Unknown Sites

In 1935, the Works Project Administration (WPA) completed construction of a new Streamline Moderne–style campus for John Adams Junior High School (today's John Adams Middle School) in Santa Monica, CA. The original 1913 John Adams campus at Los Amigos Park was one of four Santa Monica schools demolished after suffering severe damage in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. System-wide renovations cost $3 million dollars.

John C. Fremont High School, which opened in 1924, was renovated 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...

Artist Tyrone Comfort painted two murals, "Printing" and "Science and Industry," at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, CA. He was funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). "Printing" depicted "the industry from the time of stone records, monastic production of books, and Chinese block printing, to the most modern machines and processes. "Mr. Tyrone Comfort is the young man whose easel painting 'Gold Is Where You Find It' was one of thirty-one chosen by President Roosevelt for hanging in the White House, from a showing of 15,000 in the Carnegie-Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., in 1934" (Wells, p. 21). Comfort's...

Artist P. G. Napolitano painted two frescoes at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, CA. The two 6' by 8' panels are located on either side of the main lobby's entrance. Napolitano received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). "Mr. Napolitano's main interest has always been in murals, which he executes in tempra (egg white), in frescoes, and in Sgraffito which he introduced here in creative work. Much of his work is marked by the omission of pretty detail and mere decorativeness until only the essential stand out; economy of line, rhythm, and strength are the three uppermost...

In 1934, Harold Swartz created a bronze sculpture for John Marshall High School (Los Angeles, CA) of the school's namesake. He likely received funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP).

John Muir Middle School (formerly Junior High School) was one of many schools in Los Angeles, CA that benefited from refurbishment funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. The campus was reconstructed in 1935-1936 at a cost of $172,313. In 1935, contractor William J. Shirley oversaw the reconstruction of John Muir Middle School's main building, classroom annex, cafeteria, domestic science and mechanical arts buildings. John C. Austin and Frederic M. Ashley were the architects. The main building combines elements of the PWA Moderne and Gothic Revival styles (note the archways and lettering at the entrance)....

The gym at Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Middle School (formerly Mount Vernon Junior High School) in Los Angeles, CA was built in 1936 with partial funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). While most of the school was rebuilt following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, the PWA Moderne style gym survives at the rear of the campus off W 18th St. The 14-room, reinforced concrete structure was designed by architects John C. Austin and Frederic M. Ashley. In 2009, artists Raul Paulino Baltazar and Melly Trochez painted a series of six murals on buildings across the campus. "This eight month effort...

Work was begun on the vocational building for the Jones County Agricultural High School and Junior College campus in February 1936. The building was a one story, 124 x 155 feet building constructed of concrete, glass, steel and wood, costing approximately $32,000, and employing 75 workers. Supervising architect was T. R. Hearon. The new building was dedicated at Homecoming, November 1936. The status of the building is unknown, but does not appear to be extant on maps.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Jones County Courthouse in Anamosa IA. The County Courthouse is constructed of tan colored brick with Art Deco features. The stone was from Sare-Hoadley of Bloomington, Indiana. The building was dedicated on September 10, 1937 with about 8000 in attendance. The featured speaker was Iowa Governor Nelson G. Kraschel. The building has been extensively remodeled but is still in use. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003.  

Jordan High School (formerly David Starr Jordan High School) in Los Angeles, CA was rebuilt following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Construction between 1935 and 1937 totaled $276,373 and was partially funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). In 1934-35, Contracting Engineers Inc. rebuilt two shop buildings at the school. In addition, contractors Easton & Nesser built a new 24-room administration building and reconstructed the main and domestic science buildings. These latter three structures were designed by architect Sumner P. Hunt in the PWA Moderne style. In 1936-37, a girls' gymnasium designed by architect Emmet G. Martin was built by general...

Artist Emery Gellert painted a portrait of Principal J. A. Davis for David Starr Jordan High School (formerly David Starr Jordan High School) in Los Angeles, CA. The portrait was funded by California's State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA), which covered the cost of artwork executed between the termination of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) in 1934 and the establishment of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Arts Project (FAP) the following year. "Under this project sixty people were producing one hundred twenty hours per month mostly to producing easel works in oil, water color, pastel, and drawings. The funds ran...

Althea Ulber painted a mural, "Youth and Democracy," at Jordan High School in Los Angeles, CA. The 4 x 30 foot mural is located in the school library. Completed in 1937, it was funded by the Federal Art Project (FAP). The mural depicts fifteen figures of different ethnicities, with an older man at the center. A ribbon painted across the mural reads "Confucius, Good Relationship, Music, Industry, Language, Law, Literature, BROTHERHOOD, Dignity, Love for Nature, Courtesy, Fine Taste." Born in Los Angeles, Ulber studied with artists including Stanton Macdonald-Wright, the director of the FAP's Southern California division. From 1921 to 1941, Ulber...

In 1936-37, improvements were made to Joseph Le Conte Middle School (formerly Junior High School) in Los Angeles, CA with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The Monolith Construction Company remodeled the main building, auditorium, and gym, as well as the classroom building in the northwest corner of campus. In addition, contractor R. J. Chute built a new single-story shop building. All five PWA Moderne structures—some with brick facades and Gothic Revival details—were designed by architect Arthur R. Hutchason and appear to be extant. The reconstruction and renovation of Los Angeles schools damaged by the 1933 Long Beach earthquake was...

The Julia C. Lathrop Homes was one of the first New Deal public housing projects in Chicago. It was financed by the Public Works Administration (PWA) Division of Subsistence Homes, which operated from 1933 to 1936. It is a large complex made up of several buildings and containing 975 units, from one to five bedrooms in size. Some are three stories and others two stories in height and all are surrounded by lawns and trees. The brick and concrete structures are well designed and still handsome 90 years later (with the help of a restoration project in the 2010s).  Public housing was...

The original Juneau-Douglas bridge was built in Juneau, Alaska with the assistance of funds provided by the the Public Works Administration (PWA). The steel bridge   spanning the Gastineau Channel was opened October 13, 1935.  It was the first roadway connection between the capital city of Juneau and Douglas Island to the west. The New Deal era bridge was replaced with a modern bridge in 1980.

The Civilian Conservation Corps built a mill house in the Juniper Springs recreation area in Ocala FL. The mill has a waterwheel that used to generate electricity from the spring’s flow for the campsite.  

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office was built in 1937 in Kalamazoo, MI with New Deal funds. 

Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers built the Bison Arena at the Kansas State Fairgrounds. Other WPA-built improvements included "upgrading the fair's sewer, rebuilding the Old Mill ride with permanent fireproof concrete, and putting in a reinforced concrete stage and basement at the grandstand." The Bison Arena and the rebuilt Old Mill ride are still in use.

The Works Progress Administration built the Ken Locke Athletic Field (previously called the called Knoxville WPA Athletic Field) in Knoxville IA.  

The National Youth Administration (NYA) pursued improvements at South Bend’s Kennedy Park in 1939. The park was known as Bendix Park during the New Deal. “Plans for beautifying Bendix Park are being completed by the board of park commissioners of South Bend, Ind.,” a reporter noted in April 1939. “The board hopes to transform the bare land into one of the City’s beauty spots by next summer. The park will be landscaped around the NYA building, which is being financed jointly by the NYA and the park department as a city recreation center. Plans for landscaping include an experimental garden in...

The Kincaid High School (now Kincaid Community Center) in Kincaid KS was built as a high school with Works Progress Administration bonds. Now used as city hall, public library, museum, and gathering space.

A Works Progress Administration (WPA) allotment for $22,000 was approved for two school projects in Laurel in 1940. The Kingston School for African American students shared funds with Laurel High School and Wisner George S. Gardiner High School to improve buildings, grounds and facilities. Kingston School included work on porches, fire escape, and grounds. The school is no longer extant.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Konawa National Guard Armory in Konawa OK. What makes the Konawa National Guard Armory so intriguing is that a pair of swastikas on the front of the building. Most people associate this symbol with the Nazi people of World War 2, but prior to the war the symbol was a Native American emblem and was used by the 45th Infantry Division of Oklahoma as a tribute to the large Native American population. The Company F, 2nd Battalion, 179th, 45th Infantry Division was the first unit to occupy the building after it was built. But...

The one-story Art Deco school building currently used as the elementary school was constructed as Public Works Administration project 4789 as the new high school in Lucedale. The project was approved 3/7/1934 for a loan of $30,500 and grant of $10,295. Construction began 6/26/1934 and was completed 2/8/1935 for a total of $40,902.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made improvements to a playground at La Crescenta Elementary School in La Crescenta-Montrose, CA.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided $195,000 in funding to pay relief workers to develop La Palma Park in Anaheim, CA. Workers planted palm trees, built a playground, and built the baseball field, which is now known as Dee Fee Stadium, all remain intact. But the pond pictured in the historic photo has been filled in and replaced with a parking lot.

The WPA demolished and reconstructed a building at a high school in La Puente. Exact location and current status of the school are unknown. There are currently three high schools in La Puente.

As part of the New Deal reconstruction of Mission La Purisima, the Federal Arts Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was asked to send in professional painters to finish the interior of the buildings. In 1938, FAP artists were employed in painting the pulpit and railing in the chapel of the padres' residence building, under the supervision of Douglas Parshall of Santa Barbara (Savage, p. 151).  in 1940, artist Harry Hemle got the job of decorating the interior of the completed church.  Hemle painted the walls, alter decorations and pulpit, with the assistance of two Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees...

As part of the New Deal reconstruction of Mission La Purisima, Helen Seegert created a concrete fountain at the east end of the complex in 1936.  It was paid for by the Federal Arts Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Lafayette Building was the home of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), an important funding agency created by Herbert Hoover in 1932 and then greatly expanded by Franklin Roosevelt during the New Deal years.  The RFC held an important financial role in America all the way through World War II The Lafayette Building was built in 1939-1940 with private funding, through a newly-created Lafayette Building Corporation (LBC). However, the RFC “was directly involved in planning the building that would be their headquarters… The RFC Mortgage Company purchased the Lafayette Building Corporation's outstanding stock on April 16, 1941, and a month...

The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. Established in 1926 (as Chestnut Avenue Elementary School), Lafayette Elementary School was rebuilt in 1936 with New Deal 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 schools were constructed with basic amenities...

The former Lafayette Junior High School in Los Angeles, CA was rebuilt following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Construction between 1935 and 1937 totaled $210,898 and was partially funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) closed the school in 1955 due to declining student enrollment. The property is now used as a LAUSD maintenance plant. In 1935, C. L. Peck Inc. reconstructed Lafayette Junior High's single-story, 15-room shop building. That same year, a two-story administration building designed by architects John and Donald B. Parkinson was constructed by the Theodore A Beyer Corporation. According to...

In 1936, the New Deal funded a new gymnasium and a classroom for Laguna Beach High School. Laguna Beach High School was founded in 1934. It repurposed former Laguna Beach Elementary School buildings which were built in 1928. The New Deal funded gymnasium still stands today.

The Laguna Beach Sewage Disposal Plant was funded by both local bonds and the Public Works Administration (PWA).  Construction started in 1934 with the help of relief labor from the Civil Works Administration (CWA).  The sewage treatment plant used a distinctive architecture that sets it apart. Laguna Beach considers the buildings to have local historical significance.   Although the plant is no longer used, the distinctive tower of the 'digester' remains. As the following 2006 archaeological report documents: “Little remains of the original immediate landscape of the sewage treatment plant, since its adjacent filtration and settling ponds have been removed .... However, the adjacent...

A chain of lakes for the hill counties of Mississippi was proposed in 1936 by Si Corley, director of conservation of the State Game and Fish commission. Funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in concert with the sponsorship of the Game and Fish commission began the construction of a series of lakes adjacent to cities in the hill counties including a small artificial lake near Gitano. Exact location is unknown.

A chain of lakes for the hill counties of Mississippi was proposed in 1936 by Si Corley, director of conservation of the State Game and Fish commission. Funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in concert with the sponsorship of the Game and Fish commission began the construction of a series of lakes adjacent to a number of hill county cities including at Pelahatchie. Corley pointed out that in addition to providing sites for outdoor sports, when fully stocked, the lakes could produce 2,000 pounds of fish per acre each year. In addition, they would be migratory bird sanctuaries. The...

A chain of lakes for the hill counties of Mississippi was proposed in 1936 by Si Corley, director of conservation of the State Game and Fish commission. Funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in concert with the sponsorship of the Game and Fish commission began the construction of a series of lakes adjacent to several hill county cities including Raymond. WPA workers constructed the lake about one mile from Raymond. Corley pointed out that in addition to providing sites for outdoor sports, when fully stocked, the lakes could produce 2,000 pounds of fish per acre each year. In addition,...

Mississippi State Game and Fish Commission sponsored the Works Progress Administration to create a number of lakes for recreation purposes. Near Laurel, Lake Gates was approximately 1500 acres, fed by the Boguehoma Creek. The project began in 1936, and was completed in 1939. At some point by 1947, the name had been changed to Lake Bogue Homa. The lake remains an active fishing location and has been improved over the years.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Main Street Dam at the head of Lake Flower in Saranac Lake NY between 1937 and 1938. The WPA allocated funds for a number of proposed improvements in and around Ogdensburg, including “the construction of a new dam…and the development of a picturesque bathing float, beach, park site and addition of buildings to Saranac Lake Craft and Study Guild” (Parks & Recreation). According to a contemporary news report, the dam was “placed…on the site upon which Capt. Pliny Miller once built a sawmill. Later it was taken over by Alonzo Blood…who organized Saranac Lake’s...

Preliminary work on one of the largest earth dams to be constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees in the south began with the clearing of the site for a 540-acre lake along the Tangipahoa river. Excavation began July 1, with work on the dam construction planned for mid July. Plans called for a barrier of 100,000 cubic yards of earth, spillway 300 feet wide and 800 feet long. The work was on Highway 48, five miles southwest of McComb. Engineer was George Long supervising the local crew of the Civilian Conservation Corp enrollees. Lake Tangipahoa was adjacent to the...