- City:
- San Antonio, TX
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Paths and Trails, Lakes and Ponds, Shelters
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Started:
- 1935
- Completed:
- 1936
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Woodlawn Lake Park began as a subdivision development outside of San Antonio in 1887. The developers constructed a dam across a creek on the property to create a lake which soon became a resort area. The City of San Antonio acquired the property in 1918 and a citizen’s group constructed restrooms and a playground and planted trees. A bond package in 1928 allowed for the construction of a pool and community center.
In 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built two masonry bridges in the park. One still carries vehicular traffic into the park. The road over the second bridge was realigned and widened, and the bridge was incorporated into the jogging trail. The lake had filled with silt because of development of the surrounding neighborhood and construction of paved streets. The WPA dredged the lake in 1936 from a depth of less than four feet to a depth of six feet. Other WPA projects included a concession stand, landscaping, improvements to the tennis courts, construction of parking lots and sidewalks and a decorative miniature lighthouse in the center of the lake for a combined cost of more than $200,000.
Source notes
Woodlawn Lake https://www.sanantonio.gov/historic/Districts/Woodlawn_Lake.aspx Bridge NRHP Eligibility Reports https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7pFUifC47Y0WDYzc2psMnB4bVU/ https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7pFUifC47Y0b0VXakphZDNVQ3M/ Allen, Paula. "Lake’s light is purely decorative." San Antonio Express-News. Hearst Newspapers, 4 April Year. Web. Acessed 10 November 2015. https://www.expressnews.com/life/life_columnists/paula_allen/article/Lake-s-light-is-purely-decorative-6179477.phpSite originally submitted by Larry Moore on November 14, 2015.
Contribute to this Site
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.
Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site
Join the Conversation