The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at the old Alhambra School in Phoenix, Arizona during the 1930s. A gymnasium was also constructed in 1938. Living New Deal believes the old facility to be demolished.
The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the State Capitol Annex Building in 1938. The University of Arizona Libraries Digital Collections information page on State Capitol murals mentions that PWA funds were used “to hire Jay Datus to paint… read more
The Works Progress Administration built the grandstand at the Arizona State Fair grounds in Phoenix. “As the Great Depression deepened and thousands were uprooted and looking for work, numerous fairgrounds were turned into camps for these transients. The Arizona State… read more
The Works Progress Administration built additions for the Arizona State Hospital (also known as the Arizona State Hospital for the Insane) in Phoenix. The present condition of the structures in unknown to the Living New Deal.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed sidewalks along, and otherwise improved, Buckeye Road in Phoenix, Arizona during the 1930s.
“To portray ‘beauty, toil and simplicity’ was the goal of artist, R. Phillips Sanderson, when he designed the ‘Copper Miner.’ Sanderson had moved to Bisbee during the Depression and worked as a commercial artist. He was paid $30.00 per month… read more
WPA created sidewalks and curbs poured as the neighborhood developed between 1939 and 1942.
“Phoenix has no shortage of [New Deal] projects. The city’s park system is a major benefactor, with huge undertakings in places like South Mountain Park and Encanto Park and smaller projects, such as a bathhouse in Coronado Park…South Mountain Park… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop and improve Phoenix, Arizona’s East Van Buren Street during the 1930s.
The park was originally called Phoenix Park, renamed Eastlake Park in 1903, and bought by the City of Phoenix in 1914 (City of Phoenix African American Historic Property Survey pp 29-30). The survey further states that: “In 1937 Works Progress… read more
The W.P.A. constructed sidewalks in Phoenix, AZ, including at “Encanto & First Ave.”
"The revival of interest in listening to music out of doors has not been overlooked by the city of Phoenix in its park improvement program, and this band shell in the Dorris-Norton Park provides a place where the bands and… read more
“In order to provide its citizens and its large transient population with better park facilities, the city of Phoenix undertook the rehabilitation and beautification of existing parks and the acquisition of lands for the creation of new mountain and city… read more
The former Phoenix Federal Building and Post Office (now owned by ASU) was designed by Phoenix architectural firm Lescher and Mahoney in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Construction had begun in 1932, before the advent of FDR’s presidency (and thus… read more
The historic former Federal Building and Post Office in Phoenix, Arizona houses examples of New Deal artwork. In 1937 the U.S. Treasury’s Section of Fine Arts commissioned artist La Verne Nelson Black to create two murals for the east wing… read more
“A major park that African Americans on the west side frequented was Grant Park, located at 3rd Avenue and Grant Street. Grant Park existed as an empty lot with grass and trees until the city Parks and Recreation Department renovated… read more
The Works Progress Administration built sidewalks on Lynwood and 15th Street in the west side of Phoenix, circa 1937.
“The old National Guard Arsenal is the second largest adobe building in continuous use in the United States. Funded by the Works Progress Administration in 1936, it was part of the recreation development of Papago Park, an expansive, designed landscape.”
Phoenix, Arizona’s North High School was constructed with the assistance of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1939. “The North Phoenix High School was built to relieve the overcrowded Phoenix Union High School which enrolled over 5,000 students in 1939…. read more
The Works Progress Administration carried out road construction on the Papago Highway, connecting Tempe with Scottsdale. This is possibly the road now known as N Galvin Parkway, not to be confused with the Interstate highway known as the Papago Freeway.
The amphitheater in the Papago Buttes at the north end of the Papago city park in Phoenix AZ was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933-34. “Civilian Conservation Corps camp SP5A constructed an amphitheater built into Papago Buttes… read more
The Public Works Administration funded the construction an auditorium building at the Junior College (today Phoenix College) in Phoenix. The facade architecture features Art Deco elements and white plaster finish. The auditorium is still in service today at Phoenix College.
“In 1939 Phoenix College moved from its old location to a new site at Thomas and 15th. The architectural firm of Lescher and Mahoney was hired with Public Works Administration funds to design the first six buildings for the new… read more
“In 1934 the Division of Subsistence Homesteads purchased a tract of land on what was then the outskirts of Phoenix in order to build a public housing community for low-income residents. Construction of the first half of the Phoenix Homesteads… read more
“The PWA has made a grant of $61,200 to the city of Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, for street improvements including paving of portions of 8th, Richland St., 9th, Monte Vista Road, Mitchell St., Coronado Road, and Almeria Road. Estimated cost… read more
” South Mountain Park was the focus of two Civilian Conservation Corps camps and 4,000 enrollees from 1933 to 1940. They built erosion control structures, roads and trails, and picnic and other recreational facilities including ramadas and lookout shelters. CCC… read more
From the University of Arizona Libraries Digital Collection: “Public Works Administration funds were used to construct the State Capitol Annex Building in 1938 and to hire Jay Datus to paint a series of murals entitled “The Pageant of Arizona Progress.”… read more
Numerous large-scale street improvement and paving projects were undertaken in Tucson, Arizona during the Great Depression with the assistance of federal Public Work Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied outright grants of more than $665,000 (not adjusted for inflation) for… read more
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
