Marked Sites

The four works of art — two sprawling paintings and two smaller, companion pieces — will soon be back on display on the walls of what is now the Kilgore History & Arts Center. The post office to be erected in Kilgore will be one of the city's most modern and attractive buildings according to blue prints of the structure which were received by Postmaster Crown Dickson. The building, one story with a basement half above and half below the ground level, will be of buff-colored brick with white stone decorations. The framework will be of reinforced steel. Estimations showed that...

The former Greenville Tennessee post office and courthouse at 101 W Summer St. was built in 1904. In 1939, William Zorach installed two wooden carved reliefs depicting "The Resources of Nature" and "Man Power." The carvings were funded by the Federal Works Agency. After the old post office and courthouse became a private bank, the reliefs were moved to the current courthouse at this location.

Texas artist Loren Mozley completed "Emigrants at Nightfall" in 1942 for the Alvin Post Office, also a New Deal Project. After years of storage, it was recently restored with help from a donation from former Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan and his wife Ruth. Today it hangs again in the former post office, now the Alvin Historical Museum.

The historic 1938 post office in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania housed an example of New Deal artwork: "Smelting," painted by Walter Alton Carnelli in 1941. The mural was destroyed in 1965, but a photo reproduction and descriptive plaque are present.

The Camden post office contains a 1938 Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural by John H. Fyfe entitled "Mail Delivery to Tranquility - The first post office in Benton County."

The post office in Canoga Park, CA, is graced by a large oil-on-canvas mural by the artist Maynard Dixon, painted in 1941. The mural was commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts of the Federal Works Agency (which had previously been part of the Treasury Department). Titled "Palomino Ponies," the mural depicts several galloping horses and a rider.  Dixon was one of the most well-known painters of the American West. "Palomino Ponies"—Dixon's last public mural project—is registered as a National Landmark by the National Historical Society. Note: Established in 1939, the Section of Fine Arts succeeded the Treasury Section of Painting and...

In 1937, Milford Zornes (assisted by George Biddle) painted an enormous oil-on-canvas mural, "California Landscape," in the Claremont, CA, post office. The mural was funded by the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP). The 58' x 3'4" mural wraps around all four walls of the lobby. "There are clusters of trees, people walking along a road, a farmer leading two plough horses, and a couple in Mexican finery dancing. Bridges Auditorium, meant to represent Pomona College and the importance of higher education, is also portrayed" (Dunitz, p. 343). Zornes was an Oklahoma-born watercolorist for whom Western landscapes were a favorite subject. He also...

This oil-on-campus mural “Texas Longhorn—A Vanishing Breed” was painted by Ila Turner McAfee in 1941 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Elizabeth Lochrie painted an oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "News from the States," which was installed in the Dillon, Montana post office in 1938. The mural was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Lochrie also painted murals for the post offices in St Anthony and Burley, Idaho 

Artist William Schwartz painted this mural titled "Old Settlers" for the Fairfield post office in 1936, under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

A Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Building the New Road" was painted by Kenneth Evett in 1941 for the Golden post office (now the Downtown Station post office). The mural is still in place and in good shape.  The florescent lighting on it is unfortunate, but there is a very well done display beneath it on the construction of the building.

The historic post office building in Hamilton, Montana houses an oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Flat Head War Party" by artist Henry Meloy. It is one of only six New Deal murals in Montana post offices. The federal Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts funded the work, which was installed in 1942. The subject matter of the Meloy mural is a bit unusual: the formation of a "war party" of Shoshone preparing to go fight Blackfeet intruders. It depicts the natives as strong, fighting men, but why the White observer? The information sheet by the mural explains that such internecine warfare among tribes was...

The post office contains a Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural "Life in the Mississippi Cotton Belt," painted by Auriel Bessemer in 1939 and installed in the Hazlehurst post office that same year. Bessemer was the son of Hungarian immigrants (Boszormenyi Family Tree). His accomplishments included work with the Gallery of Modern Masters in Washington and the American Museum of Natural History in New York (Enzweiler, 1992). Bessemer's painting represented the Copiah County diversified economy of an earlier time: cotton industry and manufacturing (Nelson-Easley, 2007), possibly the nearby Wesson Mills. Like many of the murals under the program, it could be...

The mural "Western Town" by Jenne Magafan was painted in 1941 under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and was a winner of the Treasury Section's 48-State Post Office mural competition. The mural is 25.5 x 43.5 feet and painted with oil-on-fiberboard.   It sits at the south end of the post office lobby and remains in pristine condition. 

The Post Office in Preston, Idaho, features a New Deal mural painted by Edmond J. Fitzgerald. The oil-on-canvas mural is entitled "The Battle of Bear River". It memorializes a notorious massacre of Shoshone people by a group of "California Volunteers" in Franklin County in 1863. The mural was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and hung in the post office in 1941. Fitzgerald also painted murals for the Ontario Oregon and Colville Washington post offices. The post office has a helpful information sheet on the mural and New Deal work in the town of Preston.

The post office contains a 1940 Section of Fine Arts mural by Vance Kirkland entitled “The Opening of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Country.”

"Deer," an egg tempera mural, was painted by Helen K. Forbes for the Susanville, California post office in 1939. The project was funded by the federal Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office in Watonga, Oklahoma houses New Deal artwork. The oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Roman Nose Canyon," was completed by Edith Mahier in 1941 and installed in the post office lobby, where it is still viewable today. From the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the mural (via Waymarking.com): Edith Mahier was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1892. She received a Bachelor of Design degree from Newcomb Memorial College School of Art in 1916 and accepted a professorship in the art department at the University of Oklahoma (OU) the following year. Around 1926, Susie Peters, Kiowa Field Matron, showed the...

The 1940 oil-on-canvas mural, "Cattle Round-Up," by Polly Duncan depicts several cowboys guiding cattle into a shed while the bulk of the herd is being driven in from the broad expanse of the Nevada landscape.  It is a typical New Deal era post office mural in that it depicts a theme from the locality and its history and is done in American Regionalist style. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts funded this mural, probably at the same time as the old post office was expanded in 1940.   The mural at the former post office was moved to the city's modern post...

The historic post office in Blackfoot, Idaho houses a magnificent example of New Deal artwork. The murals were commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and installed in 1939. The tempera mural cycles are by Andrew Standing Soldier, a Native American artist.  Entitled "The Arrival Celebration" and "The Round-Up,"  they depict everyday life of the Blackfoot people on their nearby reservation. The first covers two walls of the entrance lobby; the second is on the upper portion of the walls in another lobby room. 

The Hyde Park NY post office has murals covering all four walls painted by Olin Dows in 1941. Dows called the group of 19 panels, "Professions and Industries of Hyde Park."  He provided a guide to his murals in booklet form (shown below). The project was paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The Poughkeepsie post office has five large murals on the walls depicting local scenes from the 17th to 20th centuries.  Two horizontal murals at either end of the lower lobby are views of Poughkeepsie from across the Hudson in 1839 and 1940; those are by Georgina Klitgaard and Charles Rosen, respectively. On the mezzanine floor are three murals by Gerald Foster. One depicts Pilgrims and Indians on the site of Poughkeepsie in 1692. The second shows the hamlet of Poughkeepsie in 1730 (not shown here).   The third and largest one shows delegates from New York meeting in Dutchess County to ratify...

The Rhinebeck post office contains a series of twelve murals (plus those over the windows) depicting scenes from local history. The murals were painted by Olin Dows in 1940 with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funding.  Dows was a Rhinebeck resident , trained at Vassar College and head of the Treasury Relief Art Program – no doubt brought in by the request of President Roosevelt, who had taken a keen interest in the Rhinebeck post office near his home in Hyde Park.   The artist provided a thorough explanation of all the panels in a pamphlet published in 1940 by the Civic...

The Terra Cotta relief entitled "Shoemakers of Stoneham" was carved by William Zorach as a part of the New Deal Section of Fine Arts program funded by the Treasury Department. “ depicts three men diligently working away constructing shoes. Around them are the tools of their trade: knives, awls, lasting hammers, thread, leather, wooden lasts, pincers, stirrups and lapstones…” “In selecting a theme for the new Post Office in Stoneham, William Zorach chose to celebrate the skilled artisans of Stoneham's pre-industrial past. The three shoemakers depicted in the wall sculpture above the Post Master's door hearken back to a time when...

The historic post office in Park Rapids, Minnesota houses a collection of New Deal wooden reliefs created by Alonzo Hauser: "Park Service Symbol," "Indian," and "Lumberjack in Setting." The works were commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed and installed in 1941.

With Treasury Relief Arts Program funding, Isamu Noguchi produced this cast stone relief entitled "The Letter" for display at the Haddon Heights post office in 1939. Noguchi is best known for his bas-relief "News" on the exterior of 40 Rockefeller Center in New York City. Ironically, then-postmaster of Haddon Heights, Henry McKay, objected to the installation, but it has remained to delight generations of local residents.        

PWA funding built this high school in Potosi in 1936. It is a large 2 story building with a brick façade and a concrete base. Bas reliefs are at the top of the central entry portion of the front of the building, with Potosi labeled prominently. The information plaque is a gold hued bronze material. The school is now John Evans Middle School.

The Works Progress Administration built an arched stone bridge over a small creek near the intersection of Pou Avenue and N. 13th Street. The bridge consists of two arches. Located along the side of the bridge is a rock wall that appears in need of repair. The marker is on the end of the wall nearest N. 13th Street, and it bears the dates 1935-1937.

Pounds Hollow was the first recreational site constructed for Shawnee National Forest. A dam, beach, bathhouse, boat dock, utility buildings, roads, and a caretakers house were constructed by CCC crews from Camp Cadiz.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made the first improvements to the newly-acquired Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  Company 1903 worked out of a CCC camp established at the north end of the 'prairie' at the present park entrance in 1933.   The first order of business was to develop Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park itself, after which teams from Company 1903 worked at other state parks along the north coast of California.  The CCC camp closed in 1937. Among the many other improvements the CCC 'boys' (young men) made to Prairie Creek park was a 70-mile long network of trails for visitors...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made the first improvements to the newly-acquired Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  Company 1903 worked out of a CCC camp established at the north end of the 'prairie' at the present park entrance.  The first order of business was to develop Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park itself, after which teams from Company 1903 worked at other state parks along the north coast of California. The most notable legacy of the CCC's presence in the park is the Visitor's Center, which originally served as the Warden's (or Custodian's) Residence. It is a single-story rustic building, somewhat modified...

The former Presbytère or Rectory of the late 18th century St. Louis Cathedral is now part of the Louisiana State Museum complex, along with the old Cabildo Building.  The Cabildo flanks St. Louis on the west and the Presbytère on the east, along the north side of Jackson Square along Chartres Street.  The Presbytère was begun in 1891 and only finished thirty years later, and never served its intended purpose.  It was rented and then sold to the City of New Orleans for use as a courthouse and then transferred to the Louisiana State Museum in 1911 (see plaque). The Presbytère...

From 1933 to 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Prescott Park on Roxy Ann Peak on the east side of Medford, Oregon for public recreation.  The CCC enrollees constructed the access road, 18 miles of trails, several picnic areas and overlooks, and drainage ditches. Much of the CCC work is above the parking area and accessible only on foot. Prescott Park covers 1,740 acres on Roxy Ann Peak, a prominent hill east of the city of Medford (a remnant of volcanism in the old West Cascades). The lower slopes are characterized by oak savanna woodland and the higher elevations by...

"The Grand March" petrachrome mural was created in 1940 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.   The artist is unknown to the Living New Deal.  

The WPA Federal Arts Project funded this petrochrome mural. The date and artist are unknown to us.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funding for the construction of a new high school in Preston, Idaho in 1939. The school building is a long, two-story structure with two wings flanking a central entrance, and what appears to be a gymnasium and second entry at the east end. The design is Brick Moderne with bas-relief columns capped by white stone and a slightly projecting central entrance with modest carved stone decorations and the date 1939 above the doorway. The school is in good condition and still in use.

From the Priest Lake vacation website: "The Priest Lake Museum is a great place to begin any visit to the lake and a fitting showplace to remind us of the numerous influences that created the special character of Priest Lake. The museum building was constructed in 191935 by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It is a prime example of handcrafted oil-treated tamarack (larch) log construction. The building initially served as a residence and office for the first Ranger on what was then Kaniksu National Forest. The museum houses numerous articles and displays that depict the colorful history of the lake and...

This large and unusual WPA-built swimming pool was begun in September, 1936 and was scheduled to be complete within 6 months.  It has an unusual fan-shape for the main large pool and an adjacent shallow pool.  The bathhouse/dressing rooms are within the rock faced building to the east of the pool.  At this time, a chain link fence surrounds the pool, though it is doubtful that it did originally.  It has an extensive filter system on side of the hill above the pool.  The filter has an active sand filter with additional layers of rock and sand above it to...

In 1936, the WPA conducted wind studies at the prospective airport. Between 1938 and 1941, the WPA contributed $380,000 to the airport’s construction and improvements. The airport is no longer operational, but remnants of it are now part of Maui Raceway Park.

This is a one-story building made of cut, coursed and rusticated buff colored native stone, with large fixed-pane windows. At the back, two windows are glass block. The building is rectangular, with a projected front. It stands at the northwest corner of W. Will Rogers Blvd. and J.M. David Blvd. and is addressed 103 J.M. Davis Blvd. A bronze shield on the east side shows "USA 1940 WPA Oklahoma". The main entrance has a single wood door with 9 glass panes. The door is flanked by brick pillars and covered with a flat wood canopy. The building does not appear to...