Start Year: 1934

The Pennsylvania Railroad 4800 locomotive, nicknamed “Old Rivets,” was built in 1934-1935 and started service in early 1935.  It was an electric “GG-1” class locomotive and cost about $250,000 to build (about $5.2 million in 2021 dollars). It was also the first of its kind and the only one that had a riveted body, hence the nickname “Old Rivets”.  After that, the builders switched from riveting to welding this type of locomotive. Old Rivets was financed by a loan from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA financed at least 56 more of these GG-1 class trains. (Ultimately, 139 GG-1’s were produced...

The Flying Yankee train was built in 1934-1935 at a cost of $275,000 (about $5.8 million in 2021 dollars). The Public Works Administration (PWA) financed the train’s construction with a loan. The Flying Yankee’s route started in Portland, Maine and ended in Boston, Massachusetts, and it ran from 1935 to 1957 for the Boston & Maine and Maine Central railroads, sometimes under different names, such as “The Business Man.” When it first arrived on the scene it was viewed as a futuristic, technological wonder, with many innovations. It was lightweight, quiet, economic, capable of 100+ mph, and made of stainless steel....

Camp NA-1 was located in the National Arboretum, Washington, DC, and was home to Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1360, an all African-American unit. Many of the enrollees in Company 1360 were young men from the city itself. Company 1360 formed on June 7, 1933 at Fort George Meade, Maryland and, after initial work assignments in Chester, Virginia (Camp P-61) and Williamsburg, Virginia (Camp SP-9), the men settled into Camp NA-1 in November 1934. From then until 1941 these young African American men made the earliest significant developments to the National Arboretum – a project of the Bureau of Plant Industry...

Ecola State Park offers one of the most widely recognized views of the Pacific on the Oregon Coast. Development of the four miles of coastline for park began in 1934 with the work of CCC enrollees from CCC Camp Saddle Mountain (#1258). A number of CCC workers from Company #1258 were located in the 450-acre park from fall 1934 through the spring of 1936. During that time, under the direction of the National Park Service, they completed improvements including an access road, a water system, and a picnic area. They also constructed new trails through rugged terrain and engaged in forest...

Public Works Administration project 4838 was approved 2/21/1934 for the construction of a school in Poplarville. The city received a loan of $14,100 and a grant of $5906. Construction began 6/18/1934 and was completed 12/14/1934 for a total of $19,891. The exact location of the school building is not specified. A number of Pearl River County schools were destroyed or badly damaged in Hurricane Camille in 1969, and there is no indication a school from that time period is still extant in Poplarville.

Public Works Administration project 4653 approved the construction of an extension to the Raymond sewerage system 2/28/1934. A loan of $21,750 and grant of $8,250 was awarded. Construction began June 29, 1934 and was completed October 31, 1934. The project laid approximately 22,000 feet of pipe. The sewer pipe contract was awarded to the Cannelston Sewer Pipe company of Indiana and the cast iron pipe contract to McWain Cast Iron Pipe company of Birmingham. Engineer Peter O’Brien of Jackson designed the layout, and the government engineer was E. D. Sloan. The project called for sewer pipe from 4-12 inches in...

The Group Utility Building (original name) in Yosemite Valley opened 1935.  It was funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The utility building consolidated a hodgepodge of old shops, forges, storage and maintenance into one facility.  It also provided three bays for fire trucks. It is a mammoth structure covering 18,548 square feet and lacking in any architectural niceties, hence popularly known as "Fort Yosemite."  Despite its size, however, very few visitors ever see it or know of it.  It is tucked away in the maintenance and parking areas north of the Visitors' Center and Yosemite Museum.

In 1934, the Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the creation of the South Gate Entrance Station to Yosemite National Park.  This followed enlargement of the park by the addition of the area from Wawona south and was done as part of the Wawona Road reconstruction.  The new entrance station included a parking area, entrance station, comfort station (restroom), residences for park rangers and a garage. Of this work, the restroom and ranger residence are original New Deal structures.   The Historic American Engineer Record (HAER) report on the Wawona Road provides these details:  "In 1934, roads around the South Entrance station were...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees from Camp New Benson Park improved the Columbia River Gorge hike to Angel's Rest in 1934-1935, This involved building bridges over streams as well as grooming the trail. Angel's Rest is one of the most popular hikes in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic area, considered by many a "must" for local hikers. In 1934, a reporter for Portland's Oregon Journal stated: " Perhaps the most beautiful hike out of Benson Park is the trail to Angel's Rest, where at an elevation of 1600 feet one may see up and down the Columbia River Gorge for 50 miles." The...

Public Works Administration project 3003 was approved 12/28/1933 for a new home economics building, annex to the existing building, and alterations to the existing building in the Savannah community of Pearl River County. A loan of $10,000 and grant of $4,182 was awarded. Vinson Smith, Jr. served as architect. A. Ziegenfelder was the contractor for the one-story brick and stone trim annex and the construction of a brick veneer home economics building. Plumbing, heating, roofing and sheet metal contract was awarded to Hamilton Brothers in the amount of $2,167 and Clark and Griffith received $304.74 for the electrical work. Construction...