• Bellevue Pond Improvements - Medford MA
    The W.P.A. conducted the following work at what is now just Bellevue Pond: 1937 MDC annual report: "Bellevue Ponds, Medford; work was started in the late fall of 1937 on a project for improvement and development, as a recreational area, of the Upper and Lower Bellevue Pond and surrounding land on South Border Road near the Roosevelt Circle. The ponds will be dredged and cleaned, gravel placed on banks, rubble masonry spillways constructed, the surrounding woodland thinned and improved and gravel walks will be built." 1938 report: "South Border Road, Middlesex Fells Reservation, Medford; the development and beautification of Upper and Lower Bellevue Ponds on South Border Road was...
  • Chevalier Theatre - Medford MA
    "The Chevalier Theatre was built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration as part of the Medford High School complex."
  • City Garage (demolished) - Medford MA
    Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed a new city garage for Medford, Massachusetts. From a W.P.A. Bulletin: Medford's antiquated city garage built to accommodate horse drawn equipment will be replaced with a new Medford WPA city garage now in construction. The new building will contain offices, workrooms, and storage for motor vehicles at present kept in rented quarters. The exact location and present status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • City Hall - Medford MA
    "The building is T-shaped in plan and three stories in height, and its over-all dimensions are 180 by 131 feet. It is fireproof throughout, the exterior walls being of water-struck brick and limestone. The project was completed in September 1937 at a cost of approximately $450,000."
  • City Hall Landscaping and Parking Lot - Medford MA
    The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) landscaped the area surrounding Medford's new City Hall in 1937. WPA Bulletin: "A beautiful building in shoddy surroundings is like a beautiful woman in slatternly dress with unkempt hair. Extensive landscaping by WPA has beautified the surroundings of Medford's $500,000 city hall. ... Green grass is growing where the old wooden Everett School (now razed) stood." Work also included the creation of a "bituminous-topped parking space capable of accommodating 300 motors."
  • East Border Road Reconstruction - Medford MA
    W.P.A. project description: "The three projects, which were approved and on which work was started late in the year, provide for the reconstruction of: ... East Border Road, from Fellsway East, Maiden to Highland Avenue, Medford, 2,900 feet in length. All these roads will have a width of 30 feet and have a 5-inch bituminous concrete surface on a 12-inch gravel base. Also, an 8-ft. wide, 2-inch bituminous surfaced walk will be constructed adjacent to and for the whole length of each road. Work will include excavation of earth, rock and ledge, installation of drainage systems, filling and grading, loaming and...
  • Fellsway Police Station-Area Improvements - Medford MA
    Description of a project undertaken by the W.P.A. in 1937: "Fellsway Police Station; the area adjacent to the police station on Fellsway West in Medford was developed by the completion of a project started in 1936. A large baseball field and drill ground was constructed, the brook along the roadway was confined between stone masonry walls to prevent flood damage and incidental work was performed." The location of the former Fellsway Police Station in Medford is unknown to Living New Deal. Our map places this project at Hickey Park, which abuts Fellsway W and features a large field with baseball diamonds.
  • Middlesex Fells Reservation Development - Medford MA
    The Middlesex Fells Reservation spans multiple towns north of Boston. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Civil Works Administration (CWA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA) were each active in developing the area. Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission annual reports detail the work of the New Deal over time. 1934 report: "During the first eleven weeks of this year about 2,800 men were employed on Federal Civil Works Administration projects. Most of these men were employed in the Blue Hills and Middlesex Fells Reservations. A large amount of necessary work was accomplished in the various divisions, which consisted mainly of cutting and burning brush, removing dead and...
  • Middlesex Fells Reservation: Lawrence Woods Trails - Medford MA
    The Middlesex Fells Reservation spans multiple towns north of Boston. Here is a description of a couple of the projects undertaken by the W.P.A. in the park: "Middlesex Fells Reservation; four miles of bridle trails in the Lawrence Woods section of the reservation were reconstructed. The trails were widened and graded and new cross drains and culverts were installed where necessary. The work was started in 1936 and completed in 1937."
  • Middlesex Fells Reservation: Wright's Tower - Medford MA
    Wright's Tower is an observation tower constructed in 1937 under the direction of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It is located at the summit of Pine Hill within the Middlesex Fells Reservation. The Reservation is spread across several towns just north of Boston, MA with Wright's Tower being located in Medford, MA. Note that there was a major refurbishment of the tower in 2008.
  • North Metropolitan Relief Sewer - Medford MA
    The Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (a.k.a. Public Works Administration, or PWA) sponsored construction of the North Metropolitan Relief Sewer: sections 105, 106A, 108, 111, and 112 included work in Medford. Edward M. Matz was awarded the contract for section 106A; C. & R. Construction Company for sections 108 and 112; and V. Barletta Company for sections 105 and 111.
  • Post Office - Medford MA
    The historic Medford post office in Medford, Massachusetts was constructed with Treasury Department funds in 1937. The building houses an example of New Deal artwork in the lobby. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
  • Post Office Mural - Medford MA
    The oil-on-canvas mural, "Golden Triangle of Trade," which hangs in the lobby of the historic branch post office in Medford, Massachusetts, was painted by Henry Billings in 1939. Often mistaken as a work created by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project, the three-panel mural was actually commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, a separate agency that commissioned 'decorations' for federal facilities. The mural is one of more than 1,000 pieces of art created for post offices and other federal buildings during the New Deal era. Concerns have perennially emerged in Medford about the content of the work, one of...
  • Salem Street Widening - Medford MA
    In conjunction with landscaping efforts around the newly completed Medford City Hall, the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) widened Salem Street "which passes Medford City Hall 12 feet for a distance of 200 feet."
  • Wellington Bridge (former) - Somerville to Medford MA
    A previous iteration of the Wellington Bridge, which carried Fellsway across Mystic River between Somerville and Medford, was constructed as a New Deal-sponsored P.W.A. project. "The completion of the Wellington Bridge, constructed under the authorization of Chapter 365 of the Acts of 1933 as a Public Works Administration Project, is a fine example of a public improvement made possible through Federal aid." "National Industrial Recovery Project Mass. State D-1, P.W.A. Docket No. 4478. Furnishing and installing lighting standards, cables and other materials on the Wellington Bridge in Somerville and Medford"