Unmarked Sites

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an adobe gymnasium for the former Casa Grande High School.  That gym was torn down in the 1990s when the high school was repurposed as the current City Hall and a new high school was built at a different site. The WPA also built a city hall for Casa Grande, now demolished.  It is possible that the gym was paid for by the Public Works Administration (PWA), not the WPA; but we do not have definitive evidence of that.

The Works Progess Administration (WPA) renovated the old Magnolia High School (built in 1908) in 1938. This followed a lively debate over whether to upgrade or replace the old high school. A new high school had been approved in 1936 following condemnation of the old building by the Mississippi State Department of Education and the Public Works Administration (PWA) offered to fund a new school (as PWA project W1264). Community controversy broke out, however, over whether a new building should be erected or the old one repaired. As a result, a bond measure for the local matching funds for a new...

A Mechanical Arts building was added to the former Park City High School in 1935-36, with funding from the federal Public Works Administration (PWA).  The old high school was built in 1928 in brick Collegiate Gothic-style and is now the Park City Library and Education Center.  The former Mechanical Arts building was done in a stripped-down, Moderne version of the high school and is now privately owned. The former high school, including the Mechanical Arts building, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.   The NRHP nomination quotes a Park City newspaper report on the inauguration of the Mechanical Arts building, giving the...

This ranger station on the Kaiser Pass Road is in remarkably good shape considering that the buildings are all original CCC built according to the elderly ranger there. There was a visitor center with maps and information for the public, a public toilet, a residence for the elderly ranger couple there, a couple of other houses that used to house head rangers, and a barrack further down the trail used by firefighters that I didn't have time to go see.

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) funded the construction of a community building for the Highland Dwellings and surrounding area, ca. 1942. It is unknown to the Living New Deal if this building still exists. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced unsafe alley dwellings in Washington, DC with more modern and affordable houses and apartments. The ADA existed from 1934-1943 as a federally controlled special authority. It then slowly evolved into today’s DC Housing Authority, an independent agency of the DC Government. The Highland Dwellings Community Building was part of the...

"The swimming pool and bathhouse at Highland Park, built by the WPA in the 1930s is still in use today. Established in 1890, one year after the city was first settled in the Land Run of 1889, Highland Park is part of the National Historic District of Guthrie. The main entrance faces south onto E. Warner Street in the 1100 block. On the west side of the large swimming pool, a one-story masonry bathhouse stands. The building has been covered with stucco and painted a light color, with its main entrance on the west side in a projected vestible. The entrance is...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) surfaced and replaced the sidewalks on Highland Road in Bridgton ME. According to a 1933 town report, on "Dec. 15 Fifty men to be employed on local CWA projects by next Saturday is the goal which is set for Bridgton, although the plan which has been adopted of selecting these men through the federal employment bureau instead of allowing the selection to be done locally, is handicapping the work some. The first job to be started was the surfacing of Highland Road and tearing up the old sidewalk."  

In 1934, the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) financed the construction of the first continuous highway across the city of Santa Barbara (roughly six miles), taking through traffic off city streets.  The route followed the Southern Pacific tracks. Along the new route, Mission Creek was channelized and several new bridges were built. At the time, it was called "the Roosevelt Highway", but was an extension of what was then commonly known as the Pacific Coast Highway.  Although Gibson (1934) attributes the funding to the NIRA, it was almost surely the Public Works Administration (PWA) – which was created as one part...

The brochure A Guide to Depression Era Roadside Parks in Texas lists at #9 the Highway 16 Roadside Park as an existing Works Progress Administration-era roadside park. The park is located South of Fredericksburg in Medina County. A site visit in March 2018 revealed that the site is unmarked, but the construction materials are typical for WPA work of that era.  

In the early 1940s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the 16 mile stretch of State Highway 162 between Longvale and Dos Rios, also known as Covelo Road.  Records indicate that there were 10 bridges on that stretch of road, but we count only 6 crossings of rivers and creeks. The road was dedicated on April 4, 1942 and the celebratory parade gives an idea of how important that road and its bridges were to isolated communities like Longvale, Farley and Dos Rios at the time. Highway 162 still looks much that same as it would have in the 1940s, a relatively narrow...

In 1942, the Washington Post reported the approval of $40,270 in funding for the Federal Works Administration (FWA) to build and/or make improvements to the Hillcrest Recreation Center. This was the largest sum appropriated for parks work in the Lanham Act. Exactly what was done is unknown to us, but the facility has a recreation hall, tennis courts (at another location), and a putting green.  The present Hillcrest Recreation Center dates from the early 2000s.

The Hinckley High School Gymnasium was built in 1935-36 with funding from the federal Public Works Administration (PWA).   It was part of a larger project for the Millard County School District that included a mechanical arts building at Delta High School and a gymnasium at Millard High School in Fillmore.  Total cost for the three buildings was $130,000. Lyman and Newell (1999) suggest that the Hinckley Gym was "fully constructed under the P.W.A. program." The architects of all three were Carl W. Scott and George W. Welch. The contractors were Talboe and Litchfield.  The Hinckley gym is an example of stylized...

A state historical marker at the site reads: The first school in what would become the Hobbs community was known as Buffalo and taught in a tent on Buffalo Creek from 1887 to 1888. The Rev. Robert Martin erected a church and schoolhouse on the site with funds from his home church in Louisiana. By 1896 the school was named for Vachel Hobbs Anderson, postmaster at Roby, and had changed locations several times. J. W. Hale became county school superintendent in 1922. His efforts contributed to the voters' decision to consolidate the Hobbs, Dallas, Grady and Baird common school districts in 1924....

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) ran two camps at Hocking Hills State Park in Logan OH. The CCC built Hiking Trails and Old Man's Cave Unit.

Hollywood Bowl Improvements, WP 997, WP 2687, WP 6097, WP 4953, WP 9590, and WP 11052, sponsored by the County of Los Angeles, are designed to increase the beauty, add to the capacity and provide greater safety, convenience and comfort to the many thousand people attending Hollywood Bowl entertainments. The Hollywood Bowl is situated in a natural amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills. Its facilities are in constant demand for concerts, operas, ballets, conventions and many other activities requiring a large seating capacity. The 55 ton steel orchestra shell, built to add to the nearly perfect acoustics of the Bowl, proved to be...

Hollywood High School, which opened in 1910, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. 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. Hollywood High School's beautiful Streamline Moderne styling was designed by the architectural firm of Marsh, Smith and Powell. Built of reinforced concrete, the two-story Science Building ($208,968 in PWA...

Haldane Douglas painted a 42' x 16' mural, titled "Education," in Hollywood High School's library. The mural was funded by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and—upon the termination of the PWAP—the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). It was completed in 1934. Located above the library's circulation desk, "Education" depicts "the roots of modern civilization in Greek culture and emphasizing that which gives Hollywood its unique position in the world of entertainment. It was Mr. Douglas' first mural and a piece of which WPAP officials were not particularly proud" (Wells, p. 22). Featured in the mural is the Hollywood Bowl,...

In 1936, sculptor Merrell Gage created a frieze and free-standing pylon, titled "Honorable Achievements," for Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). The pylon is located beside the south entrance to the Science Building. It depicts "figures representing various school activities: a track man at the take-off, a halfback about to pass, a girl picking botanical specimens, a chemistry student at work, a co-ed, and a graduate in cap and gown. Its inscription reads 'Achieve the Honorable'" (Wells, p. 24). Gage, an instructor at the University of Southern California and at the Chouinard...

This wood relief "Horseman" by Gordon Newell and Sherry Peticolas depicts a man leading two horses. It was funded by the Treasury Relief Art Project in 1937.

The Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners describes federal involvement in the development of Holmby Park: "Reconstruction Finance Corporation and County Welfare workmen helped install 6100 feet of curbing along the walks as well as completing 100 cubic yards of general grading work and the laying of 50 feet of new water system."

Originally known as the Blue Plains Home for the Aged and Infirm, this facility was improved by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the early 1940s. The facility was originally built in 1906 at the district's southernmost tip. According to WPA project cards at the National Archives, from 1935 to 1941, relief workers were used to: "Rehabilitate and enlarge the facilities of the Blue Plains Home for the Aged and Infirm, including constructing storm doors, fire exits, and additions to buildings; rehabilitating buildings; screening and roofing porches; reconstructing old and placing new floors; erecting partitions; reconditioning locker rooms; painting; constructing and reconstructing...

From 1936 to 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Honeyman State Park, just south of Florence, Oregon, under the supervision of the National Park Service (NPS).  The parkland had been purchased by the state from 1930 to 1936. Honeyman Park covers over 500 acres along Highway 101 (the Oregon Coast Highway), tucked behind the Oregon Dunes National Seashore.  It includes two freshwater lakes, Cleawox Lake within the dunes and the much larger Woahink Lake east of the highway. There is a day-use area on the north side of Cleawox Lake, a large campground south of that lake and water sports...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) awarded $98,627.49 for the Lahaina-Wailuku Belt Road, now known as the Honoapiilani Highway and State 30, running along the south coast of Maui. This was during the early stage of the New Deal when the PWA was known as the Emergency Administration of Public Works under the National Recovery Administration (NRA).    

Hopkins County Hospital was built in 1937-38 with Work Progress Administration Funds and private citizen contributions. Originally, it was built to house 54 beds as a private, non-profit medical facility.

In 1935-36, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a large housing clearance, replacement, and rehabilitation project at London Court. At the same location, the New Deal’s Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) constructed Hopkins Place, which consisted of 12 new units located in the block bounded by K, L, 12th, and 13th streets. The 1934 Alley Dwelling Act funded "slum" rehabilitation efforts in the District of Columbia. Though the Alley Dwelling Agency was initially underfunded, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was called upon to carry out its program. This is similar to how the New Deal continued the urban renewal plans in the...

Hoquiam Olympic Stadium is the largest all-wood structure of its kind in the United States, constructed from old growth fir donated by the Polson Logging Company. This stadium houses local football and baseball games, as well as larger events, such as the annual Hoquiam Loggers Playday. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is one of two sites for the annual Hoquiam and Aberdeen football game, which has been a long-standing rivalry dating back to 1905.

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements for the Hornitos School. The work included the following tasks: "Brace building underpinning, etc., on property of Hornitos School District." WPA Proj. No. 65-3-3768, December 27, 1935, $2,027 Built in the 1860s to service a population of 15,000 during the height of the gold rush, the building was replaced with a newer cinder block building in 1980. It was eventually shut down 9 years later due to population decline.

Among the first of their recreation related construction projects, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees from Camp Belknap laid out and built the Horse Creek Campground in 1934. The group campground is located one-and-a-half miles south of McKenzie Bridge on the banks of Horse Creek. The campground can accommodate approximately 100 people and 23 vehicles. An interesting bit of CCC history in the Willamette National Forest (WNF) is associated with Horse Creek Campground. Forest Supervisor Perry Thompson hired landscape architect William Parke as a recreational planner for the WNF, instructing him to prepare site plans for campgrounds, picnic areas and organization camps...

The August 24 1933 issue of the Independent Reporter lists 7 CWA projects for Somerset County, including $8,000 for the Horsetail Hill road from 12 corners all the way to Cass Corner in Cornville. A February 15, 1934 article adds some history.. From Clarks corner to Parkers corner, a large number of rocks to be used in the road were being taken from a former stagecoach stop called Deansville Depot. In clearing out the land for farming, an area next to the Bagley road was a dumping ground for large rocks and boulders and became the place to gather to...

The Haskell County Hospital in Haskell, Texas, was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Hospital Near Completion HASKELL, May 13. - To be completed by June 1 Is the Haskell county hospital. It will have cost approximately $93.000. of which $50,000 was voted in bonds and the remainder was a PWA grant. This hospital will be the realization of efforts of several years. It will serve Haskell, Rule, Rochester and Weinert, as well as all the rural communities. Heretofore, it has been necessary to go out of the for hospitalization. A county board of directors will direct the hospital,...

Also known as M-56, this farm-to-market road was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to connect the unincorporated area of California Hot Springs to the local municipalities along Route 65. The 2.68 km road begins in what is now the Sequoia National Forest and passes near Fountain Springs.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided $120,000 for two wings of a men's dormitory at Howard University, presently called George Cook Hall.  The full cost of the project is unknown to us, but it appears that the two wings loom over a small central part of the complex -- which may well have been built as part of the first PWA grant for four buildings on campus.  This implies that the PWA funded the construction of Cook Hall. Cook Hall was built c. 1938.  The central portion is more Georgian in style, while the wings are very high modern: geometric, undecorated...

Once the site of Multnomah County's Poor Farm, the city began developing this land in the West Hills of Portland as an arboretum in 1930. In its first six years, much of the labor for tree planting and park development was provided through the Civil Works Administration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the National Youth Administration (NYA). The local newspaper, The Oregonian, gave particular attention to the NYA workers' contribution, noting that nearly 100 young people between the age of 16 and 25 were employed for three months. They began the transformation of what was then a 200-acre, rough, wooded landscape...

According to a 1937 CCC Yearbook, the Tamworth NH CCC Camp Co.117 was involved in "complete remodeling of house and barn" at the Huckins Estate. After inquiring with a few local historians, Lois Sweeny of the Ossipee Historical Society located the Estate. Her report back said that "Simon O. Huckins. A walking tour brochure that we are reviving says “This large colonial revival house was the home of Simon O. Huckins, who developed a large logging business, lumber yard and store in Center Ossipee early in the 20th century. Like his neighbors, Huckins was active in church, political and community...

In 1939, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) approved several improvements at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds on the north edge of Ferndale CA. According to the WPA project card, the work entailed moving the pavilion and stock buildings, improving the grandstand and other miscellaneous tasks. In 1941, the WPA returned to build an exhibition hall. We could not confirm which buildings at the fairgrounds today are the ones worked on by the WPA relief teams, there are several likely candidates for the pavilion, stock buildings and exhibition hall that appear to date from the mid 20th century. Further information is needed.

Humboldt General Hospital in Winnemucca has been around in various forms since the 19th century. The first hospital on the present site was established in 1908.  It was expanded with new structures in 1936, 1942, 1962, 1973 and completely rebuilt in 2015-16. The 1941-42 expansion was undertaken with a $14,121 grant by the Work Projects Administration (WPA), while the 1936 addition was undertaken with a $24,545 grant by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The 2015-16 reconstruction of the hospital effaced all traces of buildings before the 1960s. Old Hospital before being torn down in 1972 - Winnemucca NV

  In 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) initiated the development of Humbug Mountain State Park. From their camp, located on park property, the CCC enrollees undertook construction of roads and a trail to the top of Humbug Mountain, benches and fireplaces, park buildings, and provision of a water system. At the time, the trail to the top of the 1750-foot-tall Humbug Mountain distinguished the park and the CCC enrollees' accomplishments there.    

Huntington Park High School, which opened in 1909, was one of an expedited group of four schools rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. 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 the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure...

The Works Progress Administration excavated and constructed stone drives, straightened the monuments, improved the grounds, and constructed the entrance posts at Huron Cemetery in Huron, Indiana. $3022 was budgeted for project.

Seattle's old Ice Arena, built in 1915, gained a number of improvements from the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938. A WPA press release from January 1938 detailed the nature of the works to be carried out: "Modernizing of the Seattle Civic Auditorium and Ice Arena by WPA workers will begin January 21 with the aid of $21,539 in Federal funds, it was announced today by Don G. Abel, state Works Progress Administrator. ...In the Ice Arena new bleacher seats are planned. New lockers and benches will be made for the dressing rooms, and the broadcasting house is slated for complete...