Rock Island National Cemetery in Moline, Illinois was improved as part of Federal Project F-87 by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA). The work done “included the resetting, realigning and cleaning of headstones … as well as the filling-in of sunken… read more
Construction on the pool started in 1938 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt`s Depression-era Works Progress Administration. The park district furnished the materials, and workers were bused in by the government. The pool, completed in 1940, is the last… read more
"This is one of the more interesting post-office buildings in which the design avoids tradition. It is fireproof except for the roof, which is slow-burning construction. The exterior walls are a blue-gray brick trimmed with Indiana limestone and the spandrels… read more
The two 6′ x 8′ panels of this mural “Discovery of America” by Irene Bianucci. They were completed with WPA Federal Art Project funds in 1940 and restored in 1997.
The five panels of this mural depicting the “History of Chicago” are titled: “Father Marquette,” “Fort Dearborn,” “Great Chicago Fire of 1871,” “World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” and “Century of Progress World’s Fair of 1933.” They were painted by Lucile… read more
The former Ball Township High School (now elementary school) auditorium/gymnasium was constructed in 1934-5 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. PWA Docket No. IL 8168
George Melville Smith painted two 9′ x 9′ murals for the Schubert School: “The Life of Franz Schubert” and “The Hurricane.” They were painted in 1938 with WPA Federal Art Project funds.
The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed sewers in Harvey, Illinois ca. 1933-4. A CWA document photo is captioned: “This photograph, taken March 22, 1934, shows men engaged in laying a six-foot drainage sewer at Harvey.”
Skokie Lagoons is a 190 acre nature preserve in Glencoe and Winnetka, Illinois. The Skokie Lagoons are notable as a CCC work because the project merged the ideas of fixing a pertinent mosquito issue in the area and of developing… read more
The mural was painted in 1934 by Raymond Breinin, an artist hired by the Public Works Art Project. Soon after its completion, the mural became the subject of a political controversy and the school board voted to cover it. The remnants… read more
The South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC) located at 3831 South Michigan Avenue on the South Side of Chicago, provided a permanent space for the creation and preservation of artwork made by African American artists from the surrounding community. The… read more
Now known as the Springer Cultural Center, what was then the main post office for Champaign, Illinois received a New Deal-era addition. Actually, the building received an addition in 1929, though it was razed seven years later to accommodate the… read more
“Starved Rock State Park is a state park in Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its 2,630 acres (1,064 ha). Located just southeast of the village of Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of… read more
The State Street subway line was one of two initial subway lines to open in the city of Chicago, IL. Running from north to south, the project began in conjunction with the construction of the Milwaukee-Dearborn subway line and was… read more
Decatur, Illinois received a storm relief sewer system in a project begun in 1938 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers conducted street paving work in Kewanee, Illinois.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) relayed the red vitrified brick street pavement at an unknown date on Crescent Place and Woodbine Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois. An embedded marker reads “Relayed by WPA.”
“WPA funds helped pay for removal of 158,000 lineal feet of streetcar track that ran down the middle of many of Springfield’s streets, at a cost of $167,000. The work included resurfacing of the area where the tram tracks had… read more
The website of Williams Architects lists as one of their projects, reconstruction work on a New Deal Project. “Formerly known as the Pottawatomie Pool, the Park District dediciated the new renovation to the Swanson Family in honor of the late… read more
The bridge carrying S. Torrance Avenue across the Calumet River constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. Completed in 1936, the “vertical lift bridge is the only non-bascule bridge built by the Chicago Public Works Department (now CDOT). The… read more
Cairo, Illinois’s old (and since-demolished) Marine Hospital was located between 10th and 12th St., Cedar St. and Jefferson Ave. As part of Federal Project F-26: Improving Facilities for Sheltering Transients, the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) rehabilitated the hospital in… read more
“The last of three Public Works Administration projects commissioned in Chicago as part of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, Trumbull Park Homes is arguably one of the CHA’s most historically significant buildings in its housing portfolio. Built in 1938, the development… read more
“Built in 1938 of limestone and granite, the three-story, 118,000-square-foot Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Peoria, Ill., was designed in the Art Moderne style, a streamlined look popular from the late 1920s through the mid 1940s. Public areas feature… read more
This 8′ x 12′ mural “Map of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign” was painted by Rainey Bennett in 1938, with the help of Federal Art Project funds.
These two limestone sculptures “Asclepius” and “Hygeia” were created by Edouard Chassaing in 1938 with the help of WPA Federal Art Project funds.
This mural of oil washes and casein tempera on multiple glass panes depicts “The History of Anatomy.” It was painted by artists Rainey Bennett and Ralph Graham with the help of Federal Art Project funds in 1938. It was restored… read more
The “Great Men of Medicine” depicted in this New Deal fresco of nine 1′ x 1′ panels include Pare (shown in photo), Pasteur, Darwin, Lister, Jenner, Koch, Virchow, Melpighi, and Harvey. The frescoes were painted by Edwin Boyd Johnson in… read more
This mosaic mural “Signs of the Zodiac and Heavenly Bodies” was created by John Stephan in 1936 with the help of WPA Federal Art Project funds.
This 3’6″ x 5′ sculpture entitled the “Spirit of Medicine Warding Off Disease” was created with Federal Art Project funds and has been relocated multiple times.
In 1937, Jefferson League painted five murals for the College of Pharmacy depicting “The Story of Natural Drugs”: “Digitalis,” “Opium,” “Cinchona,” “Quinine” and “Coca and Peyote.” The murals were funded by the WPA Federal Art Project.
This PWA building was originally the Dental College Building for the University of Illinois – Chicago. It was project #1057. Construction of the Dental Building began in 1935 when the project was proposed and backed by the PWA under Illinois… read more
The Uptown Post Office Murals “Carl Sandburg and Louis Sullivan” were WPA New Deal Art Projects completed in 1943 by Henry Varnum Poor. These are significant murals created by the WPA which celebrates both agriculture and poetry (Uptown PO Chicago)…. read more
Danville, Illinois’s Veterans’ Administration Facility was improved as part of Federal Project F-55. The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted interior and exterior painting and decoration work at buildings on the grounds. The project “carried authorization of $3,100 for materials… read more
Morton’s historic former post office building was constructed in 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which housed an example of New Deal artwork (since relocated), served as a post office until the 1970s. It now serves as the… read more
Today, The Wallace Bowl is now the home of the Park District’s summertime Starlight Theatre, which provides a unique outdoor setting for musical and dramatic performances offered to the public free of charge. The WPA began construction in 1936 of… read more
Naperville’s historic Washington Street Station post office was constructed as the city’s main post office in 1939-40. The post office now occupies space in the south side of the building, believed to be a later addition; a bank occupies the… read more
Henry Simon painted a series of murals entitled “The Founding of McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois.” The murals were intended for that institution but never installed. “The Circuit Rider,” “Bishop McKendree at the Site of the College” and “Peter Aker’s Prophecy”… read more
This three-part mural “American Youth” by Florian Durzynski was completed with WPA Federal Art Project funds in 1937 and restored in 1999.
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
