Start Year: 1934

An enormous mural cycle by Stanton Macdonald-Wright, entitled  "Invention and Imagination," hangs in the Santa Monica Public Library.  It consists of 30 panels painted on plywood and covers a total of 2,000 square feet.  The mural cycle was created under the auspices of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) in 1934 and completed in 1935. In the original installation in the old Santa Monica Public Library at 503 Santa Monica Boulevard, the murals covered all the wall space in the reading room. When that library was torn down in 1965, the mural panels were put in storage at the Smithsonian...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked on the Chico airport in 1934 and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved and finished the work in 1935. The specifics of what they did are only partially known to the Living New Deal. WPA job cards at the Fresno Public Library describe some of the work completed by the WPA: "WPA Project No. 65-3-1920, Application date 9-25-35, $12,365 'Airport Improvements.' Presidential Letter #866 - 10-24-35 - Rescinded $12,365 Project Rescinded. O.P. 115-03-4508 Takes the place of the above project - See application folder for accepted G.A.O. Description" "WPA Project No. 65-3-1920, Application Date 11/5/35, $12,365, 'Continuation of...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive improvements Morro Bay State Park, as it did throughout California's new state park system.  These included picnic areas, an entrance road, comfort staton, ranger lodge, and stone walls.  The work was continued by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and state relief workers. As Engbeck (2002) explains: "CCC Company 1916-V, made up of World War I veterans, moved into Camp Morro Bay on May 11, 1934.... Check dams were constructed on Chorro Creek above Morro Bay in order to prevent flooding of the 're-claimed lands' that were to be 'utilized as beach areas and scenic...

The Tuolumne Meadows Visitors Center was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as a road crew camp mess hall in 1934.  Around 1980,  the National Park Service converted the building to a Visitors Center, replacing an older one in the original "contact station" at Tuolumne Meadows campground. This building is a good example of National Park Service rustic park architecture of the 1930's. It was constructed with native materials to blend with the environment, and reflects hand crafted techniques. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2022, a new Visitors Center is under construction nearby and...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carried out a complete restoration of the  Mission La Purisima in Lompoc CA, 1934-41.  It was an astonishing achievement, given the ruined state of the Mission and scarce historic sources to guide the work. The CCC agree to do the restoration if land could be secured to turn the site into a State Historical Park.  Donations of land by the Catholic Church and Union Oil Company did the trick, and the CCC went to work. From 1934 to 1941 CCC crews uncovered, restored and rebuilt 13 separate structures at the Mission.  The State Historical Park was...

Bobbie Smith Elementary School (formerly Burnett Elementary School) was reconstructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding in 1934/35. The original structure was demolished by the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) after the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. The new one-story, steel frame structure was divided into classrooms and equipped with modern facilities. The 1933 earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. “On August 29, 1933, Long Beach citizens approved a $4,930,000 bond measure for the rebuilding of schools. Applications for approximately thirty-five schools were filed with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Public Works Administration (PWA); federal grants up to thirty...

Long Beach Polytechnic High School, which opened in 1895, was rebuilt with New Deal funding in 1935 after incurring extensive damage during the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. Buildings 100, 300, 400, 600, and the auditorium were designed by architect Hugh Davies in the WPA/PWA Moderne style. Polytechnic High's auditorium is of particular note. "During the repairs, the building was transformed from a Mediterranean Revival auditorium to a building that strongly evoked the WPA Moderne style. While the corner towers retained the look of three windows near the base of the structures, the domes as well as any arching was removed,...