded by Halekauwila, Cooke, Pohukaina, and Coral streets. It was constructed in 1937 on a 1.76-acre (77,000-square feet) site in the Kakaako district of Honolulu, Hawaii. Built elements within the park include a comfort station and remaining portions of a low wall that encompassed the original park. The built components contain design elements of the Art Moderne and Art Deco styles, including an emphasis on horizontality, rounded corners and piers, and streamlined appearance. WPA labor was used to construct the park and concrete bricks were the chosen material. Mother Waldron Playground...

On May 26, 1939, the Department of Parks announced the official opening of the new Mount Prospect Park behind the Brooklyn Public Library: "At Mount Prospect Park, the exercises will start at 12:00 Noon and besides Commissioner Moses and the Mayor, Honorable Joseph Goodman, Commissioner of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, and Honorable Raymond V. Ingersoll, President of the Borough of Brooklyn will speak. This area, formerly the site of the old Mount Prospect Reservoir and bordered by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Science and the new Brooklyn Central Library, has been completely...

Although the golf course is no longer being maintained or used, the fairways and recently constructed cart paths remain. It was part of a larger WPA project that included development of the municipal park and swimming pool construction. The park remains and is in use with shelters, playgrounds, though the swimming pool is no longer present. The site is now known as the Sikeston Recreation Complex.

This land was first developed as a playground in 1903 and has been known by several names over the years, including the John J. Murphy Playground and Murphy Park, and now, according to NYC Parks, the Murphy's Brother's Playground. In June 1941, Parks announced the completion of improvements to the park: "This improvement included the demolition and removal of the old wooden pavilion and comfort station and the complete redesign of an outmoded facility, to which a small area has been added because of the alignment of the new East River Drive. Situated in an intensively developed neighborhood, adjacent to the East...

In Sept. 1941 the New York Times described a playground being constructed by the WPA in Queens at "Forty-Fifth Avenue and Twenty-first Street." This site, Murray Playground, is still in use today. New York City's Parks Department writes: "The City of New York acquired the land that constitutes Murray Playground in four parts by purchase and condemnation between 1941 and 1945. The park stretches from 11th to 21st Street, and is bounded by 45th Avenue and 45th Road." A 1942 Department of Parks press release announcing the park's opening describes the work done by the WPA: "A wide mall, lined with benches and...

In 1936, the Washington Post reported that Works Progress Administration (WPA)  crews had done work on the New York Avenue Playground.  This would have been part of a  nearly $1 million WPA program of park and playground improvements in 1935-36. It is unclear whether the existing field house dates to this period, but it shares a general form with other New Deal playgrounds in the area. In 2012, the playground and recreation center were renovated.

NYC Parks describes the origins of this playground in Queens: "This public space was acquired by the City of New York by consolidation on January 1, 1898, and transferred to the Department of Parks in 1917. It was not developed as a playground until 1934-35. The playground opened on August 9, 1935 with slides, swings, sandbox, seesaws, benches, comfort station, tool house, and cherry and hawthorn trees." On April 3, 1937, the Department of Parks announced the further completion at this site of "a new recreation building of brick construction," containing "a boys and girls' comfort station, a mother's room and...

From NYC Parks: "In 1918, the War Memorial Fund was established to create a $1 million Memorial Arch to commemorate those killed in World War I. The organizers were forced to adjust their plans when they were only able to raise $210,000, and by 1922 the project was scrapped and the money was turned over to the City. The fund earned interest, growing to nearly $340,000 by 1934. Parks Commissioner Robert Moses (1888–1981), wishing to construct playspaces for children, convinced the remaining members of the War Memorial Committee to allow the funds to be used for playgrounds. Parks received the War Memorial...

A Department of Parks press release from December 4, 1939 describes the completion of WPA work on Noble Playground, along with three other playgrounds: "At East 177th Street and Noble Avenue the 3.6 acre area contains a children's playground and a separate regulation baseball diamond with concrete bleachers accommodating 150 spectators. The children's area is divided into two parts separated by a high, natural rock outcrop. One part contains a children's playground with combination wading pool and volley ball court, kindergarten apparatus, a large shaded sandpit, slides, swings, jungle gym and a brick comfort station. The other part is paved and...

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...

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....

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...

Acquired by the City of Portland in 1930, the ten-acre Overlook Park required improvements during the Depression years if it were to serve adequately the north Portland Overlook neighborhood, which had reached full development during the 1920s real estate boom. The site sits in a ravine and on  a former garbage dump; additional fill was added over several years to level the area. By 1937, the process of settling was complete and the park was prepared for more extensive development. In 1938, Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers undertook the largest and most significant part of the park plan – the Shelter...

Overlook Park sits on a bluff above the east bank of the Willamette River in the north Portland Overlook neighborhood. Recognizing the demand for recreational opportunities in a neighborhood built-out during the 1920s, the City of Portland acquired land for the park in 1930. Developing the park during the Depression Era, however, placed two pressures on this as well as other neighborhood parks – increased demand for affordable activities and a decrease in city funds for the development. Progress in attaining the improvements identified in the Overlook Park general plan depended on relief funding. In addition to landscaping, playground equipment, a...

A March 27, 1936 Department of Parks press release announced the opening of this new WPA playground: "The Department of Parks will open ten new playgrounds Saturday, March 28, making a total of 125 added to the recreational system in two years. …at Owl's Head Park there will be a wading pool, an area for group games, four slides, six kindergarten slides, kindergarten swings, large swings, see-saws, a jungle gym and a baby jungle gym… All of these playgrounds were constructed as Works Progress Administration projects." Today, the NYC Parks website declares that "Owl's Head Park is now one of the premier parks in...

In 1942, the Lanham Act allocated 7 acres and funding for the Federal Works Agency (FWA) to construct sports facilities at Oxon Run at Mississippi Avenue between 4th and 6th Streets, SE.   It is unknown is the Oxon Run pool dates from this period and if any remnants of the New Deal work remain at the site. The playground preceded what is now Oxon Run Park, a 300 acre area created in 1971 and still a major recreation area today, with bicycle paths, jogging paths, and a baseball diamond.

Palisades Playground and Park was developed by New Deal agencies in the mid-1930s. The field house was built with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1936. That same year, the Washington Post reported that Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers had been hired by the District for rehabilitation and improvement of the park. In addition, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) also did work on Palisades Playground, according tothe Historic American Buildings Survey of CCC activity around Washington.  Palisades Playground and Park contains tennis courts, a soccer field, basketball court, skate spot, baseball field, and play areas, plus a notable field house on the...

Pangborn Park was one of 8,000 parks built, repaired, or improved by the WPA. Today, visitors to Pangborn Park can enjoy tennis courts, a horseshoe court, an athletic field, a picnic shelter, a children’s playground, and an artificial pond.

In 1936, the Washington Post reported that Works Progress Administration (WPA) crews had done work on the Park View playground. This would have been part of a  nearly $1 million WPA program of park and playground improvements in 1935-36. The playground had been built in 1932 using district unemployment funds, prior to the New Deal but in the same spirit.  The attached photo dates from its original construction, not the WPA work.

According to the NYC Parks website: "The site of this ballfield was acquired by the City of New York for the construction of the Independent Subway whose line curves from the Avenue of the Americas to West Houston Street. In May 1934 the Board of Transportation granted the Department of Parks a permit to develop for playground purposes four parcels on West Houston Street. The park at the northeast corner of West Houston Street and the Avenue of the Americas was one of thirty-eight new playgrounds added to the Park system in the first four months of Robert Moses’s twenty-six...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) funded improvements at the Payne Playground in Washington DC between 1934 and 1935. The work consisted of the following improvements: “Removed old shelter and wrecked it; replaced with shelter moved from Lincoln; remodeled, repaired, and painted.”

Pelham Bay Park, the largest in the city of New York (three times the size of Central Park), sits on Pelham Bay in the northeast corner of The Bronx. It was established in 1888, when The Bronx was still separate from New York City. The park was greatly improved by Robert Moses and the NY City Parks Department, with the help of federal New Deal funds and workers from the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA). On November 10, 1941, the New York City Department of Parks announced the completion of the massive overhaul of the 60-acre Isaac L. Rice Memorial...

"Peoples Park on Brook Avenue and East 141st Street in the Bronx, June 22, 2015. The New York City Parks Department press release for July 27, 1934, announces the opening of fourteen playgrounds on August 11, including: PLAYGROUND at 141st STREET between BROOKand ST. ANN'S AVENUES, 587 ft. x 175 ft. Facilities: Recreation building, wading pool, handball and basketball courts and playground and gymnasium apparatus.and goes on to say that the 'labor and materials for the construction of these additional playground areas are being supplied thru Work Relief funds.'"  (https://kermitproject.org)

An August 1935 Parks Department press release lists the site now known as Peretz Square as one of seventy-three play areas developed in the preceding year with "city, state and federal relief funds." The release describes this park as having play areas designed for mothers and infants and older children. The site was acquired by the Parks Department in May 1934. Although the press release does not identify which federal agencies were involved, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that New Deal park projects developed before August 1935 would have been financed by one or more agencies including the CWA, FERA, the...

The property for this playground and the adjacent school (P.S. 108 also known as the Peter Minuit School) were both acquired in 1941. The Board of Education cleared old buildings and constructed the school on the West half of the block, while Parks and the WPA cleared the East half of the block and constructed a playground on the site. In October 1942, Parks announced the opening of this playground: "The shortage of critical war materials which became acute after the construction of the playground was started made it necessary to omit temporarily all chain link fencing and metal goal standards...

In 1936, the Washington Post reported improvement work at several city playgrounds, the Petworth Playground among them.  This would have been part of a major New Deal park renovation effort across the district.  The work was likely done by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which had undertaken a nearly $1 million program of park and playground improvements in 1935-36.

The land for the Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park, known more commonly as the Smokey Oval Park, was acquired by the city in 1938. On October 31, 1939, the Department of Parks officially celebrated the opening of the park with a ceremony attended by Mayor La Guardia, Borough President George U. Harvey, Work Projects Administrator of New York City Brehon Somervell, and Park Commissioner Robert Moses. The press release announcing the opening explained: "the new 4.3 acre playground contains a separate children's area with wading pool, slides, see-saws and jungle gym, as well as kindergarten apparatus and sand pit for children of...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration funded improvements at the Phillips Playground in Washington DC, between 1934 and 1935. The work consisted of the following improvements: “Graded ground, removing 200 cubic yards dirt; fencing (700 feet, 8-foot); 4 gates.”

On September 30, 1941, Parks announced the opening of a new playground behind Public School 119 to be shared by the Department of Parks and the Board of Education. The press release explained that the playground was divided in two sections. In the south section, "A central free play area is flanked by three combination volleyball Legend basketball courts with removable goal posts, and a string, three shuffleboard courts and four paddle tennis courts. This entire section may be used for roller skating and flooded for ice skating." The north section contained benches and trees, a brick comfort station, a...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted a substantial park development project in Broken Bow, Nebraska. The WPA constructed various athletic fields, picnic and other facilities, and a fence surrounding the park. The location and status of this project are unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration built a playground in Miami Springs FL. The location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal.

The National Youth Administration built a playground in Williamson, Mingo County. The exact location of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.

This playground just across from the East River between 103rd and 104th Streets, was developed in relation to the adjacent East River Housing development with the cooperation of the Department of Parks and the NYC Housing Authority to serve both the residents of the public housing development and the rest of the neighborhood. In November 1942, Parks announced the completion of the new playground: "The Housing Authority constructed a low granite wall around three sides of the proposed play area providing three entrance points. A seven foot wrought iron picket fence with gates has been set in a concrete foundation just inside...

Garfield School, a public school located on upper Tombstone Canyon at the intersection of Pace Avenue, was completed in 1917. In 1939 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) enlarged the playground and tennis courts, and built retaining walls that contain multiple WPA stamps set in the concrete. A bronze WPA plaque can be found on the road on Pace Avenue, in front of the playground. Today, the former school serves as a bed and breakfast. Official Bulletin of the Works Progress in Arizona Volume I, No. 2: February 1936, p. 8: “Complete tennis court at Lowell School, Bisbee: Construction of a concrete doubles tennis...

Playground of the Americas 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 New Deal funding and labor to build public park facilities, yet rarely credited the New Deal agencies that supported the projects. Because he prohibited the placement of New Deal plaques and corner stones, we have few sources that tie public parks in New York to New Deal agencies. However, several of Moses’ statements reveal that during the 1930s, most of...