Gainesville Sites

In 1939, the federal Work Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop Austin Cary Forest, a UCF facility used for "the purposes of academic teaching, research, extension education, and demonstration". The WPA "built roads, buildings, and water draining ditches. And 100,000 board feet of pine and 80,000 cypress shingles were logged from the forest and processed at the School's sawmill."

Completed in 1939, the Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary School (formerly known as J.J. Finley Elementary School) is the oldest operating elementary school in Alachua County. It was named for Jesse Johnson Finley (1812-1904 ), a brigadier general in the Army of the Confederacy, and later a US congressman from Florida. The school was designed by the architectural firm of Sanford W. Goin and Forrest M. Kelley. It is constructed of brick, and mixes Georgian and art deco styles. The school auditorium, part of the original construction, has seating for 300 people, a full theatrical stage, and a projection room. On August...

A pair of infirmary/ward buildings at what was then known as the Florida Farm Colony was constructed in 1936 as a New Deal-aided project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) supplied a $48,402 grant for the project, whose total cost was $108,174. The exact location and status of the buildings on the campus (presently known as the Tacachdale Center) are presently unknown to Living New Deal. PWA Docket No. FL 1158-R

A pair of infirmary/ward buildings at what was then known as the Florida Farm Colony was constructed in 1936 as a New Deal-aided project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) supplied a $48,402 grant for the project, whose total cost was $108,174. The exact location and status of the buildings on the campus (presently known as the Tacachdale Center) are presently unknown to Living New Deal. PWA Docket No. FL 1158-R

The City of Gainesville purchased the Servicemen’s Center lot on December 7th, 1942. The Federal Works Agency constructed a $37,000 building with a ballroom, stage, dressing rooms, second floor reading room, three showers, three telephone booths for long distance calls, a coat check room, a 20-foot-long snack bar, and a kitchen with a ten-burner stove. A $420,000 renovation took place in 2000. Today, the building serves as a voting Precinct and used for various community meetings and gatherings.

A Gainesville FL landmark building that began construction in 1926 but was unfinished until New Deal agency (PWA and WPA) funding made completion possible. It was used by University of Florida following completion in 1937 and later was converted into residential units above office.

Albert A. Murphree Hall was undertaken during the Great Depression with the assistance of the Federal Administration of Public Works. The building is a residence hall on the northern side of the University of Florida. Designed by architect Rudolph Weaver in Collegiate Gothic style. The building was named in honor of Dr. Albert A. Murphree, the second president of the University of Florida. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

"The Florida Union building was opened in 1936. The original building and its two additions were constructed without the usage of state funds. William Jennings Bryan was active in raising funds for the original building, and the student body strongly supported the creation of a student fee to provide resources for the project. In addition, Federal funds (PWA) and other gifts were used to fund the original building and the two additions. The original Florida Union is now Dauer Hall."   (https://www.makeitreitz.com)