• Central Fire Station - Hilo HI
    Hilo, Hawaii's Central Fire Station was constructed during the late 1930s with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA contributed nearly half the project cost by way of a grant of $35,100; the final cost of the project was $71,919. Construction on the station began in November 1938 and was completed September 1939.
  • Customs Building - Hilo HI
    The U.S. Customs facility located just north of Kalanianaole Ave on the west side of Kuhio St. was constructed with federal funds administered by the Public Buildings Administration of the Federal Works Agency. The building, then called the "Customs Warehouse," was dedicated on Aug. 30, 1941.
  • Hilo International Airport Improvements - Hilo HI
    Between 1935 and 1941, the WPA contributed nearly $300,000 to the expansion and improvement of the Hilo Airport, then known as General Lyman Field (e.g., significant lengthening of runways). Today, the airport serves well over 1 million passengers per year and provides a landing area for 25,000 tons of cargo and 3,000 tons of mail annually.
  • Pana'ewa CCC Camp - Hilo HI
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a side camp at Pana'ewa Forest on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Pana'ewa Forest has been heavily developed with the growth of Hilo, the main city on the island, but some small pieces remain, especially as Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens and Pana'ewa Forest Reserve.   The CCC enrollees worked in in the vicinity of this camp and their work included tree planting; building truck, foot and horse trails; construction of foot bridges; installation of fences; seed collection; erosion control and check dams; building shelter houses; “elimination of undesirable animals” ; “eradication of exotic...
  • Puueo Bridge - Hilo HI
    Puueo Bridge, crossing the Wailuku River and connecting Puueo and Keawe Streets in Hilo, Hawaii, was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1938. The PWA contributed a grant of $45,000 to the project, which cost $113,730. Construction on the bridge began Jan. 19, 1938 and was completed Oct. 8, 1938. The project, listed as Docket No. TH-1062-DS, was part of the PWA’s non federal projects expenditures for the Territory of Hawaii, 1938-1939.
  • Seawall - Hilo HI
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a seawall east of Hilo in 1939. The 2.5-foot-thick structure was credited with saving the Pu‘umaile Home / hospital; the seawall "withstood the severe pounding of the angry waves ... lessened the force of the waves and the hospital was safe." Images of Old Hawaii: Some incorrectly suggest that the hospital washed away by the 1946 tsunami; however, it was spared. “The (sea)wall itself was undamaged, and buildings sheltered by it were undisturbed except for minor damage by flooding.” (Wiegel) The exact location and status of the seawall is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • U.S. Post Office and Office Building Additions - Hilo HI
    Designed by Henry O. Whitfield in 1915, the U.S. Post Office and Office Building underwent a large expansion during the New Deal. "In 1936 the Treasury Department designed two 3-story wing additions for the main (south) side of the building. These were constructed in 1937-38 forming a "U"-shaped peristyle court. These wings have three floors used for office space and contain open circulation balconies on the first and third floors. The exterior walls facing the court contain 2-story columns with doric capitals which support a lanai above. All the roofs are tiled, with ornamental downspouts used in the court. The courtyard,...