Unknown Sites

The Utah National Guard was funded by the New Deal to built several armories.  One of those is in Mount Pleasant. The exact year of construction is unknown to us.. "During the 1930s, UTNG used federal money, often supplied through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), to build or expand a number of UTNG facilities. The WPA funded eight armories and several garage and storage areas for the UTNG. By 1940, 13 armories were in use by the Utah Guard including  . The building is now utilized by the city of Mt. Pleasant as its Recreation Center, a.k.a. Memorial Hall.

Menlo Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1913, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

Micheltorena Street Elementary School, which opened in 1905, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

Middleton Street Elementary School, which opened in 1932, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. The school appears to have been rebuilt yet again in the 1950s or 60s, although the PWA auditorium may remain—confirmation is needed. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation,...

On May 2, 1934, Public Works Administration (PWA) director and Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, “announced today he had signed a contract covering a loan of $36,000 to the Midland Continental Railroad company in North Dakota for the purchase of a new Diesel-electric locomotive” (Argus-Leader, 1934). This PWA-funded locomotive would become No. 310 in Midland Continental Railroad’s (MCR) small roster of equipment.  It would also be the first Diesel-electric engine assigned to road service in the western United States.  Prior to this, diesel locomotives were relegated to “switcher” service (i.e., moving train cars short distances, usually within the confines of...

Miles Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1932, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

The park, formerly City Park, was constructed, including clearing grounds, building bridges, sidewalks, tables, benches entrance, water and lights. An entrance was erected, croquet courts and other conveniences and attractions were built throughout the park. The creek was also walled. City park costs were $8,921 and employed 22 men initially, and a total of 32 men for six months. The work included cleaning and preparing the site and erecting culverts over the creek. Additional city park improvements were made for $4,273, hired 34 workers, and was financed by the Works Progress Administration in 1936. The park is still extant and...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out improvements to the grounds at the Miller Valley Elementary School in Prescott AZ in 1936-1937.  From the WPA project card in the National Archives, it appears that these included a stone entrance to the school grounds. The school was closed in the 2010s, but the old WPA stone walls have survived at the corner of W. Iron Springs and Miller Valley Roads.

The historic Mingue Mountain fire lookout tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) working under the supervision of the US Forest Service. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The NRHP Nomination Form gives details: "Located on the Uerde Ranger District, this 59 ft steel x-brace tower with a 7 ft by 7 ft steel cab was erected in 1935, The lookout tower was designed by the Pacific Coast Steel Company. The wood frame cabin, a simple gable roofed structure with an overhanging front porch was also built in 1935. Study of historic photographs...

The Minnesota Machinery Museum is housed in the former Hanley Falls School built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939.

Miramonte Elementary School, which opened in 1912, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with me...

Mississippi utilized a number of federal work relief and infrastructure opportunities to repair, improve, and construct the levee system at various locations along the Mississippi River from Gunnison in Bolivar county south through Greenville in Washington county to Fitler in Issaquena county Agencies included Civil Works Administration, Works Progress Administration, and Army Corps of Engineers, expended a total of $227,634, employed at least 675 men, and were carried out between 1933 and 1940.

The Kaiser Pass Road (opened in 1927) resulted in increased travel to Mono Hot Springs on the west side of the Sierra Nevada near Huntington Lake – one of the best-known hot springs in California. Therefore, the Forest Service decided to utilize the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to upgrade the facilities there. In 1934, the CCC men constructed a bathhouse and several auxiliary buildings over the concrete-walled springs on the south side of the San Joaquin River.  On the north side of the river, the CCC built a campground. The buildings were torn down in 1963 and a new bathhouse built on...

Gus Gay painted this mural for the Federal Art Project, part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  Gay was one of what Nancy Boas calls "the California Colorists" of the era. Nancy Boas notes that, "His mural for Monterey High School uses his characteristic late palette, strong on deep cerulean blue and chalky reds and pinks. The solid forms and simple architectural backgrounds reveal Gay's clarity of design." There may be two other murals in the high school whose provenance is also New Deal. More information is needed on those.

A Public Works Administration grant helped to fund construction of the Montlake Boulevard Pedestrian Overcrossing on the campus of the University of Washington. The bridge provided a safer pedestrian connection between the main part of the campus west of Montlake Boulevard and the university's main athletic facilities east of Montlake Boulevard, including Husky Stadium and the University of Washington Pavilion, later renamed to Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Construction of the bridge began in late 1938 and was substantially completed by February of 1939. The total cost of the project was $22,349, of which 45% was paid by the PWA. The remainder...

Moran State Park was created in 1921 when Robert Moran, shipbuilder and former mayor of Seattle, donated more than 2,700-acres to the state for a park. Like many state parks at the time, it was not well developed for public recreation until the coming of the New Deal. Most of the trails, roads, bridges, and buildings in the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930s. The CCC typically used native materials on site to construct the many stone and wooden shelters and buildings. The Moran State Park website offers a few more details on its History page: "In...

Moran State Park was created in 1921 when Robert Moran, shipbuilder and former mayor of Seattle, donated more than 2,700-acres to the state for a park. Like many state parks at the time, it was not well developed for public recreation until the coming of the New Deal. Most of the trails, roads, bridges, and buildings in the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930s. The CCC typically used native materials on site to construct the many stone and wooden shelters and buildings. The most notable of the CCC's structures is the stone observation tower at the...

The 1935-1937 Morgan County High School was constructed of native stone and timber in West Liberty, KY. The construction was begun as a KERA project, but completed by the Works Progress Administration. It served as the high school until the 1940s when it became the middle school. The school was closed in 1989. The building was renovated with a $1 million grant in 1993-1994 and is two-story with basement. It is used for Morgan County offices currently. Mrs. Roosevelt, wife of the President, spoke at the building dedication.

Exact location of water tower unknown.

Morris K. Hamasaki Elementary School (formerly Riggin Avenue Elementary School), which opened in 1926, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that...

The Swimming Pool at Morrow Mountain State Park in North Carolina was built sometime between 1937 and 1942 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the State of North Carolina under the supervision of the National Park Service. Opened in 1939, Morrow Mountain State Park – the site of the swimming pool – was also a product of the New Deal. Work crews of the WPA and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed many of the park’s trails and facilities between 1937 and 1942. Additional facilities were later added with the help of state funds in the 1950s and 1960s. As...

A Public Works Administration grant helped fund the construction of Mount Greenwood Elementary School at 108th Street and South Homan Avenue in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood. The new school was designed by Board of Education architect John Charles Christensen. The two-story, brick structure included fifteen classrooms, a gymnasium, and an assembly hall. The architectural style of the building, characterized by a low horizontal profile, wide window openings, and geometric brickwork patterns, is similar to that of many other neighborhood schools designed by Christensen during the 1930s. Construction work on the new school began in March 1936 and was completed in...

In 1934, Aurelius Battaglia painted two murals for the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood library,  "Animal Circus" and  "Animal Orchestra."   They occupy two reading alcoves off the Children's Room to this day. Funding was provided by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), an early New Deal relief program for unemployed artists. Later, Battaglia moved to California and joined Walt Disney, animating classics such as Dumbo, Pinocchio and Fantasia. Mount Pleasant is a branch of the DC public library system.  The lovely building was paid for by the Carnegie Foundation in 1903.

CCC Co. 117 (S53) out of Tamworth NH was involved in road construction on Mt. Willard, Crawford Notch.

In 1937, Bessie Heller designed a pair of tile mosaics for wall fountains at Mountain View High School in El Monte, CA. Heller received funding from the Federal Art Project (FAP). Heller worked in the art department at MGM Studios. Her other FAP works in the region include a mural, "The Map Makers of the World" (1939), at Virgil Middle School in Los Angeles, CA.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) refurbished an old factory and turned it into a neighborhood center, primarily serving impoverished children. The idle Muchenberger Center resides at what had been the corner of 5th Street and Sycamore Street before highway development in the area. News Express Now: "Between 1936 and 1938 Works Progress Administration workers worked with a local architect to modify the building and grounds to turn it from a factory into a recreational center." Today, the building is barely noticeable, tucked at the end of a long driveway north of Hickory Street between a highway interchange cloverleaf and the train tracks.

In 1940-41, the Works Projects Administration (WPA) made major improvements to the Long Beach Airport, then known as Daugherty Field. WPA relief workers constructed a new terminal and control tower building. The two-story terminal was designed by Horace Austin and Kenneth Wing in the Streamline Moderne style, with a nautical touch. The mosaics inside the building are the work of WPA-artist Grace Richardson Clements. "In the late 1930s, the council approved plans to purchase 255 acres adjoining the municipal airport and the construction of a three-story administration building and tower at the east side of the airfield. The airfield was improved...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, WV. According to WOWK: "The history of the Charleston Municipal Auditorium in West Virginia’s capital city started with debate from citizens. According to the auditorium’s Statement of Significance to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, the debate on whether or not to have the auditorium in downtown Charleston began in the 1930s. It says people for the auditorium said it was needed because it would attract performers and bring culture to the capital city. On the other side, people said it would be an 'unnecessary...

The Public Works Administration provided $7 million in funds to construction this auditorium with room for city offices. The building was renovated in 1991 and is now the Topeka Performing Arts Center.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of municipal offices and auditorium for the City of Marion, Kansas. It still serves this purpose.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Municipal Pool and Bathhouse in Alva, OKlahoma. The pool is constructed of poured concrete and the bathhouse has Art Deco elements. The bathhouse is now painted white. It has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The former Municipal Public Works Garage Industrial District is comprised of six single-story, brick buildings built c. 1940. The garages are on the west bank of the Cumberland River, in Nashville. Buildings 1 through 4 run lengthwise northwest to southeast while Buildings 5 and 6 run northeast to southwest.  This New Deal project was funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA), which was absorbed into the Federal Works Administration (FWA) in 1939. The Works Progress (or Projects) Administration (WPA) provided labor for the project. The Municipal Public Works Garage Industrial District was constructed to house various municipal public works departments, such as...

"The Decorah Municipal Swimming Pool building design is an architectural specimen of an advanced contemporary style of its day. It is a vision of both the Art Moderne and the International styles of architecture, as designed by Edward Novak, who worked at the well-known Charles Altfillisch architectural firm in Decorah... The construction of the pool building has additional importance in local history. Constructing the Decorah Swimming Pool was a partnership project between the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the city of Decorah during the Great Depression. Land Deed Record No. 179 from Winneshiek County shows the three lots where the pool...

Public Works Administration project 1307 was awarded to Washington County following approval 2/21/1934. A loan in the amount of $400,000 and a grant of $161,149 enabled the construction a number of gravel roads throughout the county. Bids were advertised in September 1934 for construction of grading, drainage structures and bridges and gravel surfacing on 11.548 miles of the Murphy-Slater Ferry Highway. The highway began in Murphy and ended at the Slater Ferry Crossing for the Sunflower River. George Vinzant was chief engineer of the Washington County Highway Commission. Contractor was Barber Brothers of Baton Rouge, La. Construction began 10/17/1934 and...

In 1938, the National Youth Administration (NYA) constructed the Murray Woman’s Club Clubhouse. It is made of limestone and was built in the Tudor Revival architectural style. During World War II, “The Red Cross set up hospital rooms in the clubhouse for training nurses aids. Members worked with the Red Cross rolling bandages for hospitals and in making kits for soldiers overseas and dinners and dances for soldiers were also hosted by the club” (Murray Ledger & Times, 2017). Today, the Murray Woman’s Club Clubhouse is a Kentucky Landmark, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is rented out...

In 1938, the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided $150,000 (about $2.8 million in 2020 dollars) for the construction of a museum in Browning, Montana, for the Blackfeet and other plains tribes. At the time, it was “the largest Government project… undertaken to aid native groups in reviving their crafts and to furnish them an outlet for the marketing and sale of their goods” (Indians at Work, July, 1941). The building was dedicated on June 29, 1941. The Museum of the Plains Indian is managed by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (a unit of the U.S. Department of the Interior) which...

The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. Originally built in 1929, Naples Elementary School in Long Beach, CA, was rehabilitated by Watson L. Hawk in 1934 with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding. “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 percent of labor and material costs were obtained. To minimize costs, building materials were salvaged from damaged buildings, some schools were rehabilitated, and new...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the National Guard Armory in Kokomo IN. WPA project numbers: O.P. 65-52-2377 "Armory improvements" and O.P. 65-52-X7 "State armory improvements."

The Union Creek Historic District on the upper Rogue River in Union Creek, Oregon, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places because it is a fine representative of a type of rustic resort popular in the early 20th century and has been little altered since the 1930s.   There are almost one hundred buildings and other facilities in the Union Creek Historic District, almost all of which conform to the Forest Service plans of the 1920s and 30s.  Roughly a third were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1933 to 1942, working out of the Upper...

Works Progress Administration (WPA) project cards for 1938 at the National Archives indicate that the WPA was charged with making improvements to the grounds, buildings, and distribution systems at the U.S. Naval Observatory.  Photograph cards on file at the archives show a storage shed overhauled by the WPA and that WPA workers also led tours of the observatory at the time. The Navy's Bulletin #38 notes that, "At the Naval Observatory only limited funds have been available and they have been expended for repairs to buildings including the modernization of dangerous electric wiring. The available funds have also been used for the...