Marked Sites

Tuzigoot is an ancient hilltop settlement of the Sinagua people, c 1100-1400 A.D.  It is one of the largest of scores of such settlements throughout the Verde River valley of Northern Arizona.  By the 20th century, the buildings on the site, made of stone and adobe, had fallen completely to ruin.  The New Deal aided in the archeological reconstruction of the site in the early 1930s.   Following on the restoration work, the New Deal helped open the site to the public. In 1936, the museum and visitor center were built by local relief workers hired by the Works Progress Administration...

The Public Works Administration funded construction of the public Library in Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1939.   The library still stands and is in use.  An addition has been made to the west wing of the building and a new entrance built on the east end.  

Between 1936 and 1938, workers with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed this 9 hole golf facility and clubhouse.

Roadside park with two picnic tables and barbecue pits. In addition to the original rock barbecue pits, there are new metals pits near the picnic tables. Text from onsite plaque: The picnic area on SH-19 in Hopkins County is an early roadside park developed by the Texas Highway Department - now Texas Department of Transportation. It was built from 1939-1940 using labor from the National Youth Administration. A federal works relief program. The park retains several of its original stone picnic fixtures. The Texas Highway Department launched its roadside park program in 1933 to provide safe places for motorists to relax and eat...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden in Tyler TX. A historical marker at the site reads: "The property that is now home to the Tyler Rose Garden was first purchased by the City of Tyler in 1912 for the construction of a park and fairgrounds. After many years and at the urging of the former American Rose Society President Dr. Horace McFarland, an application to the Works Project Administration (WPA) was made in 1938 to fund the construction of a municipal rose garden. The $181,255 federal grant was thought to be the largest municipal park and rose garden...

The former Tyson School in Versailles, Indiana was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The facility has since been converted to apartments. Partially funded by and named in honor of a community benefactor who grew up in the town of Versailles (and by the way, the one in Indiana, is "Vur-saylz"). James Tyson was one of the founders of the Walgreen drugstore chain and also supported a library and an absolute jewel of an Art Deco inspired church. The Tyson Temple United Methodist Church is a memorial to Mr. Tyson's mother.

The one-story, brick Colonial Revival style post office was constructed in 1939. It is currently in use as the Chancery Clerk's office. Details include a basement, semicircular granite steps leading to the entrance, cast iron railings, and a limestone frieze and cornice with a semicircular portico over the steps. It contains a mural by Stefan Hirsch, completed and installed in 1943.

Built between 1937 and 1940, the U.S. Courthouse was the third federal building constructed in Los Angeles, CA. At the time of its completion, it was the largest federal building in the western United States. According to the U.S. General Services Administration's registry of historic buildings, "Gilbert Stanley Underwood was selected to design the building as consulting architect to the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department. The actual plans were prepared by the Supervising Architect's Office. Underwood was acclaimed for his public architecture. His work includes lodges in National Parks, over two dozen post offices, a number of...

This limestone sculpture, "Law" (1941), depicting a young woman with a tablet stands across the lobby from James Hansen's "Young Lincoln." The informational plaque near the sculpture reads: "The Fine Arts Section of the U.S. Department of the Treasury commissioned this 8' sculpture by Archibald Garner (1904-1969) in 1939, based on an open and anonymous competition available to all sculptors west of the Mississippi for the decoration of the Los Angeles Post Office and Courthouse lobby. The sculpture was installed in 1941 and is carved from one block of Indiana limestone, primarily by hand. Inscribed on the tablet which the figure...

This limestone sculpture, "Young Lincoln" (1941), by James Hansen depicts a young, shirtless, pensive Lincoln holding a book. It stands across the lobby from Garner's sculpture of "Law." The informational plaque describes the statue: "The Fine Arts Section of the U.S. Department of the Treasury commissioned this 8' sculpture Young Lincoln by James Hansen (1917-) in 1939 based on an open and anonymous competition available to all sculptors west of the Mississippi for the decoration of the Los Angeles Post Office and Courthouse lobby. 'Young Lincoln' was exhibited in the Works Progress Administration Building of the 1939 New York World's Fair...

Lucien Labaudt painted two large-scale paintings for what was then the Los Angeles Post Office and Courthouse, "Life on the Old Spanish and American Ranchos" (1939), and "Aerodynamism" (1941). Both were removed when the post office moved out of the building in 1965, but were restored to the courthouse in 1993. "Aerodynamism" is a 256 square foot oil on canvas on the ceiling. It was restored and reinstalled in 1993. The 8' x 14' "Life on the Old Spanish and American Ranchos" is in the Spring Street lobby. It was restored and reinstalled in 1993. The informational plaque for the painting describes...

The fresco "Steel Industry" by Howard Norton Cook is located in Pittsburgh's historic U.S. Courthouse and Post Office. It was sponsored by the U.S. Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts. The work was installed in the building in 1936. Its size is 10'6" x 17'5".

San Francisco State University (then, the Normal School) moved here from its original location at Powell and Clay Streets after the 1906 earthquake. In 1936, the Woods Hall Annex science building was completed in the Northwest corner of the campus at the corner of Haight and Buchanan. It had been started under SERA but was completed with WPA funds. The work included the completion of the building from the first floor. The project was submitted under WPA Serial No. 0702-14 for completion of footings to and including the first floor slab. (Mooser) San Francisco State moved its Lake Merced campus in...

The Department of the Interior was the first federal building in Washington, D.C. fully authorized, designed, and built under the Franklin Roosevelt Administration. It was the brainchild of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, probably the most powerful member of FDR's cabinet, and later renamed for former Secretary of Interior, Stewart Lee Udall, in 2010. The Department had outgrown the old Interior Building (now the General Services Administration Building) and its agencies were scattered at 15 different sites in the District of Columbia. Funds were allotted by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934, construction began in April 1935 and was...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. Kiowa artist James Auchiah studied mural painting with Olle Nordmark in Oklahoma before coming to Washington.  Auchiah painted a large (8' x 50'), oil-on-rough-plaster lunette, "Harvest Dance", on the west wall of the main cafeteria in the basement. It was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.   "Auchiah's mural, 'Harvest Dance,' is an example of pure design and centers on a scene of Indians around a campfire with their tipis...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  In 1938, Louis Bouché won a competition held by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts to paint a backdrop for the Department auditorium.  He produced a giant triptych called "Conservation - Western Lands and Symbols of the Interior Department."  It is almost 12 feet high; the central section is 15 feet wide and the two side panels are over 4 feet wide. It was removed in 1971 for many years...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time. Edgar Britton painted "Petroleum Industry: Production" and "Petroleum Industry: Distribution and Use" in 1939, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. These frescoes to recognize the Petroleum Division of the Bureau of Mines are hung in the 4th floor main corridor, north of the elevator lobby. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.  For more information on the Interior building,...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. In 1938, Nicolai Cikovsky painted four murals commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts: "Apples," "Gathering Dates," "Desert" and "Irrigation."   They can be found on the 2d floor in the main corridor, south of the Grand Staircase. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.  For more information on the Interior building, its art and the artists, see Look and Perrault...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  From 1939 to 1941, Woodrow Wilson Crumbo of the Creek-Potawatomie Tribe in Oklahoma and other Indian artists were invited to Washington to study mural painting with Olle Nordmark and then create murals in the Interior building. Crumbo painted several murals concerning Potawatomie life in inner room of the South Penthouse on the 8th floor (the former Employees' Break Room).  They are: "Buffalo Hunt", "Wild Horses", "Deer", "Courting", "Flute Player", "Peyote Bird." The Department of Interior...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  John Steuart Curry painted “The Rush for the Oklahoma Land – 1889” (not 1894 as it says in the bronze plaque) and "The Homesteading and the Building of Barbed Wire Fences" in 1937-39. They were commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and painted to honor the General Land Office and Grazing Service, precursors to today's Bureau of Land Management, and hang on the 5th floor main corridor,...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. In 1938, Ernest Fiene painted a set of four oil-on-canvas murals depicting the land management functions of the Department of Interior, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  They are: "Winter Roundup," "Placer Mining," "Replanting Wasteland" and "Fighting Forest Fire."   They are installed on the Second Floor main corridor, north of the Grand Staircase. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration. For...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  Boris Gilbertson created two bas-reliefs for the building, titled "American Bison" and "American Moose," 1937-1939, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  They hang in the first floor corridor just north of the main lobby. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.  For more information on the Interior building, its art and the artists, see Look and Perrault 1986 (below...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  Two statues in exterior Court EE, outside the cafeteria, are by Maurice Glickman, "Negro Mother and Child," and Louis Slobodkin, "Abe Lincoln".  Both are in bronze with a black serpentine base and stand around 10 feet tall, including the base. Both are done in an Art Deco style. The statues were commissioned under the Public Works of Art Project and installed by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1940. The...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. William Gropper painted an enormous, 3-panel oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Construction of a Dam".  It was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts c 1936-37 and installed in 1940. The mural, which honors the work of the Bureau of Reclamation, hangs on the 2d floor across the south end of the main corridor.   Gropper was a left-leaning artist who celebrated the workers building the dam and in the rightmost panel...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. From 1939 to 1941, several Indian artists were invited by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts to study with Olle Nordmark and then paint murals in the Interior building. In 1940, Velino Herrera from the Zia Pueblo in New Mexico painted a set of murals called "Pueblo Life" in what is now the South Penthouse on the 8th floor (formerly the Employees' Break Room). On the East Wall are "Buffalo...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time. From 1939 to 1941, Allan Capron Houser and other Indian artists were invited by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts to study mural painting with Olle Nordmark and then paint murals in the Interior building.  Houser was from the Fort Sill Apache Tribe in Oklahoma. In the South Penthouse on the 8th floor (the former Employees' Break Room), Houser painted three large murals on "Apache Scenes" in 1940: "Singing Love Songs,"...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time – including several by Native American artists. The Indian Craft Shop, Room 1023, was included in the building in order to aid Native American artists and crafts people to reach a wider public (it was originally known as the "Arts and Crafts Shop"). On the north wall of the Indian Craft Shop on the 1st floor there are two small murals by Allan Capron Houser, "Buffalo Hunt" and "Breaking Camp...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. Mitchell Jamieson's painting, "An Incident in Contemporary American Life," depicts the  April 9, 1939 Marian Anderson concert at the Lincoln Memorial.  That concert came about after the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Anderson to sing before an integrated audience in Constitution Hall.  That incident infuriated many people, including Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who arranged for a public concert...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  David McCosh painted two murals for  the National Park Service, both created in 1940 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, entitled, “Themes of the National Parks.”  One is dominated by a vista of Yosemite with smaller scenes of Carlsbad Caverns, Devils Tower, Crater Lake, and Yellowstone. The other features Bryce Canyon with smaller scenes of Olympic, Sequoia, Mesa Verde, Death Valley, and Rainbow Bridge. They can be found...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. Several Indian artists were invited to Washington in 1939-41 to study mural art and paint murals for the Interior Building. Kiowa artist Stephen Mopope painted "Ceremonial Dance (Indian Theme)" in 1939, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  It is a large (6' x 50') oil-on-plaster lunette on the east wall of the main cafeteria in the basement. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. From 1939 to 1941, Gerald Nailor, a Navajo, and other Indian artists were invited by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts to Washington to study with Olaf Normandy and then paint murals in the Interior building.   In the South Penthouse (8th floor), Nailor painted three large murals called "Navajo Scenes" in 1940: "Preparing Yarn For Weaving" (West Wall), "The Hunting Ground" (South Wall on both side of entry door)...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. James Michael Newell painted two murals, "Insular Possession: Virgin Islands" and "Insular Possession: Alaska," in 1939, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  They depict the work of the Office of Insular Affairs, one of many agencies within the Department of Interior, and hang on the 6th floor north of the elevator lobby. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.  For...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. The Department of Interior Museum organizes tours by prior arrangement.  Henry Varnum Poor painted "Conservation of American Wildlife" in 1939, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  This enormous fresco, covering an entire end wall at the north end of the 3d floor corridor,  acknowledges the work of the Bureau of Biological Survey and Bureau of Fisheries (reorganized into the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1940)....

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time.  Millard Sheets produced a four-panel, oil-on-canvas mural, “The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”, featuring The Arts, Education, Science and Religion. This imposing set of murals was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1939 but not installed until 1948, owing to disagreements over the original subject matter. While Sheets was white, he sought to express "my high regard and feeling for the...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  Two large bas-relief panels are mounted on either side of the stage of the auditorium, one by Heinz Warneke and one by Ralph Stackpole.  Warneke's was commissioned in 1937 by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and installed in 1939; Stockpole's was commissioned in 1938 and installed in 1940.   The panels are 10' high by 4' wide.  Warneke's is cast stone and Stockpole's is Indiana limestone.  Heinz Warneke treats...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  Gifford Beal painted "Tropical Country" and "North Country" in 1941 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. They hang on the 5th floor, south of the elevator lobby. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.  For more information on the Interior building, its art and the artists, see Look and Perrault 1986 (below – available online). Artworks begin on p. 110.  

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  Maynard Dixon painted "Themes of the Bureau of Indian Affairs: Indian and Soldier" and "Themes of the Bureau of Indian Affairs: Indian and Teacher" in 1939 with funding from the Section of Fine Arts.  Created to honor the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the murals hang in the 4th floor south lobby. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.  For more information on the...

The bridge at the mouth of the Umpqua River at Reedsport OR was constructed with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934-36.  It was one of five PWA-funded bridges across major rivers that completed the Oregon Coast Highway, four of which still stand. The coast highway had been developed since 1914 by the state and coastal counties, but money ran out in the Great Depression, until the PWA offered $1.4 million and a loan of $4.2 million (replaced by a state bond issue). (HAER 1992, p 2-4). The Umpqua River bridge is over 2,200 feet long and includes a...

The Union City High School was erected in Union City, Tennessee during the Great Depression with the assistance of the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA Moderne, one-story brick school included an auditorium and football field and replaced a three story brick school demolished as part of the construction of the Central Elementary School project. The school grounds were quickly used as the grounds for a federal Office of Education pilot program, "Home and Family Life," which expanded upon an earlier Works Progress Administration (WPA) adult education program. The PWA high school is currently used as Union City Middle School.

A new county jail and improvements to the existing county courthouse were approved as PWA project 1272 July 23, 1938. E. L. Malvaney was architect for the two-story concrete Art Deco jail. Construction began 10/10/1938 and was completed 3/29/1939. PWA supplied a grant of $20,454 toward total cost of $45,577. Bonds were issued in the amount of $25,000 to contribute toward the cost of new jail construction and repair of the courthouse.