The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began improvements at Bellingham WA’s Cornwall Memorial Park in 1937. The WPA also allocated $29,000 for the construction of a state-of-the-art bowling green at the site. This was in addition to earlier improvements, which included… read more
Grenada County was approved for WPA project 40079 for rehabilitation of the 1885 courthouse. The project was allotted $11,308 to include improving the boiler room, plastering, painting, and improving floors along with rearranging office space. The Grenada County Board of… read more
The enormous Cow Palace—or, more formally, the Livestock Exhibition Building—was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. It was completed in early 1938 at a cost of $701,648. It lies just south of the San Francisco city/county line in… read more
Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery was established in 1889 to raise and stock juvenile Atlantic salmon for Maine waters. Craig Brook currently supports two Atlantic salmon programs. [FWS.Gov] According to a 1937 CCC Yearbook, the Ellsworth-Bar Harbor Co 193, Camp… read more
The history of Craighead Forest Park portraits a close collaboration between the local community and federal government during the Great Depression “to stave off the ravages of poverty, misery and human degradation.” (1) It dates to 1937 when the Young… read more
The DC Armory was paid for by a congressional appropriation (part of the District’s general funding bill for fiscal year 1940), and probably also through local revenue sources such as real estate taxes and parking fees. The DC Municipal Architect’s… read more
The Civil Works Administration and the Public Works Administration (PWA) completed improvements at the District of Columbia Reformatory and Workhouse (today’s “D.C. Workhouse and Reformatory Historic District”) between 1933 and 1940. “During the latter part of December 1933 an appropriation was obtained… read more
The Seattle Park Department utilized funds and labor from the Civil Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration, as well as the state-based Washington Emergency Relief Administration, to complete a series of maintenance and improvement projects at David Rodgers Park…. read more
In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed improvements at, and helped beautify, De Mores Memorial Park in downtown Medora ND. The city park improvement project was one of several beautification initiatives around Medora that depended on WPA work crews…. read more
Several New Deal agencies contributed to the construction of the Deerfield Dam in the vicinity of Hill City and the Black Hills National Forest, SD. Construction began before the Roosevelt Administration, continued during the New Deal, and finished after World War II…. read more
The Works Progress Administration built the Delbert J Haff Circle Fountain in Kansas City MO, in 1940.
In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed living quarters, roads, fences and a well at the Desert Experimental Range Station in Pine Valley UT. The station was established in 1933 by President Herbert Hoover, who set aside an 87-square-mile… read more
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) was developed and improved during the Great Depression with New Deal work relief funds and labor. The groundbreaking for Wayne County Airport occurred April 1929. On September 4, 1930, Wayne County Airport opens at… read more
New Deal agencies undertook a variety of improvements at the Detroit Zoological Park in Royal Oak, Michigan. Between 1933 and 1937, the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and… read more
New Deal agencies undertook a variety of improvements at the Detroit Zoological Park in Royal Oak, Michigan. Between 1933 and 1937, the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and… read more
The visitor center at Diamond Lake, across from the campground, was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1938. It is a typical rustic-style building of the northwest forests, with stone foundation and stairs, wood siding, and tree designs… read more
The Public Works Administration project 1408 provided a grant of $20,250 for disposal plant for the city of Corinth. The project was approved 10/2/1936, construction started 1/18/1937, and was completed 6/12/1937 for a total cost of $46,505. WPA provided an… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community center for the Dixie Pine community in 1936. Dixie Pine had 1000 residents and no public building for social activity. The center hosted many dances for the Camp Shelby soldiers through the… read more
The Dixie Springs Lake was one of the first projects initiated in Pike County by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Work began in early November 1935 when 20 men began clearing the site. Efforts were made for early completion of… read more
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… read more
When the Civil Works Administration (CWA) was launched in November 1933, the Old Dover Village Cemetery received improvements. According to community notes in the Bangor Daily News, “road grading and widening at the Dover Cemetery, and construction of a new… read more
The public swimming pool at Rafferty Slough in Dubuque, IA was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937. Measuring 75 x 225 feet, the Dubuque pool was the largest and most expensive of a number of publicly constructed… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Durant Public School in 1940-42. N. W. Overstreet and Associates designed the Art Moderne school building and W. E. Rubush of Meridian was the superintendent of construction. The building is 181 feet by… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps built the E. Conway Road in Conway NH. According to Langdonian, the CCC camp newsletter, “On May 23rd 1936 the company [CCC Co 152nd] moved to its present location near Chatham Center, N.H. The chief project… read more
In December 1939 the Eagle Bend School burned down, causing $110,000 in damage and destroying a gymnasium constructed by the Public Works Administration in 1934. While deliberating on new construction on January 31, 1940, the members of the Eagle Bend… read more
The Public Works Administration financed the construction of the facility with an $8,990,000 grant. Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of three wastewater and sewerage treatment facilities in the Cleveland area. According to a 2015 Pittsburg Post and Gazette article,… read more
The Edmondson Park Swimming Pool and Bathhouse in Oskaloos IA was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937. It was one of over a dozen public swimming pools constructed in Iowa during the New Deal. The Oskaloosa pool… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the El Paso International Airport in El Paso TX. The antecedent to the El Paso International Airport, built by the WPA, was the Municipal Airport, established by Standard Airlines. This original airport was established… read more
Public Works Administration (PWA) 1203 approved a loan of $66,000 and grant of $54,000 for a new electric power plant. The project was approved 11/14/1935. Construction began 10/10/1938 and was completed 10/4/1939. The delay between approval and construction was due… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) allotted $128,138 toward construction of a new elementary school. R. W. Naef was the architect for the two-story brick 1941 International style building. W. T. Beckelheimer was the superintendent of construction. An auditorium was added… read more
The one-story Colonial Revival brick building was constructed by a $14,318 grant from Public Works Administration approved 9/26/1938. Construction began 12/19/1938 and was completed 7/29/1939 for a total cost of $31,585. Edgar Lucian Malvaney designed the building and it was… read more
Works Progress Administration (WPA) project No. 41,290 for construction of a school building at Redwood community was approved for $26,406. The Redwood History page reported the “final school” was constructed on a 10-acre plot. While it was being finished, it… read more
Public Works Administration project 4726 for an elementary school building was approved 3/21/1934 for a $20,000 loan and $8,232 grant. Construction began 6/18/1934 and was completed 5/29/1935. The Colonial Revival style building was designed by Edgar Lucian Malvaney and constructed… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a swimming pool, now called Ellis Kinney Swimming Pool, in Pratt, Kansas.
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) funded the Ephraim Fire House in Ephraim WI in 1935. Unusual fire house built into a cliff. Architect was William Bernhard, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. Now a museum and a memorial to… read more
The National Youth Administration completed improvements at the Ezel High School. A team of 18 NYA boys remodeled an old residence that was converted in the science building. The crew consolidated the foundation, added a sewer line to the street,… read more
The station was begun in the 1931 as a fruit and vegetable research station. From 1933-1935, the site was expanded and new buildings constructed. The buildings were built by Public Works Administration from 1933 to 1935 with an allotment of… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Fire Station 5 in Topeka KS. The building is apparently replaced. “Station No. 7 shares an identical floor plan and similar architectural features to two other fire stations in Topeka, those being Fire Station… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Fire Station 7 in Topeka KS. “This station was constructed in 1935 through Works Progress Administration to service the growing Oakland neighborhood, and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad yards, located just a… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Fire Station 7 in Topeka KS. “This station was constructed in 1935 through Works Progress Administration to service the newly expanding areas of western Topeka, including the newly developed Westboro neighborhood located one block… read more
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
