This limestone sculpture “Young Lincoln” by James Hansen depicts a young, shirtless, pensive Lincoln holding a book. It stands across the lobby from Garner’s sculpture of “Law.” The information plaque describes the statue: “The Fine Arts Section of the U.S…. read more
These cast stone eagle facades decorating the outside of the courthouse were carved by Henry Lion in 1938 with support from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.
Today known as LAC & USC Medical Center, construction of this iconic Art Deco style hospital by the City of Los Angeles was completed in 1932. The WPA was involved in a few projects at the facility. Ongoing: Proj. 7241… read more
Mines Field opened as the official airport of Los Angeles in 1930, but when it applied for WPA funds in 1935, it was rejected because the land was still leased from private owners. In 1937, the city took full control… read more
“The Los Angeles National Cemetery was dedicated on May 22, 1889, a few days after the first interment. The Works Progress Administration constructed the Spanish Revival style administration building-chapel and the indoor columbarium at the National Cemetery in the late… read more
“Designed as the largest enclosed structure without walls in the world by noted California architects Robert Clements and Associates, this Art Deco building, constructed between 1938 and 1941 by the WPA, is the largest and second-oldest Navy Reserve Center in… read more
This Mission Revival style building was built under the Roosevelt Administration and served as the main mail distribution for LA until 1994. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Only a part of this structure… read more
This fresco in the Post Office Terminal Annex lobby consists of eleven semi-circular, tempera on plaster “lunettes” by Boris Deutsch depicting “Cultural Contributions of North, South and Central America.” The murals were funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts… read more
Although the zoo was shut down in 1965, the grounds are still standing and open to the public for walking and picnics, and the site is often used in film and photo locations. A sign at the old zoo reads… read more
The mosaic, “Spanish California” was created by Stanton Macdonald-Wright for the Thomas Edison Middle School in Los Angeles, and hangs in the school’s auditorium foyer. Tiles of different shapes give the mural a variety of textures. Macdonald-Wright was an unemployed… read more
A mosaic mural entitled “Early California,” created by Stanton MacDonald-Wright for the Thomas Edison Middle School, has been lost. Stanton MacDonald-Wright was an unemployed artist hired by the Federal Art Project (FAP) in 1937.
The construction of a large concrete bridge carrying railroad traffic to Los Angeles’s Union Station over Ceasar Chavez Avenue was enabled by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works during the Great Depression.
After the original 1910 school building was destroyed in the 1933 earthquake, the current building was financed by the PWA: “Architects John and Donald Parkinson, successors to the architectural firm of Parkinson and Bergstrom which had provided the design for… read more
$110,000 from the Federal Governement helped to construct an elegant concrete Art Deco bridge over the Pacific Electric tracks to replace an obsolete narrow wooden bridge. It was replaced in 1972 by the current utilitarian structure.
This swimming pool project was initiated under SERA and completed by the WPA.
Media Park is a small park at the intersection of Venice Blvd. and Culver Blvd. which got its name as a result of a contest sponsored by Harry Culver, Culver City’s founder. The park is leased to Culver City by… read more
DON WARREN, Senior Bridge Engineer February 1937 issue of California Highway and Public Works magazine: “… The projects were intended to relieve labor and carried the condition that as far as practical, labor was to come from the relief rolls… read more
1 of 4 schools that included Emerson, Willard, and Marshal schools within the Garvey School District of Los Angeles that were rebuilt following the 1933 Long Beach earthquake under the supervision and sponsorship of the school district. L.A.C.R.A. (Los Angeles… read more
The bridge was later incorporated into the Cahuenga Pass Freeway, although it appeared to have been a separate project (Cahuenga Pass was also a PWA project). Mulholland Highway was speed "High Way" at the time. The City Engineer of Bridges… read more
From the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County description plaque: “Los Angeles planners wanted to visualize the city center to improve roads, bridges, tunnels, and other public works. Sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, a team of City Planning… read more
The Palms Elementary School was built in 1935, after a predecessor school built in 1925 was severely damaged in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. The New Deal stepped to fund the rebuilding of many such schools in the Los Angeles-Long… read more
This Pasadena Ave. bridge over Arroyo Seco Parkway and channel was built by the PWA in 1940. It is a 78 foot concrete tee beam bridge over Route 110 & Arroyo Seco. The original bridge was built prior to 1890,… read more
“The Los Angeles Police Gymnasium Building, Work Project No. 5034. Sponsored by the City of Los Angeles, is located in Elysian Park in the city of Los Angeles. The purpose of this [Works Progress Administration] project was to create a… read more
The Power of Water Fountain, designed by Henry Lion, Jason Herron & Sherry Peticolas c.1935 is one of hundreds of public sculptures created during the federally-assisted Public Works of Art Project. A cast central figure of a woman symbolizes the… read more
A 1938 report from the Los Angeles Department of Playground and Recreation describes the WPA’s role in creating the Rancho Cienega recreation area: “Forerunner of the great regional recreation centers of the future, the Rancho Cienega Playground was the outstanding… read more
“The bridge, built in 1938, is a five-span cast in place concrete T-beam structure that is 382 feet long and 56 feet wide, and accommodates four lanes of traffic and five foot sidewalks.” A bronze plaque on the north end… read more
“The Riverside Drive Improvement, Work Project Nos. 145 and 6951, was sponsored by the County of Los Angeles. The work involved the construction and improvement of Riverside Drive from Victory Boulevard Bridge [a P.W.A. project] to Barham Boulevard, a distance… read more
Concrete bridge over Arroyo Seco Channel (also a New Deal Project) on San Pascual Avenue in Los Angeles, built by the WPA in 1938.
According to a Dec. 15 1938 report by the Los Angeles Fire Department: “Programs of motorway and trail construction, which for years have been carried on in the Santa Monica Mountain area through various agencies, lately to a much greater… read more
WPA school auditorium in Willowbrook, CA. Exact address and current status unknown, but this may be the same Willowbrook school listed in the 1939 WPA Accomplishment Report for Southern California.
The Slauson Ave. Storm Drain in Los Angeles is one of a number of infrastructure projects undertaken with New Deal aid and Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor in Los Angeles. Excerpt from a 1939 WPA publication, courtesy of the Los… read more
An elementary school rebuilt by the WPA after the (probably 1933 Long Beach) earthquake.
One of 4 bridge projects in Los Angeles financed from funds set aside by the Federal Government to be used on grade separation projects. On these projects the State acted as an agent for the Federal Government, contracting and supervising… read more
A 1939 report on WPA work in Southern California described the construction of Stocker Avenue: “Work Projects No. 1638 and 7240, sponsored by Los Angeles County, was constructed to provide outlet facilities to Crenshaw Boulevard for the residents of the… read more
The New Deal Federal Public Works program contributed to the construction of this Los Angeles viaduct. In June 1934, California Highway and Public Works magazine reported the following: “A concrete viaduct that replaced a dilapidated 29 year old wooden and… read more
In January 1935, California Highway and Public Works magazine reported that 3.2 miles of street had been resurfaced from Figueroa St to Hillhurst Avenue by a Federal Public Works project costing $65,000.
A WPA wall located along along the West side of Sunset Boulevard, near North Benton Way. Several WPA plaques adorn the wall, including some that have been recently incorporated into graffiti-murals.
An Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners described early New Deal work in the park: “This is one of the most important parks in Los Angeles to picnickers. Practically all State Societies and other… read more
The WPA demolished and reconstructed the building and improved the grounds and facilities of a school in the Temple Unified School District. Exact location and current status unknown.
