The present day Anacostia Pool & Recreation Center was constructed at the very end of the New Deal, as it overlapped with the country’s entry into World War II. On May 15, 1942, the Evening Star newspaper reported that… read more
Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center/Park was developed between 1936 and 1939 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), working with the Oakland Recreation Department. The WPA funded the project for around $60,000 in 1935 (Chronicle 1935). The 16 acre site on Arroyo… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) pursued a number of improvements at Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota in 1938. Initial improvement plans called for the “construction of a bathhouse, facilities for picnicking and camping and general recreation.” The WPA also… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a field house (recreation hall) and athletic courts at the Cabrillo Playground in San Francisco, CA. The exact date of this work is unknown to us. “Constructed field house for district recreation headquarters;… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted extensive development work at Grand Canyon Village, including construction of the Community Building, with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA) and under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS CCC… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed the Davie Tennis Stadium in 1936-37 with an allocation of $65,000. WPA relief workers built five tennis courts, with lights for night play and bleachers for viewing, plus a community center in rustic style… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped create the old Forest Dale city park in the Sugarhouse section of southern Salt Lake City UT in 1935-37. The name was later changed to Fairmont Park (the adjoining Forest Dale golf course kept… read more
Farnsworth Park is a Los Angeles County park established in Altadena, CA, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, 4 miles north of Pasadena in 1934. Its 15 acres contain covered and open picnic tables, barbecue pits, baseball diamonds,… read more
In 1941-42, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made major improvements to the Municipal Park in Ferndale, today known as the Firemen’s Park. According to the WPA project card, the improvements consisted of building a softball field with bleachers, reconstructing a… read more
Fort Mountain State Park in northern Georgia was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930s. Part of the Cohutta Mountain Range, the park gained its name for a stone structure located along a mountaintop in the area…. read more
In 1942, the Oakland Recreation Department dedicated the newly renovated Recreation House at Park Boulevard and Newton Street – now the Recreation Center at Francis Marion Smith Park – which was completely remodeled with the help of the Works Progress… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and its relief workers built the Angler’s Lodge and Casting Pools in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, for the benefit of the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club. In return, Club members agreed to help… read more
As park of extensive improvements around Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a clubhouse for the San Francisco Model Yacht Club, the members of which sail their elaborate model boats on Spreckels Lake across… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was extremely active in Grand Canyon National Park throughout the New Deal. The CCC enrollees worked under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS) and some of the projects were funded by the Public… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Casino and Muncipal Pier in Gulfport FL. The marker on site states that, “The U.S. Department of the Interior has listed the Gulfport Casino in the National Register of Historic Places. This is… read more
In 1942, the Washington Post reported the approval of $40,270 in funding for the Federal Works Administration (FWA) to build and/or make improvements to the Hillcrest Recreation Center. This was the largest sum appropriated for parks work in the Lanham… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) gave Jackson Park a facelift during the 1930s, or what the City Engineer called “General repairs and dressing up” (Healy, p. 58). We have no evidence on what, if any, traces remain of the WPA… read more
Casper Star-Tribune: “Convention and social sessions were transferred this afternoon to the Lions recuperation camp for undernourished children on Casper mountain. There in the new assembly and recreational building erected of logs as a CWA project, visitors also learned of… read more
In 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a clubhouse and tennis court at Mallows Park in Claremont, CA. The club house survives in near original condition; the tennis court has been updated over the years.
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. … read more
Originally known as the Plummer Park Community Clubhouse, the Great Hall/Long Hall was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938. It is the only New Deal structure located in West Hollywood, CA. Plummer Park was dedicated the same… read more
The National Youth Administration built a recreational hall at the Naval Reserve Parkin Biloxi in 1938 as W.P. 4380. They also planted rose bushes, cedar trees, and dog wood trees and numerous flower beds along with the construction of the… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made several improvements to Richardson Grove State Park during the period 1933-40. Richardson Grove was one of the original Old Growth redwood groves purchased by the Save the Redwoods League in the early 20th century… read more
In 1940, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed the rodeo grounds at the Municipal Park, now Rohner Park, in Fortuna. WPA relief workers built the grandstand, judges stand, concession stands, restrooms and more – most of which appear to still… read more
Humboldt Redwoods State Park was established in 1921 with purchases of some of the last remaining Old Growth stands of Coast Redwoods by the Save the Redwoods League. It has since been expanded several times and now includes over 51,000… read more
Built in 1940-41 to serve as a multi-purpose community center for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, this tribal hall is the last known intact New Deal Indian Community Building left in Oregon. Its funding came… read more