Fairbanks Sites

The 1,300+ mile Alaska Highway was constructed in 1942 and opened in 1943.  It was built to provide an alternate supply line to Alaska during World War II, an idea the President Roosevelt had proposed to the Canadian government in 1936.  It runs through Canadian Territory but the cost was borne by the United States.   The Alaska Highway was a joint effort of the U.S. Army (Corps of Engineers) and the Public Roads Administration (PRA)—a sub-agency of the New Deal's Federal Works Agency that replaced the earlier Bureau of Public Roads.  The construction was carried out by a host of PRA-contracted...

The city of Fairbanks built the City Hall with the help of a grant from the Public Works Administration. After a fire that destroyed several public buildings, the city requested PWA funds to replace an inadequate wood structure that housed the fire and police departments and city offices. “At the end of December 1934, the city purchased a portion of Lot 1 and all of Lot 2, Block 66 at the corner of Fifth and Cushman streets. Following a request for proposals, architect Henry Bittman of Seattle was selected in February 1935 to design the building. On May 23 Warwick Construction...

The Public Works Administration contributed approximately $220,000 toward the construction of sewers, paving, sidewalks, and school additions between 1939 and 1940 in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The addition to the Main School was built with the help of the Public Works Administration. The main structure was built in 1934, and it replaced a wooden structure that had previously served as the city’s only school. “By the late 1930s additional space was needed to accommodate a growing school population. In1939, an addition of 12,350 square feet was constructed as a Public Works Administration project with the design purportedly prepared by Alaska Architectural Company. The addition was added to the south side of the building. It more than doubled the south facade and wrapped around the auditorium to...