Tennis Courts Sites

Forest Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the nation, just larger than Central Park in NYC. It was the site of the 1904 Worlds Fair and the WPA projects in the park transformed it and brought it up to date, including much clearing of brush in places where it had become overgrown. In places, it truly was and still is a forest. Projects included: roads through-out the park, handball courts, tennis courts (now the Davis Tennis Center), draining lakes that had been constructed for the World's Fair and which had filled in and had debris-filled to an...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted substantial development work at the former Fort Hancock. Numerous projects undertaken by the New Deal agency, totaling more than two million dollars , included utility and infrastructure overhauls, building new military facilities, reconstructing docks, erecting a training camp, and even building tennis courts.

The Department of Parks announced the opening of what is now the Frederick Johnson Park on March 31, 1939. The press release explained: "The 150 Street and Seventh Avenue area obtained by the Department of Parks from the Board of Transportation for an indefinite period has been developed to include 8 tennis courts, 9 handball courts, a volley ball court as well as a sitting area for mothers and guardians of small children. The sitting area is surrounded by continuous rows of benches under shade trees with two separate sand pits for youngsters to play in. This area is adjacent to...

The Garfield Playground was one of a limited number of Seattle park facilities to receive upgrades through the New Deal's Civil Works Administration (CWA) program. The main CWA project at the playground involved the construction of a retaining wall along the western edge of the property. CWA laborers began work on the $12,000 project in 1933 and completed it the following year. Several years later, funding from the Works Project Administration (WPA) allowed the Park Department to proceed with additional improvements to the playground. In 1938, WPA workers painted the baseball field's backstop and bleachers. One year later, they built three...

With the help of Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor, the Seattle Park Department made improvements to the Georgetown Playground at South Homer Street and Corson Avenue. In 1936, WPA workers built a reinforced concrete wading pool along the eastern edge of the playground. According to Park Department records, “This pool was made so that the water can be maintained at two different depths; one at 18 inches for wading and the other at 30 inches so the children can learn to swim.” The Park Department provided $1,384 worth of materials for the pool and the WPA provided the paid labor....

The Works Progress Administration built tennis courts for the Gilbert High School in Gilbert, Maricopa County. The original Gilbert High School, now the Gilbert Historical Museum, is located at 10 South Gilbert Road and was built in 1917. The building pictured in the background of the tennis court construction is still in place. Looking at the arrangement of windows and roofline, the courts would have been south of the building. That space is now occupied by a newer building meaning the tennis courts are no longer extant. 

"In 1939, the WPA constructed tennis courts (no longer in existence), rock retaining walls, concrete footbridges, and stone drainage ditches. The retaining wall has vertical piers at the top, which served as parking ‘curbs’ for street level parking.”   There is a “WPA shield engraved on a rock in the drainage ditch area.”

Construction of tennis courts in Golden Gate Park and at 38th Ave. and Fulton Street.--Mooser, p. 87. note--this reference is both to the Tennis Courts at the South East end of Golden Gate Park and to a separate set of courts north of the park on 38th, the latter being most likely what are now basketball courts at Cabrillo Playground.

"A major park that African Americans on the west side frequented was Grant Park, located at 3rd Avenue and Grant Street. Grant Park existed as an empty lot with grass and trees until the city Parks and Recreation Department renovated it in 1934 through Civil Works Administration funding. In 1937 Works Progress Administration funding provided for the construction at Eastlake Park of a bathhouse, showers, and dressing rooms for the pool. Two years later, the city added lights, swings, sandboxes, sports facilities, and equipment. The park added a bandstand, tennis courts, and a recreation hall where teens in the 1950s...

On May 25, 1942 the Parks Department announced the completion of a major reconstruction of the Gravesend Park Playground in Brooklyn. After removing much outdated equipment, the WPA constructed significant new facilities: "The new development permits greater utilization of space by segregation of smaller compact use areas equipped with increased facilities. A central tree shaded bench lined mall extends from the main park gate to the existing comfort station which has been given a new setting of block paving, trees and a flagpole. On both sides of the mall two main fence enclosed sections, approximately 1 acre each, are subdivided into various...

The CWA or the RFC (which early on in the New Deal directly hired temporary day labor) constructed a 12 court tennis complex in Griffith Park. Rubble wall construction typifies work done by the ND throughout the park.

"The Works Progress Administration, an agency of the Federal Government, adopted as one of its projects the improvement of Hanes Park, which is a public park and playground owned by the city of Winston-Salem. Within the park is located an elementary school, the high school gymnasium, baseball diamond, a football field, a race track, bridges and walks, and other park improvements. It is used to a large extent as a playground connected with the elementary school and the Richard J. Reynolds High School. The W. P. A. project provided for improvements to the tennis courts and race track, three bridges,...

According to the National Park Service: “Within Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, as well as many other parks and forests, much of the work that the CCC did is still evident and still in use.  From the research offices to the hiking trails, the CCC laid the foundations for much of the infrastructure that we see and use today in the Park. In addition, a 200-person Emergency Conservation Work camp was set up for a period of six months. The allotted monthly pay per enrollee amounted to $25. These relief measures brought employment and much needed income to local families, some of...

The park contains four concrete WPA tennis courts. New nets and a fence have been added.

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 Act. Exactly what was done is unknown to us, but the facility has a recreation hall, tennis courts (at another location), and a putting green.  The present Hillcrest Recreation Center dates from the early 2000s.

Description of a 1937 W.P.A. project: "Blue Hills Reservation; two baseball diamonds and four tennis courts were built in the sports area south of Hoosicwhisick Pond in Milton." Hoosicwhisick Pond is also known as Houghton's Pond.

Fourteen boys of the federal National Youth Administration (NYA) built a tennis court and graded a baseball field at Trenton, New Jersey's old Immaculate Conception High School. The exact location of this former school is unknown to Living New Deal, though it was possibly located at 544 Chestnut Avenue.

The New Deal constructed tennis courts for what was then Jordan High School and is now the Jordan-Elbridge Middle School.  The agency in charge was almost surely the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which built thousands of recreational facilities at schools across the country.   This needs to be verified.

Constructed tennis courts and basketball court. This work will be complete when a Field House is built. The location was an ordinary sand lot.--Healy, p. 64.

This large park in the Middle Village neighborhood of Queens provides a wealth of leisure and recreational attractions to local residents. Before it became a park, "it was used variously as a farm, a cemetery, a source for peat moss, the property of a racketeer, and a garbage dump...In the early 1930s the City of New York acquired the bog to settle a $225,000 claim in back taxes against the estate of the infamous Arnold Rothstein (1882-1928), who had been accused of fixing the 1919 World Series" (nycgovparks). The WPA greatly transformed the park, first in 1936 and again in...

The former City Park and Athletic Field (now the Ken Lindley Park) originated in 1908, but major improvements were made with relief labor provided by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in the winter of 1933-34.  It is likely that after the CWA was discontinued in early 1934, the stone work was completed under the auspices of the Arizona Emergency Relief Administration and largely funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA).   The main work done by the New Deal crews was to build the elegant stone walls that enclose the entire square block, and which serve as retaining walls on...

The Seattle Park Department acquired the site for Laurelhurst Playfield along NE 41st Street between 45th Avenue NE and 48th Avenue NE in 1927. Although a few improvements to the site were completed between 1929 and 1932, a series of New Deal projects between 1933 and 1941 allowed the Park Department to move forward with additional upgrades despite the hardships of the Great Depression. Laurelhurst Playfield was one of a limited number of Seattle park facilities to receive funding under the New Deal's Civil Works Administration program. During the winter of 1933-1934, CWA laborers began construction on a brick field house...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed numerous facilities at Bridgewater's Legions Field. The facility was located at WPA Bulletin: WPA is completing construction of a Playground and Athletic Field, Bed- ford Street, Bridgewater. Work includes the building of a football field, a baseball diamond, two clay tennis courts, a wading pool and a locker building with showers and a road bordering one end of the property.

The Works Progress Administration built a Restroom Building for a Municipal Tennis Courts in Long Bay in Charlotte Amalie.

Lowman Beach Park, a small park property that provides access to Puget Sound in a primarily residential area of southwest Seattle, was the site of two Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects. The first project involved the construction of a cement mortar seawall along the entire shore line of the park property. This project was started in 1935 and completed the following year. Additionally, WPA workers built a concrete tennis court on the north side of the park in 1936.

The Works Progress Administration built tennis courts in Lyons Park in Mobile. The park is still in service today under the name Lyons Park Tennis Center.

Madison Park, located at the eastern end of Madison Streeet, next to Lake Washington, was the site of several small Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects. The first of these projects involved the replacement of the park's clay tennis courts near the intersection of East Blaine Street and 42nd Avenue East. Installed in 1936, the new tennis courts were built with reinforced concrete, which the Park Department preferred due to lower maintenance costs and their potential use for other recreational activities, such as roller skating. Then, in the spring of 1937, WPA workers began remodeling the park's bathhouse, a wood-frame structure originally...

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.

Marine Park is the largest public park in Brooklyn. It surrounds the westernmost inlet of Jamaica Bay. The City acquired the first parcels of land in Marine Park in the 1920s and expanded the area in the 1930s. This park was extensively developed by New Deal labor and funding. A July 30, 1936 Department of Parks press release announced the opening of new facilities at the Marine Park, including immediately "three baseball diamonds, two football and soccer fields and one-half of the oval-shaped bicycle and roller skating track." To be constructed in total were "ten baseball diamonds, four football and soccer...

WPA Bulletin, 1937: "Picnic Cave Unusual Feature of Playground Lunenburg — An underground cave equipped with a fireplace and picnic facilities for 40 persons is the outstanding feature of Lunenburg's WPA-built recreation centre at Marshall Field. The grounds also boasts a cinder track, a baseball diamond, and two half-completed tennis courts. But the cave is most popular— especially with the Boy Scouts and other young people's organizations who have held many meetings and hot-dog roasts there. As it was not scheduled as part of the project, many of the townspeople and NYA workers pitched in and did the extra work. The cave is about...

The Memorial Field of Flushing opened in November, 1934 in a ceremony attended by Mayor LaGuardia. The press release announcing the event described the extensive work carried out with New Deal support: "The land for the Flushing Memorial Playfield was given to the City by the Memorial Field of Flushing, Inc., for the development of a playground. Labor and material were supplied from Work Relief funds. A one-story field house of Colonial design is located in a corner of the playground. Eight tennis courts, eight handball courts and two basketball courts are provided in addition to swings, seesaws, sand tables and other...

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.

By 1935, FERA had done significant work at Moore Park, including installing a sprinkler system, 11 tennis courts and a fence. Moore Park remains a popular tennis spot.

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 federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop San Francisco's Mountain Lake Park during the Great Depression. Examples: Repairs like Lombard, consisting of landscaping, building 2 new tennis courts and walks and horseshoe courts; also provided a shelter for card playing for the older people.--Healy, p. 56.

The Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination for WPA properties lists this city park as constructed by the WPA in 1935: "This city park was developed by the WPA. A small ditch was constructed and runs through the middle of the park. A small bridgeway, picnic tables, and playground equipment have been added to the park. The tennis courts are also located on the park grounds, and were also constructed by the WPA."  

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers developed recreation improvements at Greenfield's Green River Swimming and Recreation Area and Murphy Park, during the 1930s. WPA Bulletin, 1936: Children of Greenfield have benefited by the WPA construction of a new bath house and other improvements at the Greenfield Swimming Pool. Tennis courts and a soft ball diamond were built in the adjoining public park property. Bulletin, 1937: Greenfield— The crack of bats and the swish of girls' skipping ropes are ushering in the sport season of the 33 acre WPA Recreation Center at the northern end of the city. In three or four months' time the full...

The New Deal carried out a major renovation of the National Mall, the green centerpiece of Washington DC.  Funding was provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA), labor power by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and supervision of the work was the responsibility of the Superintendent of the National Capital Parks, which had become a branch of the National Park Service when the park system was taken over by the Interior Department in 1933.  One element of the National Mall project was the building of tennis courts on the north and south sides of the Mall between 3d and 4th streets.  It...

Constructed playground, 3 tennis courts and convenience station and built retaining walls to hold the ground in place because of steep slope. Fenced the entire area. This was an unsightly lot.--Healy, p. 63.

"During the 1930s numerous improvement projects were carried out through federal relief programs. A Civilian Conservation Corps Camp of about 200 young men was located in the beech woods where the former Caddy Camp building stands. Gift and loans were solicited to match the Works Progress Administration funds, making possible the building of nature trails and roads, picnic sites, cabins, tennis courts, the outdoor theater, Camp Russel, and the entire Crispin Center area. Crispin Center - with its large swimming pool, golf shop and Pine Room area - has changed little on the outside. Built in 1937-38 of natural sandstone, much...