California Sites

WPA funded Fire Station, adjacent to WPA city hall and WPA memorial hall. Current status of building unknown.

The WPA installed sewers in Tehachapi.

WPA funded Memorial Hall, adjacent to WPA city hall and old WPA fire house.

'Work consisted of excavating and building 1,600 square feet of wall, 243 cubic yards of rubble walls, 62 cubic yards of concrete retaining walls, red rock coping, slope facing of 196 cubic yards, 86 cubic yards of concrete gutter and shoulder, 2300 square feet of concrete side walk, 250 lineal feet of standard 5 foot chain link fence, grading, rocking, oiling 9,400 square feet of paths, installing 578 lineal feet of drainage and water system, spreading 210 cubic yards loam and planting shrubs. Telegraph Hill of 2.87 acres, is now one of the most attractive observation points in San Francisco...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the elegant stone Beach House at Lake Temescal Park, now known as Temescal Regional Recreation Area, part of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD).  When the EBRPD was created in 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and WPA were called upon to improve the first parks of the system, making them ready for public use.  Temescal Park opened to the public in 1936. The Beach House includes rest rooms and changing rooms on the ground floor and a large hall and offices above, plus a flagstone terrace and terraced garden behind. The WPA also...

As part of general improvements at Lake Temescal Park, Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief workers created a lovely stone cascade and waterfall alongside the elegant stone beach house.  The park is now known as Temescal Regional Recreation Area and is part of the East Bay Regional Parks District.  The cascade starts about 50 feet above the waterfall, which is on the main path along the lake. There is a small waterfall and pool at the top, then a lovely little stream about a yard wide, another pool above the falls and then the final waterfall into a basin.   To see the full...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Lake Temescal Park, now known as Temescal Regional Recreation Area, one of the original units of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD). When the EBRPD was created in 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and WPA were called upon to make the first parks of the system ready for public use.  Temescal Park opened to the public in 1936. Along with the well-known beach house and cascade (see separate pages) at Lake Temescal, WPA workers made several other improvements to the park – not all of which can be pin-pointed.  They created a large...

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.

The PWA built this large concrete bridge over Figueroa St.

President of the City Council Pomeroy Powers, persuaded the city in 1904 to construct a park along Alvarado Terrace. Originally called Summerland Park, the park was soon renamed Terrace Park. The park included a fish pond, rosebeds, an underground tool shed, and a full-time gardener. The park was later remodeled with only grass and trees. There is a small strip of brick-paved street at the north end of the park known as "Powers Place" that holds the distinction as the "shortest street in Los Angeles." The park and brick-paved street were declared a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM #210) in February 1979....

'This building is one unit of the docket covering general harbor development and improvement at Los Angeles. It has an area of 4,800 square feet and houses a 300,000-pound capacity Southwark Emery universal testing machine, as well as complete physics and chemistry testing laboratories for testing all types of materials used in construction.' (cost: $65,500)

The Fort was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Kern County in 1938-40. This unusual New Deal site is a replica of the pre-Gold Rush Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, designed by W. Francis Parsons. It was constructed of native adobe mud bricks made on site and took 83 relief workers 18 months to build.    The Fort covers nearly three acres and measures 360 feet by 200 feet, over 1,000 feet around the outside walls. The walls are 14 feet high. There are two interior courtyards with shade trees and many small offices arranged along the side walkways, which are roofed...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded a Recreational Building in Huntington Beach, California. The building was completed in 1938 and cost $58,889. The large building was said to have the capacity to accommodate 1000 people.  It was commonly referred to as "the Pavilion" and was a popular venue in the community for dances and entertainment. The Pavilion also hosted picnics and conventions. The building was located on the beach near the start of the Huntington Beach Pier. The first story was built for use as a lunchroom while the second story was used as a dance floor. Outside of the Pavilion, there...

"The Theodore Judah School was constructed in the 1930s as two separate Public Works Administration (PWA) projects. It consists of two small school buildings both built in the Streamlined Moderne style which reached its pinnacle in the 1930s. This moderne style was characterized by flat roofs, smooth wall textures and minimal surface decoration. The school buildings are one story and finished with a stucco faade. Architect Charles Dean of the firm Dean and Dean, designed this school. At the time, Charles Dean was one of Sacramentos premiere architectural designers. The only major alteration are the windows, originally of wood construction...

Thomas A. Edison Middle School (formerly Junior 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...

Thomas Jefferson High School was one of many schools in Los Angeles, CA, that benefited from refurbishment funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) following the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. 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. Jefferson High School's 45-unit Streamline Moderne campus, designed by architect Stiles O. Clement, was completed in 1935. According the Los...

In 1937, Ross Dickinson painted "History of the Recorded Word" in the Thomas Jefferson High School library (Los Angeles, CA) with Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Arts Project funding. The mural is comprised of four panels, each 10' by 5.5'. The panels depict the history of printing, with subjects including hieroglyphs, manuscripts, and modern printing. After six months of research, Dickinson painted the mural in five weeks. According to the Los Angeles Sentinel (one of the most influential African-American newspapers in the Western United States), "Dickinson was employed as an art teacher at the Art Center School of Los Angeles and needed...

Artist Ross Dickinson designed two tile mosaics for Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). The mosaics "give glimpses of Indian pueblo life, one showing the influence of the crafts taught by the mission fathers" (Wells, p. 23). According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "The greatest single patron of Federal art among the schools of the Los Angeles system is Thomas Start King Junior High School, whose principal is Dr. Alice Ball Struthers. The possessions of that school could well serve as a model and be...

This sculpture by Djey el Djey, entitled "The Vanquished Race" (or "The Vanishing Race"), was commissioned by the WPA's Federal Arts Project (FAP) in 1936. It is located at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. "Mr. Djey el Djey is an earnest young man, justly proud of this, his first real successful piece," noted a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal. "'Vanquished Race' was of such merit that it was featured as the cover picture of an issue of the no New York magazine Art Digest. It was also reproduced in the London 'Studio' line with...

Artist P. G. Napolitano painted a pair of murals, titled "Spirit of the Fiesta," at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. The two 9' by 12' panels—featuring a male and female figure—are located above the north court balcony. Napolitano received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). "Mr. Napolitano's main interest has always been in murals, which he executes in tempra (egg white), in frescoes, and in Sgraffito which he introduced here in creative work. Much of his work is marked by the omission of pretty detail and mere decorativeness until only the essential stand out; economy...

Artist James Redmond painted a small mural, titled "California Horsemen," at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). Redmond reportedly preferred "California Horsemen" to the large mural he painted at Banning High School in Los Angeles, CA (Wells, p. 21). His other New Deal–funded works in the region include a post office mural in Compton, CA. According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "The greatest single patron of Federal art among the schools of the Los Angeles system is Thomas Start King Junior High School, whose principal...

This large storm sewer is an arch-shaped, reinforced concrete construction 14 feet in diameter, in the bed of Thompson Creek, and runs through residential and business districts in the southern part of Petaluma. It was constructed by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. The current state of the creek and storm drain is not certain. However, here are field observations from Oct. 2014: "Providing drainage along an unnamed waterway (assumed Thompson Creek) is a reinforced concrete culvert with a single corrugated metal barrel and sloping wingwalls, arranged at a skew underneath I Street. The 5¼" concrete formwork impressions...

Government-run migrant farm labor camp located at Thornton, CA. Four metal shelters still exist on their original sites. They housed single men and families. Today the structures are used for occasional storage by firemen, otherwise they sit empty

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) landscaped the picnic grounds below Phoenix Lake Dam and built this picnic shelter, which has recently been restored. Three Bear Hut was in poor condition as of 2016.

The Tilden Park Botanical Garden for California native plants was built by the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) with the aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1940-42. The garden was the brainchild of Professor Howard McMinn of Mills College, in 1938.  He knew of an extensive collection of California native plants at the US Forest Service's California Forest and Range Experiment Station in Berkeley, which had been assembled with the help of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) teams gathering seeds. Under Prof. McMinn's urging, the Forest Service and EBRPD formed a cooperative agreement to create a new botanic garden...

The Brazilian Room in Tilden Park began as the Brazil Pavilion at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay in 1939. The interior wood was used to reconstruct a new building in Tilden Park, using the labor of relief workers in the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It was completed at the present site in 1940 or 1941. The Berkeley Historical Society recounts the building's history: "The Brazilian Room derives its name from its rich hardwood paneling. These walls were once part of the Golden Gate International Exposition's 'World's Fair' famed Brazilian Pavilion, displayed on Treasure Island in...

The Tilden Park golf course was constructed by the the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) with aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief labor in 1936-37.   WPA workers first uprooted 20,000 eucalyptus from former plantations of the trees in the Berkeley Hills.  Then they prepared the land and laid out the course.  It opened in November 1937. Of the total cost of $173,000, abut $139,000 was paid out of WPA funds. The rest came from the Parks District. The course was designed by William Bell, a nationally prominent golf course architect, who was assisted by Richard Walpole, who later became...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) financed the construction of Lake Anza in Tilden Park.  The lake is formed by a dam on Wildcat Creek which flows through the park (apparently, the lake drowned a lovely 9-foot waterfall on Wildcat Creek). Lake Anza was created initially for water supply for the Tilden Golf Course and other facilities, but afterward it was developed for recreation like swimming and boating.  Before the lake could be developed, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) teams cleared vegetation in the  area with hand tools; Guerin Brothers and other contractors, used earth-moving machinery to construct the dam.  Work was completed in...

After the Public Works Administration (PWA) financed the construction of Lake Anza  in Tilden Park by damming Wildcat Creek, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Bath House and ancillary buildings, c 1940.   This work was part of a major New Deal effort to aid the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) in improving its four original parks and making them available for public recreation in the 1930s.  The Bath House has been demolished and replaced by a newer and larger structure.     

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) built as many as twenty picnic grounds in Tilden Park over the course of the New Deal period. These areas lie along the Loop Road, Central Park Drive and South Park Drive (see map).  They are all still in use except for one replaced by a later merry-go-round. The work normally included clearing and leveling the ground, building picnic tables and fireplaces.  Reports by the park district indicate that 28 outdoor fireplaces were built, along with 350 picnic tables.  Several picnic areas have playfields, as well.   Most of the original fixtures have been...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a number of stone comfort stations (restrooms) at picnic areas in Tilden Regional Park in 1940-42.  It is possible that some were also built earlier by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which laid out many of the picnic areas.  There are many newer wood and stone restrooms built by Tilden Park staff, but the older stonework – especially of Italian stone masons working for the WPA – is usually distinct from later stonework by the Park District.  The restrooms found at these areas are probably original WPA or CCC work: Padre, Willows, Laurel, Jewel Lake, Big...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the modern Wildcat Canyon Road, c 1939-42.  Wildcat Canyon Road runs along the west side of Tilden Park, then crosses the park and continues over the East Bay hills down to Orinda. The WPA relief workers upgraded and paved an old dirt road, building retaining walls, adding culverts and constructing the bridge over Wildcat Creek at the junction with South Park Drive. Wildcat Canyon Road is intersected by Shasta Road at the point where it turns east,  by South Park Drive at the Botanical Gardens, and by Inspiration Point Road at the east ridge line. 

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was present in Death Valley National Monument  from 1933 to 1942.  The main CCC camp was at Cow Creek, just north of the park headquarters and visitors center at Furnace Creek.   Among the many projects undertaken in the park was building a permanent Shoshone Village on a 40-acre site just south of Furnace Creek.  The National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs selected the site.  We do not know more about how that decision was made and what input the Shoshone had in it. The CCC built nine adobe houses, a washroom/laundry and a trading...

This Tioga Pass comfort station was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934.  It sits near the Entrance/Ranger Station at the east entrance to Yosemite National Park, which was built earlier.   The building is done in classic National Park rustic style, with walls constructed of large boulders. Comfort stations was the name used at the time for restrooms with additional washing facilities, which this one does not have; hence, it is literally just a 'restroom'. The Tioga Pass road, which was largely built by the CCC, is closed from the first major snowstorm in November until early summer because...

New Deal agencies realigned and reconstructed 47 miles of the Tioga road from Crane Flat to Tioga Pass over the years 1933 to 1943.  They were not able, however, to complete the road down from Tioga Pass to Lee Vining (Mono Lake), which remained in deplorable condition until it was remade in 1961.  Funding for the Tioga Road project came from the Public Works Administration (PWA); the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) managed construction, using private companies; and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did auxiliary work landscaping roadsides. The National Park Service (NPS) oversaw all work in the park.  The short-lived...

The Tobias Peak Lookout is in the Hot Springs District of the Sequoia National Forest: "Probably first used as a lookout observation point sometime around 1912, Tobias Peak Lookout shows up on the 1913 Sequoia Forest work map. A mortar building was constructed on Tobias Peak around this time and was used as a Ranger Outpost and Lookout site. When Sunday Peak Lookout was built circa 1921, Tobias Peak became inactive as a lookout until 1935, when the Forest Service decided Tobias Peak was the better location due to its blocking the view from Sunday Peak. Sunday Peak...

Todd Grove Park is a 16-acre park located on Ukiah’s west side, adjacent to the Ukiah Valley Golf Course. Amenities include groves of mature trees, lawns, walking paths, children's playground, picnic areas, and a bandstand. In 1940, Works Projects Administration (WPA) relief crews built a low, native stone wall around the park’s perimeter. The wall is 2’ high and 15” thick, made of rough stone bonded with thick cement mortar. At approximately 25’ to 28’ intervals, the wall is interrupted by 33”-high, 17”x17”-wide stone posts. Concrete stamps denoting “WPA 1940” are placed at intervals on each wall. A stone gate at the...

In 1936, Public Works Administration (PWA) helped to fund the Torrance City Hall (former). The former city hall cost $48,000 to build and was part of a larger Torrance Civic Center project. The Civic Center project also included a new library and auditorium building. A much larger City Hall was built in the 1970s. Since then, the former city hall building has been repurposed and has housed a Home Savings, Time Warner Cable, and most recently, the Torrance Community Credit Union. Although most of the original building remains, the original center seal, lamp posts, flower pots, flag pole, a decorative eagle sculpture...

Torrance 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 with...

Torrance High School, which opened in 1917, was renovated with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1934 and 1935. Later in 1938, the PWA funded the construction of a new moderne-style auditorium designed by Wesley Eager. The new auditorium would seat more than 700 people. Due to it's large capacity, it would be used by the high school and other community groups for concerts and performances. According to the National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Torrance High School, "Until the 1950's, the high school auditorium was the only hall in Torrance with a large enough space and properly...