Unmarked Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted extensive development work at Grand Canyon Village. At the same time, the lesser-known and short-lived Civil Works Administration (CWA) of winter 1933-34 developed a path at the village in early 1934. A period photograph shows this as being a stone-lined path near Navajo Road. The information and photograph are consistent with the Grand Canyon Village Greenway.

A 1939 WPA report lists: No. 3272 Los Angeles County Griffin Road Improvement, Little Rock Federal Contr. $18,963 Sponsor $2,018 Average No. of men employed per month 41 Months to complete 7 Project consists of a rubble wall and concrete ditch along the hillside emptying into the Arroyo Seco River

Starting in 1933, the R.F.C, CCC, and W.P.A. initiated efforts at constructing a sprinkler system that would cover the hillsides in the park and turn on in case of wild fires. In part, the project was as a result of the death of 29 county relief workers that perished in a fire Oct. 3rd 1933. Over time, the system has broken down and is completely non functional. According to National Archives records, the W.P.A. also built a fire break as part of its efforts in Griffith Park.

"WPA funds were responsible for various projects in park, including construction of a 9 hole golf course on the former Griffith Reservation. At the urging of Mayor Frank Shaw, it was named in honor of President Roosevelt in 1937."

The CWA or the RFC (which early on in the New Deal directly hired temporary day labor) constructed a 12 court tennis complex in Griffith Park. Rubble wall construction typifies work done by the ND throughout the park.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) remodeled the Grimes County Courthouse in Anderson, Texas, in 1940. WPA crews installed a tile roof, cleaned and painted the building facade, installed tile floors, built outside stairs, plastered the interior walls, and landscaped the grounds.

Grizzly Dome Tunnel is one of three tunnels built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) along the Feather River Highway in northeast California.  The tunnels were the final pieces in the construction of the Feather River highway (highway 70)  by the State of California (1928-37). Grizzly Dome tunnel is the middle tunnel and the longest of the three, at 1178 feet.  It has "windows" cut into the north wall. The tunnels were blasted through solid granite in and around Grizzly Dome. Rock from the tunnels was used for rock safety walls along the highway.

Built in 1937-38 by the Works Progress Administration as part of the Brockport Municipal Park Development Plan. Building has fallen into disrepair and exists at the back end of an otherwise empty lot adjacent to a cold storage plant.

Guy W. Talbot State Park, also known as Latourell Falls State Park, entered the Oregon State Park system in 1929 when the Talbot family donated 125 acres of land adjacent to Latourell Falls. Significant development of the park, however, began in 1933 when Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees from nearby CCC Camp Benson initiated work. CCC projects improved the park during the second period of the CCC (October 1933 to Arpil 1934), the third period (April to October 1934), and the fifth period (April to October 1935). As noted in a report completed in 1946 under the supervision of the Oregon State...

The Pflugerville Gym, which was built for $17,000 in 1934 through the Works Progress Administration, has a rocky interior and exterior of limestone. The “Rock Gym,”as it is called, served as the only high school volleyball and basketball gym in the Pflugerville area for many years. It received a Texas Historical Marker in October 2012 and remains utilized by the Pflugerville Independent School District.

The Half Dome cables, originally installed in 1920 by the Sierra Club, were replaced and strengthened by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees in 1934. These cables allow thousands of people each year to hike to the top of this famous peak. The Half Dome trails runs from the valley floor to the top of Half Dome, over 8 miles (via the Mist Trail) with a 4,800-foot elevation gain.  The final 400 feet are so steep that   two steel cables, bolted to the rocks, are needed for handholds. Every Spring the cables are brought out from winter storage and  raised onto...

The former Hammel Street Elementary School was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. Hammel was demolished to allow for the construction of Esteban Torres High School, which opened in 2010. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told...

In the late 1920s, the city of Piedmont was outgrowing its schools and many classes were being held in temporary buildings.  In the 1930s, voters passed a bond issue and the school district undertook a major rebuilding program.  It took the assistance of the New Deal to get the job done, however.   One planned new school, in the St. James neighborhood, was never built.  Instead, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built retaining walls and leveled the site in anticipation of the new school.   The extensive concrete retaining walls, with Art Moderne touches, are still there at the corner of Hampton...

Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport is a Hancock county owned, public use airport located in Trenton, Maine. During the summer months activity at the airport is the busiest in the State of Maine. From 1927 until 1934 there were discussions and investigations for a suitable location by the Bar Harbor chamber of commerce of the need of an airport to service the Bar Harbor region. "The Bar Harbor special town meeting was held on February 13, 1934, at 2 p.m. Julian Emery, the Moderator, read Article 2 to the meeting and then assured the voters that "the Jordan River mentioned was the one...

The Works Progress Administration constructed a hangar at the Carbon County Airport in Price, Utah. The quonset hut hangar (photograph above) appears to be the hangar in question: quonset hut style buildings were common at airports in the 1930s and 40s, and little has changed at this small airport. We have been unable to confirm either the accuracy of this information or the date of construction. 

The National Youth Administration completed improvements in Harmon Park in Stamford TX. While the Park itself still exists, the only item that I identified as possibly being the work of the NYA is the rock pillar at the park entrance. It is possible that they planted the trees, or even dug the small duck pond. "HARMON PARK - Harmon park, improved during the winter and spring through A NYA project directed by Bernard Buie, is a popular picnic and outing site favored by school and church groups. It is a customary meal site for visitors to Stamford's annual Texas Cowboy Reunion and...

The WPA in West St. Paul: On the west side of Harmon Park, along Charlton, there’s an old stone wall that’s part of the original WPA work to improve the park and fields. Before the 2015 rebuild of the park, this wall surrounded a parking lot near the ball fields. A portion of the wall was preserved in 2015 and you can still see the “WPA 1941” stamps in a couple places on the wall. There’s also a plaque near the corner of Charlton and Bernard memorializing the “Development of Harmon Play Field” as well as a number of stones and...

Collins Pond Dam is the most important of all the dams constructed by the CCC in Harold Parker State Forest. This dam is connected to a large retaining wall that surrounds the pond and it impounds a large quantity of water. The dam is currently is poor condition and it is not clear who is in charge of monitoring or repairing the dam. Many people were contacted in an effort to get information on the dam (North Andover Directory, North Andover Conservation Management, Massachusetts Office of Dam Safety and Removal, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation). However, it was difficult...

Harris Beach State Park was one of 45 state parks improved through the work of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees during the New Deal era. The CCC improvements took place there in 1934 and 1935. Only a seventeen-acre park at the time, the CCC workers undertook the early development of the grounds, providing picnic stoves and tables as well as services necessary for day use. While aspects of the park required replacement and reconfiguration as the acreage grew, the park became available to the public thanks to the CCC.

"According to the CCC Camp Directory for Alabama, Camp TVA-9 operated during the fifth period, which began October 1, 1935, as a soil conservation project supervised by the Forest Service. It was reopened on October 1, 1939, designated as Camp BS-1 during the fourteenth period, working on a biological survey project at the Wheeler Pool Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. The NACCCA database shows Company 3403 establishing Camp BS-1 at Hartselle, Alabama, on October 1, 1939. On October 19, the Decatur Daily reported that the Hartselle CCC camp had reopened with the arrival of 99 men, three administrative personnel, and eight technical...

With WPA support, Cal Peters painted several murals for the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus, circa 1935-1936. This mural "Learning, Industry, Skill and Honor" is a 5' x 40' oil on canvas. The central figure appears to be "Wisdom" dispensing the gifts of learning, industry, skill and honor. The mural is hanging in its original installation location: Harvey Hall Grand Staircase, first floor, south entrance, the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

This was originally a tuberculosis sanitarium. New Deal workers constructed a: New kitchen and dining building, ward buildings (2), children's building, doctors' and nurses' residences, improved sewage system, new water tank and incinerator. The sanitarium was purchased by the MROSD in 1983, however, and "two years later all the hospital buildings were torn down and the site is now being reclaimed by nature." - https://wikimapia.org/958734/Hassler-Health-Home-site In the 1940s, additional buildings were added to the campus with the help of New Deal funding, increasing the capacity to 260 beds.

Frank C. Havens Elementary School was originally built in 1910 and expanded under the New Deal with the help of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding and Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief labor and materials.  A new five-classroom wing and an auditorium were built on the eastern edge of the school grounds. The lovely auditorium, renamed the Ellen Driscoll Community Playhouse, survives. There had been three previous efforts to replace temporary buildings at schools in Piedmont in the 1920s, because about one-third of Piedmont students were being taught in temporary buildings (derisively called 'shacks' by the locals). All the bond issues lost (Tribune 1942)....

The Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners describes federal involvement in the development of Hazard Park: "Work in this park consisted mainly in improving what is known as the west addition, or that portion of the grounds lying east of the Pacific Electric Railroad right of way to Soto Street. This land while a portion of the main park, lay undeveloped for a number of years because of lack of funds for its improvement. During the past two years, however, with the help of labor from Unemployment bonds and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation relief organization...

The Winslow Headstart building, originally the Winslow Clubhouse, was built in 1937 by relief workers employed by the Work Progress Administration (WPA).   "The Winslow Clubhouse (now Headstart) is a good example of the Winslow community’s desire for adaptive reuse. The building features many interesting details: hand-carved doors, inset "steer-head" designs in the stone wall, and hand-painted tiles gracing the patio steps... The clubhouse and the stadium were constructed in 1937 and funded by the WPA."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed athletic fields for Healdsburg High School in Healdsburg, California.   They lie on the east side of the school, which is still in its original location. Much of the original baseball field appeared intact in 2018 but a fancy new soccer field has been built on the west portion of the fields and we could not verify that the baseball diamond is still there.

In 1936, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the original Kamas ranger station for the U.S. Forest Service, just south of Heber UT on Highway 40. (Baldridge, p. 123)  The work was done by enrollees stationed at CCC Camp F-43 in Pleasant Grove. (Roper, p. 90)  They also built a warehouse in Heber City, presumably at the site of ranger station. The ranger station and warehouse have recently been replaced by new buildings.

Helen Wills Park was improved by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935-36. The WPA relief workers regraded the park, paved the tennis courts and playground area, and repainted the recreation center. The park was established in 1915 as the Spring Valley Playground and renamed the Helen Wills Playground in 1929, in honor of local tennis pioneer, Helen Wills. The park was thoroughly overhauled in the 2000s and the recreation building and playground are completely new.  The tennis court and basketball court could well go back to the WPA era, with new surfaces.  The concrete support wall that levels up the whole...

The Henness Ridge Fire Tower was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934.  It was actively used until 1966, but is now empty. The Henness Ridge Fire Tower was one of several fire protection buildings constructed in the Sierra under the guidance of John D. Coffman as a part of a comprehensive fire prevention plan developed in response to difficulties encountered during a 1928 fire near Sequoia National Park. The Henness Ridge lookout is a fine example of the rustic architecture style developed by the National Park Service (fire towers outside the park are simpler steel and wood structures).  It is...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) did painting and reconditioning work on the former Oakland Civic Auditorium c. 1936. (Further confirmation is needed) Kaiser Convention Center is a city-owned, multi-purpose arena that included a 5,550-seat arena, a large theater, and a ballroom.  The Beaux-Arts style landmark,  built in 1914, was designed by Pittsburgh architect Henry Hornbostel, designer of Oakland’s City Hall, and a local associate John J. Donovan. It was renamed in honor of Henry J. Kaiser, Oakland's greatest industrialist, after a 1984 renovation. The facility has seen many events over the years, such as speeches by Presidents  Woodrow Wilson and Bill Clinton....

The federal Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) built the Hermit Road in Grand Canyon Village in 1934-35.  The National Park Service (NPS) website says this: "Hermit Road and most of its associated overlooks and parking areas are historic, designed and constructed in 1934-1935 by the Bureau of Public Roads and the National Park Service." Hermit Road and its overlooks have some of the best views of the Grand Canyon on the south rim.  It is commonly thought that the overlooks and wall were the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), but it was the BPR and NPS. The road was modernized...

A comfort station at the end of Evergreen Road above O'Shaughnessy Dam and Hetch Hetchy reservoir was almost surely built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, judging by the construction.  The building is done in classic National Park rustic style, with walls constructed of large boulders. Comfort station is the name used at the time for restrooms with additional washing facilities, which this one does not appear to have; hence, it is literally just a 'restroom'. There is no written record we can find of this structure, perhaps because of the poor relations between the National Park Service and...

In 1934, the New Deal’s Public Works Administration (PWA) loaned the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company—popularly known as the “Milwaukee Road”—$8.6 million (about $194 million in 2022 dollars) for infrastructure improvements and new equipment.  The latter included two streamliner passenger trains, the coaches to be built by the Milwaukee Road’s own shops and the locomotives to be built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York for $90,000 each (about $2 million each in 2022 dollars). Each train set consisted of an engine and seven cars.  The locomotives were numbered 1 and 2 (see photos) and...

Work Projects Administration approved funding for construction of a new school building in Bruce. The poured-in-place concrete building was designed by E. L. Malvaney in his monolithic concrete trademark, International design, and two stories. The school district pledged $22,072 toward the project that employed approximately 75 men for almost a year. The combined gymnasium and auditorium and classrooms for the Bruce High School cost $60,518 with work scheduled for November 2 construction. A destroyed the front entrance and a portion of the auditorium in the 1970s and that section of the building was rebuilt with brick, in contrast to the...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the High School in Haskell, Texas. A story published in the Abilene Reporter-News in 1936 provides details about the project: "Prepare to Build Haskell’s School HASKELL, Sept. 19. - Razing of ruins of the old Haskell high school building, burned March 20, will begin early next week and construction on the new $47,000 building replacing it will be started as soon as possible, Superintendent 0. B. were announced Saturday. The new structure, a one-story brick building, is being constructed through a loan and grant from the PWA. The building will contain eleven classrooms, a library,...

"President Roosevelt has given approval of Public Works Administration projects that may mean spending of $225,630 federal funds for school buildings in three West Texas towns, congressmen Informed constituents Tuesday. Projects at Big Spring, Roscoe and Rochester were approved. Plans were being made to begin construction of buildings in the latter towns, but Big Spring school authorities were uncertain as to whether the PWA grant could be accepted. Immediate action was promised In Rochester. S. H. Vaughter, School Superintendent, stated that approximately $28,000 obtained from bonds, was on deposit in a bank, and that use would be made of $29,880 granted...

Ruleville's 1936 high school was completed as W1006 of the PWA program, with a $33,000 loan and $26,999 grant. The 2-story brick and tile school was approved September 25, 1935, and construction began in December. Architect E. L. Malvaney designed the 160x53 foot building with an 80x60 foot auditorium. It contained 18 classrooms. O. B. Douglass Construction Company received the bid for construction, Paine Heating and Tile plumbing and heating, and Stuart C. Irby Company did the electric wiring. The school was completed in August 1936. A grandstand with seating capacity of 300 and fence around the athletic grounds was finished...

The Alabama state archive has a photograph showing the construction of an addition to the High School by the Civil Works Administration (CWA). With the help of the city clerk, we've located the old high school which has been torn down. The photos here show an old gymnasium that might have been a New Deal project given how common towns requested help with gym construction during the New Deal period.

"This school addition, built by the WPA, is adjacent to the Guthrie Jr. High School... The Guthrie Junior High School was constructed in 1924, originally as the Guthrie High School. It is a beautiful brick and stone building, immediately adjacent to the east of this addition. This WPA-constructed building has no shield or identifier, but is shown on a list of WPA properties in Logan County. The contractor is shown as Chas. M. Moureau Company. The property is shown as being at Oklahoma and Maple, but is most likely addressed as 705 E. Oklahoma, the school address... The building is not attached to...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a high school gymnasium in Rule TX in 1935. "Word has been received by Supt. U. U. Clark of the Rule high school that the WPA project of a new gymnasium has been approved at Washington and the money allocated. Work Is scheduled to begin In the next days. Mr. Sheppard, engineer of the government, has been appointed to supervise this work. The application for this project was put through the district office at Wichita Falls."