Marked Sites

From April 1939 until May 1942, 277 men worked for the WPA at the Angel Mounds Site near Evansville, Indiana under the direction of Glenn A. Black, archaeologist for the Indiana Historical Society. During the project over 2 million artifacts were recovered from the site. The artifacts that were recovered from the WPA excavations as well as the documentary archives and photographs are currently located on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus in the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology.

In 1938, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners applied to the Public Works Administration (PWA) for funding to expand the Angela Boulevard Bridge, a critical link for motorists traveling to the Notre Dame stadium for football games. After receiving $45,000 and starting construction, however, faulty work in the original bridge necessitated a new structure, contractor, and additional funding. In 1939, the commissioners appealed again to the PWA and were awarded $76,500, with the county paying the rest of the $152,000 total cost. Remnants of the first bridge were destroyed with explosives that shook the entire neighborhood, but that was...

As part of a massive $12-million project to improve New Orleans’s City Park, the WPA built nine concrete vehicular bridges between 1936 and 1939 throughout the expanded grounds. Spanning Bayou Metairie near the southwest corner, the Anseman Avenue Bridge replaced one of the oldest bridges in the park. Constructed in 1938, it crosses the bayou by a 114’-long, single-span, reinforced concrete, closed-spandrel arch. In elevation, its low elliptical arch is highlighted by the recessed extrados and the heavy, angular cutwater abutments. The bridge carries two lanes of traffic over a 28”-wide concrete roadway; 5’ sidewalks are provided on both sides. Approach spans, flanked...

This high school gymnasium was constructed in Antelope, Texas during the Great Depression with the assistance of the Works Progress Administration. In addition to the native stone structure, the construction project included a septic tank, disposal field, and improved school facilities and employed approximately 20 laborers. $13, 622 of the total cost of $21,393 was provided by WPA while the local school district provided the remainder.

San Antonio's Board of Commissioners created the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) on June 17, 1937. On September 1, 1937, President Roosevelt signed the United States Housing Act of 1937. This created the United States Housing Authority (USHA) and provided $500 million for subsidies to be paid from the U.S. government to local public housing agencies (LHAs) like SAHA to improve living conditions for low-income families. SAHA made applications to the USHA for funds and the USHA agreed to provide financing for five projects; Alazan Courts, Apache Courts, Lincoln Heights Courts, Wheatley Courts and Victoria Courts. San Antonio enforced segregation in...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant for the construction of a new science building: Smith-Wright Hall at what was then known as Appalachian State Teachers College in Boone, North Carolina. The cornerstone identifies 1939 as the year construction started, as well as the PWA project number and notable figures. The building was completed in 1940. PWA Project No. N.C. 1473-F

The Civilian Conservation Corps completed the final link of the Appalachian Trail in Carrabassett Valley near Sugarloaf Mountain, on August 14, 1937. A plaque near the site reads: "In honor of the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps who, from 1935-1939, contributed greatly to the completion of the Appalachian Trail in Maine and who, on August 14, 1937, near this spot completed the final link of the entire 2,054-mile trail. Dedicated August 14, 1987 by the volunteers of the Appalachian Trail Club."

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees from the Mt. Elden Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp near Flagstaff worked at Walnut Canyon National Monument from 1938 to 1942.  One part of their work was assisting with the stabilization and restoration of dwelling units in the cliffs of Walnut Canyon.  Walnut Canyon is an important site of cliff dwellings left by the Sinagua people, who occupied the site c. 1125-1250 C.E.  There are a couple hundred dwelling units tucked into the cliffs on both sides of the canyon, but the focus of the archeological work was along the Island Trail, which the CCC built...

The Archer School Gymnasium was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) with funding from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, as part of the New Deal Project 1189. The building was restored (with ADA updates) beginning with fundraising efforts in 2003. Construction commenced in 2007 and completed in 2011, and the building dedicated. It now serves as a multi-purpose center for the City of Archer. The condition of the Gymnasium Building is excellent; however the school was demolished in 1972. (New Deal Project 1189 also remodeled the auditorium of the school into classrooms.)

In 1940, the Works Program Administration (WPA) constructed the dormitory complex called Irish Hall on the south side of the campus of what was then the Arizona State Normal School, now Arizona State University. Irish Hall consists of three separate wings (A, B & C buildings) around a courtyard. The buildings are plain, two-story Moderne style structures with horizontal streamlining and metal frame windows.  They still function as dormitories (which means that today access is closed to the public). There is a WPA plaque in the entrance way.

The Moeur Building was built in 1939 by the Works Projects Administration (WPA). It is the only adobe building on campus and the design is Southwest (Pueblo) Revival. The exterior is intact and well maintained, and there is a WPA stamp on the front steps (though no plaque or cornerstone).  The interior beyond the lobby appears to have been modernized (but this need corroboration). The building is named after Benjamin Baker Moeur, M.D., who served as the official physician for the Arizona Territorial Normal School (now Arizona State University) and served two terms as governor of Arizona.   Today, the Moeur Building houses...

Constructed in 1939, the Science Building of Arkansas State College (now the Business Building of Arkansas State University), was one of multiple New Deal projects on the college campus. In 1936, Arkansas State College added a Reserve Officers Training Corps. With this new addition, the program needed a building to have classes. Talk for the new building began in the summer of 1937 when the Board of Trustees began planning how the funds should be budgeted for the project. The building was built as part of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works project as part of the New Deal...

Arlington Heights Senior High School was one of five monumental high schools built in Fort Worth, Texas through the Public Works Administration (PWA). It was designed by local architect Preston M. Geren and built by Butcher and Sweeney in 1936-37 in the Georgian Revival style. The three-story central block is flanked by one-story arcaded wings. The landscape improvements were designed by Hare & Hare of Kansas City, MO and implemented by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The large campus was given a park-like treatment with a formal reflecting pool in front of the school and a long vista extending south from the rear. Also...

The striking PWA Moderne-style National Guard Armory in Hiawatha, Kansas was constructed in 1938 by the Works progress Administration (WPA). The armory is still in service. The building bears two plaques, dating construction to 1938 to 1939.

"Located at the northwest corner of W. 2nd and Alabama Streets, west of downtown Okmulgee, this armory was built by the WPA and completed in 1936. It was constructed of native limestone, quarried nearby and gave work to between 300 and 400 local workers, bringing $68,000 into the economy of the town. It housed Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 179th Infantry and also Company K, 179th Infantry of the 45th Infantry Division. Uniquely, members of Company K helped with the building, providing 6000 hours of labor in construction and landscaping of their new home. As is the case in most of the...

"The Tonkawa Armory is located east of the downtown area on North Street. The armory is rectangular (136' x 124') and constructed of native limestone in the Romanesque style. The architect firm was Nolan, Bryan, Ahler. The roof is concrete and flat with parapets on the front (south) and west sides. An arched metal gable roof is located over the drill area. "The front which faces south has four overhead garage doors, and a single entry door recessed into the slightly projected entry bay. The west elevation is similar in construction. The windows are fixed single units. "The armory was constructed in...

The Watonga Armory was constructed between 1935 and 1937 as a WPA project. This can be documented by the bronze shield above the entrance, and the cornerstone. The armory was placed on the National Register in 1994. This is a very typical WPA-constructed Armory in Oklahoma, although the decorative brickwork shows a high degree of masonry skill. The south end of the building has a barrel-shaped roof and was the drill area. The two-story, flat-roofed North end has rooms for offices, supplies and arms on the second floor, and a garage area on the ground floor with overhead doors. The main facade...

The Works Progress Administration built an armory in Yale, OK in 1936. Contributor note: "The Armory in Yale, as with most Oklahoma armories, was constructed by the WPA. This stone armory is located at 200 S. Main, and appears to be either vacant, or perhaps used by the town for storage. The armory faces East and has two wooden doors located in a slightly projected fortress-style bay. The tall window units are multi-pane casement. One overhead vehicle door is located at the northeast corner. A cornerstone is located on the northeast corner and reads: 'State Armory Built by Works Progress Administration 1936 W.S. Key State...

“The former Ada Armory is a one-story building (210' by 122'). It constructed of white native stone, rusticated and randomly laid. The central portion of the building is the drill floor which has a barrel roof. To the north and south are wings which have flat roofs. The roof on the south portion is missing, due to an explosion.   “The north and south wings each have four arched garage door openings. The windows are elongated casement windows with concrete sills. The building has decorative parapets and pillars.   “In 2006, when the government was shutting down numerous armories and bases, the...

Text from the National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: "The Atoka Armory is a single story, rectangular (1981 x 120') structure constructed of rusticated and coursed native sandstone of auburn and buff colors. The walls are eighteen inches thick. The stragetic placement of the darker colors raises the masonry to the level of art. The high ceiling central portion of the building has an arched roof, while that on either side is flat. Parapets are on all sections. Pilasters at doorways and vertical friezes above each casement window provide decoration. Garage entrances are through segmental arches. Roof extensions and vertical...

The historic former armory in Stillwater, Oklahoma was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1936. waymarking.com: This is a one-story native sandstone armory building located at 315 E. 9th Avenue, currently occupied as the Parks and Recreation Recreation Center. The office area is on the north side. There is a slightly projected entrance bay with a single glass door and sidelight. The tall window units have a fixed pane at the top and double hung sashes beneath. The drill floor area is located south of the offices and has a barrel roof with two vehicle doors. The armory was constructed as...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did extensive improvements at Armstrong State Park, 1933 to 1941.    The most impressive of the CCC works is a large amphitheater, which was under renovation during a visit in December 2022.    Many other features of the CCC's work remain, as well, such as stone stoves, stone drinking fountains, water lines, trails and the old community center.  Some buildings near the park entrance may be left over from the CCC camp.  In 1990, an informational plaque at the front of the park  was installed by members of the National Association of CCC Alumni, Luther Burbank Chapter 131.  But...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did extensive improvements at Armstrong State Park, 1933 to 1941.   Over the years, CCC Companies 594, 1553. 1920, 1988 and 2916 were stationed at Camp Armstrong, SP-39 (originally known as Camp Armstrong Woods, P-804), which was located by the present entrance to the park.  The enrollees built an amphitheater, a community building (including warden's headquarters), picnic areas with stone stoves and tables of redwood, a timber bridge, two miles of road improvements, cleared underbrush, and made general improvements to park grounds and other facilities (Goddard 1976). Many of those features remain.  The amphitheater was under renovation during a...

The Arneson River Theatre is a well known landmark along San Antonio's Riverwalk. Built with WPA funds between 1938 and 1940 it has hosted thousands of events. The stage is on the north bank of the river with seating on the south bank. It is most frequently used for summer plays, including the popular Fiesta Noche Del Rio. It is also a popular venue for weddings. It is a part of the La Villita Historic Arts Village.

The bridge carrying the Jamaicaway over Huntington Avenue, near Brookline, was constructed with NIRA funds. The structure was renamed in 2017 for the sons of Boston Marathon bombing hero Carlos Arredondo.

The Arroyo de la Laguna Bridge across Alameda Creek in Sunol was built with the aid of the New Deal in 1939. The bridge is located on Highway 84 (Niles Canyon Road) just east of the Main Street turnoff into the town of Sunol, which is best known as the site of a "Water Temple" where the Hetch Hetchy aqueduct enters the Bay Area and the eastern station for the rebuilt Niles Canyon tourist railroad. Arroyo de la Laguna bridge is a plain concrete span of about 100 feet, with the balustrades typical of the interwar period, and it has the...

This narrow concrete sidewalk and stairway connecting Solano Avenue and Academy Road was built by the WPA in 1941. Located along the Arroyo Seco Parkway near the Solano Ave. Elementary School.

The Works Progress Administration built an athletic field in Gorman TX. A rock masonry fence with concrete coping encloses the athletic field. The fence is 8'-4" tall and 12" wide. The rock entrance and ticket booths with the plaque are dated 1938-1940. There is stadium seating on both sides of the field (unmarked, but appear to match). Official Project No. 65-1-66-2823.

In 1938, WPA labor constructed a stone retaining wall outlining the east and north edges of the Auburn Veterans Memorial Hall property. The approximately 380’-long wall is made of pieces of uncut native stone laid in random courses. The wall sweeps up at the entry, framing concrete steps leading to the hall. It continues along the sides of property, meeting another stone wall of unknown origin. The ends of the wall terminate with tapered posts. The post at the south end includes a scratched inscription in concrete identifying structure as a WPA project. Unlike other walls constructed by the WPA in Auburn,...

In 1935, Spencer applied for a Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant for the construction of an auditorium. When the town had not heard anything by November, a delegation of representatives of the town drove to Lincoln to speak with Mr. Felton, the state director of the WPA. He assured them that, while the federal government had not yet approved the project, the auditorium project seemed a worthy one, and was likely to be approved in due course. At the end of January 1936, Spencer had its answer: the project had been approved. However, they did not receive a full allocation...

The main building of the old Austin High School was erected in 1916 and was originally the John Allan Junior High School. The existing Austin High School campus, built in 1900, became overcrowded, and in 1924, the decision was made to swap the students in Austin High with Allan Junior High. This happened after the Thanksgiving holiday in 1925. In 1939, the school district added an annex of twenty-four classrooms to the Austin High School building using partial funding from the Public Works Administration. The two-story addition was separated from the main building by a courtyard and connected with a covered...

Avalon Park was one of the last projects of the WPA that was approved by Harry Hopkins and Controller General J.R. McCarl in 1935 and was an example during the Great Depression of how the government was interested in giving pleasurable entertainment and culture to the community of the Chicago South Side. The park is located between 83rd and 85th streets, with South Kimbark Avenue on the east side and is approximately 28 acres . Pre-New Deal, in 1931 landscape architect Robert Moore created a plan for the park and Alderman Michael F. Mulcahy was also involved in jumpstarting plans...

The Avenue E School was built in the 1900s and the Works Progress Administration remodeled/built additions to it. There is a place on the building where a marker has been removed. A marker on the next door Gymnasium rock building reads: Copperas Cover Independent School District J.C. Culwell, Supt Trustees Louis Behrens, Pres. M.I. Walker, Sec'y R.C. Adams Leo M. Frase H.J. Leonhard M.Y. Stacy O.E. Urbantke W.P.A. Project No. 15511 1940

The old Avondale Elementary School building facing the street at 295 Western Ave., which is now an administrative building for the Avondale Elementary School District was built by the WPA, as is the school's current gymnasium. These are most likely two of the buildings referred to in a publication by the Three Rivers Historical Society stating that: "In 1937, with a school bond issue of $12,500 and $77,315 in W.P.A. labor, Avondale School added more classrooms." Several sidewalks around the school also bear circular stamps saying "USA WPA."

The Works Progress Administration built a culvert on Azalea St., north of Piedmont, on the border of Canadian and Kingfisher Counties, Oklahoma. Contributor note: "This culvert is located just east of Mustang Road on Azalea Street NE (Waterloo Road). It runs north-south from Canadian County on the south to Kingfisher County on the north. This creek must carry quite a bit of water because the concrete culvert opening is approximately 8 feet high and 14 feet wide. A stamped shield on the culvert curbing shows that the WPA constructed this in 1939."

Concrete Cast-in-Place bridge on Griffith Avenue in Terrell, TX. It has a metal plaque at both ends of the bridge which is approx. 108 feet long. Joint project of Texas Highway Department and US Bureau of Public Roads.

The Works Progress Administration built the Baird High School gym, football field, and wall in Baird TX.

This fire station was constructed by the PWA in 1939 and remains in use today.

In 1937 the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance authorizing work to begin on reconstructing the bridge. The job took a year and a half and replaced the timber approaches with approaches of concrete and steel that featured ornamental lighting. The cost was $800,000, funded 45 percent by the federal Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the remainder by Seattle's share of the state gasoline tax. The work closed the roadway for the year and a half of construction. For the duration, people crossing the ship canal were obliged to drive over the Fremont Bridge or the Aurora Bridge.

The National Youth Administration built park facilities in Ballinger City Park. The marker is installed in a rock wall lining the park road. Park amenities include an old bridge, picnic tables, a low bench, a couple of buildings, and retaining walls.