Marked Sites

The Works Progress Administration was a Federal program during the Great Depression designed to provide jobs and make public improvements. A concrete bridge south of Ashbury St between the Middlesboro Intermediate School and 17th Street has the inscription “W.P.A. 1938.”

Carrollton, Georgie's historic City Gym building, now known as WPA Center, is a stone building located at the corner of North Cliff and Chandler Streets, overlooking Park (US 27). The building was constructed with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor in 1937. Combination community center and gymnasium. According to the city, the facility is available for rentals: "There are now two offices and a small kitchen in the building plus a 90’x 52’ Reception Hall with a gas log fireplace. Banquet or Meeting capacity is 200, plus there is extra seating for 50 in the original bleachers on one side of the hall."

Behind the Rio Medina Store in Rio Medina, Texas is a wooden Works Progress Administration (WPA) outhouse. The base of the structure is marked.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a school, a wall, and other annex facilities in Cache OK. Contributor note: "Originally, this 1938 WPA Project included not only the remaining wall, but a Home Ec building, Tennis courts, a School, and a Gymnasium. The buildings are no longer extant, and have been replaced by newer construction. Portions of the concrete tennis courts are still visible. Photos and write-ups of the buildings can be found on the Oklahoma Inventory Database at the website shown below (Items 68184, 68185 and 69183). These are located at 3rd Street and H Avenue (NW Cache Road). The approximately 30...

The Works Progress Administration built sidewalks on Baldwin Avenue in front of Komoda Store and Bakery.

The WPA built the sidewalks and gutters along 41st Street between Broadway and Telegraph in North Oakland.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built sidewalks all over the city of Oakland, including here at 51st Avenue and East 12th Street.  Two sidewalk stamps at this location, one in the street next to the curb and one on the sidewalk, are marked "W.P.A. 1940".

The WPA built the sidewalk in front of the Children's Hospital of Oakland in North Oakland.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built long stretches of sidewalk, as well as curbs, gutters and driveway aprons along 62nd Avenue in East Oakland near Mills College. 

This WPA sidewalk stamp is in the gutter at the southwest corner of Clay and 9th Streets.

The concrete sidewalks that surround and lead up to the historic Denton County Courthouse are considered to be contributing structures in this historic district, and they were built by the Works Progress Administration between 1934 and 1935. The registration form for the Denton County Courthouse Square Historic District explains: "The source of funding is inscribed within the outer sidewalk at regular intervals. These sidewalks are a contributing structure within the district as they represent an important feature of the courthouse grounds and are representative of the type of federal projects utilized during the Depression in Denton." Some repairs have been done to...

"Memorial Park is located between Classen Blvd. and Western Avenue, just south of N.W. 36th Street. It was established in 1908 and is a beautiful, historic park. Winding through this area are numerous concrete walking paths, and every 10-15 ft. you will find etched in the concrete, the WPA shield with the inscription WPA 1941. The walkways are in surprisingly good condition after all these years. We have noticed many buildings in Oklahoma built by the WPA, but this was the first etched sidewalks we've come across. A pleasant surprise."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

The concrete staircase connecting Hoover Avenue and Oakview Drive was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939.

"Besides the wonderful old WPA-constructed buildings throughout the country, WPA labor was used to construct parks, walls, bridges. parks and numerous other items. During our travels, we often come across sidewalks, even in residential parts of town, that are stamped with the WPA shield. In downtown Purcell, with our eyes focused on the Statue of Liberty sculpture in front of an old bank, we looked down in order to walk up the four concrete steps leading from the street level to the sidewalk...and lo and behold, we found that they were constructed in 1940 by the WPA."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Kansas City's imposing Wyandotte High School was constructed as a New Deal Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The architects of the building were Hamilton, Fellows and Nedved and Joseph W. Radotinsky. The PWA provided a $557,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $2,211,067. PWA Docket No. 9044. Quiverian: "Wyandotte originally existed as a school in several forms and locations. First it was as the old Riverview Grade School and 7th and Pacific from 1886-1887. Then it was the Palmer Academy building between 6th & 7th and Minnesota from 1888-1898. Next it...

The Public Works Administration awarded $27,415 to Yamhill County in 1935 for construction of Yamhill High School, later renamed Yamhill Carlton High School with consolidation of the Yamhill and Carlton school districts. County voters approved a $51,335 bond for the remaining cost of the project. The Oregonian, a Portland daily newspaper, announced that the "start order" would provide work for ninety workers "taken from relief rolls in Yamhill County." The Portland architectural firm of Barrett & Logan designed the school and Portland contractors Lonner, DeBruin and DeBruin oversaw its construction.

The bridge at the mouth of the Yaquina River at Newport OR was constructed with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934-36.  It was one of five PWA-funded bridges over the Alsea River, Coos Bay, Siuslaw River, Umpqua River, and Yaquina River that completed the Oregon Coast Highway. All but the Alsea River bridge still stand. The coast highway was developed after 1914 by the state and county highway departments, but money ran out in the Great Depression before the job could be finished.  With the advent of the New Deal, the PWA offered $1.4 million and a loan...

National Youth Administration (NYA) labor provided 23 picnic units, a new bridge of native rock and steel across the wading pool at Yettie Polk Park. The bridge at the south end of the park was widened, native rock sides constructed, and 225 feet of retaining wall built from the bridge to the creek bank. NYA also built the pavilion in the park, a pedestrian bridge, and small rock fences. The bridge is marked with a National Youth Administration plaque.

The high school in Yoakum, Texas was constructed in 1937 with partial funding from the Public Works Administration under project number 1663-D. Will N. Noonan was the architect and Walsh & Burney Co was the contractor.

In 1855, the family of William and Rebecca Young were among the early pioneers to arrive in Nebraska following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which opened the territory for settlement. A year later, William Young built a cabin as his family dwelling. Tragedy soon struck the family with the death of their infant Joseph, who was buried on the highest point of land on their homestead. The Youngs allowed other settlers to inter their loved ones at this location, which came to be known as the Young Cemetery. In 1888, the Young Cemetery Association formally organized to...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Zephyr High School in Zephyr TX. White rock building with ZHS in red above the door. The building has a metal WPA plaque. The rock wall is unmarked.

The Civil Works Administration remodeled a historic house into a refectory at Zilker Metropolitan Park, based on architect Charles H. Page's design. Text from the state historical marker: "Originally built in the 1870s for Austin pioneer Ashford McGill, this native limestone structure and the surrounding property were purchased by Andrew J. Zilker who conveyed the land to the city for a park in 1931. Remodeled by the Federal Civil Works Administration for use as a multiple purpose park building, the house now exhibits 1930s-era detailing, including a pergola-covered courtyard. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1990"