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  • Abbott Cross Road Bridge - Huntington AR
    The bridge carrying Abbott Cross Road over Prairie Creek in Dayton Township ENE of Huntington, Arkansas was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1943.
  • Adams Field Hangar - Little Rock AR
    Adams Field, also since known as Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, was first constructed during the early 20th century. The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) assisted with the airport's development. The W.P.A.'s Division of Operations wrote: This project is unusually interesting because of its history. The hangar was originally constructed by TWA in Waynoka, Okla. This stopping point was done away with by TWA. The City of Little Rock negotiated for its purchase, dismantled it and shipped the material to Little Rock where the Works Progress Administration constructed it. Prior to this the airport had no hangar and sometimes, during...
  • Agricultural Building - Berryville AR
    The single-story stone building was constructed by the WPA in 1940. It is of native stone veneer, quarried from the George Keck farm north of Berryville (Story, 1992). It is in the Plain Traditional style.
  • American Legion Post #121- Paris AR
    "According to A Review of Work Relief Activities in Arkansas, April 1st, 1934 to July 1st 1935, this structure, referred to as a 'community hall,' was part of Projects 42-B15-2 and 42-B3-4 that operated from April 26th to October 13, 1934, utilizing 43 workers and entailing 9,122 man hours of work" (as cited in Arkansas Historic Preservation Program). "In addition to the community hall/American Legion Post Building, the WPA constructed a recreational park with Boy and Girl Scout cabins, stone walls, and a stone stepped path 'from the base to the top of the cliff,' which is also known as Pine...
  • American Legion Post #127 Building - Eudora AR
    "American Legion Post #127 (also known as the Wilson Burnett American Legion Post #127 was first chartered on April 9, 1920, though this structure was not erected until 1934, when it was constructed by the Works Progress Administration.  The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 and the subsequent advent of such federal public works programs as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) first brought such public buildings as, schools, community halls and American Legion posts to the Eudora area in 1934...Among its various other projects, the WPA constructed or repaired a number of rural school buildings throughout the state, and...
  • Arch Street Overpass (former) - Little Rock AR
    The 1,121-foot Arch Street Overpass was constructed in 1940. Careful analysis of the bridge plate (plaque) as per historic Google Street View imagery suggests that this project was funded by the Public Roads Administration of the Federal Works Agency; the superstructure appears to have been replaced as of 2018.
  • Arkansas Arts Center - Little Rock AR
    "In 1937, the Museum of Fine Arts opened in MacArthur Park. Franklin Delano Roosevelt approved $25,000 from the WPA for construction of the 10,140 square foot building. FDR wrote a letter of congratulations to the citizens of Little Rock to be read at the opening." The original Museum of Fine Arts Museum entrance is now an interior wall of the expanded and since-renamed Arkansas Arts Center. "Located in historic MacArthur Park; contains an international collection of art and special exhibitions; live theatre performances for family audiences; lectures, films, poetry slams and family festivals; Museum Shop features works by notable artisans; lunch at Best Impressions...
  • Arkansas School for the Blind - Little Rock AR
    This large school was built by the WPA in 1939 and is still in us. "Arkansas's WPA program began in July 1935 under state administrator William R. Dyess and provided money for numerous social services and infrastructure improvement projects.  Social programs in the state included the School Lunch Program, the Commodity Distribution Program, and the Adult Education Program.  While these programs fed, clothed, and educated many Arkansans, the WPA is perhaps better remembered for the roads, bridges, and buildings it constructed.  Pulaski County used the $13.4 million it received from the federal government--more than any other Arkansas county--for projects like the...
  • Arkansas State University Building - Jonesboro AR
    This Arkansas State University building was constructed by the PWA in 1936. It started as a Teacher Training School, before it became the current Sciences and Math building where many science classes are taught. It is still in great shape today.
  • Arkansas State University Business Building - Jonesboro AR
    Constructed in 1939, the Science Building of Arkansas State College (now the Business Building of Arkansas State University), was one of multiple New Deal projects on the college campus. In 1936, Arkansas State College added a Reserve Officers Training Corps. With this new addition, the program needed a building to have classes. Talk for the new building began in the summer of 1937 when the Board of Trustees began planning how the funds should be budgeted for the project. The building was built as part of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works project as part of the New Deal...
  • Arkansas Territorial Restoration - Little Rock AR
    The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) furnished the labor for the restoration of the last territorial capitol grounds of Arkansas, during the latter years of the Great Depression. The site now houses the Historic Arkansas Museum. The institution states on its website: " Loughborough began a one-woman campaign to save the block, lobbying the Arkansas Legislature for funding to restore the buildings and have them preserved as the Arkansas Territorial Restoration. The museum formally opened in July 1941." In 1940 the WPA wrote: "This project, located in the downtown business district, has restored the grounds and buildings of the last territorial capitol...
  • ASU Museum Mural - Jonesboro AR
    H. Louis Freund painted this 13' x 4'8" oil on canvas mural "Early Days and First Post Office in Pocahontas" in 1939 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts for the post office in Pocahontas. After years of damage, it was restored and transported to ASU. "The mural depicts several early scenes of Pocahontas and the surrounding areas. In the lower right is the community of Davidsonville, where the state's first post office was established in 1817. On the left is the old dam and mill as it existed around 1835 in the community of Birdell on the Eleven Point River....
  • Bard Springs Recreation Area - Umpire AR
    Located next to a small scenic stream in a remote mountain setting of the Ouachita National Forest, the Bard Springs Recreation Area offers five Adirondack-type shelters for picnicking. A very small dam on the stream creates a pool of water that is popular with swimmers in the summertime. Once a small campground in the past, this area is now open for day-use only. In 1936, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was involved in the construction of a picnic shelter, bathhouse, & Caddo District Dams 1 and 2. The bathhouse is a single story rustic stone structure, with entrances at either...
  • Batesville Creek Bridge - Damascus AR
    The 141-foot Batesville Creek Bridge, which carries N. Broadview Street across Batesville Creek, south of Damascus, Arkansas, was constructed in 1940. The bridge plate (plaque) states that this project was funded by the Public Roads Administration of the Federal Works Agency.
  • Baxter County Courthouse - Mountain Home AR
    "The Baxter County Courthouse in Mountain Home was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1941 and 1943. It was designed by T. Ewing Shelton of Fayetteville, and constructed by the WPA. Its minimalist design and use of local materials in its construction are features common to many depression- era public works projects... The Baxter County courthouse in Mountain Home is being nominated under criterion A with local significance because of its role as a seat of government in Baxter County and for its association with the WPA. Through its many projects in the area, the WPA had a...
  • Bee Mountain Fire Tower - Vandervoort AR
    This fieldstone and wood building (tower with stone base and wood shelter at the top) was erected by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Fire towers are endangered due to their isolated locations and because they are no longer necessary for fire prevention/control.
  • Beely-Johnson Post 139 American Legion Hut - Springdale AR
    Located in downtown Springdale, the Beely-Johnson Post 139 American Legion Hut was built in 1934 by American Legion members and local citizens. A kitchen was added to the building’s interior in 1937 by the Legion Auxiliary. The one-story building is constructed of rough-cut native stone quarried from a mountain east of Springdale. There have been no major changes to the building over the years. At first, Legion members met in the upstairs rooms of various downtown businesses. By 1929, plans were under way for the construction of a post hut, but due to a drop in membership during the early years...
  • Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge (demolished) - Greenville MS to AR
    The US 82 bridge between Greenville, Mississippi and Lake Village, Arkansas was constructed to increase access between the two states to benefit economic development in the Delta. It was dismantled and replaced in 2011 due to increased river traffic, which resulted in numerous hits to the bridge over the years, and increased vehicular traffic which resulted in traffic control issues due to the narrow lanes and lack of shoulders. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation lent $2.55 million toward the cost of the original bridge. WPA funds were secured in 1938 for the remainder. The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) was also involved with...
  • Berryville Gymnasium - Berryville AR
    The single story stone building was designed in a "Plain Traditional" style with "minimal Craftsman influences" and included a stone chimney on the western elevation (Story, 1992). The building was constructed by 50 local laborers employed by the WPA.
  • Big Flat School Gymnasium - Big Flat AR
    The National Youth Administration constructed a school gymnasium in Big Flat, Arkansas in 1938-1941. The structure is a single story stone masonry building "designed in the Plain Traditional style with Craftsman influences." (NRHP) The interior of the gymnasium has been significantly altered.
  • Big Four School (former) - Providence AR
    "Situated in a grassy, tree-covered field in a remote area. the abandoned Big Four School building was constructed in 1915, but remodeled so extensively in the 1930's by the Works Progress Administration bar it is actually more representative of this time period." (National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form) The exact location of the building along Route 383 in Providence, Arkansas and the status of the structure are presently unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Blythe Road Bridge - Huntington AR
    The bridge carrying Blythe Road over a branch of Washburn Creek, ENE of Dayton Township, northeast of Huntington, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1941.
  • Booneville Lake Way Bridge - Huntington AR
    The bridge carrying Booneville Lake Way over Pigeon Creek in Washburn Township, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1942.
  • Boyle Park - Little Rock AR
    The park remained largely unimproved until the mid-1930s, when the Civilian Conservation Corps boys arrived (though there seems to be some uncertainty about exactly when the actual construction work began, two different contemporaneous sources reveal that as of the spring of 1935 work had not yet begun, but that by the spring of 1937 work was complete and the unit involved in finishing the work within the park—the 3777th company, originally from West Fork, where they were supposed to be involved in the ongoing construction at Devil's Den State Park—were wondering where they would be shipped next) . The CCC...
  • Bridge #2, Hot Springs National Park - Hot Springs AR
    "This road and drainage structure was erected at Lake Catherine State Park ...for the purpose of providing a passable roadbed for the construction of the main vehicular access road into the park" (Story, 1992). The bridge was constructed of stone walls and foundation with concrete lintel and deck by the 3777th Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Arkansas District, stationed at Friendship, Arkansas. "This structure was constructed by the CCC as part of the overall plan to develop this site as a public park to be administered by the state of Arkansas"   (https://www.arkansaspreservation.com).
  • Bridge Street Viaduct - Jonesboro AR
    Constructed in 1936, the 558-foot, Art Deco-style viaduct on Bridge Street in Jonesboro, Arkansas was an important New Deal-era project in that city. This was part of a larger Works Progress Administration (WPA)-sponsored improvement of the region’s infrastructure. The Arkansas State Highway Commission, with funds provided by the WPA through the Bureau of Public Roads, constructed the $150,000 viaduct that passes over the BNSF Railway, St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. Fred Luttjohann, a Topeka, Kansas bridge contractor received the contract to construct the steel stringer design bridge. At first, local leaders feared there would not be...
  • Broadway Street Bridge - Mansfield AR
    The bridge carrying Broadway Street over Coop Creek east of Mansfield, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1940.
  • Buffalo Point Campground - Yellville AR
    The Buffalo Point Campground is the largest NPS campground on the Buffalo National River. It was originally an Arkansas State Park before being assumed by the National Park Service. The historically significant park and cabins were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) before WWII. Cabins are perched on a tall bluff top with magnificent views of the lower Buffalo River. There is a Ranger Station, hiking trails including the famous Indian Rockhouse, and many interpretive programs. Buffalo Point is a very popular facility, reservations are recommended.
  • Buford School Building - Buford AR
    The WPA was established in Baxter County in fall 1935, and the school was one of the first major projects undertaken by the agency in North Arkansas (Story, 1992). The "irregular-plan, single-story building" featured Craftsman influence of "exposed rafters and the ornamental brackets" (Story). The grey limestone block school was constructed in the Plain Traditional style. A community member described it as "...interior consisted for two large classrooms, separated by a moveable partition and several smaller rooms...utilized for a library and cloak rooms. One of the classrooms contained a stage complete with small dressing rooms and passageways. A canvass...
  • Bunch-Walton Post 22 American Legion Hut - Clarksville AR
    "The Lee Bunch Post #22 was formed in Clarksville in February 1919 when fifteen veterans applied to form a Johnson County post. It was named for Bunch, a resident of Batson who was the first Johnson Countian to die in World War I. The group initially met in local homes, churches and clubs, but in February 1932 the Civic Club sold the post for one dollar an island between the main stream and west fork of Spadra Creek near downtown Clarksville. In 1934, the Civil Works Administration, which helped build Legion huts across the state, approved Project No. 36- 34 T...
  • Burdette School (former) - Burdette AR
    The English Revival Style, red-brick, one-story school building was constructed in the  town's existing school complex by the WPA in 1939. The large front wing and the smaller rear wing are connected by a large auditorium that intersects both wings in the center. The building contained two arched entries, and the interior was almost entirely original, with wood floors, trim and doors that remain, and in some classrooms, the original desks remained when the school closed in 2001. The library retained the original built-in shelves. It had served as an elementary school at the time of closure.
  • Burson-Bethel Post 119 American Legion Hut - Des Arc AR
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) built the American Legion meeting place, a log construction building with a brick fireplace.
  • Calico Rock School, Home Economics Building - Calico Rock AR
    "The Future Homemakers of America Home Economics building at the Calico Rock School had been on the drawing boards for over two years before the National Youth Administration notified the local school district that construction could actually begin in December, 1940.  The Home Economics Building was built of native stone to the east of the school's main building and the gymnasium."   (https://www.arkansaspreservation.com) The Plain Traditional stone building was begun in 1940. Stone was quarried by "hand, hammer and chisel" approximately 1/4 of a mile from the building site. The NYA youth who quarried stone and built the building were between 15-18...
  • Camp Ouachita Girl Scout Camp Historic District - Perryville AR
    The Little Rock Girl Scout Council was chartered in 1928. With the leadership of Sue Worthen Ogden, a national GS Inc. board member, "After months of looking at prospective sites in the Ouachita National Forest, Ogden contacted Forest Supervisor A. W. Hartman in April 1935 to express her interest in a site along Narrow Creek at a location called “the Narrows,” where a dam could be built to create a small lake. Sue Ogden then coordinated with three federal agencies—the Forest Service, CCC, and WPA—and recruited Perry County to serve as the “official” sponsor of the WPA project (because only...
  • Camp Preston Hunt - Texarkana AR
    Camp Preston Hunt is a Boy Scout Camp originally built on 200 acres of donated land in Texarkana, Arkansas. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) cleared the land and built cabins, a dining hall and a picnic shelter. The WPA employed over 1000 workers who were paid fifty cents a day. A plaque on the grounds identifies the camp as WPA Project 2355.
  • Cedar Creek Bridge - Bonanza AR
    The bridge carrying Arkansas State Highway 45 over Cedar Creek north of Bonanza, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1942.
  • Charlotte Elementary School - Charlotte AR
    "During the Great Depression, the old wooden building used by the academy was replaced in 1936 with one made of sandstone built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). While this school was being constructed, school was held in the Methodist church building behind what was then Weaver’s Store. The WPA building is in use today by the school district, with the Bayou Dota Masonic Lodge No. 126 holding its meetings upstairs. In 1952, the Charlotte and Cord schools merged to form the Cord-Charlotte School District. In 2004, Cord-Charlotte consolidated with the Newark school district to create the Cedar Ridge School...
  • City Hall - Eudora AR
    "By the 1930s, Eudora was substantial enough to need a city hall.  The city turned to the PWA for assistance in constructing the building, and they received a loan of $9,000 and a grant of $6,142, for a total amount of $16,142.  The estimated total cost for the building was $15,697, so the PWA assistance would more than cover the cost of the building.  The money was allotted on January 5, 1936, and by the time the contract was concluded on May 12, 1936, the cost had shrunk to $14,487, which was the amount specified in the contract.  The project...
  • City Hall - Forrest City AR
    Forrest City, Arkansas's City Hall (sometimes known as the Municipal Building) was constructed in 1938-9 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a grant of $9,676 for the project, whose total cost was $22,151. The building "features Art Deco-style detailing in cast-stone on its front façade." PWA Docket No. Ark. 1149
  • City Hall - West Memphis AR
    "West Memphis experienced dramatic growth during the 1930s due to increased automobile traffic, industrial development, and the presence of river and railroad transportation.  In June 1938 Mayor William H. Hundhausen appointed a committee to determine necessary city improvements.  The committee immediately suggested the construction of a city administration building, which would house the city hall, a fire station, and a city jail.  Prior to 1938, the city council met in various local businesses and fire protection was sub-par.  The mayor’s committee enlisted the support of the Public Works Administration (PWA) in order to fund construction of the city administration building. ...
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