- City:
- Danbury, CT
- Site Type:
- Sanitation and Water Disposal, Infrastructure and Utilities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding
- Started:
- 1934
- Completed:
- 1936
Description
A water disposal plant was constructed in Danbury, Connecticut as a result of multiple federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.)-sponsored projects. First, the P.W.A. supplied a $53,000 grant for a project whose total cost was $217,250. Construction occurred between Dec. 1934 and Oct. 1935. (P.W.A. Docket No. CT 2690.) Second, the P.W.A. supplied a $82,251 grant for a project whose total cost was $183,573. Construction occurred between Dec. 1935 and Dec. 1936. (P.W.A. Docket No. CT [W]1061.)
Historic maps suggest that the plant was built at the same location as it exists today, albeit with a modified footprint.
Notably, the plant was renamed the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant in 2020 as part of a running “feud” between the host on “Last Week Tonight” and the city of Danbury.
Source notes
Record Group 135: Public Works Administration; Projects Control Division; Entry 52: Indices to Non-Federal Projects; Report No. 5: Status of All Completed Non-Federal Allotted Projects, pages 1, 2.
Historic map: https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/overlay/CT/CT_Danbury_330516_1953_24000_geo.jpg (accessed Jul. 5, 2023)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oliver_Memorial_Sewer_Plant (accessed Jul. 5, 2023)
Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on July 5, 2023.
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