South Bend Sites

In 1938, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners applied to the Public Works Administration (PWA) for funding to expand the Angela Boulevard Bridge, a critical link for motorists traveling to the Notre Dame stadium for football games. After receiving $45,000 and starting construction, however, faulty work in the original bridge necessitated a new structure, contractor, and additional funding. In 1939, the commissioners appealed again to the PWA and were awarded $76,500, with the county paying the rest of the $152,000 total cost. Remnants of the first bridge were destroyed with explosives that shook the entire neighborhood, but that was...

The National Youth Administration (NYA) pursued improvements at South Bend’s Kennedy Park in 1939. The park was known as Bendix Park during the New Deal. “Plans for beautifying Bendix Park are being completed by the board of park commissioners of South Bend, Ind.,” a reporter noted in April 1939. “The board hopes to transform the bare land into one of the City’s beauty spots by next summer. The park will be landscaped around the NYA building, which is being financed jointly by the NYA and the park department as a city recreation center. Plans for landscaping include an experimental garden in...

Federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor conducted improvement work in South Bend's Leeper Park during the 1930s. "In 1936, a retaining wall faced with scrap salvage concrete was constructed around the island and the channel of the slough was dredged. In 1938 a shelter house near the tennis courts was also built with WPA labor." The shelter house has since been removed.

The structure, of about 3.8 acres, was begun in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

"Walker Field Shelterhouse is a historic park shelter located at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. It was constructed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration."