Los Angeles Sites

Micheltorena Street Elementary School, which opened in 1905, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

Miramonte Elementary School, which opened in 1912, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with me...

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 and that labor be confined to one hundred thirty hours per month. It also stipulated that railroad work could be done by the railroad forces. CARRIES FOUR R. R. TRACKS The largest of these projects is the Mission Road Grade Separation, which carries four lanes of Pacific Electric tracks over the junction of Mission Road with Huntington Drive North. Huntington Drive South and Soto...

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 County Relief Agency) labor was employed in the reconstruction. 3 photographs show the rebuilding of the front entrance, and a front lawn stone sign and bench constructed from the remains of the original school entrance. PWA Project #1 B4 515 A Project dates: Oct. 16, 1934 to Apr. 1, 1935.

Morris K. Hamasaki Elementary School (formerly Riggin Avenue Elementary School), which opened in 1926, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that...

In 1937, Myer Shaffer painted a mural, "The Elder in Relation to Society," for the Mt. Sinai Home for Chronic Invalids in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. The 400 square foot mural received funding from the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP). "Shaffer used his artwork to draw attention to social crisis, this time that of eldercare. He explained in the Hollywood Citizen-News that he placed biblical figures Judas Maccabee and King David in the foreground to illustrate 'that age does not incapacitate.' Yet the mural delivered a much stronger social message; in the upper detail of the fresco...

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 and Structures was responsible for designing most of the monumental bridges across the LA River.

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 Department model makers, draftsmen and architects surveyed downtown Los Angeles between 1938 and 1940 and built a model of which this is just a small part. Much has changed, but you can spot Union Station, City Hall and the old Plaza."

Ninety-Fifth Street Elementary School, which opened in 1913, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees...

Artist Adrien Machefert painted a mural, "All Nations," at Ninth Street Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA. He was funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). "Adrien Machefert, a man past fifty, was born in San Jose, California, and started drawing for San Francisco newspapers at the age of seventeen. Following fourteen years doing portrait and landscape painting on the Island of Majorca, Mr. Machefert returned two and a half years ago to California and has since been working for FAP most of the time" (Wells, p. 22). Machefert's other New Deal–funded murals in the region include "Pilgrim's Harvest Festival" at Ann...

Nora Sterry Elementary School (formerly Sawtelle Boulevard Elementary School), which opened in 1918, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every...

Normandie Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1907, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. The school appears to have been rebuilt yet again in the 1970s or 80s and it is unknown to us whether any of the PWA buildings remain. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon...

In 1940, the Work Projects Administration was constructing storm drains throughout Los Angeles, CA. One drain was located on Olympic Boulevard, "in the very heart of Los Angeles. The basic structure is of reinforced concrete, the mainline is from 5 to 12 feet in diameter with dozens of connecting laterals, catch-basins and catch basin connections on principal downtown streets which have been flooded, completely cluttering up traffic during the heavy rainfall of the brief California winter period" (see photos).

One Hundred Eighteenth Street Elementary School, which opened in 1907, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the...

One Hundred Ninth Street Elementary School, which opened in 1926, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. The school appears to have been rebuilt yet again in the 1960s or 70s, although the PWA auditorium may remain—confirmation is needed. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of...

Palms Elementary School, which opened in 1915, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

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, replaced in 1904, and replaced in 1940 by the PWA.

In December 1936, the Los Angeles Public Library opened an outdoor reading room in the heart of the city. Located in Pershing Square, the reading room was staffed by Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers. The library circulated 24,000 books in its first six months of operation. The 1939 WPA guide to Los Angeles alludes to the Pershing Square Reading Room: "The character of the city is also reflected in the facilities for open-air living. Angelenos...patronize outdoor libraries—'parasol stations'—three of which are maintained by the Public Library in downtown plazas and parks" (Kipen, p. 8). The WPA assigned over one hundred men and...

Phineas Banning High School, which opened in 1911, was renovated with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

In 1934, Roger Noble Burnham sculpted a bronze bust for Phineas Banning High School in Los Angeles, CA, of former principal W. I. Travers. The portrait bust is listed as missing by the Los Angeles Public Library. Burnham also contributed to the Astronomer's Monument (1934), a Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) in Griffith Park (Los Angeles, CA). A different artist was responsible for each of the six astronomers depicted; Burnham sculpted the William Herschel figure.

Artist James Redmond painted a mural, "History of San Pedro Harbor," at Phineas Banning High School in Los Angeles, CA. He was funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). The mural "shows high points in the harbor's history beginning with a group of aborigines watching the landing of Cabrillo" (Wells, p. 21). Redmond's other New Deal–funded works in the region include a post office mural in Compton, CA, and a mural at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA.

"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 project was to create a training center for the Los Angeles Police Department and to provide modern housing, recreational and administrative facilities. The building is located against a steep and wooded hillside and is constructed of reinforced concrete foundations, reinforced concrete exterior walls and floors, steel roof trusses and composition and tile roof. All interior walls, partitions and other framing are of wood.   "The basement, approximately 3200 square...

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 power of water, the flowing lines of her hair and garments evoking water; a bas-relief panel on the face of the lower basin depicts the eternal struggle to obtain the precious resource. The fountain/sculpture is owned by the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department.  

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 addition to the Los Angeles recreation system in 1938. The area comprises thirty acres in the southwest section of the city, along Exposition Boulevard near La Brea Avenue. It is the largest municipal playground devoted exclusively to sports and recreation within the city. The site was donated by Mrs. Anita M. Baldwin in response to a request made by the Los...

"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 specifies that it was a Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works project number California 1461-D.  

"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 to Barham Boulevard, a distance of three and one quarter miles. The work consisted of grading a 60' - 0" roadway two and one quarter miles long and paving three and one quarter miles of 56' - 0" roadway with rock and oil pavement, the construction of a reinforced concrete pedestrian tunnel and the installation of Corrugated iron Pipe Culverts ranging from 36" to 48" in diameter. The...

Rowan Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1912, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees...

Russell Elementary School, which opened in 1918, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees with...

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 degree through W. P. A. under the direction of the City Engineer, have in my opinion eminently proved their value to the Department. Without fire roads on the east and west ridges of Mandeville Canyon, the fire could not have been reached and undoubtedly would not have been brought under control at this point. These roads have made it possible to...

Saturn Street Elementary School, which opened as Burnside Avenue Elementary School in 1924, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake.  One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member...

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.

Second Street Elementary School, which opened in 1895, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees...

Sheridan Street Elementary School, which opened in 1890, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees...

Sixth Avenue Elementary School, which opened in 1895, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. Both the main building and auditorium survive. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure...

Sixty-First Street Elementary School, which opened in 1912, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees...

Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary School, which opened in 1909, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees...

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 Angeles Library (Connolly, Donald H. and G. I. Farman. Report of Accomplishment of the Operations Division. Works Progress Administration, Southern California. January 1, 1939). "The Slauson Avenue, Santa Barbara Avenue and Vernon and Vermont Storm Drains, Work Projects No. 642, 9736 and 1508, sponsored by the City of Los Angeles, are all units of the extensive Slauson Avenue Storm Drain System, which...

An elementary school rebuilt by the WPA after the (probably 1933 Long Beach) earthquake.

Soto Street Elementary School, which opened in 1914, was rebuilt with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. In January 1934, the PWA allocated $9,380,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the rehabilitation of schools damaged in the severe 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One hundred and thirty schools would benefit from the system-wide loan and grant, with 2,500 men to be employed in rehabilitation work over 21 months. Upon receiving news of the PWA allocation, Board of Education member Arthur Eckman told the Los Angeles Times, “I am sure that every member of the board agrees...