Unknown Sites

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Wakefield Public Library in Wakefield, Kansas in 1938. The library is still in use.

The FAP commissioned John Augustus Walker, a native of Mobile, Alabama, to create a series of seven oil-on-canvas murals for the 1855 City Hall, which also served as a public market. This building later became the History Museum of Mobile. The murals, completed in 1936, depict events from Mobile's history and development. Subjects include "Transportation," "Education," "Fraternity" "Discovery," "Science," and others. Two of the murals depict subjects that may be controversial to modern viewers: t"Military Courage" shows warfare with Native Americans, and "The Power of Public Opinion" depicts the last ship bringing enslaved Africans to the United States in 1859. In...

The Walnut Creek Bridge in northern Yavapai County AZ was built in 1936 with the help of the New Deal.  It crosses Walnut Creek on FS95 and may have been built to improve access to the Prescott National Forest ranger station further up CR125, Walnut Creek Road. The bridge was built by the Arizona Highways Department using relief workers hired out of transient (homeless) camps along the Verde River, with the aid of Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) funds (probably via the Arizona Relief Administration). The design was done by Arizona Highways Bridge Engineer Ralph Hoffman, basically a concrete foundation on which...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and its successor, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), both engaged in improvement projects at the old Walter Reed General Hospital (as it was then known).  The entire army medical complex, covering around 80 acres, was closed down in 2011 and Walter Reed Army Medical Center  (as it came to be known) moved out to Bethesda MD.    The former site has been repurposed as the Children's National Hospital and a huge mixed commercial and residential development, The Parks at Walter Reed. CWA crews painted buildings, planted trees, and helped build an elevator shaft at the center...

The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center began life as the National Naval Medical Center under the New Deal. Congress appropriated the funds in 1937 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected the site in Bethesda, Maryland.   Architect Paul Cret designed a magnificent Moderne building with a tower that still delights (though much obscured by subsequent additions to the complex).  Construction began in 1939.  FDR laid the cornerstone of the famous tower on Armistice Day 1940, and the center opened soon thereafter (probably some time in 1941, not 1940 as most sources say). According to the official Center website, "The President’s vision was to...

The Civilian Conservation Corps built the warden’s residence at Mount San Jacinto State Park. The warden’s residence is located near the park entrance, off to the right. It is currently being used as ranger housing.

In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a barn at Warder Nursery in Cincinnati OH. The project was one of several undertaken by the WPA in the city. “Three WPA projects for park improvements at Cincinnati, Ohio, have been given approval by the council finance committee of the city,” a contemporary journalist remarked at the time. “One project provides for the erection of a service and storage building at the Warder Nursery on North Ben Road, one for the construction of roads and walks in the various parks, and the other for landscape development in some of the parks.” The WPA...

Clearfield hosted the Clearfield Naval Supply Depot during WWII. Thus, their schools were full to bursting, and not only was Wasatch Elementary built for the Davis County School District, but several other "Emergency Schools" were built in local war housing projects. Wasatch Elementary cost about $120,000 (FWA Project Utah 42-189N). Only 10 years later - as the result of the Hill Air Force Base constuction - Wasatch was again over capacity (500 students in a building built for 300). Additions were needed, and finally in 2012, the building was demolished and replaced with a new Wasatch Elementary at the same location.

Washington School was built with the funding of the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The Art Moderne concrete school built to replace the Longfellow and Frances Willard schools. It was in use until 2011. Notable features include murals depicting Longfellow and Willard and a basement bicycle garage.

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a new cafeteria and a single story stucco building at Washington Elementary School (today a STEM Magnet School) in Pasadena, CA. They also made extensive improvements to the grounds, including grading, landscaping, seeding, walkways, drives, walls, fences, etc. As of 2024, the school appeared to be undergoing extensive construction. It is unclear whether the New Deal–era structures will survive. The 1933 Long Beach earthquake necessitated the rehabilitation of 27 schools in the Pasadena Unified School District at a total cost of ~$3.3 million. Grants from the Public Works Administration (PWA) financed 27% (~$900,000)...

P. G. Napolitano painted a mural for Washington Middle School in Long Beach, CA. The mural, located in the school's science building, 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 qualities” (Wells, p. 22). Napolitano's other FAP murals in the region are...

Many improvements were made to the U.S Navy Yard and Naval Ammunition Depot (now called the Washington Navy Yard) throughout the New Deal, from 1934 to 1941. In 1933, the Washington Post reported that $325,000 had been allotted by the Public Works Administration (PWA) to improvements at the Navy Yard; the funds were dispensed in 1934 for the modernization of the heating plant.  A 1937 Navy report provides specifics on that work: “new concrete foundations, structural steel boiler supports, air-cooled boiler settings, stoker-fired furnaces, smoke breeching, coal chutes, forced-draft fans, operating platforms and walkways, boiler plant accessories, piping and electric wiring;...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed the Washoe Country Club golf course in Reno, Nevada. Work began in May 1935 under FERA and the course was completed in October 1936 by the WPA.  All the labor was provided by relief workers drawn from the rank of the unemployed during the Great Depression. We believe that the older portion of the clubhouse dates from the New Deal, as well. The course was built on the site of the original Reno airfield, as well as land from an earlier Reno Golf Club that had gone bankrupt in...

Medford Lakes's Municipal Sewer Plant and collection pipelines, Waste Water Treatment Facility and collection system was built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) assistance in 1937-1938. "The sewage system for the community was built in 1937 to 1938 through WPA assistance and has been extended so that now Medford Lakes is completely sewered."

Legislative permission was given to issue bonds for supplemental financing of the water distribution system in Skagway in 1934. Skagway was authorized to issue $40,000 bonds to supplement the Public Works Administration project 3961 in the amount of a $29,700 loan and $12,609 grant approved 12/28/1933. Construction began 5/1/1935 and was completed 10/1/1935.

In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) began constructing a water reservoir in Pico Rivera, CA. Construction of the 50’x180’x12’ reservoir was completed for $25,722.

As part of a major Works Progress Administration grant to the city of Biloxi in 1935-1936, a 500,000 gallon reservoir for storing water for drinking and fire fighting was completed at a cost of $20,127.31 for the City Water Works Department, along with repairs to the existing reservoirs. The sponsor contributed $5,025.71. The project entailed excavation, grading, backfilling, terracing and sodding, the making of concrete forms, pouring concrete and setting steel reinforcement, and installing water mains. Workers included 32 laborers, 14 skilled workers, 7 intermediate, plus a timekeeper and superintendent for the job. The new reservoir was located at the...

A waterworks-improvement construction project in Holbrook, Arizona was undertaken during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $39,000 loan and $11,000 grant; the total cost of the project was $51,845. Work occurred between August and November 1936. We do not know the specifics of this project.  

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed a distinctive octagonal, concrete water tower in Barnard, Kansas. It was located east of Main Street between Church Ave. and Mills Ave. Conflicting sources state that the water tower was completed in either 1937, 1941, or 1942 (with historic articles seeming to suggest the latter, per Barnard Banter). Articles, Google Street View, and satellite imagery suggest that the historic water tower was demolished and replaced with a new structure at the same location in 2013.

Public Works Administration project 5487 was approved 4/4/1934 for water works project in Magnolia. The city received a loan of $10,500 and grant for $3,874 to improve the water works system constructed in 1905. Construction began 7/9/1934 and was completed12/22/1934 for a total of $14,381.

Meridian voters approved a $200,000 bond issue for improving the water works in 1939. It was projected to begin July that year and provide employment for 300 men for a year. Improvements were proposed to include “new five-million-gallon reservoir on the hills south of Meridian, Gravity flow through a new 24-inch main to the downtown section. Several new 16-inch mains to major outlying districts of the city. At least one addition to the pumping station to increase capacity. Adequate pressure to decrease fire hazards” (1939, p. 9). Although they had expected to receive a federal grant of $100,000 toward the cost,...

A water system was approved for Blue Mountain 07/21/1936 as PWA project W1005. A loan of $20,000 and grant of $16,363 was approved and bids advertised in September 1936. Contract was awarded 11/03/1936 to the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company and A. H. Beard of St. Louis was the engineer in charge. Using natural springs east of Blue Mountain to supply the water, it marked the first time in the community that standard fireplugs were installed. Construction began November 20th and was completed March 20, 1937 for a total of $36,743.

Public Works Administration project 4251 was approved 12/28/1933 for a water works system in Sardis. A loan $14,257 and grant of $5,342 was announced in December 1933. Construction began 6/12/1934 and was completed 8/28/1934 for a total of $19,599.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) combined efforts to construct the Waterbury Dam in Waterbury, Vermont during the Great Depression. On November 3 and 4, 1927, torrential rains created a disastrous flood that paralyzed Vermont. Little River’s rising waters drove the valley residents to their roofs and isolated the hillside farmers. Fifty-five people in the Winooski Valley lost their lives, and property damage was estimated at $13,500,000. A second flood occurred in 1934. These events spurred a plan by the US Army Corps of Engineers to built a set of four dams in central Vermont from...

Relief workers from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped carve out and construct the Waterside Theatre at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island. The theater has undergone renovations and changes over the years but is still very much in operation. Waterside Theater is home of the long-running play “The Lost Colony," written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Green, a native of North Carolina.  The story of the mysterious lost colony of Roanoke has been running consistently, though not entirely uninterrupted, since 1937.  WPA Federal Theater Project (FTP) actors took part in the original performances. As FTP historian...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded new construction or improvement work on a waterworks project in Hanalei on Kauai. The PWA grant amounted to $13,500, and the work was carried out in 1938. The project, listed as Docket No. TH-1090-F, was part of the PWA’s non-federal projects expenditure for the Territory of Hawaii for 1938-1939.

Public Works Administration funded project 9299 for Douglas for waterworks and sewer improvements. The project for a $39,000 loan and $ 31,909 grant was approved 7/9/1935. Construction began 10/10/1935 and was completed 8/19/1936.

The office building for the Marianna waterworks was built in 1936-1937 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). Projected cost was $11,697 with the PWA contributing $5106. The building is constructed of red brick in the Spanish Revival style. Now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The historic Liberty Grove school was constructed 1934 by architect James Manly Spain in a one-story Colonial Revival style. CWA funds provided $22,000 toward the $32,000 school building. The award for the construction contract was to be submitted by the CWA board. In 1939, the Liberty Grove school was part of PWA project W1183 to fund construction and improvements for five Hinds County schools. Liberty Grove school received funding to construct a gymnasium and four additional classrooms. A bond issue for $21,000 was set for October 18, 1938 and approved. PWA funds for all five schools was $151,986 loan toward...

Construction of the 1,950-foot earthen dam (embankment), gatehouse, spillway and outlet channel commenced in 1933 and was largely completed in 1935; the spillway gates were finished between 1937-1939. The concrete gatehouse was stamped with the year "1934" and "USIS" (Indian Irrigation Service). The purpose of the dam and reservoir is to impound much needed East Walker River water for agricultural use on the Walker River Indian Reservation. The dam project is a good example of the New Deal at work on Indian lands. Approximately $130,000 of the project was financed by the Public Works Administration (PWA). Weber Dam and Reservoir was...

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) reinforced Webster Elementary School in Pasadena, CA after the Gothic Revival building suffered damage in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided ~$12,500 in funds. The 1933 Long Beach earthquake necessitated the rehabilitation of 27 schools in the Pasadena Unified School District at a total cost of ~$3.3 million. Grants from the PWA financed 27% (~$900,000) of the rehabilitation; the sale of school bonds covered 40% (~$1.3 million); and Pasadena tax revenues made up the final 33% (~$1 million). The funding was split between elementary and high schools, with elementary...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Free Public Library building on Santa Clara Street, near Webster, in the city of Alameda. The project cost a total of $32,826 and was completed in July 1936.  There is a cornerstone with the date 1936 but not credit to the PWA (but there may be a plaque inside). The building is reinforced concrete, designed to withstand earthquakes, and the design, by Carl Werner, is Renaissance Revival, which was quite popular in the early 20th century – though the red tile roof evokes Mission Revival architecture of the interwar period.  The interior...

The West Florida Electric Cooperative was founded in Graceville, Florida, in 1937 with a loan from the federal Rural Electrical Administration (REA). It was one of hundreds of successful coops aided by the New Deal to bring electricity to unserved rural areas. "West Florida Electric Cooperative Association, Inc. was formed on December 10, 1937 by 712 rural residents who banded together and borrowed $194,000 from REA to build the original 262 miles of power lines to serve the area. Actual day-to-day operation of the co-op began in 1939" (West Florida Electric). As of 2024, West Florida Electric is still serving rural Floridians.

In 1936-37, a two-story classroom building was constructed at West Vernon Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA Moderne structure, which features Art Deco detailing, was designed by architect Thomas Franklin Power and built by contractor William J. Shirley for $139,620. It is extant on S Grand Ave. The reconstruction and renovation of Los Angeles schools damaged by the 1933 Long Beach earthquake was the single largest PWA funded program in the country, totaling ~$34.7 million (LA Times, May 23, 1937).  It was overseen by the Los Angeles Unified School District...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) partially demolished and reconstructed the West Whittier Elementary School, formerly grammar school, in Whittier, CA.

In 1935-36, three school buildings and an auditorium were built at Western Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA. Construction totaled $109,838 and was partially funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). Today, the school is a Tech Magnet. Designed by architects Myron Hunt and H. C. Chambers in the PWA Moderne style, the three single-story frame and stucco school buildings were built in 1935 by Harold Hansen. One of the buildings faces onto W 54th St; the other two face onto W 53rd St. In 1936, the one-story auditorium was built by John W. Dahlquist. Facing onto W 53rd St, the...

In 1938, the New Deal’s Public Works Administration (PWA) awarded a grant for the construction of additions to Bruce High School (present-day Westernport Elementary School) in Westernport, Maryland. George F. Hazelwood of Cumberland, Maryland won the contract to build the additions with a bid of $79,940. We don’t know the exact amount of PWA money that went towards the project, but the additions were part of a larger school improvements initiative in Allegany County, where the PWA put about $491,000 (45%) towards the total $1,092,000 required. Thus, the amount of PWA grant money that went towards the Bruce High School additions...

The Works Progress Administration built the Westport School in Westport MN. The structure has a simple, Moderne exterior. Most windows have since been bricked up. Minnesota Historical Society has a photo from initial construction from the Works Progress Administration Collection. That collection "provides numerous views of WPA projects around the state of Minnesota" along with very old photographs (clearly not the case for the relevant imafge here). The town peaked in population in 1940 (104) and since declined to half that amount by 2010, with its post office shutting down in 1966.

White Lake campground is located on a National Natural Landmark of 72 acre Pitch Pine Stand, surrounding a glacier formed lake. The 117th Co. S53, CCC based out of Tamworth NH, was involved in the building of bath houses, beach improvements, and camp ground development.

The main purpose of these dams (and others) on the Muddy River is flood control and protection of downstream decreed agricultural land owned by the Moapa Indian Reservation and/or private water users in Moapa Valley. The White Narrows Dam No. 1 also impounds water during wetter years and/or off-season useage. Dam No. 2 is located within the Reservation while Dam No. 1 and its reservoir are at the edge but mostly outside of the Reservation boundary. Dam No. 2 was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps - Indian Division (CCC-ID) in 1935 under supervision of the Office Indian Affairs and...