Start Year: 1936

New Deal post office constructed by the Treasury in 1936.

The Wyoming State Supreme Court building is situated in central Cheyenne, the state capital. It is a restrained example of Art Deco architecture in the neo-classical mode, with elegant bas-relief decorations, inscriptions and brass (-plated?) doorways and surrounding decoration. It was built in 1937 with aid from the Public Works Administration (PWA) and is still in active use. "This structure is immediately opposite the present State Capitol Building and is an important unit of a well-developed plan for the State and municipal group, occupying a square which is landscaped and surrounded by streets.  The building is three stories in height and...

President Franklin Roosevelt created Patuxent Research Refuge (PRR) with Executive Order 7514, December 16, 1936, and Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace dedicated it on June 3, 1939.  The refuge began with 2,670 acres and has since grown to 12,841 acres. It is “the nation's only national wildlife refuge established to support wildlife research” (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service). Several New Deal agencies helped to build the extensive facilities at the Patuxent Research Refuge. At the time, wildlife refuges came under the direction of the Bureau of Biological Survey (later merged into the Fish & Wildlife Service).  The Works Progress Administration (WPA)...

The Davidson County Public Building and Courthouse on the Public Square in Nashville was constructed in 1936 to 1938 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA).  This enormous, 8-story building covers an entire city block and was built to house county and municipal offices, plus several courtrooms.  The county jail was originally on the 7th floor.  Short & Stanley-Brown (1939) put the cost of the project at $2,167,000 but no not give the share provided by the PWA.  Paine (1984) says the project cost $1,595,000 and that the city raised $400,000 for it in a public bond issue.  We have...

Construction of Hope High School, undertaken with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funding, comprised one of the largest New Deal undertakings in Rhode Island. "The Hope Street High School is one of the largest high schools in America, accommodating 2,200 pupils. It is in the vicinity of Brown University. It has 60 classrooms, an auditorium seating 1,285, a large stage and sound-moving-picture equipment, a library, study hall, cafeteria which accommodates 700 at one sitting, modern kitchen facilities, boys' gymnasium, and a girls' gymnasium with 105 individual shower stalls. There are special rooms for wood-working, art metal, machine-shop work, music rooms, and...

After winning the mayoralty in 1934, Ernest L. Sprague "called for the building of a new city hall because the existing one in Knightsville was a 'fire hazard' ... Within a few months ... Sprague had secured a federal grant from the Public Works Administration to build a new city hall."   (Frias) A 1939 survey of PWA projects describes the still intact city hall as follows: "The new city hall, which houses all of the municipal offices, replaces the old frame town hall built in 1885 which was considered to be a firetrap, and, in addition, made it possible to eliminate...

Timberline Lodge was built as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose; but it was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Timberline Lodge  was constructed between 1936 and 1938, a rapid pace considering the frequently inclement weather on the mountain. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Lodge on September 28, 1937 – five months before completion of the interior in February 1938 – after which the lodge was opened to the public. The 'Magic Mile' chairlift and Silcox Hut at 7,000 feet opened in 1939.  The four-story structure...

"The Oregon State Capitol replaces a structure which was destroyed by fire in 1935. It occupies the site of the former building and is the dominating feature of a well-designed city plan. A mall has been laid out from the main façade of the capitol, cutting through several city blocks, which will be flanked on each side by future buildings of the State government, one of which, the State library, has already been constructed. It is one of the few PWA projects for which an architect was selected through competition. The first floor is occupied by offices and work space for...

The mural "The First Crossing at Rocky Ford" hangs in the lobby of the historic Rocky Ford post office. "With the Great Depression, fewer people could afford to patronize the arts, severely impacting the careers of artists. The Treasury Departments Section of Fine Arts provided employment by sponsoring artwork in federal buildings. Many of the post offices constructed during the Depression were decorated with murals or other artworks commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts. Funds for artwork were based on 1% of the total appropriation for the buildings construction. Victor Higgins was hired to paint a mural above the postmasters...

"The new school occupies the corner of a 7-acre lot, permitting the development of athletic and play fields. It is a combination grade and junior high school and provides an auditorium and gymnasium, as well as the necessary classrooms and special rooms. It is of semifireproof construction and was completed in April 1937 at a construction cost of $198,628 and a project cost of $219,275." (Short and Brown) Wikipedia; "The original school building was constructed in 1936. Over the years, several additions have been made to the school. The most recent construction added 30,000 square feet of space, primarily in the middle...