Visalia Sites

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided the funding for the Visalia branch public library, built in 1936. The design is Mission Revival, with tile roof, stucco walls and exposed beams. It has four wings extending from a central entrance with a raised roof. In 1926 the city of Visalia offered to furnish a site and pay one-half the cost of a new library branch, but the county declined the offer. Then the PWA stepped in and the building was constructed as a city library.  In 1961, an addition was made to the south wing. In 1976, a new joint Tulare County/Visalia City...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded construction of the former Sierra Vista Elementary School in Visalia CA.  That building serves today as the fine arts and foreign language classrooms for Redwood High School (formerly known as Visalia High School). The old central building of the high school burned in 1965 and was replaced by the structure show here. The former elementary school building is part of the Sierra Vista campus of Redwood HS, which is connected to the main campus via a pedestrian bridge  across the street, built in 1996. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) appears to have worked on the completion of a...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided much of the funding for the former Tulare County Court House, built in 1935. The building is four stories high with a raised central tower. The design is Moderne, with a recessed entrance section and flanking protruding stairwells.  There are Mayan designs high above the entrance and at the top of the stairwells.  Three bas-relief columns, with decorative elements at the top, complete the facade on each side. The side and back sides are plain.  A decorative brass railing runs around the top of the building. After a new courthouse was constructed in 1957, this building served...

The Visalia Municipal airport was founded in 1927. In 1941, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) spent $375,000 improving the airport.  The work included the construction of a new terminal building and a new, longer runway of nearly 5000 feet. WPA work ceased when the War Department took control of the airport in 1942 with the onset of the Second World War. It is unknown if the current terminal building (pictured) is the one built by the WPA or if any other buildings remain from that time.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) paid for a municipal hospital for Visalia CA in 1936.  The 68 bed facility served the community of Visalia until 1969, when it was demolished to make way for the new Kaweah Delta Medical center (pictured).

Red brick and beautiful stone detailing adorn this historic New Deal post office, whose construction began in 1933.