Davis Sites

The Works Progress Administration built restroom facilities in Central Park in Davis, in 1937. Davis Wiki: "The WPA Building houses the public restrooms on the northeast corner of Central Park. It was built in 1937 as a WPA project and was the first public restroom in Davis. It is also the only WPA building in the City of Davis, lending it additional historical significance." In 2011, the Davis City Council approved the demolition of the WPA building with the intention of building a "History Plaza" in its place. The proposal gave rise to public disagreement and many local writers and residents expressed support for the conservation of...

"Construction of Davis's first public park in 1937 was importantly funded by the WPA. Of the $13,128 total cost, the WPA contributed $8,355, leaving $4,773 for the city." - Davis: Radical Changes, Deep Constants The WPA constructed a public restrooms in the northeast corner of the park. "It was built in 1937 as a WPA project and was the first public restroom in Davis. It is also the only WPA building in the City of Davis, lending it additional historical significance. " (daviswiki.org)

Built by the WPA as the Davis City Hall in 1938, this building has since served as a fire station, a police station and now, a restaurant.

A 1940 WPA publication cites the WPA as having worked on the Davis State Forestry Airport sometime between 1935 and 1939. Although the exact date and extent of involvement is not known, the airport appears to have been built in the late 30s, so it is likely that the WPA was involved in the entire operation. A separate source on airfields gives the following information about the airfield: "The airfield at the State Nursery may not have yet been formally established by 1938, as it was not listed among active airfields in The Airport Directory Company's 1938 Airport Directory. The earliest aeronautical chart...

Though the original library dates from the early 20th century, the old building was condemned in 1938 and replaced with this PWA building in 1940. Unfortunately, later additions obscure some of the underlying geometry visible in the archive photo below: "Shields was built in three parts/stages, and if you circle the building completely, you can see the three distinct architectural styles. The north wing facing the Quad (where the 24 Hour Reading Room and the Main Reading Room are) is the oldest wing of the library, completed in 1940 as the library and administration building. The main entrance at this time...

The WPA worked extensively on curbs, gutters and sidewalks in Davis. "SERA also denied (for being a piecemeal approach that wouldnt improve drainage) the citys application for installing widely-scattered curbs & gutters, although the WPA in 1937 approved $26,000 for the more-comprehensive version of the paving project. That concrete, it was assured, was to use local gravel from Putah Creek." - https://www.yolo.net/ychs/publications/newDeal.html Many sidewalks in Davis still bear WPA stamps: "Davis still bears the stamp of these WPA projectsliterally. Perhaps you've seen the "WPA" initials imprinted in a sidewalk while strolling through old North Davis. These sidewalks were laid in the late 1930's...