Unknown Sites

"The Charleston Naval Base provided defense for the United States from its formation in 1901 to its closure in 1996. Originally designated as the Navy Yard and later as the Naval Base it had a large impact upon the local community, the tri-county area and the entire State of South Carolina. Hundreds of thousands of people were employed, two hundred fifty-six vessels built, thousands of others supported and millions of dollars poured into the area’s economy." "The first dry dock, the largest on the east coast, was completed in 1907. In 1909, the powerhouse to supply electricity to the dry dock...

The Public Works Administration completed improvements at the New Jersey Avenue Sewage Pumping Station between 1939 and 1940. The work consisted of “electrical installation."

The Federal Arts Project (FAP) funded the Newton (now Newton North) High School Murals in Newton MA. Painted by Maurice Compris, the mural triptych depicts "Education," "Commerce," and "Industry." It was dedicated as a memorial to Leighton Brown, class of 1915, who died in World War I. Originally displayed in Newton High School library, moved to Newton North cafeteria, and now in the new Newton North building.

Newtowne Court is a 294 units apartment complex located in the town of Cambridge, MA. There are eight three-story walk-up buildings; most entrances serve six to nine apartments. Includes 6 units for households with vision impairments. This was one of 50 slum clearance or low income housing development projects financed by the Public Works Administration. The cost was $2,500,000.

Designed by George W. Kahrs, Buildings A and C at Nieto Herrera Elementary School (formerly Robert E. Lee Elementary School) were built in 1935 with New Deal funding. It is one of six LBUSD schools built in the aftermath of the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake that were designed in the Period Revival style instead of WPA/PWA Moderne. 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...

Ninety-Fifth Street 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...

Artist Adrien Machefert painted a mural, "All Nations," at Ninth Street Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA. He was funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). "Adrien Machefert, a man past fifty, was born in San Jose, California, and started drawing for San Francisco newspapers at the age of seventeen. Following fourteen years doing portrait and landscape painting on the Island of Majorca, Mr. Machefert returned two and a half years ago to California and has since been working for FAP most of the time" (Wells, p. 22). Machefert's other New Deal–funded murals in the region include "Pilgrim's Harvest Festival" at Ann...

Nora Sterry Elementary School (formerly Sawtelle Boulevard Elementary School), which opened in 1918, 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...

Normandie Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1907, 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 1970s or 80s and it is unknown to us whether any of the PWA buildings remain. 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...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of an addition to the North Cache High School in Richmond, Cache County, Utah.  North Cache High School was demolished in 1999. The school addition, done in a subdued brick Moderne style, was designed by the architecture firm K. C. Schaub of Logan, Utah. The contractor of record was Johnson & Mickelson of Logan, Utah.

In 1937, artist Fletcher Martin painted a mural at North Hollywood High School in North Hollywood, CA. The mural, "Legends of the California Indians," was funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). The school "wanted a mural which related to the California scene and Indians. Mr. Martin felt that the usual themes had been overdone, so he sought out the legends of the people and chose from them the subject for his mural...." (Wells, p. 22). Martin ended up painting a Tataviam village. Located in a corner of the school auditorium, the mural was painted over in the 1950s. The Los...

From 1934-1936 the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed North Lake Park, including Lake Garnett. "The project included a 48-acre (840 acre-feet) man-made lake with dam and spillway, a road, and the planting of over 300 cedar trees, lilac bushes, rose bushes and shrubs." Other construction included roads, plantings, two shelter houses, restrooms, a football stadium, and a swimming pool.

The first tree of the Great Plains Shelterbelt, an Austrian pine, was planted at the Ed Curtis farm near Willow, Oklahoma, on March 18, 1935. The state forester of Oklahoma, George Phillips, did the honors. The Great Plains Shelterbelt was designed to mitigate damage from the 1930s dust storms.

Crews from the nearby Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in Leeds, UT, built the road to Oak Grove and completed the Oak Grove Campground sometime between 1933 and 1942. The campground featured a tennis court, wading pool, and playground.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) modernized and expanded the administration building at the original Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of Oakland International Airport). The project was sponsored by the Port of Oakland and cost $70,000. The work added 8500 square feet, doubling the floor space of the building in order to house new offices of the Civil Aeronautics Board, including airway traffic control, air carrier section, private flying division, air safety board, airway communications station, and general inspection section, plus an office for the US weather service.  The building also served as passenger terminal for a time. The renovated building...

Edison Elementary School (today's Odyssey South Charter School) was rebuilt by the Public Works Administration (PWA). It was one of 27 schools in the Pasadena Unified School District to be rebuilt, demolished, or reinforced by the PWA or the Works Progress Administration (WPA) following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Oildale Standard School Auditorium in Bakersfield CA. The structure has been in use as a school auditorium since completed in 1937.

"Careful research has been done and is continuing and the whole restoration is by no means complete. The part undertaken with P.W.A. aid was completed in July 1938 at a construction cost of $32,164 and a project cost of $37,175."

The Old Fire Station in Chester, Illinois was constructed in 1935 and served as a firehouse until 1961. The decommissioned building is presently used for storage. While some documents are unable to distinguish the particular New Deal agency responsible for the construction—Public Works Administration (PWA) vs. Works Progress Administration (WPA)—PWA records make no mention of such a project, and the documentation is consistent with WPA specifications. NRHP nomination: "The two-story rough-cut stone building has a footprint of about 28 by 36 feet and was constructed using recycled stone from a razed building that was located on a street near the Mississippi River.......

In 1940, the Work Projects Administration was constructing storm drains throughout Los Angeles, CA. One drain was located on Olympic Boulevard, "in the very heart of Los Angeles. The basic structure is of reinforced concrete, the mainline is from 5 to 12 feet in diameter with dozens of connecting laterals, catch-basins and catch basin connections on principal downtown streets which have been flooded, completely cluttering up traffic during the heavy rainfall of the brief California winter period" (see photos).

One Hundred Eighteenth Street Elementary School, which opened in 1907, 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...

One Hundred Ninth Street Elementary School, which opened in 1926, 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 1960s or 70s, 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...

In 1934, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed exercise equipment on Ocean Front Walk in Santa Monica, CA, immediately south of the Santa Monica Pier. Known today as Original Muscle Beach, the recreation area—which includes ropes, bars, swings, etc.—is considered the "birthplace of the physical fitness boom of the twentieth century." According to the City of Santa Monica's travel and tourism website, "What began as a venue for people in Santa Monica to watch acrobats, gymnasts, wrestlers, and stunt performers practice their fantastical acts for films being shot during the Great Depression (to distract people’s attention from their own financial crises),...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Orogrande School in Orogrande NM. The structure served as a grade school from 1935-1958, a polling location from 1935 to 1985, and a community center from 1971 to present.

The oyster project was completed at an expenditure of $67,270.94 for bedding of 2,678 acres of oyster reefs with shells. The sponsor’s contribution was $4,683.18 and the Works Projects Administration funds $62,587.76. The project was approved 1935 to support the cultivation of oysters along the gulf coast. The oyster seedlings were planted on the state reefs of Pass Christian and Pascagoula and in the Bay of Biloxi. At the time, Biloxi was rated the largest oyster canning industry in the world.

Pacific Boulevard Elementary School 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 early 2000s, although the PWA building(s) seem to have survived—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, Board of...

A half mile section of the Pacific Coast Highway between Loma Avenue and Hathaway Avenue in Long Beach, CA, was graded and paved under a federal grant of $60,500 in 1935. At the time, it was known as State Street.

Pacoima Charter Elementary School, which opened in 1915, 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...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant that covered about half the cost of building a new high school in Paonia CO in 1938-39.  The school closed when a new high school was constructed in the neighboring town of Hotchkiss to serve Paonia and surrounding small towns in Delta County. The old high school building is two-stories, with a set-back second story, clad in sand/buff brick.  The style is stripped-down Moderne, with the only decoration a horizontal banding at the upper window line and abstract bas-relief over what was presumably the original entrance.  The crummy roof-line trim is from a...

Federal support was critical to restoring Pasadena City College (formerly Pasadena Junior College, or PJC) after it sustained extensive damage in the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. Immediately following the earthquake, the college received part of the $919,654 granted to the Pasadena school system by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Three damaged buildings were demolished and fifty steam-heated tents were erected, coming to be known as "Tent City." "Classes were conducted in Tent City for three long, long years, during which time both students and teachers experienced many hardships" (Dodge, p. 30). In the meantime, Public Works Administration (PWA) grants—alongside the sale...

Football stadium constructed 1938-1939 by the Public Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration for $246,000. Currently home of the Massillon Washington High School football team.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) funded improvements at the Payne Playground in Washington DC between 1934 and 1935. The work consisted of the following improvements: “Removed old shelter and wrecked it; replaced with shelter moved from Lincoln; remodeled, repaired, and painted.”

Wikipedia: "In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the football stadium limestone bleachers, west and north walls, picnic tables, fire pits, and various items in the park."

The Pear Lake Winter Hut was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1939-41 as a ranger station for Sequoia National Park.  It now serves as a ranger station in the summer and as a ski hut for backcountry skiers in winter.  The hut is 17' x 30' and constructed of stone in the national park rustic style.  The steeply pitched gable roof is supported by a framework of log rafters and brackets, with a shake roof.  A gable covers the second-story balcony and a rear gable is covered with board and batten. It sleeps ten people. The Peak Lake Winter...

NYA boys on the Pearl River Junior College campus erected a vocational building, while the girls worked in home economics. Hancock Hall was completed 1938 by the National Youth Administration. The architect was Robert William Naef. The building was destroyed in 1961.

In 1939 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped build the Pebble Lake Golf Course in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. “Through the assistance of a grant by WPA of $61,587,” a writer for Parks & Recreation reported in January of 1939, “construction of a municipal golf course will soon be under way at Pebble Lake, Fergus Falls, Minn.” City boosters and businessmen led the charge to locate a new golf course within the municipality of Fergus Falls. After much legal and political wrangling, WPA laborers eventually began constructing the course. “The 20 WPA workers” assigned to the project, historian Randy LaFoy documents, “used stones...

This is a suspension-type bridge with steel cables by 1936 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). A restoration was completed in 2017 and was reopened for foot traffic. It is the only WPA project remaining in Fairfield County.

From April to June 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a pedestrian tunnel at Valley Boulevard and 6th Street in Alhambra, CA. It was intended to improve pedestrian safety for Ramona Elementary School students. According to a WPA official, "This tunnel, built of reinforced concrete, is 165 feet long, 8 feet high and seven feet wide; the stair approaches are 22 feet each. The walls are plastered and pebble-dashed and an Auto-Electric Light system installed. The approach walls are stairs are guarded by ornamental iron rails. When excavating, a sand formation was encountered at the North approach which caused considerable...

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 Penobscot Bridge was a steel Baltimore through truss bridge connecting Bangor and Brewer. Construction was completed in 1911 and the bridge was replaced with the current Joshua Chamberlain bridge in 1954. According to the Bangor Daily News, this was the first Public Works Administration (PWA) project in the city. The project involved changing the approach by widening the Washington Street side and rounding off the sharp corners of the bridge which Bangor and Brewer officials considered dangerous. Work was preceded by the Maine Central RR changing its tracks and the telephone company changing some of its cables. Work began in...