In addition to the New Deal Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration ( PRRA), the PWA, CCC, and Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration (PRERA) all operated on the island as well. As on the US mainland, the CCC built many of the trails,… read more
In 1939-40, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made substantial improvements to Ellis Lake Park, which was originally designed by landscape architect John McLaren in 1924 on an old slough of the Yuba River. It is not clear how much of… read more
The river rock wall around community clubhouse was done by the WPA. Unsure whether the building itself is also a WPA project.
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
Description of a project undertaken by the W.P.A. in 1937: “Fellsway Police Station; the area adjacent to the police station on Fellsway West in Medford was developed by the completion of a project started in 1936. A large baseball field… read more
The WPA worked to improve the conditions at Finns Point National Cemetery near the former Fort Mott, southwest of Pennsville, New Jersey. Project description: “A non‐construction project to improve and rehabilitate buildings, install plumbing, heating, and electrical facilities, realign headstones,… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) landscaped and beautified the grounds of the Flomaton High School. The project was sponsored by the Town of Flomaton.
Folger Park on the south side of Capitol Hill was named for Charles J. Folger, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1881 to 1884. Part of the original L’Enfant plan of Washington DC, the park was significantly improved in the… read more
Dating from WWI, Fort Dix [or, as it was known during the pre-WWII era, Camp Dix] provided training for soldiers enlisted in the U.S. Army. According to a Works Progress Administration (WPA) Information Division document, the WPA engaged in “Campwide improvement… read more
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 [not adjusted for inflation], included utility and infrastructure overhauls, building new military facilities, reconstructing docks, erecting… read more
Landscaping of 40 acres in Fort Mason, San Francisco, San Francisco county. Planting trees and shrubs, seeding lawns. This project is a continuation of work begun under Federal Parks Project.–Mooser, p. 95.
The Fort is located on the West side of the island. Build rubble masonry walls, install irrigation system, excavation, weeding, seeding, and trimming slopes, transplanting seedlings.–Mooser, p. 94.
Fort Niobrara NWR – Valentine NE Fort Niobrara Wildlife Refuge was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 by Executive Order. The principal aim was to protect bison and elk herds which had dwindled almost to extinction under the pressure… read more
Landscaping and removing fire hazards on 403 acre military reserve adjacent to Fort Scott, San Francisco. Tree trimming and clearing under brush, constructing fire breaks, removing fallen logs and debris, thereby removing a serious fire hazard. And planting ice plant… read more
In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted cleanup efforts at Fort Slocum Park, on the site of a Civil War-era fort, in the district’s northeastern quadrant. Crews removed underbrush, poisonous plants, and dead trees to make the rustic park… read more
According to a 1935 report of the New Hampshire Forestry Commission, the New Deal assisted in the initial development of the Caroline A. Fox Research and Demonstration Forest (Fox Forest) which has been the State of New Hampshire’s forest research… read more
Franklin Park, also known as Franklin Square, was overhauled c. 1935-36. Work on the park was part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program in the 1930s, funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA), assisted… read more
The Seattle Park Department utilized funds and labor from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to complete a series of improvement projects at Golden Gardens Park. Much of the work aimed at stabilizing the steep hillsides in the eastern section of… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) remodeled the Grimes County Courthouse in Anderson, Texas, in 1940. WPA crews installed a tile roof, cleaned and painted the building facade, installed tile floors, built outside stairs, plastered the interior walls, and landscaped the grounds.
The Civilian Conservation Corps carried out improvement work at the Guanica State Forest (Bosque Estatal de Guánica). The work included “roads, trails, timber stand improvements and tree planting, as well as recreational developments.”
Description of a project undertaken by the W.P.A. in 1938: “Hammond Pond Parkway, Newton Street traffic circle to Boylston Street, Newton; to construct a 5-foot wide pea stone and stone dust walk and a 10-foot wide planting space, each 4,200… read more
Description of a project undertaken by the W.P.A. in 1937: “Hammond Pond Parkway; work was begun in November on a project which provides for the improvement of an area between the parkway and Hammond Pond in Newton. The work includes… read more
New Deal relief workers were instrumental in developing the old Kern River Park – now called the Hart Memorial Park. The workers came from the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) before 1935 and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) after that…. read more
Roadside park built by the National Youth Administration in Cooperation with the Texas Highway Department in 1936. The roadside park was along HWY-81 near the Lampasas River. When I-35 was built replacing HWY-81 the roadside park was destroyed. Located at… read more
The Works Progress Administration carried out landscaping and beautification work on a street in the Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, circa 1936.
Montpelier Annual Report, 1937: “In the early summer of 1933 the C. C. C. started improvement work at Hubbard Park under the direction of the Vermont Forest Service cooperating with the Montpelier Park Board. From that time until the fall… read more
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration forestry division efforts included reforestation work on Isla de Mona during the 1930s. Dept. of the Interior report: Mona Island—lying in the Mona passage separating Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic—some 25 square miles in extent,… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completed reforestation and improvement work at the John Henry Kirby Memorial State Forest. The work included tree planting and timber stand improvement—a forest management method that supports tree growth. The CCC also built a residence, park roads… read more
Lafayette Park, also known as Lafayette Square, is a seven-acre public park directly north of the White House on H Street, bounded by Jackson Place on the west, Madison Place on the east, and Pennsylvania Avenue. The park was established… read more
“The PWA and WPA also provided funding for projects around Lake Springfield, including landscaping and placing riprap. … The WPA would later aid in … other Lake Springfield projects.”
A Paterson landmark dating back to 1892, Lambert’s Castle was originally home to the Lamberts, a wealthy family that owned area silk mills. The building fell into disrepair in the early twentieth century, was purchased by the city of Paterson… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted landscaping work at a “triangular plot at the intersection of Bronx Blvd. and Duncomb Ave.” The New York Times reported on an adorable story that occurred during the project, involving the hatching of six… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps built park amenities and landscaped portions of the Leiter Estate in 1936-1937. A National Parks Service/Historic American Buildings Survey report describes the nature of the work performed by the CCC: “Upon acquiring the Leiter estate, the… read more
The Leonhardt Lagoon was constructed with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds in 1936. The lagoon named after philanthropist Dorothea Leonhardt and was built at the site of the Texas Centennial Exposition. “The man-made lagoon lies south of the Midway. It… read more
W.P.A. Bulletin, 1937: “At the southern end of the marsh that was in the center of Winthrop, WPA has created a skating area and rendezvous for aquatic sports out of the formerly ugly Lewis Lake. A dump on one side… read more
Mount Rainier was the nation’s fifth National Park, established 1899. During the Great Depression the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps greatly aided the park’s development. National Register of Historic Places nomination: “In the 1930s, the CCC made further improvements on… read more
CCC Camp SP-1, 1191 was established in Macedonia Brook State Park in 1935. The CCC “did much site development here in the 1930s, including construction of a pavilion and a carriage road with massive retaining walls constructed without mortar.” (www.townofkentct.org)… read more
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor created Malone Park in Chelsea, Mass.
The Civilian Conservation Corps carried out improvement work at the Maricao Forrest (Bosque Estatal de Maricao). The work included “roads, trails, timber stand improvements and tree planting, as well as recreational developments.”
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
