Description
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) resurfaced Atlantic City’s Baltic Avenue in 1936. “One of the tracks will be removed from that thoroughfare, new gutters will be laid and the street resurfaced with asphalt, the same as Atlantic avenue.”
“Twelve city blocks of this avenue had been resurfaced by 109 unskilled and 10 skilled WPA workmen who also installed a concrete gutter on the street.”
The WPA paving job quickly proved its worth. According to City Commissioner Major William F. Casey after the 1936 Cape Hatteras hurricane, “Baltic Avenue was a pleasure to see after the storm because of the new paving. If we still ha the wood blocks there it would have been a mess.”
Source notes
"The Dawn," a New Jersey WPA publication; June 1936 issue, page 11. "The Dawn," a New Jersey WPA publication; October 1936 issue, page 14. Found at the Jersey City Public Library's New Jersey Room.
Project originally submitted by Evan Kalish on January 7, 2015.
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