• Arizona State University Development - Tempe AZ
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of several new facilities at the Arizona State Teachers College in Tempe – today's Arizona State University. The New Deal improved many college campuses, including the University of Arizona in Tucson and Phoenix College.  Teachers' Colleges were often targetted. The building shown here is probably the back of West Hall, now covered by other buildings and the reception is surely in the lounge of West Hall. Known buildings have their own project pages.  Matthews Hall appears to be New Deal, but it is not certain.  More information regarding the location and status of all New Deal...
  • Arizona State University: Cafeteria - Tempe AZ
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction a cafeteria building at the Arizona State Teachers College in Tempe (today the Arizona State University). The exact location of the cafeteria and its fate are unknown to the Living New Deal. It has probably been demolished.
  • Arizona State University: Central Heating Plant (demolished) - Tempe AZ
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the central heating plant at the Arizona State Teachers College in Tempe (today the Arizona State University).  The site was cleared in 2019 for a large hotel-retail complex.
  • Arizona State University: Golf Course - Tempe AZ
    There is a record in the National Archives of the Public Works Administration (PWA) funding the construction of a golf course at the Arizona State Teachers College in Tempe (now the Arizona State University).  It is unclear what kind of golf course is meant and where it was located, and the picture shows students putting behind a campus building – not a golf course at all.  There was a true golf course built northeast of the ASU campus, but apparently much later.  Further information is needed to verify the history of this golf course.
  • Arizona State University: Irish Hall - Tempe AZ
    In 1940, the Works Program Administration (WPA) constructed the dormitory complex called Irish Hall on the south side of the campus of what was then the Arizona State Normal School, now Arizona State University. Irish Hall consists of three separate wings (A, B & C buildings) around a courtyard. The buildings are plain, two-story Moderne style structures with horizontal streamlining and metal frame windows.  They still function as dormitories (which means that today access is closed to the public). There is a WPA plaque in the entrance way.
  • Arizona State University: Matthews Center - Tempe AZ
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the old Matthews library building at the Arizona State Teachers College in Tempe.  It presently serves as the Matthews Center on the campus of today's Arizona State University. The building is a low (two-story) brick building in neo-classical style. It has a large footprint, no doubt to accommodate book stacks in the past.  It is unclear how much modification has been made for its new life as The Matthews Center.   
  • Arizona State University: Moeur Building - Tempe AZ
    The Moeur Building was built in 1939 by the Works Projects Administration (WPA). It is the only adobe building on campus and the design is Southwest (Pueblo) Revival. The exterior is intact and well maintained, and there is a WPA stamp on the front steps (though no plaque or cornerstone).  The interior beyond the lobby appears to have been modernized (but this need corroboration). The building is named after Benjamin Baker Moeur, M.D., who served as the official physician for the Arizona Territorial Normal School (now Arizona State University) and served two terms as governor of Arizona.   Today, the Moeur Building houses...
  • Arizona State University: West Hall - Tempe AZ
    The Public Works Administration (PWA)  funded the construction of the West Hall, a girls’ dormitory at the Arizona State Teachers College in Tempe (today the Arizona State University). "Built as the last of four dormitories that created the quadrangle, a place that hosted many early student traditions, West Hall is the only of the four buildings still remaining. The School of Social Transformation, and the School of Politics and Global Studies now occupy West Hall." West Hall is a handsome, two-story brick building in neo-classical style. The columned portico has Paladian windows and the original light fixtures.  There are inset bas-reliefs set around...
  • Curry Road Paving - Tempe AZ
    The Works Progress Administration paved Curry Road in Tempe, Maricopa County, circa 1937. Pictured is a finished section of Curry Highway (presently Curry Road) at the intersection with Scottsdale Road.
  • Maricopa County Welfare Sanitarium (Demolished) - Tempe AZ
    The Civil Works Administration and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration built the Arizona State Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Tempe, Maricopa County, in 1934. Also known as the Maricopa County Welfare Sanitarium, the facility was initially built as a 60-room sanatorium. The structure was located on the same site where today stands the Arizona State University Climatology Office, at the intersection of Curry Road and Mill Avenue. The building was designed in Moorish Revival architectural style, and it featured a dome, minarets, and arched windows. According to Jared Smith, a curator at the Tempe History Museum, the building had a large basement...
  • Moeur Park - Tempe AZ
    "Moeur Park North and South is located at the NE and SE corners of Mill Avenue and Curry Road. Moeur Park ramadas and associated structures are identified in the 1997 Tempe Multiple Resource Area Update (#255) as individually eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Built in U.S. Park Services style, these roadway, rest, and landscape elements are typical of the New Deal Works Administration Era (WPA). Field stone and concrete materials were used by the WPA to construct features throughout the park. These include; raised planters, stairs, planter borders, stone benches, stone tables, an automobile...
  • Papago Highway - Tempe to Scottsdale AZ
    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.
  • Salt River Project - Tempe AZ
    The Salt River Project is the source of energy for most of this area, providing affordable electricity, and electricity in general for large geographical areas. "1935-1938: In an effort to supplement its workforce during the Depression, SRP contracted with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to conduct maintenance and construction work on the canal system. The CCC crews typically completed projects including: building fences, creating trails for trucks, constructing levees or dykes, clearing laterals, lining and piping waterways, or upgrading water control structures with stone masonry or rubble lining. In less than three years, men from the CCC worked with SRP and...
  • Swimming Pool - Tempe AZ
    The Works Progress Administration built a Public Swimming Pool in Tempe at the "municipal park"—possibly what is now the Papago Park complex. Project # 126, circa 1936. The exact location and condition of this facility is unknown to the Living New Deal.