Georgia Sites

Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Northern Georgia" painted in 1939 by Charles Trumbo Henry. It has been moved from its original post office location to a new post office.

The historic Cuthbert post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Last Indian Troubles in Randolph County—1836," painted in 1939 by Carlo Ciampaglia.

Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Georgia Lumberman Receiving Mail by Star Route Wagon" painted in 1938 by Arthur E. Schmalz for the Eastman, Georgia post office. It was restored and moved to the new post office in 1988.

Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "A Letter" painted by Orlin E. Clayton in 1939.

This Section of Fine Arts mural, entitled "Cotton--From Field to Mill," was painted in 1940 by Philip Evergood, for the then-new Jackson post office at 132 S Mulberry St. It was moved to the retail lobby of the current post office building upon its relocation in 1995. Following alleged complaints regarding the content of the mural, it was covered with black plastic in August 2020 while its fate is determined (Jackson Progress-Argus).

The mural "Pelham Landscape," which hangs in the lobby of the historic post office in Pelham, Georgia, was completed with New Deal funds in 1941.

"Kiln Room, Cement Plant" Medium: oil on canvas

Doris Lee completed this oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Georgia Countryside," in 1939 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the Summerville post office lobby.   "Shortly after winning the Logan Prize for her painting Thanksgiving at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1935, Doris Lee (1905-1983) received her first major commission to execute two murals on rural mail delivery for the Washington DC Post Office. This post office was the grandest mural project of the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts which held national competitions to commission artists based on skill, not need, to complete art...

Chester Tingler painted this oil-on-canvas work, entitled "Cantaloupe Industry," with Section funding, for the then-new Sylvester post office in 1939. The work has since been relocated; it now resides in the lobby of the new post office east of downtown.

The historic Greensboro post office contains two murals commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  Completed by Carson Davenport in 1939, they are titled "The Burning of Greensborough" and "Cotton Picking in Georgia."

Section of Fine Arts terra cotta relief entitled "The Little Farmer" installed by Ilse Erythropel in 1940.

This mahogany relief, entitled "Game Bird Hunt," was completed by Erwin Springweiler with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was installed in 1941 in the city's historic post office building. The work was restored and moved to the current post office in 1981.

The historic post office in Lyons, Georgia contains New Deal artwork: Section of Fine Arts-commissioned terra cotta reliefs entitled "Wild Duck and Deer," completed in 1942 by Albino Manca.

"Transition" Medium: cast stone

"Dedicated by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in 1941 as Georgia State Women's College Library and officially named for Richard Holmes Powell, the first president of the institution, in 1947. It served as the library for the college for 30 years before Odum Library was constructed. Powell now houses an auditorium, the offices of Career Services, Co-op Education, Testing, Housing, the Counseling Center, and Alcohol and Other Drug Education." (Wikipedia) The building "represented the fifth project designed for the campus by the firm of Edwards and Sawyard. Later, the completed building was dedicated by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1941 ..." (Wikipedia)

Valdosta State University's Reade Hall, a dormitory-auditorium building, was constructed as Senior Hall with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds and was completed in spring 1937.

Completed by Paul Rohland in 1940, "Dogwood and Azaleas" was originally installed in the Decatur, GA post office. The above photo dates to when it resided there, before being moved to the Federal Building in Atlanta.

The historic Rockdale County Courthouse building in Conyers, Georgia was constructed with federal funds as the community's post office ca. 1939. The building housed an example of New Deal artwork, which has since been relocated.

Along Maple Street, Carrollton is the site of the first Rural Electrification Administration substation in Carroll County, Georgia.

The Sandersville high/elementary school was constructed by the PWA in 1939. The red brick building with a Georgian-Colonial facade was built on one level in the shape of an E. The high school was on the east side and the elementary school on the west, with the Administrative office, library, commercial and home economics rooms in the middle front. The 600 seat auditorium, music and expression rooms were in the center arm of the E. A small lunch room was built behind the auditorium. A newspaper article indicates the school district filed an application with the government for a grant...

Sanford Hall was one of multiple buildings constructed on the GCSU campus with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. It was completed in 1938.

"The Savannah Arts Academy building is located on a site that was originally planned as a luxury tourist hotel called the Hotel Georgia. The Works Progress Administration, in the midst of the Great Depression, expressed interest in the site for use as the new Savannah High School, which was dedicated on June 15, 1937. After 61 years on Washington Avenue, Savannah High School classes were moved to a new building on Pennsylvania Avenue, leaving the structure available for the newly formed Savannah Arts Academy for the school year beginning August 1998."

Numerous New Deal agencies contributed to the development of metropolitan Atlanta's sewer system during the Great Depression. Atlanta initially applied for PWA funding in July 1933, but lack of local contribution caused the city government to withdraw the application and shift it to CWA in December 1933. CWA approved funds to modernize the metropolitan area sewer system, contingent on matching funds from city and county. in March 1934, FERA began work on new sewer lines, and in 1935, the project transferred to the WPA after the passing of a bond issue. Employment was estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 men. In 1936,...

This WPA Coast Guard Station at St. Simons Island, GA was built from 1935-1937. The building is still in existence, but is now a museum rather than a USCG facility. "In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), authorized the building of 45 United States Coast Guard Stations around the country. Later that same year, Georgia Senator Walter F. George, and Georgia Congressman Braswell Deen obtained an $115,000 appropriation from Congress for the new Coast Guard Station and Boathouse to be built on St. Simons Island. Work began in the fall of 1935 and of...

In 1934 the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) completed a Civil Works Administration (CWA) project in Calhoun, Georgia: "work on the streets in Calhoun."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved and paved Sycamore Drive in Decatur, Georgia ca. 1936.

The Techwood Homes public housing project in Atlanta was a whites-only complex constructed between 1935 and 1936 with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. It has since been demolished. "Techwood Homes was the first public housing project in the United States, opened just before the First Houses. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, it replaced a shantytown known as Tanyard Bottom or Tech Flats. It was completed on August 15, 1936, but was dedicated on November 29 of the previous year by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The apartments included bathtubs and electric ranges in each unit, 189 of which had garages. Central...

Troup County's Juvenile Courthouse in La Grange, Georgia was constructed as the Troup County Courthouse during the Great Depression with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $112,284 grant for the project, whose final cost was $292,939. Construction occurred between September 1938 and December 1939. PWA Docket No. W1352

The University Homes public housing project in Atlanta was completed in 1938 with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. It has since been demolished. "Built in 1938 on the site of the former Beaver Slide slum. Seen as the African American counterpart to Techwood Homes, the first public housing project in the nation. Architect William Augustus Edwards." (Wikipedia) The exact location of the housing project is unknown to Living New Deal, though we believe the University Homes were constructed southeast of Spelman College and what is now Clark Atlanta University.

The University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia was heavily impacted by New Deal program construction. Multiple buildings were constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds, including a laboratory building, classroom building, and the Fine Arts Building.

"In 1933 the State legislature made it possible for the University of Georgia to secure grants from the P.W.A. with which to carry out an extensive building program to accommodate its increased student body and to replace obsolete equipment. The classroom building is 3 stories and a part basement in height and provides 15 classrooms ranging from a kindergarten through the sixth grade, shops, a model living room with bath, clothing, food and science laboratories, conference rooms, administrative offices, a library, cafeteria, recreation room, and an auditorium with stage. The area of the building is 20,700 square feet. The construction is...

"The Fine Arts Building was designed and constructed in 1939-1940 as a Federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The Neoclassical style building was originally designed to house the drama, music, dance, and visual arts programs."

"This project, known as the 'Laboratory Building,' is 2 stories and a basement in height. The basement contains the manual-training department, recreation rooms, an infirmary, a sewing room, kitchen, cafeteria, and the heating plant. On the first floor are 8 classrooms and the administrative offices. The second floor contains 10 classrooms and offices for instructors. The construction is nonfireproof. The exterior walls are brick trimmed with limestone, and all the rest of the building is wood. The project was completed in January 1939 at a construction cost of $133,634 and a project cost of $137,178."

"The Country Store and Post Office" by Daniel Celentano was created with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funding. During renovations at the old post office building, the middle section of the mural was destroyed. The City restored the mural as two separate "murals." In the mural to the right, the arm of a figure in the destroyed middle section can be seen.  

"One of Georgia’s oldest and most beloved state parks, Vogel is located at the base of Blood Mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Driving from the south, visitors pass through Neel Gap, a beautiful mountain pass near Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. Vogel is particularly popular during the fall when the Blue Ridge Mountains transform into a rolling blanket of red, yellow and gold leaves. Hikers can choose from a variety of trails, including the popular 4-mile Bear Hair Gap loop, an easy lake loop that leads to Trahlyta Falls, and the challenging 13-mile Coosa Backcountry Trail. Cottages, campsites...

Newnan, Georgia's historic Wadsworth Auditorium was originally constructed as the community's Municipal Building in 1939. The building was "originally constructed in part with funds provided by the Federal Public Works Administration. The three story tan colored brick building designed in classical style with Art Deco influences was designed by R. Kennon Perry." The PWA supplied a $55,841 grant for the project, whose total cost was $93,030. Construction occurred between December 1938 and December 1939. According to the City of Newnan website, "The auditorium was christened 'The Charles Wadsworth Auditorium' in 1998 in recognition of Wadsworth's contributions and nation-wide preeminence as a gifted and talented piano...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the historic water tower in downtown Americus, Georgia. Completed in 1936, the water tower still stands today. It is located on the north side of East Lamar Street between Lee and Prince Streets.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve Wesleyan Drive outside Macon in Bibb County, Georgia ca. 1936.

Built in 1939, this Works Progress Administration project was the Auditorium and Dining Hall for West Georgia College.

Carrollton, Georgie's historic City Gym building, now known as WPA Center, is a stone building located at the corner of North Cliff and Chandler Streets, overlooking Park (US 27). The building was constructed with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor in 1937. Combination community center and gymnasium. According to the city, the facility is available for rentals: "There are now two offices and a small kitchen in the building plus a 90’x 52’ Reception Hall with a gas log fireplace. Banquet or Meeting capacity is 200, plus there is extra seating for 50 in the original bleachers on one side of the hall."