California Sites

"Early in 1941, prior to American involvement in the war, $389,000 was allocated to enlarge the Daggett airport. The increase in size of the airport was to support bombing and antiaircraft operations by the USAAC... Funding came from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a program of President Roosevelt's New Deal... WPA funding was provided to San Bernardino County in an attempt to encourage local sponsorship of the project. The Army claimed that they wished to see Daggett, and other airports like it, become commercial assets to spend $200,000 to assist in the development of the airport. It is unclear if this...

This school was built as an elementary school with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1938.  It later became a junior high school and was named for William Pitt Bartlett, a Porterville benefactor. The building is single-story and the design by W.D. Coates is Moderne (Art Deco). The main building front still looked unchanged as of 2009, except for probable window replacement. There are new aluminum windows on the small building on the south, and new aluminum doors on the back side. There have been at least 2 additions for new classrooms since it was built.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built bleachers for a baseball field in Sonora, California.  This field is part of a larger group of athletic fields behind the building know as "The Dome", a former elementary school building, long abandoned, that sits prominently on a hill in Sonora.   The WPA bleachers include a stone retaining wall with stairs and a long, stone drinking fountain.  We do not know the exact date of this work, which is unmarked. The playing field are used by several schools in the area and the bleachers and ballfield sit directly behind and below a building occupied by...

Although the hatchery was in place at least by 1930, a 1940 publication by a WPA administrator lists the WPA as having worked on the site during the 1930s. The hatchery does not seem to be in use any longer. It is not known whether any of the buildings still exist.

Buildings on the facility, a residence and pump house were constructed by the CCC according to the Sierra Historic Restoration Project. "Constructed in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Forest Supervisor’s house is the heart of the North Fork Headquarters compound and the beginning of the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway. As is typical for the CCC buildings of its kind, it deviates from the A-3 model designed by San Francisco architects Blanchard & Maher to accommodate its unique site."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve many roads in San Francisco, including the 1.8-mile stretch of Bay Street between Fillmore St. and The Embarcadero.

Landscaped embankment along Bay Street. Built small recreation building.--Healy, p. 67.

This 1940 oil-on-canvas mural by George Goethke covers all 4 walls of the kindergarten room of Baywood Elementary School (formerly the George Hall School).

In 1935, the U.S. The Treasury Department funded the construction of the Huntington Beach Post Office on Olive Avenue and Main Street. The Treasury bought the land plot on which the post office was to be built and allocated $52,000 for the building.  Today, the Huntington Beach Post Office is known as the Beach Center Post Office. The post office still exists and remains mostly unchanged architecturally. There is an identical building that was built in 1935 in Santa Paula, California. 

The Beach Chalet at the western end of Golden Gate Park, built in 1925, is home to a trove of New Deal artworks in the first floor lobby, or entrance hall. The centerpiece of the Beach Chalet's artworks is an enormous fresco mural by Lucien Labaudt, entitled "San Francisco Life."   This magnificent mural cycle is 9' high and covers all four walls of the lobby (about 1500 square feet in all). It was painted by Labaudt in 1936-37. The mural cycle has nine sections depicting San Francisco locales: the Embarcadero & Fisherman's Wharf on the north wall; Baker's Beach on the...

The Beach Chalet at the western end of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco contains several New Deal artworks. Lucian Labaudt painted a set of monochrome frescoes around the stairwell and in the corridor to the restrooms on the south side of the ground floor.  The stairwell is surrounded on all sides and on the ceiling by soaring gulls and sea birds. The frescoes were done in 1937 under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project (FAP). Labaudt also painted the immense mural around the entrance hall.  

The Beach Chalet contains several New Deal artworks.  Include decorative mosaics by Primo Caredio, done in 1937.  They are located in the South Staircase and over the north and east doorways of the large first-floor lobby. All the Beach Chalet artworks were done by unemployed artists hired by the Federal Art Project (FAP), a branch of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). 

Michael von Meyer created the enameled, magnolia wood carvings, called "Sea Creatures," in the balustrade of the south stairway of the Beach Chalet.  The carvings are 36" high and run all the way up to the second floor, about 25 feet in all.  It is a marvelous fantasy piece that includes an octopus, mermaid with child, merman (Neptune?), porpoise, fish with elephantine trunk, sailing ship and a deep-sea diver, among others. All the Beach Chalet artworks were done by unemployed artists hired by the Federal Art Project (FAP), a branch of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). 

The original Beach School was built in 1913 but declared an earthquake hazard and torn down in 1934.  It was replaced in two phases: the main wing in 1936 and the rear classroom wing and auditorium in 1940 (PHS 2007). The new school included 8 classrooms, a kindergarten, offices, a health room and an auditorium. There had been three previous efforts to replace schools and temporary buildings at schools in Piedmont in the 1920s, but the bond issues lost.   After the school board sought and gained funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA), a new bond issue passed in December...

"Improve and rehabilitate the Hornitos - Bear Valley Road near Hornitos Mariposa County, by widening, realigning, surfacing, oiling and doing other incidental work. Not a part of the Federal Aid Highway System. In addition to projects specifically approved. County owned property." Sponsor: County of Mariposa WPA Proj. No. 165-3-1131, February 9, 1937, $7,563, Total Federal and Sponsor funds $14,176, Average Employed 39 There is also another unspecified road project conducted by the WPA in Hornitos "Road improvement" WPA Proj. No. 65-3-3842, December 30, 1935, $13,138

The Federal Art Project (FAP) funded several art works currently located at the Beaumont Library in Beaumont, Calif. The pieces include a mural, a watercolor, and a sculpture created by WPA artists. 1. Watercolor by John Warren. Labeled as FAP on the frame. 2. Mural by artist Henri de Kruil. The artwork is composed of two pieces depicting the view from Beaumont looking north toward the mountains. The bigger part of the mural is on the north wall of the second story of the library. The smaller piece is on the east wall of the library. They almost meet together in a corner. Gene...

The Works Progress Administration built sidewalks on Begier Avenue in San Leandro CA. Contributor note: "Sidewalk stamp is in front of the garage door on Begier Avenue. around the corner from the house connected to it at 799 St Marys Avenue. The garage is across the street from 1445 Begier Avenue between St Marys Avenue and Glen Drive in San Leandro."

Bell High 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 every member of the board agrees with me...

The first WPA project in Sonoma County, California made improvements to a large reclamation project which is mostly forgotten today. Historically, drainage of swampland and naturally poorly drained areas of the United States opened up millions of acres to farming, especially in the Corn Belt of the Midwest, where vast tracts of “wet” prairie were drained for settlement. Government surveys indicated that nearly a fourth of the nation’s potential agricultural land, approximately 216 million acres, was too poorly drained for productive farming. At first, privately financed companies organized to reclaim these swamplands. Created in 1784, the Dismal Swamp Canal Company had the dual...

In 1929 the Linden Irrigation District was incorporated and established plans to divert  water from the Calaveras River at Bellota, a community about five miles east of Linden,  and create a series of percolation dams to restore the depleted ground water table in the area.  There had been an early dam in the same vicinity, built in 1905, but it washed out within a year.  A Civil Works Administration (CWA) project was authorized late in 1933 to construct the Bellota Dam and clean out the channel of the Calaveras River.  Local opposition to the plan resulted in an injunction against the project, which...

Construction on Belmont's central fire station was begun in 1935 by SERA and completed under the direction of the WPA using local labor. The station hired its first two employees in 1938. Presently, the building houses Belmont's Center for Independence of the Disabled (https://www.cidbelmont.org).

Artist Jason Herron sculpted "Modern Youth" for Belmont Senior High School in Los Angeles, CA, with Federal Arts Project (FAP) funds. Originally located on the school's front lawn and currently found in the entryway, the sculpture "represents the scholastic interests as well as the athletic accomplishments of young people today" (Wells, p. 25). It depicts a boy with a book in his right hand and a globe against his left hip. He sits on a two-tiered base with the inscription "WPA/Federal Art Project/1937." According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "Jason Herron is a young lady whose art...

In 1937, Raymond Noble painted a mural for Belmont High School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Art Project (FAP).

Artist Stanley Spohn designed a tile mosaic for a drinking fountain at Belmont High School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). Spohn described the mosaic as being "handled in a manner reminiscent of the Persian rather than the Italian School, which conforms with Umbrian type of architecture in color and in its vertical and horizontal arrangement of the tessera method of making mosaic. "It portrays four of the intellectual achievements. Science is shown by a conventionalized microscope on the observation platform of which there is a crystal, suggestive of the polarization of light. Behind the...

"The San Francisco Belt Railroad was a short-line railroad along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. It began as the State Belt Railroad in 1889, and was renamed when the city bought the Port of San Francisco in 1969. The railroad ceased operation in 1993. The railroad connected the Port of San Francisco to many waterfront docks and to industries and warehouses which were adjacent to the waterfront. It had 67 miles (108 km) of trackage and its general offices were in the Ferry Building. Its function was to switch railroad cars from four major railroads to points along its system...

In 1942, the Works Projects Administration (WPA) constructed 60-acre Soledad Park in East Los Angeles, CA. "From the 1940s to the 1960s," the L.A. Conservancy notes, "Belvedere Park (renamed in 1949) was known for hosting the games of the local Mexican American baseball leagues in the northern field, 'El Porvenir.' The park helped to foster a sense of community that led to the baseball players' involvement in local political and labor organizations, and the teams helped sustain the players' traditional language and culture." The construction of the Pomona Freeway in the 1960s divided the park in half: 31-acre Belvedere Park to the...

Sponsor: County of Mariposa WPA Proj. No. 165-3-1093, December 21, 1936, $7,997. "Widen, drain, and surface road; repair bridge and do other work incidental thereto on Ben Hur Road, Mariposa County, near Mariposa. Not in the Federal Aid Highway System. In addition to projects specifically approved. County owned property." Average Employed 26, months to complete 6, Total Federal and sponsor funds $12,181.

"The Legend of El Diablo" "...is an oil painting on masonite done by Clarkson Dye (FAP/WPA Project #7754). It measures 42-1/4" x 52-1/2" and hangs in the second floor legislative meeting room. Originally this painting was installed at Mt. Diablo State Park, but was moved to the old State Capital Building after restoration."

The former Benjamin Franklin High School—which opened in 1916 at the site of today's Monte Vista Street Elementary School—was renovated with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. Benjamin Franklin High School moved to its current location in the 1960s, after the original campus suffered structural damage from earthquakes and was demolished. 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...

The entrance to Berkeley Community Theater on the interior courtyard of Berkeley High School is adorned by two cast stone bas-relief sculptures by Lulu Braghetta. On is female, with "Drama, Dance, Music" inscribed in relief, and the other is male, with "Poetry, Painting" lettered beside the figure.   The panels were paid for by the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1940 but not added to the building until its (delayed) completion in 1950.

The G Building of Berkeley High School sports a large group of cast stone bas-relief sculptures on the exterior.  The artist was Lulu Braghetta, who worked under the auspices of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration.  The reliefs were installed in 1940. Building G was originally part of the Industrial Arts and Sciences buildings and the Braghetta bas-reliefs portray scenes pertaining to science and the industrial arts. Some have figures (including one woman) and others are representations of carpentry, electricity, motors, engineering and machining.  They decorate all sides of the building

The Berkeley Community Theater, part of Berkeley High School, was started with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1941.  The foundation was laid and the street framework erected when World War II interrupted further work in 1942.  It stood like that until it could be finished and dedicated in 1950. The Community Theater is a Moderne/Art Deco-style building constructed of reinforced concrete and finished in stucco.  The design has striking curves and masses, and it is decorated with cast stone bas-reliefs by prominent local artists (see linked pages). The building has three parts: the 3,500 seat Berkeley Community Theater,...

The G and H buildings were New Deal added to Berkeley High School in the 1930s, almost surely funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA).  The origin and amount of funds need to be confirmed, as do the years of construction (they were probably completed in 1940). When they were built, the G and H buildings were known as the Industrial Arts and Sciences buildings, a name still inscribed along the exterior on the west side, Both buildings front on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, with the H building to the north on the corner of Allston Way.  The H building has...

Berkeley High School's Community Theater is adorned with cast stone bas-relief sculptures by Robert Howard, son of architect John Galen Howard.  The sculptures are on the exterior side of the building, along Allston Way and facing the Berkeley Civic Center park. The central panel is around 30 feet high and contains a rich group of figures illustrating people of all races coming together through the arts. On each side is a panel of a herald  blowing a trumpet, one male and one female, and the man is apparently African American. The panels were paid for by the Federal Arts Project of the...

Jacques Schnier created the impressive bas-relief sculpture, "St. George and the Dragon", that fills a huge space on the west (exterior) side of Berkeley High School's building H (a former Science and Industrial Arts Building), which faces Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The sculpture also contains the inspirational inscription, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." The work was paid for by the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration, as were the other sculptures on Berkeley High School.  It was mounted c. 1940.  

"The actual Berkeley Marina, used by many people who sail on the Bay, was constructed as the Berkeley Yacht Harbor in the late 1930s by the Works Progress Administration in conjunction with its nearby work developing Aquatic Park." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Marina 'The central feature of this park will be a lagoon, large enough for out-board motor races, and with facilities for electric boats, rowboats and canoes. Around the lagoon land areas are being filled in to create a shoreline of bays and peninsulas. Lawns and areas with tables, fireplaces and ample picnic facilities, sheltered from prevailing breezes by shtrub and tree plantings, will...

The Berkeley Rose Garden lies on the west side of Euclid Avenue in the Berkeley Hills. It was constructed in the little valley of Codornices Creek, which emerges in a viewing pool at the bottom of the garden.  The rose garden was likely begun by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in 1933-34, as they built the adjoining ball courts.  But the Rose Garden itself was a project of  the Works Progress Administration (WPA), completed in 1940.    "The Garden is designed like an amphitheater with wide stone terraces facing magnificent views of San Francisco Bay. A semicircular redwood pergola, which extends...

The National Youth Administration (NYA) constructed the boat house of the Berkeley Yacht Club in 1939.

Cost $255,547, for Alabama to Esmeralda Streets. Work consisted of building 1,890 lineal feet of sewer with catch basins and manholes, 12,890, lineal feet of redwood curb, 19,050 square feet of 6 inch concrete pavement. Placed 714 tons of 2 inch wearing surface, resloped all cuts and redressed all sidewalks. It formed a circular road around the Heights district making accessible a large number of interesting streets, difficult of approach before, and providing a fine Marine view--Healy, p. 47.