Florida Sites

George Snow Hill (1898-1969) painted this oil on canvas mural for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1938. "The panel honors the mostly African American laborers who contributed to the local lumber industry." (visitflorida.com) The mural, entitled "Cypress Logging." has since been restored and moved to the new Perry post office. It can be seen above the customer service counter.

This Section funded mural "Prehistoric Life in Florida" was painted for the Sebring post office in 1942 by Charles R. Knight. It now hangs in the Sebring Public Library.

The historic post office building in Jasper, Florida houses New Deal artwork: two Section of Fine Arts-commissioned tempera frescoes by Pietro Lazzari titled "Harvest at Home" and "News from Afar." They were completed in 1942.

The historic Miami Beach post office houses three New Deal murals depicting "Episodes from the History of Florida" painted in 1940 by WPA artist Charles Russell Hardman. (The federal agency that commissioned the works was the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.) "The lobby is a round and in the center is a fountain that appears to be inoperable. Above is an incredible light fixture with sun rays emanating from it against a brilliant teal background. The murals are positioned at the rear of the round space, so my photographs have a pretty funky perspective. Going from left to right, the first...

"In 1939 the Treasury Department’s Section of Fine Arts contracted Dohanos to paint six murals depicting the “Legend of James Edward Hamilton, Mail Carrier” in the West Palm Beach, Florida Post Office.  Hamilton was one of the “barefoot mailmen,” letter carriers who worked a remote stretch of rural Florida in the 1880s – a 68-mile roadless and part-by-boat route from Palm Beach to Miami, much of it by beach walking.  The round trip of 136 miles from Palm Beach to Miami and back took six days.  Hamilton mysteriously disappeared on the route, either drowned, taken by alligator, or some say,...

The historic post office building in Arcadia, Florida contains a 1939 Section of Fine Arts sculpture by Constance Ortmayer entitled "Arcadia." The sculpture is 3.5' x 4.'

"Ravine Gardens State Park is a 59-acre (240,000 m2) Florida State Park located in Palatka, Florida. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park was constructed by the Works Progress Administration, with cypress buildings, rock gardens and fieldstone terraces. Near the park entrance is The Court of States and a 64-foot (20 m) obelisk dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt."

The Works Progress Administration built the Recreation Center Grandstand in Ocala FL.

"Some of the early projects implemented  included grading the "Big Lake road" out to the Wheeler settlement near Lake Miccosukee."

Rollins College is a private liberal arts college established in the late 19th century. Construction continued in phases for many years, including a "...burst of building activity in 1936, when Public Works Administration loans permitted the construction of five new dormitories. Joint ceremonies in 1937 dedicated Fox Hall (named for Caroline A. Fox, a Rollins donor), Gale Hall (named for Sullivan French Gale, one of the first trustees), Cross Hall, Hooker Hall, and Lyman Hall."

"The airport’s beginnings date back to early 1939 when government and business leaders from Sarasota and Manatee counties agreed to construct an airport together, designed to serve the aviation needs of the two-county area. A 620-acre site was selected on the Sarasota-Manatee County line through a Federal WPA-CCA Grant...Aviation facilities were completed by early 1942 at a cost of nearly one million dollars. The Authority leased the land to the Army Air Corps later in 1942 as a fighter pilot training base during World War II. During the war, the federal government spent several million dollars in improvements at Sarasota...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) constructed a school addition in Macclenny, Florida and a school facility in Glen St. Mary, in 1938-9. The PWA supplied a $300,355 grant for construction as part of one combined project, whose total cost was $670,428. The location and status of the buildings are presently unknown to Living New Deal. PWA Docket No. FL 1366

The Public Works Administration (PWA) constructed a school addition in Macclenny, Florida and a school facility in Glen St. Mary, in 1938-9. The PWA supplied a $300,355 grant for construction as part of one combined project, whose total cost was $670,428. The location and status of the buildings are presently unknown to Living New Deal. PWA Docket No. FL 1366

FERA completed an auditorium on the site of Jay's Elementary and High Schools in 1935. Satellite images shows what appears to be the same auditorium still standing, but confirmation is needed.

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.

The FERA initiated construction of Key West's sewerage system in 1935-36. In 1935, the WPA took over FERA activities, and likely continued sewer construction efforts.

"As time progressed and the city grew, Shenandoah's population increased creating a need for a new, state of the art building. By 1940, land was purchased on 19th Street and 19th Avenue, construction workers were hired with the help of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the construction began. Students were then moved in as soon as it was completed. Shenandoah became of the most modern and well-equipped schools in the South. Meanwhile, the "old" building became Shenandoah Elementary. On December 11, 1942, the beautiful new building was formally dedicated with great fanfare. Since then, the school has been slightly modified...

"This building was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1938. It was originally proposed to be a building that could be used as a polling place on election days and as a community recreation hall. The School Board saw the project as an opportunity to rectify certain deficiencies of the Spring Lake School, constructed in 1919, which had no kitchen, lunchroom, or library. Thus it became an undertaking to serve the school as well as the community. This building was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1938. It was originally proposed to be a building that could be...

"After withdrawing an application to the PWA, St. Augustine's municipal officials initiated the St. Augustine Civic Center project through the CWA. ... In 1935, residents and administrators celebrated the completion of the building under the FERA banner." (NRHP Nomination) The St. Augustine Civic Center is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Between 1934 and 1940, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (then called the St. Marks Migratory Bird Refuge) located about twenty-five miles away from Tallahassee FL. Overseen by the U.S. Biological Survey, the work was done by enrollees at Camp BF-1 – one of the first African American CCC camps in Florida. CCC teams constructed roads, cut fire lines, built structures, and facilitated the establishment of the refuge as it stands today. According to the Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, “lmost everything was fabricated by the CCC men. Poles that carried the power...

What is today the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge was originally established in 1931 as the St. Marks Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, a key link in protecting the Atlantic flyway. It cover over 70,000 acres spread out between Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor counties in Florida and includes about 43 miles of the Gulf Coast. In the summer of 1933, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp BF-1 was established near Newport to begin work on various improvements to the refuge under the auspices of the Bureau of Biological Survey (from 1940 the Fish & Wildlife Service). It was one of the few all African American camps...

St. Petersburg College was formerly known of St. Petersburg Junior College. It was established in 1927. The WPA built the school's first permanent structure: "The first permanent new building — housing classrooms, offices, the library and an auditorium named for Captain Lynch — was erected at what is now the corner of Fifth Avenue N and 66th Street. Built with WPA labor, it cost $91,000; equipment worth about $100,000 was transferred from the old building, mostly during the December 1941 holiday break. The new building and its contents were valued at a quarter of a million dollars. The first classes were...

A story reported in 1936: PANAMA CITY, Fla., March 21. A cow ate the blueprints of a WPA project here, halting work. B. E. Fulghum, project supervisor, put the plans for a building at the State fish hatchery in Wewahitchka on a porch, where the cow found them. New plans were sent to Mr. Fulghum today marked: "For reference, not fodder."

"The streets and sidewalks of Lloyd were repaired and dead trees were removed from the town in September 1935."

A street light development project in Bradenton, Florida was undertaken with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Work occurred between December 1938 and May 1939. PWA Docket No. FL 1560.

The Works Progress Administration built the Stuart City Park and Community House in Stuart City FL, Martin County. The City was a cosponsor. The community house housed public gatherings and also served as a hurricane shelter. The location and status of these projects is presently unknown to Living New Deal.  

Constructed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) in 1935, the Sylva G. Martin Community Center is a one-story masonry structure, built in a rectangular plan inspired by the simple bungalow. The high-quality stonework is its most notable feature with wall surfaces fashioned from local oolitic limestone, cut and finely laid in irregular courses. There are five bays across the front with a porch across three bays. A gable roof covers the main portion of the building with shed roofs over the front porch and rear. Four square piers of oolitic limestone support the front porch roof. The space between...

"The development of Drew Field was a WPA project of major importance... In 1933, when Tampa began planning projects to provide work for the unemployed with federal assistance, Drew Field came back into the picture.  The city's lease on the 160-acre tract had expired, but the city finally succeeded after much squabbling, in buying it for $11,654, the amount at which it was appraised by the Tampa Real Estate Board.  This purchase was made on Feb. 10, 1934. Work on improving the field was started as a CWA project 10 days later, $31,000 being allotted for it by the government. ...

The seven murals on display in the Airside E Terminal of the Tampa International Airport were commissioned from artist George Snow Hill in 1939 under New Deal sponsorship: "In the late 1930's, local artist George Snow Hill was commissioned to create these murals to adorn the walls of Tampa's newly built Peter O. Knight Airport. Hill artistically interpreted the history of flight through the contributions made by Icarus and Daedalus, Archimedes, The Montgolfier Brothers, Otto Lilienthal, Tony Jannus, The Wright Brothers, and a triptych, capturing the first scheduled airline flight in history. The murals were removed from the walls of the Peter...

The accompanying photograph is of a view of the town in the 1930s. Tanner Hall is seen on the center-left side of the picture. The WPA building was initially used as a gymnasium and was later extensively remodeled. It is now a Community Center. Other buildings that are seen in the photograph are Farnsworth Pool, Little Hall, yacht basins with covered boathouses, the city dock, sea walls and Trailer City, among the public building and lakefront beautification projects funded by the Works Progress Administration and directed by Mayor George Walker in the 1930s. In his seven-year tenure as mayor, Walker secured more...

The accompanying colored post card shows early trailers, brick road, palm trees and Trailer City office building. Trailer City, a mobile home park, was built in the 1930s with WPA (Works Progress Administration) funds. It was a $200,000 project, the idea of Mayor George Walker. The city of Winter Garden owns the property. Trailer City was highly praised in country-wide publications. Postmark on the back of the card is 1946.

WPA projects in Jefferson County, Florida included "five two-room frame school buildings for Negroes at Turkey Scratch, Bunker Hill, Lightsey, and Lamont." The locations and status of this building are unknown to Living New Deal.

The WPA conducted beautification and improvement work on the "Tallahassee-to-Monticello highway," likely meaning U.S. 90. The project employed "45 common laborers at 30 cents per hour for an average of $39 per month."

Constructed in 1935-6, this historic Beaux Arts federal building "originally housed the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and served it as Tallahassee's main post office until the early 1970s. In 1979, the courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Park Avenue Historic District. The courthouse is now occupied by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Florida." The lobby continues to house a set of New Deal murals created for the building.

The historic federal building (now U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse) in Tallahassee, Florida houses an example of New Deal artwork: an eight-panel mural titled "History of Florida." Wikipedia: "The murals were funded by the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture, a Depression-era program ... Hungarian-born American Edward “Buk” Ulreich (1889-1966) won a competition to paint the murals, which he completed in 1939." GSA description of the eight panels: 1) Five Standards on Parade shows the flags that have flown over Florida: Spanish, French, English, Confederate, and American. 2) Aborigine depicts the customs and life of Florida's native inhabitants at the time of early exploration. 3) Spain's influence...

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)

Plant Hall was formerly known as the Tampa Bay Hotel. It was built in the late 19th century. By the 1930s it was in disrepair until the WPA restored the building and converted it into use by the University of Tampa. One wing of Plant Hall now houses the Henry B. Plant Museum.

This is an unusual entry. The PWA assisted in the construction of the USS Mohawk, a Coast Guard cutter launched at Wilmington, Delaware. After World War II, the ship was sold to various parties, and served briefly as a museum at Staten Island before being sunk off the coast of Florida in 2012 as an artificial reef. It is now the USS Mohawk CGC Veterans Memorial Reef, a popular diving destination.

"Mayor George Walker: In the 1930's, Winter Garden, Florida, was struggling economically along with the rest of the nation. The Great Depression left growers without markets, consumers without spending money, and many without work. It was Winter Garden's fortune to have George Walker as its mayor during this difficult period. Mr. Walker, a native of Savannah, Georgia, came to Winter Garden in 1919, and in the following year opened Walker Electric Company and Appliance Store. An avid sportsman, Walker was the director of the Lake-Orange County semi-pro baseball league and served as the manager of the Winter Garden League in...