Unmarked Sites

Sponsor: County of Mariposa WPA Proj. No. 165-3-1093, December 21, 1936, $7,997. "Widen, drain, and surface road; repair bridge and do other work incidental thereto on Ben Hur Road, Mariposa County, near Mariposa. Not in the Federal Aid Highway System. In addition to projects specifically approved. County owned property." Average Employed 26, months to complete 6, Total Federal and sponsor funds $12,181.

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Benning Road Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 138 living units was built for white national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly segregated at the time). It is unknown to the Living New Deal if any of the structures still exist, but it is not likely since these homes were classified as “demountable,” i.e., intended to be taken down and salvaged sometime after the war. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced...

In 1933, the City of Portland gave permission to the federal government to establish a Civilian Conservation Camp (CCC) in its Columbia River Gorge Park. What had been Benson Park became CCC Camp Benson. Between 1933 and 1935, CCC enrollees groomed the surrounding parkland, creating the New Benson Park. Today, the lowland, timbered park serves as a day use picnic area with swimming and fishing in the park’s Benson Lake. It also serves as the western anchor to a system of trails connecting Multnomah Falls to the east and Wahkeena Falls to the south. The work of the CCC established these amenities...

Walt Disney contributed drawings for WPA murals at the former Benton Grammar School (the school he attended as a boy, later renamed D.A. Holmes Elementary). The murals were completed by WPA artists and delighted children for decades. The school was located on East 30th Street between Benton Blvd. and Chestnut Ave., and is now a senior living facility.

In 1913 the City of Tyler purchased the land for Bergfeld Park. Starting in 1936, the Works Progress Administration made improvements to the park including a stone amphitheater, rock culverts, and a rock lined creek, restrooms, and tennis courts. The city renovated the amphitheater in 2017 with a new stage and seating arrangement.

The building was the county police headquarters and 40-bed capacity county jail from 1938 until 1993 when it was razed to make way for a 220-bed facility.

It served as the Berkeley County Library from 1938 to 1970. The building was moved from Library Street around the corner to 221 First Street in 1969 and continued to serve customers until the grand opening of the new library (on the site of the original library) in 1970. From 1970 to 1988, the building was used by the Berkeley County Department of Social Services. It was then sold to Robert D. Calcote, DMD, and served as one of his orthodontist offices from 1988-2020.

The entrance to Berkeley Community Theater on the interior courtyard of Berkeley High School is adorned by two cast stone bas-relief sculptures by Lulu Braghetta. On is female, with "Drama, Dance, Music" inscribed in relief, and the other is male, with "Poetry, Painting" lettered beside the figure.   The panels were paid for by the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1940 but not added to the building until its (delayed) completion in 1950.

The G Building of Berkeley High School sports a large group of cast stone bas-relief sculptures on the exterior.  The artist was Lulu Braghetta, who worked under the auspices of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration.  The reliefs were installed in 1940. Building G was originally part of the Industrial Arts and Sciences buildings and the Braghetta bas-reliefs portray scenes pertaining to science and the industrial arts. Some have figures (including one woman) and others are representations of carpentry, electricity, motors, engineering and machining.  They decorate all sides of the building

The Berkeley Community Theater, part of Berkeley High School, was started with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1941.  The foundation was laid and the street framework erected when World War II interrupted further work in 1942.  It stood like that until it could be finished and dedicated in 1950. The Community Theater is a Moderne/Art Deco-style building constructed of reinforced concrete and finished in stucco.  The design has striking curves and masses, and it is decorated with cast stone bas-reliefs by prominent local artists (see linked pages). The building has three parts: the 3,500 seat Berkeley Community Theater,...

Berkeley High School's Community Theater is adorned with cast stone bas-relief sculptures by Robert Howard, son of architect John Galen Howard.  The sculptures are on the exterior side of the building, along Allston Way and facing the Berkeley Civic Center park. The central panel is around 30 feet high and contains a rich group of figures illustrating people of all races coming together through the arts. On each side is a panel of a herald  blowing a trumpet, one male and one female, and the man is apparently African American. The panels were paid for by the Federal Arts Project of the...

Jacques Schnier created the impressive bas-relief sculpture, "St. George and the Dragon", that fills a huge space on the west (exterior) side of Berkeley High School's building H (a former Science and Industrial Arts Building), which faces Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The sculpture also contains the inspirational inscription, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." The work was paid for by the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration, as were the other sculptures on Berkeley High School.  It was mounted c. 1940.  

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Bernal Recreation Center in San Francisco in 1939-1940.  It sits just behind and below the Bernal Heights Public Library. Work consisted of excavating and grading 1,492 cubic yards of rock and soil, building 75 feet of rubble wall (18 inches by 4 feet), and paving 16,000 square feet of playgr0und area. Notably, the report on WPA work in San Francisco made a point that the combination of the library and playground on the same property was ."... combining the benefits of physical and mental recreation.(Healy, p. 64). The WPA built rock walls are still visible above...

One of the 26 bridges in Maine that were destroyed or damaged by the 1936 flood and rebuilt by the US Works Program Flood Relief projects and were handled under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Public Roads, US Dept. of Agriculture. All bridges were placed under construction in 1936. In some cases, labor was provided by the Works Progress Administration. Work was completed in 1937 By Builder/Contractor: Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania The bridge is a metal 8 Panel Rivet-Connected Polygonal Warren Through Truss. Length is 723 feet. Formerly known as the South Bridge, it was re-named for Lewiston son...

In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) extended Berrellessa Street several blocks into the waterfront on the west end of town, which was the long-time neighborhood of Italian/Sicilian fishermen plying their trade on the Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay.   The neighborhood had housing, warehouses, a wharf and processing operations. Some of these remain, but not the wharf. There is a memorial to the Italian fisherman of Martinez over by the public marina, but not here (see below for link to local fishermen singing folk songs, 1939). The WPA project included considerable rock and soil fill over former wetlands into the...

Berry Playground is a pocket park tucked along a side street in Brooklyn, which was constructed in 1937 by the city Parks Department with the help of the New Deal, most likely Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor. The site had recently been acquired "...for $18,000 from the Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital in 1936. It immediately came under the jurisdiction of Parks..." (NYC Parks) A new playground opened on the site on November 13, 1937, as explained in the Parks Department Press Release at the time: "...the new playground is for small children and has swings, see-saws, slides, playhouses, sand tables, a play...

An article in the Independent Reporter August 24, 1933 reports of 7 CWA projects for Somerset County, $7000 of which was for a third class road connecting Concord Township and Embden.

The Works Progress Administration built sidewalks on several streets in Kingwood. Work on Beverly Street was started in 1935.

Biddeford Municipal Airport is a public use airport in York County, Maine, United States. It is owned by the City of Biddeford and is located two nautical miles (3.70 km) south of the central business district. It has one runway designated 06/24 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,000 by 75 feet (914 x 23 m). The airport was originally developed under a New Deal project by the Maine Emergency Relief Administration, the state division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in a state wide survey of airports by Capt. Harry M. Jones in January 1934. The airport was built with 1...

The Bidwell Bowl amphitheater sits along Big Chico Creek on the California State University, Chico campus.  It was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938, no doubt in conjunction with improvements the WPA was making in Bidwell Park at the time (just upstream). The campus website provides the following information: "Built as a WPA project in 1938, the amphitheater known as the Bidwell Bowl was one of many ventures in Chico that created work for people during the depression. Located on the bank of the creek, next to the Physical Science building, the Bidwell Bowl had been used for various...

Chico's Bidwell Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. It follows the course of Big Chico Creek for several miles into the foothills.  The park land was originally donated to the city early in the 20th century by the widow of Chico's founder, John Bidwell. New Deal agencies made several improvements to the park in the 1930s. It appears that State Emergency Recovery Agency (SERA) workers did road gravelling in the park, and worked on bathhouses and repair of the superintendent's residence–SERA was funded in part by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FEMA). At the upper end of the park, the Works Progress Administration (WPA)...

The National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for the former Big Elk Guard Station (now a camping residence for seasonal rent) tells the history of the garage/storage shed located nearby: "A Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)-built Garage/Storage Shed, erected ca. 1938, lies about 50' east of the cabin. This rectangular, single-story building measures approximately 18' x 16' feet in plan and approximately 8' 6" feet from the top of the corner boards at the eaves to the ground. The building has a medium-pitch gable roof with wood shingles and exposed rafter ends. The exterior walls are composed of horizontal "double-run molding"...

The present Big Oak Flat Road was constructed by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR), with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding, between 1935 and 1940.  It is one of  three main roads into Yosemite Valley, along with El Portal road and Wawona road. Big Oak Flat Road is the main entrance road into Yosemite from the north, designated as state highway 120. At Crane Flat, highway 120 follows the Tioga Road toward Tuolumne Meadows and over Tioga Pass.  Big Oak Flat road splits off to head south toward Yosemite Valley.  Highway 120 from Groveland (west of the park) to the park...

The Municipal Building in Biggs CA was constructed under the New Deal with funds and labor from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which was very active in Butte County.  The federal government provided about one-third of the cost and local governments paid the rest.

Billinghurst Junior High school named after long time Reno superintendent of schools (1908-1935), Benson Dillon Billinghurst had improvements made during the New Deal Era consisting of two new double tennis courts and a rock and cement retaining wall around the school playing fields. The rock walls are there today, but the tennis courts are now basketball courts. The school is no longer there. The site has become part of a large public park in the middle of Reno.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built football and baseball fields for the former Bingham High School in Copperton, Utah.   Over the last 150 years, there have been five successive Bingham High Schools in the Bingham Canyon Area, part of the present  Jordan School District, including the current one in the town of West Jordan. The WPA athletic fields were built for  the fourth version of the high school, located in the town of Copperton. The High School transitioned to a Junior High School in 1996 and the fields were still in use then. The football stadium was demolished in 2002. Remnants...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook mosquito control work in Tyler, Texas. Work included lining a creek bed with rubble masonry walls, and paved cement pan to keep down mosquitoes.

Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of an athletic field at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg PA. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction project enabled by the PWA. The agency provided a $184,604 grant for the project, whose final cost was $584,097. Construction occurred between January 1938 and July 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1866.) Four buildings were constructed on the campus, including a gymnasium and shop/storage building. The present status of these structures is unknown to Living New Deal. According to the Bloomsburg University Archives, "The...

Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Centennial Gymnasium building at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg PA. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction project enabled by the PWA. The agency provided a $184,604 grant for the project, whose final cost was $584,097. Construction occurred between January 1938 and July 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1866.) Four buildings were constructed on the campus, including a gymnasium and shop/storage building. According to the Bloomsburg University Archives, "During the Depression the only money available for campus construction was from...

Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Navy Hall at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg PA. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction project enabled by the PWA. The agency provided a $184,604 grant for the project, whose final cost was $584,097. Construction occurred between January 1938 and July 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1866.) Four buildings were constructed on the campus, including a gymnasium and shop/storage building. The present status of these structures is unknown to Living New Deal. According to the Bloomsburg University Archives, "Navy Hall,...

Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of a shop/storage building at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg PA. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction project enabled by the PWA. The agency provided a $184,604 grant for the project, whose final cost was $584,097. Construction occurred between January 1938 and July 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1866.) Four buildings were constructed on the campus, including a gymnasium and shop/storage building.  According to the Bloomsburg University Archives, "The Shop and Storage building was built in 1938 to house the majority...

Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Tennis Courts at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg PA. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction project enabled by the PWA. The agency provided a $184,604 grant for the project, whose final cost was $584,097. Construction occurred between January 1938 and July 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1866.) Four buildings were constructed on the campus, including a gymnasium and shop/storage building. The present status of these structures is unknown to Living New Deal. According to the Bloomsburg University Archives, "A set...

Rural bridge and box culvert constructed in 1938 as part of the WPA "farm to market" road improvement initiative.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Youngs Creek Bridge No. 1541 in Nallen WV. Excerpt from Legal Advertisement, Notice to Contractors, The Charleston (WV) Gazette, March 18, 1939, p. 11.: “Public Works Administration Projects Docket 1197-F — PWA 3163-A. Tyler County, Blue Bridge No. 1532 and Approaches. Two 40 ft. and one 50ft. Spans Steel I Beam Bridge on Concrete Substructure and grading, Draining, Macadam base with Road Mix Surface. Certified Check $1,000.00. Raymond V. Nolan, District Manger, W. Va. State Employment Service, Parkersburg, W.Va."

In 1937-38, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved the road to Bodie CA (now CA 270) south of Bridgeport.  Bodie is a relic of a 19th century gold mining boom that had become a ghost town by the mid 20th century.  It was made a California State Park in 1962.  Highway 270 is closed in winter because Bodie stands at over 8,000 feet. The WPA project card in the National Archives states: "Improve Bridgeport - Bodie Road, near Bridgeport, in Mono County, by clearing and grubbing, excavating and filling, installing culverts, surfacing, grading and sloping, and performing appurtenant work. Not a part...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was very active in the Coronado National Forest during the 1930s. Coronado National Forest is discontinuous across southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico because the forested areas occur only on isolated mountain ranges called "Sky Islands" – a type of landscape similar to the Basin and Range in Nevada. CCC camp F-30 was located in Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains (we are not sure exactly where or for how long).  The CCC 'boys' (enrollees) did extensive work in the canyon, including a campground, picnic area, amphitheater, trails and erosion works. One of the CCC projects...

The structure was originally built as the headquarters of the Boise District of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The Boise District supervised CCC camps in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Currently, the building serves as a restaurant.

"The present construction features of this project are the raising of Arrowrock Dam and spillway for additional storage, and the building of the canal system for the Payette Division. Work has been in progress on Arrowrock Dam during 1936 and is scheduled for completion the latter part of 1937. Contracts have been awarded for eight tunnels on the Black Canyon canal of the Payette Division, four of which are practically complete. Bids have been received and contract will soon be awarded for canal excavation from Station 0 to Station 157. Specifications will soon be issued for canal excavation from...

Boneyard Creek runs through the cities of Urbana and Champaign. In 1934 "Civil Works Administration (CWA) workers completed some maintenance work on the Boneyard Creek in Urbana and Champaign. Work consisted of clearing obstructions to the flow, cleaning channel banks, and stabilizing channel banks with timbers." Today, "Land use in the watershed is virtually all urban (residential, commercial, industrial)... The watershed and the channel have been greatly modified, the natural flood plain is highly developed."   (www.isws.illinois.edu)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook the following work north of Coulterville: "Improvement of Bone Yard Road; Retaining, widening, sloping, etc." WPA Proj. No. 65-3-2705, November 20, 1935, $3,536