Fort Monmouth Repairs, WPA
Description
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted millions of dollars (not even adjusted for inflation) of improvement and development work at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. No aspects of the installation were left untouched: improvement and construction work involved developing “an auxiliary flying field,” roads, sidewalks, electrical, heading, plumbing and sewer systems, and erosion control. All manners of facilities were built, refurbished, improved, or expanded.
A captioned image in “The Dawn,” a WPA publication, states that conducted “extensive repair work” at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey ca. 1936.
Here is one typical project description, Official Project #765‐22‐2‐14:
Improve buildings, including general overhauling of plumbing, heating, and electrical facilities in temporary and permanent buildings, repairing and improving buildings, painting interior and exterior of hospital officer quarters, barracks, quartermaster buildings and other miscellaneous structures, reconstructing porches, constructing extensions to blacksmith shops, planting propagating building and incinerator stack, improving pigeon training center, waterproofing quarters.
A cataloguing of these projects was undertaken by the DoD in its Heritage Assessment, cited below.
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Squier Hall, Fort Monmouth - Oceanport NJ
Source notes
Nationwide Context, Inventory, and Heritage Assessment of Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps Resources on Department of Defense Installations, July 2009 (pages C-118 to C-119).
"The Dawn," a New Jersey WPA publication; October 1936 issue, page 6. Found at the Jersey City Public Library's New Jersey Room.
Project originally submitted by Evan Kalish on January 13, 2015.
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Squier Hall is currently being renovated to become
part of New Jersey City University. A perfect example
of the living New Deal!