Illinois Sites

"Along the south wall of the lobby of the Post Office is a sculpture 'Potter and His Burro,' commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture in November 1938. It was created by Felix Schlag in honor of White Hall's pottery industry and installed in the building in November 1939."   (NRHP)

The historic Carlyle post office possesses a set of three sculptures by Curt Drewes. The sculptures, entitled "Farm," "Dairy Farming," and "Fish Hatchery," were funded by the Section of Fine Arts in 1939.

The post office contains two 5.5' x 7' cast aluminum sculptures covered with gold foil by Robert I. Russin. "Mail Handler" and "Throwing the Mail" were completed with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds in 1938.

The post office contains two terra cotta sculptures created by Curt Drewes under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1939. The sculptures depict "The Manufacture of Farm Implements" and "Farming by Hand."

"St. Charles, Ill.—Plans of Robert Trent Jones, Jr., for Pottawatomie Park muny course have been approved and construction of WPA project is under way. Design makes use of Fox river on four holes. Intention is to make job ideal achievement of WPA 9-hole courses."

Pounds Hollow was the first recreational site constructed for Shawnee National Forest. A dam, beach, bathhouse, boat dock, utility buildings, roads, and a caretakers house were constructed by CCC crews from Camp Cadiz.

"...the Point was a part of the famous Daniel Burnham Plan for Chicago of 1909, was developed in the 1920s and landscaped in 1937 as a WPA project by the late Alfred Caldwell... One of its major aspects is a continuous edge of stratified limestone along the shore of Lake Michigan. This feature is typical of the Prairie Style of landscape architecture..." (Hyde Park Herald, 2001) "In the mid-1930s, an infusion of labor and money from the new Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA) led Donahue to approve the development of the Promontory. The Point's distinctive fieldhouse was designed by park district architect...

Quincy National Cemetery 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 graves."

"In 1934, Ravenswood Manor Park became part of the newly-formed Chicago Park District. Using federal relief funds, the park district rehabilitated the park's landscape, planting hundreds of shrubs and an impressive perennial garden."

Mildred Waltrip painted the two-panel, oil-on-canvas mural "Robin Hood" (each panel measuring 5'3" x 6'11") in 1940 for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. "Two murals commissioned by the WPA, placed above the twin wooden benches of a niche or inglenook, bracket the entryway into the main building of the hundred-year-old Tudor-style school building. They illustrate episodes from the life of Robin Hood, the legendary English outlaw and popular hero who was said to have been born about 1160. Interwoven among the medieval figures in the first mural are descriptive captions: 'Merry Men of Robin Hood; Richard ye Lion-Hearted, King...

This tudor-style building in Recreation Park was constructed by the WPA in 1936-39, along with a pool and other park facilities: "In August 1934, the Village of Arlington Heights began to think about constructing a municipal swimming pool for the community. Walter Krause Sr. donated 13.59 acres of land for a park and pool (500 East Miner Street today). But, by September 1935, money for the project was still scarce and plans had yet to be drawn. On the last day to submit plans to the WPA (Works Progress Administration), Trustee Schneberger, Mayor Flentie, and Walter Krause Jr. went over to...

"The Robinson High School Auditorium-Gymnasium, also known as the RHS Gym was a historic gymnasium located on the campus of Robinson High School in Robinson, Illinois. The gym was constructed in 1939 using funds granted by the Public Works Administration. The Art Deco building featured fluted columns around its entrance, glass-block windows at the entrance and east and west sides, and curved metal awnings. Both high school athletic events and public events were held in the building, as Robinson had no other large public space suitable for hosting community events at the time." The building has since been demolished. PWA Docket...

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 graves."

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 WPA pool still in use and in its original condition in all of Illinois. WPA construction included a stone bathhouse with fireplace and open-beamed ceiling. Renovations in 2005 to bring the pool into compliance with current building codes retained the historic character of both the pool and bathhouse.

"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 are aluminum. The lobby has a terrazzo floor and base and a wainscot of American butternut. The workroom has an area of 8,600 square feet. The building was completed in August 1936 at a construction cost of $90,047. The P.W.A. allotment was $121,804.67 and the cost of the site $12,250."

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 Ward in 1940 with funds from the WPA Federal Art Project. It was restored in 1997.  

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

The Work Project Administration constructed a gymnasium at what is now the Dieterich Junior-Senior High School complex, in 1939. The facility was designed by Deal & Deal of Lincoln, Illinois and can be found the west side of Pine Street, just north of Church Street.

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."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed sidewalks and graveled streets in Dalzell, Illinois.

The W.P.A. constructed sidewalks in Mascoutah, IL, including at City Hall.

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 the area into an escape to nature for the community. The Skokie Lagoons project began in 1933 with with 1100 eager, working men from the CCC (“Start Digging First Lagoon in Skokie Project”). Soon after the Forest Army downsized to 1000 men looking to aid in clearing the area of mosquitoes, which used the weedy swamps as a breeding ground. The...

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 of the mural are located at the Skokie School Learning Center. The original artwork was 40 foot-wide by 10 foot-tall.

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 SSCAC is one of two WPA funded Art Centers that has never closed its doors, and is also the earliest African American Art Center to be created in the United States. The federal government primarily funded the project, but it was financial support from the African American community that made the idea of an Art Center a reality. According to the...

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 larger construction, which effectively doubled the size of the original building, in 1936. A home behind the property was also demolished to make way for the new rear addition. The facility was converted into a what was known as the Springer Federal Building in 1966. Listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, the building was deeded to the...

"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 the Illinois River, the park hosts over two million visitors annually... Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation in the 1930s called for the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to provide jobs for young men. The focus of this group was to preserve natural areas in the rural United States. CCC Camp 614 was deployed to Starved Rock State Park...

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 made possible by both the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The subway line has undergone major expansions and alterations since the 1930’s, but it still exists today as a portion of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Red Line subway system. State Street property owners were the first to call for the State Street Subway, but despite...

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 been."

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 Algert S. Swanson who served on the St. Charles Township Park Board when the pool was constructed and his daughter, Carol Swanson Glemza, a long-time Park District employee.The renovation of an existing Works Progress Association (WPA) era pool includes replacement of the existing shallow pool with a new zero depth entry activity pool, restoration of the main pool to provide an...

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 primary design requirements for this bridge called for a 200 ft clear channel width with a 21 ft clearance over the entire channel." P.W.A. Project No. IL 9625-X

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 1933-4 "as a shelter for whites and a two-story structure was put in shape to care for colored transients. The work involved the installation of heating and toilet facilities, painting, plastering, glazing, and general repair."

The Trout Building at Centralia Township High School was the home of Orphan and later Annie Basketball from 1936 until 2006 when a new high school opened. At present, it is part of the City Hope Church, Centralia, IL. Construction of the facility was enabled by a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant, as evidenced by information on the building's cornerstone. Per primary records, the PWA supplied a $53,181 grant for the project, whose total cost was $125,078. Construction occurred between Nov. 1936 and Oct. 1937. The building faces Second Street on the back side of the block occupied by City Hope...

"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 features a low-density design of two-story rowhouses and three-story apartment buildings spread out across 21-acres."

"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 terrazzo floors, marble clad walls, and decoratively painted ceilings. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois is the major tenant. In 2012, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places." (GSA)

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.