Chevalier Theatre – Medford MA
“The Chevalier Theatre was built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration as part of the Medford High School complex.”
Chickatawbut Observation Tower – Quincy MA
The Chickatawbut Observation Tower is a historic tower on Chickatawbut Road in Quincy (MA) within the Blue Hill Reservation. Unfortunately it is not open to the public. The tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s… read more
Chickatawbut Road Improvements – Milton MA
Description of W.P.A. projects: “Chickatawbut Road, Braintree; work will be started in the early spring of 1939 on the general improvement and beautification of the Chickatawbut Road entrance to Blue Hills Reservation. Work will include tree removal, clearing, excavation, rip-rapping… read more
Chicopee Center Post Office – Chicopee MA
The historic post office building located at 100 Center St. in Chicopee, Massachusetts was constructed by the federal Treasury Department and completed in 1935. Located in the village of Chicopee Center, this was one of two post office buildings from… read more
Chicopee Memorial State Park – Chicopee MA
In the 1890s, the city of Chicopee purchased a tract of land along Cooley Brook for the creation of a reservoir, which later took place in 1926. Nearly a decade later during the Great Depression the area was selected for… read more
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…. read more
City Hall – Gardner MA
Gardner, Massachusetts’s city hall as constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building is still in service. The construction of a new city hall was first mentioned by mayor Fred E. Perry in his 1938… read more
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… read more
City Hall (former) Construction – Fitchburg MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers constructed a vault for the protection of city documents at the former city hall in Fitchburg, Mass. The W.P.A. also tore out the old jail and renovated other aspects of the building. The location of… read more
City Hall Annex Repairs – Boston MA
A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: “Extensive alterations were made to the office of the Bridge and Ferry Division, 602 City Hall Annex.”
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… read more
City Home Chicken House – Worcester MA
WPA Bulletin, 1937: “Worcester — The City Home chickens are going modern. A WPA Project is constructing individual cages for the hens now housed in a two-story structure built by WPA last December.” The location of the old City Home… read more
City Home Garage – Gloucester MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed facilities at what was known as the City Home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: At City Home, Gloucester, WPA razed a dilapidated wooden structure and built an all-stone garage and storage shed. These buildings will… read more
City Hospital (former) Park – Boston MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed a park at what was then known as the Boston City Hospital. WPA Bulletin: This new park in the rear of the Administration Building, Boston City Hospital, was laid out and planned by WPA… read more
City Infirmary (former) Silo – Haverhill MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted the following work at the former City Infirmary in Haverhill, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: WPA is building a modern, brick silo at the City Infirmary, Brown Street, Haverhill, to replace an old silo in need of… read more
City Yard Building – Pittsfield MA
WPA Bulletin, 1937: “Pittsfield’s employees in the Sealers of Weights and Measures office will be thankful to WPA on completion of a concrete and steel building to house weighing equipment and instruments at the City Yards, Housatonic Street. Previously testing… read more
City Yard Storage Building – New Bedford MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed storage building at New Bedford’s City Yard in 1936. WPA Bulletin: The New Bedford WPA City Yard Storage Building Project is designed to store machinery and other city equipment which has been deteriorating from… read more
Cocasset Street Reconstruction – Foxboro MA
Cocasset Street in Foxboro, Massachusetts was reconstructed as part of a WPA project that began in March 1938. This included the widening and resurfacing of the thoroughfare. The widening forced the removal of trees; the replacement of lost trees was… read more
Cochituate Fire Station (former) Improvements – Wayland MA
The W.P.A. conducted improvement work to the former Cochituate fire station. Work included interior and exterior repainting.
Cochituate Water System – Wayland MA
Multiple New Deal agencies contributed to the construction of water mains and development of the water system for Wayland, Mass. Examples of water mains installed or replaced: Stanton St., Harrison St., and Dunster Ave. in 1933; Old Connecticut Path and… read more
Colonel DeWitt Fire Station (former) Improvements – Oxford MA
Oxford, Massachusetts’s old Colonel DeWitt Fire Station, located on Barton Street, received modest assistance from Federal Emergency Relief Administration funds in 1934. The current status of the building is unknown to Living New Deal.
Comet Train – Boston MA
In 1934, the Public Works Administration (PWA) loaned the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company $7 million for equipment repair, new track installation, and new equipment purchases. Among the new purchases was the $250,000 Comet, a streamlined Diesel-electric… read more
Commonwealth Armory (demolished) Development – Boston MA
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted substantial improvement work at the historic Commonwealth Armory. The facility was demolished in 2002. The details—including description, Official Project Numbers, total costs, and sponsors—of more than a dozen W.P.A. projects undertaken at the armory can be found in… read more
Concord Road Improvements – Sudbury MA
Town Report, 1934: “We call your attention to several E.R.A. projects which have materially affected the appearance and condition of out town. The elimination of the open culverts on Concord Road have greatly improved the general appearance and also relieved… read more
Congress St. Bridge Repairs – Boston MA
A Boston Public Works Department report cited Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor as conducting repair work on the “Eastern Avenue bridge,” a.k.a. Congress Street bridge.
Connecticut Ave. Resurfacing – Springfield MA
WPA Bulletin, 1937: “Springfield- Years of petitioning by residents of Connecticut Avenue for a good road have brought results. The city has started a WPA project to resurface the road.”
Connecticut River Sea Wall – South Hadley MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers conducted the following work: South Hadley has the largest project in operation — the construction of a large sea-wall along the east bank of the Connecticut River below the Holyoke dam. Majority of projects involve… read more
Coolidge School (former) Improvements – Maynard MA
The Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) conducted improvement work at Maynard’s former Coolidge School, including the installation of smoke partitions as well as painting of the school inside and out. The Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) conducted further work in 1941. All… read more
Cooney Road Bridge – Spencer MA
The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) rebuilt the Cooney Road bridge after the previous wooden structure was destroyed by flooding in 1936.
Cottage St. Sewer – Boston MA
As part of a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project a combination sewer was built along Cottage St. from Porter St. to Maverick St. P.W.A. Docket No. Mass. 4193-N
County St. Reconstruction – Attleboro MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) reconstructed County Street in Attleboro, Mass. WPA Bulletin: County Street, Attleboro, is being excavated and refilled by WPA with a seven-inch stone asphalt penetration pavement. On the south side of the street eight sewer man holes… read more
Covered Reservoir – Beverly MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed a covered reservoir in Beverly, Massachusetts. The status and exact location of the project is unknown to Living New Deal. From a W.P.A. Bulletin: Now near completion, the Beverly WPA Concrete-Covered Reservoir Project, connected… read more
Cranberry Road – Carver MA
The Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) worked to develop and improve the safety of Cranberry Road in Carver, Massachusetts. Town report: “4000 feet of Cranberry Road was gravelled and given a Mixed in Place Tar top. This portion of Cranberry Road… read more
Crowe Park Development – Maynard MA
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) conducted multiple work projects at Crowe Park in Maynard, Massachusetts in 1934, including removing rocks and stumps; grading land for parking space; painting its grandstands; and constructing tennis courts. In 1935 F.E.R.A. labor “erected… read more
Crowell-Shawme State Forest Improvements – Sandwich MA
In late 1938 the WPA approved a project involving work to be done in the Massachusetts’s Crowell-Shawme State Forest, by the town of Sandwich. The aim of the work was to “prevent disastrous fires in the forest.”
Cushman School (demolished) Improvements – Boston MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor conducted improvements at the since-demolished Cushman School in Boston, Massachusetts. The facility was located at 44 Prince St. WPA Bulletin: To insure the safety of pupils in the Cushman School, North End, WPA has rebuilt… read more
D.W. Field Golf Course Development – Brockton MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers expanded D.W. Field Golf Course in Brockton, Mass. WPA Bulletin: Brockton WPA added ten acres to the original 30 acres of fairways, built bunkers to tax the skill of players, widened fairways and did extensive… read more
Danvers Agricultural School (former) Athletic Field – Danvers MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed an athletic field at the former Danvers Agricultural School in Danvers, Massachusetts. From a W.P.A. Bulletin: Students, townspeople, and particularly young children will be benefited on completion of a six acre WPA Athletic Field… read more
Dean Park – Warren MA
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed Dean Park in West Warren. WPA Bulletin: What was once a rough field in West Warren, on the road to Ware, is now a seven-acre recreational site built by the WPA. This is the… read more
Dedham Parkway Development – Boston MA
W.P.A. project description: “Dedham Parkway and Turtle Pond Parkway; a project in operation at the end of the year will provide a parking area on each of these two parkways in the Hyde Park district.”