California Sites

Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center/Park was developed between 1936 and 1939 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), working with the Oakland Recreation Department.  The WPA funded the project for around $60,000 in 1935 (Chronicle 1935). The 16 acre site on Arroyo Viejo Creek was purchased by the city in pieces, starting in 1935.  The entire purchase cost about $36,000 (Post-Enquirer 1935). The property had belonged to the Japanese Domoto family, who operated a nursery there.  (An interesting sidelight is that Kenji Domoto went on to be a famous landscape architect) The work of creating a new park began with tearing down acres of...

In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an auditorium for Central School in Baldwin Park, CA. With over 600 seats, the auditorium was used for both school and civic activities. The Moderne (Art Deco) structure is simple and unadorned, its concrete facade suggestive of early Brutalism. The auditorium served as an auxiliary meeting space after Central School was converted into Baldwin Park's first city hall in 1958, and as a storage facility after city hall was relocated in 1978. Since 2007, the renovated auditorium structure has served as Baldwin Park's Arts and Recreation Center (ARC). In addition to a dance studio, arts...

The Resettlement Administration built this camp for migrant farm labor, and it is still in use. "Camps would be constructed to provide migratory families with minimum decencies: a healthful site, a pure water supply, sanitary facilities of all kinds, and other simple amenities. Ten to a dozen camps were planned; two were constructed by the Resettlement Administration before it was absorbed into the Farm Security Administration in 1937. One was at Marysville and the other near Weedpatch" (Lowitt, 184). While writing "The Grapes of Wrath", John Steinbeck visited Bakersfield, and based his book on the Arvin Farm Labor Camp, which in his...

The WPA built an adobe civic center and the Kern County Free Library, as well as Community, Health and Welfare buildings in Arvin. They also built a grammar school.

WPA workers built the main sewer in Arvin.

In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out improvements on Atascadero Lake Park.  WPA project cards indicate the following work: "Improve the recreational area at Atascadero Lake near Atascadero, San Luis Obispo Co., by improving earthen dam, and performing other incidental work, to provide additional parking spaces." We cannot ascertain what was done to the dam and the parking lots have been greatly enlarged since the 1930s.  Nevertheless, there are stone rings around trees, stone benches along the lake shore and stone drinking fountains that are characteristic of the rustic style used by WPA relief workers.  Further confirmation is needed. WPA Proj....

The Works Progress Administration accomplished work on the athletic field and recreational center for the former High School and Grammar school, now the Antioch Middle School and Fremont Elementary School. WPA Project No. 165-3-3518, App. Date 10-6-36, $6,970, Total Funds $17,088, Average employed 45, "Construct athletic fields and recreational facilities on the Antioch High and Grammar School grounds in Antioch, Contra Costa County. Antioch Live Oak School District owned property." WPA Project No. 165-3-5518, App. Date 5-13-37, $2,401, Total Funds $4,218, Average Employed 14, Federal Man-hours 4,161, "Construct athletic fields and recreational facilities on the Antioch High and Grammar School grounds in...

This community park in East Los Angeles was constructed by the WPA. The park and its central building are still in use and features a more recently constructed swimming pool and playground.

"The Plunge, a WPA project approved for construction in early May of 1936, figured prominently in the lives of Atwater residents who grew up mid-20th century. It opened on June 11, 1938, letting adults swim for 25 cents -- children for 10 cents... The Plunge was a massive, laned swimming pool buffered by two buildings -- a changing room for girls and another for boys... Originally operated by the city, the Plunge was turned over to a private business in 1958. It's unclear exactly when it closed. Many people remember it being bulldozed."

Two major road projects were accomplished by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in Fresno County. The June 15 1933 issue of the Clovis Independent mentions the Auberry Road as one of a few major road projects being submitted by the Board of Supervisors. The February 3, 1934 issue said "Supervisor C. Todd Clark reported Wednesday that it is now planned to improve Millerton road from Friant to Auberry Junction with Funds from the new CWA appropriation." The April 4, 1934 article mentions that the widening of the Auberry Road was going to continue under FERA despite the liquidation of CWA projects.

This art deco style WPA building is no longer used for official business. Now the fire station side holds the Boys and Girls Club, while the other side is used by small businesses.

In 1938, WPA labor constructed a stone retaining wall outlining the east and north edges of the Auburn Veterans Memorial Hall property. The approximately 380’-long wall is made of pieces of uncut native stone laid in random courses. The wall sweeps up at the entry, framing concrete steps leading to the hall. It continues along the sides of property, meeting another stone wall of unknown origin. The ends of the wall terminate with tapered posts. The post at the south end includes a scratched inscription in concrete identifying structure as a WPA project. Unlike other walls constructed by the WPA in Auburn,...

The WPA built rubble walls in the city of Auburn in Placer County.

The WPA built these concrete steps connecting Aztec and Shotwell Streets in 1940.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped develop the Badger Pass Ski Area at Yosemite National Park in the mid-to-late 1930s. Limited skiing had started in 1933 with the opening of the Glacier Point road, making Badger Pass one of the earliest California ski areas.  The Badger Pass lodge was built in 1935.   The National Park Service wanted to encourage skiing and used the CCC to assist with further improvements at Badger Pass. The CCC was involved in at least the following projects: •1938  Widening the Badger Pass Access Road. •1939 – 1940  Building the Badger Pass Ranger Residence. •1940 – 1941  Adding a Comfort Station...

This fire station was constructed by the PWA in 1939 and remains in use today.

A 1939 report on the WPA's progress in Southern California described the agency's extensive involvement in a major roads project improving Balboa Avenue: "The Balboa Avenue Improvement, Work Project No. 645, was sponsored by the City of Los Angeles to provide a high speed traffic artery between San Fernando Road and Ventura Boulevard through San Fernando Valley. When completed, this street which is primarily a farm-to-market road, will serve, indirectly, a potentially enormous agricultural area by connecting these two major State Highways. The total length of this 54' roadway will be 9.8 miles, which will require 335,000 cubic yards of excavation, nearly...

The WPA improved the Balboa school grounds.

(100 Acres) Constructed gutters, paths, seepage pits, culverts, storm water inlets, etc. This work completed previously built park roads.--Healy, p. 55. Most of the rock for gutters is to be quarried on the property.--Mooser, p. 82.

Originally built in 1915 as the New Mexico building, but redesigned, with WPA money, for the 1935-6 California Pacific International Exposition.

Frederick Schweigardt (1885 - 1948) was a student of the Stuttgart and Munich art academies in Germany, Schweigardt also studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris, where he received first prize at the Paris Exposition of 1913. Schweigardt was named the "official sculptor for the exposition," much to the surprise of San Diego's local sculptors. For the exposition, Schweigardt sculpted a large fountain, "Four Cornerstones of Americans Democracy," for the Hall of Education (now the Balboa Park Club). Schweigardt also sculpted a bronze relief plaque honoring D.C. Collier, director of the 1915 exposition, which can still be seen on the west wall...

These two oil on canvas murals, entitled "Farm Landscape" and "Point Loma," were painted by Charles Reiffel on a commission from the WPA Federal Art Project in 1937. They were originally installed at Memorial Junior High School. Each mural measures 10' x 10'. Some contemporary critics called Reiffel "America's Van Gogh" (Balboa Park Beat, October 2012).

Belle Baranceanu was painted two oil on canvas murals at Balboa Park in 1935, paid for with federal funding:  "Progress of Man" and “Education and Culture”.  She rushed to complete the later for the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition and would later claim that she could not stand to look at it. These are the only two of her murals to survive in their original location.

SERA crews built this small fire station in Balboa Park in conjunction with the California Pacific International Exhibition – the first structure built. It is unclear if it survives, and if so where it is located.

Originally called the Federal Building.

Rose Hanks created this incised plaster relief depicting "Junipero Serra" for the fair.

Originally built in 1915 as the Foreign Arts Building for the Panama-California Exposition, it was renovated and expanded in 1935, with WPA money for the California-Pacific International Exposition. Rose Hanks created an incised relief doorway depicting Junipero Serra for the fair.

This 4' high Indiana limestone sculpture and fountain by Donal Hord is titled "Woman of Tehuantepec" and is located in the courtyard of the House of Hospitality at San Diego's Balboa Park.

Named for the numerous Pepper Trees that provide shade to the picnic area, the popular Pepper Grove offers picnic grounds with 15 tables and an extensive playground for children.

The US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing this important Los Angeles urban waterway.  Much of the creek was "channelized", i.e.,  lined with concrete, as part of a massive flood-control project undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District following the great Los Angeles flood of 1938. Ballona Creek is short river in southwestern Los Angeles County that drains an area exending from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, the Harbor Freeway (I-110) on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south. It flows through Culver City and...

The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...

The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...

The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...

The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...

The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...

The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...

The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...

Bandini Street Elementary School, which opened in 1923, 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...