Topeka Sites

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Fire Station 5 in Topeka KS. Operations have since relocated, though the building still stands. "Station No. 7 shares an identical floor plan and similar architectural features to two other fire stations in Topeka, those being Fire Station No. 5 at the southwest corner of SW 17th Street and SW Topeka Blvd, and Fire Station No. 6 at the southwest corner of NE Seward Ave. and NE Woodruff Ave. in the Oakland neighborhood. All three were WPA projects, and all were designed by the same architectural firm of Cuthbert and Suehrk."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Fire Station 7 in Topeka KS.  “This station was constructed in 1935 through Works Progress Administration to service the growing Oakland neighborhood, and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad yards, located just a few blocks to the west and south." "On October 2, 2020, the National Parks Service considered the nomination of Fire Station No. 6, and officially listed the building on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review (KHBR) officially approved this nomination on August 1, 2020 for inclusion of the Register of Historic Kansas Places."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built Fire Station 7 in Topeka KS.  "This station was constructed in 1935 through Works Progress Administration to service the newly expanding areas of western Topeka, including the newly developed Westboro neighborhood located one block to the south. The Spanish Revival architectural style of this station, in fact, mirrors one of the designated architectural styles designated by covenant within the Westboro neighborhood. Funding for this station was further enabled through a public bond approved by voters in 1926, specifically intended to provide fire services to these newly annexed areas." “Station No. 7 shares an identical floor plan...

The Works Progress Administration built the Highland Park High School Stadium in Topeka KS.

The Public Works Administration provided $7 million in funds to construction this auditorium with room for city offices. The building was renovated in 1991 and is now the Topeka Performing Arts Center.

The Sumner Elementary School was built in 1936 with the support of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. It was registered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. The school was designed by Kansas architect Thomas W. Williamson, and features Art Deco architectural elements and stone bas reliefs. The two-story brick structure was renovated multiple times since its construction. Many of the structure's Art Deco original details—such as lighting fixtures and woodwork—still exist. In the 1950s, the school became an important landmark in the struggle against segregation. Sumner Elementary is the former all-white school in which Linda Brown, the central figure in Brown vs Board of Education, wanted to enroll. The...

Topeka High School has three examples of David Hicks Overmyer’s work, two carried out under the WPA’s Federal Art Project. The first is the large painting “Pageant of Old England” which was commissioned by the Topeka School Board in 1936, completed in 1937, and funded by the FAP. It was created for the English Room, an oversized classroom that includes a fireplace, Tudor-style woodwork, and a gothic-arched stage. The painting shows a group of medieval figures passing through an English village with a large castle in the background. “Pageant of Old England” currently still hangs in the English Room. In 1938,...