Swimming Pools Sites

Lockhart State Park is located at the southwestern edge of Lockhart, Texas and is administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park consists of 263.7 acres of land that was purchased by the State of Texas on December 14, 1934. The park was constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 3803 between 1935 and 1938. The park was leased to a local country club until 1948 and then opened to the public as a state park. The CCC built the park residence, the combination building, Park Road 10, a stone arch bridge, a swimming pool, a concrete water storage...

The facilities and area at the Locklin Avenue swimming pool, including access stairs from the canyon below and changing rooms were built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938-39. The pool was completed in 1923, well before the advent of the New Deal, and has since been abandoned. According to the Bisbee Daily Review, “Bath house to be remodeled: New change rooms proposed at city swimming pool as WPA project. Bisbee swimming fans may soon have new changing rooms provided for them at the city swimming pool, officials revealed yesterday. Remodeling of the old wooden building at the swimming pool to...

Durham, North Carolina's Long Meadow Pool (located at Long Meadow Park) was constructed with federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds in 1937.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of a municipal pool and bathhouse near the beach in Santa Barbara CA.  This was part of a larger program of improvements of the beach area parks – much of it done by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The bathhouse and pool are still in use as the Los Banos del Mar unit of the municipal pool system. Short & Stanley-Brown describe the project thus:  "The evident thought and care exercised in the design and planning of this municipal swimming pool has resulted in a satisfactory architectural composition. The pool is L-shaped, 50 by...

The CCC’s role in developing the park, as explained by the state of West Virginia: “During the Great Depression, beginning May 15, 1934, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1524 occupied Camp Hardy, which was located near the present day entrance to Lost River State Park. By 1937, the CCC boys had built 15 standard cabins, an administration building, the superintendent’s residence, a swimming pool and bathhouse, a spring house covering the Lee Sulphur Springs (named after Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Robert E. Lee’s father), and several bridges and other small stone structures throughout the park. The stonework of these beautiful buildings...

Now known as the Malvern Hills Pool, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) supplied labor for the construction / improvement of what was called the Horney Heights Swimming Pool, named for a development of the same name in West Asheville. The pool is operated by Asheville City Pools. Regarding CWA/ERA work in North Carolina: "Twenty-one concrete swimming pools, equipped with filtering systems (not including the pool at Asheville which was almost completed when transferred to WPA)."

This large stone building was completed by the WPA in 1938 along with a swimming pool. The pool has since been replaced by a modern pool, but the large bathhouse and attached buildings have been repurposed as the Maplewood Public Library. When it was built, the pool was segregated with this being a white only pool.

Personal description of the park by project submitter John Walker: "The entire park including the coquina coral atoll pool, was manmade. My grandfather, Robert "Bob" C. Long was a CCC worker, and worked on the project and helped to build the atoll pool. He and many of the other CCC workers carved their initials and names in the coral they laid around the manmade coral atoll pool deck. It is a natural salt, sea water atoll pool. A hurricane damaged the pool, and in a hasty repair of the pool, many of the stones used that bore the initials of many...

The Mayo Plunge swimming pool in Compton, CA, was initiated under the California State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) and completed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It has since been demolished.

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation explains that: "McCarren Pool was the eighth of eleven giant pools built by the Works Progress Administration to open during the summer of 1936. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia attended the dedication on July 31, 1936. With an original capacity for 6800 swimmers, the pool served as the summertime social hub for Greenpoint and Williamsburg. The building’s vast scale and dramatic arches, designed by Aymar Embury II, typify the expansive and heroic spirit of New Deal architecture. The pool was closed in 1984 but in 2005 the site was resurrected as a performance space,...

"The pool at Silver Spring Park (now McGovern Park) was built by the CWA. The WPA built the new bathhouse."

Occasionally mis-attributed to the W.P.A., La Crosse's Memorial Pool was constructed in 1938 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. supplied an $31,500 grant for the project, whose total cost was $72,738. The pool was closed in 2016, though as of 2017 it appears the pool will be modernized or rebuilt. PWA Docket No. WI 1436

The Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) developed Tucumcari Metropolitan Park, a.k.a. Five Mile Park, in Tucumcari, New Mexico. "At one time Tucumcari Metropolitan Park had the largest outdoor pool in the entire state of New Mexico, a playground with lots of equipment, a fully landscaped drive through park with bridges, creeks, a pistol and rifle range, a skeet and trap shooting range, and off-road course, horseback riding and was home to the then annual Founder’s Day Picnics." NRHP nomination form: "Referred to as Metropolitan Park, the park became known as Five Mile Park in the 1950s. The completed project marked a five year process...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) developed the remarkable (former) bathhouse and pool facility at Tucumcari Metropolitan Park, a.k.a. Five Mile Park, in Tucumcari, New Mexico. The pool was advertised as the largest in the Southwest. NRHP nomination form: The bathhouse is a one-story building with a concrete foundation, brown stucco over adobe walls, and a flat asphalt roof. The L-plan building incorporates many of the Spanish-Pueblo Revival Style's defining details including a modest irregular massing of horizontal planes, slightly battered walls, exposed beams, or vigas, drainage ducts, or canales, a long portal supported by heavy wood posts with corbels, and lintels above paired...

Olathe's municipal website identifies a pool located at the site of the present Mill Creek Pool as a New Deal project: "A swimming pool was built under the Works Progress Administration in 1934. It was located in the City Park at Poplar and Woodland." However, as the WPA didn't come into being until 1935, it is probable that the New Deal organization in question was in fact a precursor agency: the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). More research into this question is needed. Furthermore, it is unclear to Living New Deal whether the original structure has been replaced.

"WPA’s legacy is visible today in those and many other ways" in Wilkes-Barre. "Thanks to WPA labor, ... he Miner Park and Hollenback swimming pools were built." The pool is no longer extant.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed San Francisco's Mission Playground, located at 19th and (what was then known as) Angelica Streets, during the Great Depression. The park is still in use today. Painted swimming pool and dressing rooms, repaired basketball court, children's area and installed lighting system, rehabilitated entire area, graded, built walls, 2 tennis courts, 1 basketball court. This was one of the older playgrounds in need of repairs.--Healy, p. 66.

Mojave received a $60,000 natatorium (swimming pool) from the PWA.

The WPA constructed stone walks, walls, benches, tables, fireplace, pavilions, and footbridges to build Monocacy Park between 1936 and 1937. A swimming pool was also constructed above the dam, but this feature is no longer in use due to sediment. Mcall.com: "The Monocacy Park bridge features two 30-foot towers of hand-cut stone. The creek had to be diverted, most likely with sandbags, to enable the stone masons to erect the towers. Block and tackle, a series of ropes and pulleys, had to be used to set the pieces in place." As of 2016 the park is under restoration.

The Monroe swimming pool was undertaken in Monroe, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The Monroe swimming pool at Forsythe Park was constructed for approximately $100,000 and was described as "one of the finest fresh water inland natatoriums in the county" (Work report made by WPA, 1937, p. 10). It operated without cost to community members (New Deal Network, 2003).

The Moore Recreation Center, including a swimming pool, bath house, and possibly a playground, were constructed in 1939-40 as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $124,700 grant for project, whose total cost was $272,577. "The grand opening of the swimming pool was held on August 9, 1940." A plaque marks the bathhouse as a PWA project. PWA Docket No. PA 2208-F

"The 87 park acres and surrounding 668 acres of state forest were purchased by the state in 1934. The swimming area, bathhouse, campground, and administration building were built at that time and the park opened to the public in 1936. The original administration building, still in use, is an excellent example of classic Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) design and construction. "

The Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) "built a caretaker's cabin, bath houses and facilities for swimmers at Morey Pond" at Nipmuck State Forest. These days, Interstate 84 runs right through the middle of Morey Pond, and these facilities no longer exist.

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 Swimming Pool at Morrow Mountain State Park in North Carolina was built sometime between 1937 and 1942 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the State of North Carolina under the supervision of the National Park Service. Opened in 1939, Morrow Mountain State Park – the site of the swimming pool – was also a product of the New Deal. Work crews of the WPA and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed many of the park’s trails and facilities between 1937 and 1942. Additional facilities were later added with the help of state funds in the 1950s and 1960s. As...

Wichita Municipal Beach Swimming Pool was built in 1938 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. The pool replaced an earlier municipal pool built in 1923. The new pool cost $50,000 to construct. At 240 feet long and 125 feet wide, the pool sloped from a depth of two to nine feet. It also contained 38 underwater flood lights of 1000 watts each. In addition to the main deck, there were two smaller pools nearby designed for children. The Municipal Beach Swimming Pool was the crown jewel of the Wichita parks and recreation system. It opened to a deluge of residents during...

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.

Extensive work was done in Berlin by a combination of the CWA, FERA, PWA, NYA, CCC and WPA all during the existence of the New Deal when “in 1935, under the leadership of newly-elected Mayor Arthur Bergeron, the Farmer-Labor Party began the process of reorganizing city government and acting as a conduit for federal monies in response to the mass lay-offs in the the Great Northern and Brown paper mills” (https://www.berlinnh.gov) 1935 The period of the Civil Works Administration ended on April 1, with jobs incomplete as follows Athletic Field, Boating and Bathing Pool at the Bog. 1936 "The Federal Work Projects have assisted...

Town reports for Concord document a number of miscellaneous improvements to parks around the city. A 1933 report of that year stated: "With funds obtained from the CWA considerable work has been done and all the parks received attention." In 1933 and 1934, the CWA was involved in tree work around the city. In 1939, the city reported it had received "468,000 man-hours of labor during the past year. This labor was applied to a huge variety of useful permanent work. In addition to these improvements, live water holes were built; and enlarged facilities were provided at the Russell...

WPA Project No. 165-3-3546, App. Date 10-30-36, $5,583, Total Funds $7,498, Average Employed 28, "Construct swimming pool dressing rooms, lighting system, fence and work incidental thereto at the City Park in Corcoran, Kings County. City owned property."

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed a pool in Marysville, Kansas, which opened in spring 1940. The location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

"In September 1936 a devastating flood swept down the South Concho River, inundating much of the city of San Angelo. Among the many properties lost or severely damaged were the city's parks and its public swimming pool. Plans were made to rebuild the parks and construct a new municipal swimming pool, but a bond election held in 1937 to finance the project was defeated by the voters. Once it was determined that the federal government would assist with Works Progress Administration funds and labor for the project, a new bond election was held and passed by sixty-six votes. Work on...

Ben Miller writes in the Nazareth Patch: "This beautiful art deco pool was one of the few above-ground municipal pools to be constructed in the country and like Nazareth's Borough Pool, it was built by the WPA from 1937 to 1939.  Though I was raised in Nazareth from birth, my mother and her family are from Bangor and this pool was a big part of their lives.  In fact, my great-grandfather, John I. Correll, was a Bangor Councilman at the time and Project Chairman of the pool's construction.  He also oversaw the development of Bangor Memorial Park around it. Bangor's original pool...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a municipal pool at Columbian park in Lafayette, Indiana. "The pool was built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration and was the place to swim for kids in Lafayette, West Lafayette, Delphi, and other surrounding communities in the 1950s and ‘60s." The pool has since been demolished and replaced.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a municipal pool in Kokomo, Indiana. Living New Deal believes the facility has since been replaced and likely demolished.

"The town had the first municipally owned swimming pool west of Asheville. The stone and concrete pool was built in 1938 by the WPA during the Great Depression; it was demolished in 1969 to be replaced by the current ." (Wikipedia)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a municipal pool in Washington, Indiana. Completed in 1936, the pool was demolished and replaced in 2009. As many as 1,600 people used the pool on a single day soon after its opening. The Tipton Daily Tribune: The pool is of concrete construction, 75 by 160 in size, with an additional pool, 20 by 30 for wading. A sand pile is situated next to the wading pool. A grandstand for spectators faces one side of the pool. The plant also includes an open air filtration system and a bath house 20 by 154 feet. Cement walks surround...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Municipal Pool and Bathhouse in Alva, OKlahoma. The pool is constructed of poured concrete and the bathhouse has Art Deco elements. The bathhouse is now painted white. It has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The municipal pool and bath house in El Reno was a FERA project completed in 1935. From the 1999 National Register of Historic Places application: The El Reno Municipal Pool Bath House, constructed in 1935 in Legion Park, the city's largest recreation area, represents an historical pattern within the context of Recreation/Entertainment for El Reno, Oklahoma. Legion Park was the second of six city park projects developed in the years 1901-1949. Legion Park, formerly Peach's Park, had initially been privately developed c. 1903 but was allowed to decline even after the city acquired the property in 1920. The area remained relatively...

"On September 2, 1935, the Town of Hugo submitted a Works Progress Administration project proposal for the construction of a 'concrete swimming pool together with bathhouse, landscaping and grading and other necessary work to complete a City Park.' Actual construction began a year later. Work halted twice, once so the WPA crew could finish the Hugo gymnasium/auditorium project and again in July 1937 for the crew to mix and spread poison bait in the regional battle against grasshoppers. The still unfinished facility opened to the public on Saturday, June 18, 1938. The bathhouse is a good example of WPA Art...