Survival: No Longer Extant

The no-longer-extant Sands Point Elementary School in Port Washington, New York was improved by the federal Work Projects Administration during the 1930s.  One modest project undertaken in 1938 involved repairs to the building's walls, ceilings, and plastering. Other schools in Port Washington were similarly improved. The exact location of the former school is unknown. WPA Official Project No. 665-21-2-219.

The WPA worked during the late 1930s to improve "properties of the U.S. Maritime Commission on Hoffman and Swinburne Island in New York Bay" in New York City. Each island was previously artificially created and was, at the time, being used for the U.S. Merchant Marine as a training station. WPA work on the islands included "reconditioning buildings, grounds, utilities and facilities; excavating; back-filling; draining; painting; improving roads and walks; installing electrical and heating facilities; grading and landscaping grounds; doing carpentry and demolition work ..." Approximately $210,000 was dedicated to these projects as well as work to "the Maritime Ship 'Tusitala' at...

A $100,000 grant from the federal government enabled the construction of a bridge to carry Maze Boulevard over the San Joaquin River, east of Vernalis, California, according to a report from the California Department of Highways in 1935. The grant almost surely came from the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR)s, either in its regular budget or from a pass-through grant by the Public Works Administration (PWA) The Maze Boulevard bridge was replaced by the California Highway Department (CalTrans) around 1970, according to reports in the Modesto Bee.

The WPA undertook several projects to improve Staten Island's Miller Field Airport, a then-U.S. Army facility, during the 1930s and early 1940s. One project called upon the WPA to: "Improve Miller Field Airport at New Dorp Lane ... by landscaping grounds; constructing and reconstructing buildings, roads, lighting, sewer, and drainage systems; and performing appurtenant work." Miller Field is now a park, part of the "Staten Island Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, which is managed by the National Park Service." (Wikipedia)

An abandoned coal mine drift was used as a "coal exhibit" from 1935 through the 1940s. The park discontinued the exhibit but the remains of the site are still visible from trail 2.

A federal WPA-sponsored set of alterations, repairs, and general improvements was undertaken at the old Elmhurst branch library in Elmhurst, New York during the 1930s. The building was demolished in 2012.

The WPA provided assistance in repairing and otherwise improving the One Hundred and Fourth Field Artillery / 172nd Street-Jamaica Armory in Jamaica, Queens. The building is no longer extant.

The WPA provided assistance in repairing and otherwise improving the Ninth Regiment / West 14th Street Armory in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The building is no longer extant. "The (22nd) Twenty-Second Regiment / 14th Street Armory (1863) building was replaced with the (9th) Ninth Regiment / West 14th Street Armory (1894-1896) building, which was later replaced by (42nd) Forty-Second Division / West 14th Street Armory (1971) building, which in turn was replaced by a mix use structure, all on the same site." (Wikipedia)

The WPA provided $119,002 in funds to "repair garage & buildings at 181st St. and Webster Ave." The property is still owned by New York City and the buildings (not the originals that the WPA worked on, which have presumably been demolished) today houses Fleet Services for the city's Department of Transportation. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-441.

The original Willis Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River opened in 1901. In the 1930s, the WPA allocated $326,290 toward reconstruction of the roadway crossing the Willis Avenue Bridge, which connects the Bronx to Manhattan in New York City. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-37. Due to its deteriorating condition, the bridge was replaced starting in 2007 when a new bridge was built. The old bridge remained a pedestrian-only bridge for three years, and was then dismantled.