Massachusetts Sites

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."

The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) furnished the labor for the demolition of unspecified buildings on Main Street in Millville, Massachusetts. The work employed seven men.

"According to a write-up in the Andovers Trail Guide, the land that makes up the park was purchased by the city in 1877 originally for use as a cemetery. It was changed into a city park in 1896, and was improved in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration, whose workers built trails, two amphitheaters, and a boardwalk, among other improvements."

Depot Road was constructed by the W.P.A. Project information: "Prospect Hill and Depot Rd. to Fort Devens" Official Project Number: 65‐1‐14‐3047 Total project cost: $100,000.00 Sponsor: U.S. Navy Department

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers demolished the former Dickinson paper mill on behalf of the city of Holyoke, Mass. WPA Bulletin: The Dickenson Paper Mill property, idle for the last nine years, has been purchased by the city and will be demolished by WPA workers preparatory to the erection of an electric station for the Holyoke Electric Department. It is expected that the job will take about three months time and that 100 men will be employed monthly.

The federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) furnished the cost of labor for the construction of a dike in Hatfield, Massachusetts. The project was started Nov. 29, 1933 by the C.W.A. Grading, loaming, and seeding work continued under F.E.R.A. and was completed Sept. 15, 1034 Dozens of men were employed; the C.W.A. paid $9,203.55 for the labor and F.E.R.A. $1,245. The Town of Hatfield supplied only the cost of materials for the project, a small fraction of the total cost.

A water disposal plant construction project in Marlborough, Mass. was undertaken with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. PWA Docket No. MA 760

A water disposal plant construction project in North Adams, Mass. was undertaken with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. PWA Docket No. MA 1273

A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: "Repairs to fender piers of Dorchester Avenue Bridge." The bridge spanned Fort Point Channel.

Improvements were made to the Millbury, Massachusetts's Dorothy Manor School building and grounds with the assistance of federal New Deal funds. Municipal reports note that the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) redecorated the building and installed a concrete floor in the school's basement in 1936.

From the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: "CCC features at Douglas include a picnic pavilion, administration building, stone culverts and well maintained water holes."

A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: "Work of splicing piles, replacing decayed pipe caps, stringers, planking, etc., was done at Dover Street Bridge, on both fender piers. Both piers have been practically rebuilt" (1934). "Dover Street Bridge chipped and painted; steel and rollers of turntable cleaned and red leaded and draw fender piers repaired" (1935). Dover Street is the former name for East Berkeley Street and West 4th St. The bridge crossed what had been Fort Point Channel. The landscape in this part of Boston has undergone highly significant...

F.E.R.A. developed a bathing beach at Dudley Pond in Wayland, Mass.

Dwight Hall, located in the southeast portion of the Framingham State University campus, was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA contributed $96,750 of the project's $238,556 final cost. Construction began at the end of Dec. 1935 and was completed in 1937. PWA Docket No. MA 1138.

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...

The historic East Boston Station post office was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1939. The post office contains New Deal murals.

"Communication" Medium: oil on canvas Size: 4 panels, 3' x 9' each

Description of a New Deal project in a 1937 annual report: "The work of diverting the water of East Waushacum Pond in Sterling, authorized by Acts of 1934, Chapter 346, was begun July 12, 1935 in co-operation with the town of Clinton as a Federal Emergency Relief Administration Project and was continued in 1936 as a Federal Works Progress Administration Project ..."

Artist Theodore Hussa, Jr. of Burlington, VT painted four murals for the Eastern States Exposition, with support from the Works Progress Administration Arts Project. Each mural depicts a major Vermont industry: Recreeation; Quarrying; Dairying; and Sugaring. Each murals measures 5' wide by 8' tall and is painted in "oil on special material." They were to be installed in Vermont Pavilion at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, MA, in September 1941. Their present whereabouts is unknown. A 1941 Burlington Free Press and Times article reads, "Gov. William H. Willis and Pierre Zwick, director of the Vermont art project of the  WPA, are shown...

Now the ECOS Environmental Center, this facility by Porter Lake in Forest Park was constructed as a field house by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1936-7. It was known as the "Warming House" and was used for skating until 1970.

In 1935 F.E.R.A./W.P.A. labor painted Framingham's Edgell Library, and conducted plaster repair and woodwork varnishing. "On the outside the doors, sash, and some of the stone masonry were painted, and the rain water conductors were replaced or repaired." The W.P.A. continued work in 1936; "the building has been entirely rewired, modern control replacing obsolete methods, and many lights installed where there had not been any."

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers constructed Edgemere Road in West Roxbury, Boston, Mass. WPA Bulletin: One of the most difficult tasks en- countered by WPA in the construction of many miles of Boston streets was the building of Edgemore road, West Roxbury, through a long stretch of solid rock. Dynamite, rock drills and much man power was used in this work.

A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: "The Election Department building, at the corner of Broadway and Dorchester avenue, was repaired." The building is no longer extant.

"Great Blue Hill has a observation tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of the New Deal in the 1930's (The Eliot Tower). The views of the city and Greater Boston Area on a clear day are amazing and make this a very popular spot for families."   (https://takeadaytrip.com)

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) widened Elm St. in Auburn, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin, 1937: "Scars of last year's flood will be removed from several streets, and narrow Elm Street will be widened, by WPA project which employs 40 men and is expected to last about three months."

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor widened Elm St. in Holyoke, Mass.

The federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) furnished the cost of labor for the construction of a 750-foot-long sewer along Elm Street in Hatfield, Massachusetts, including four catch basins for storm water. The Town of Hatfield supplied only the cost of materials for the project.

The  Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) furnished the cost of labor for the construction of a sidewalk along Elm Street in Hatfield, Massachusetts. The 11-man project cost the Town of Hatfield supplied only the price of materials for the project.

The CCC did extensive work to build Erving State Forest. From Wikipedia: “The property is largely wooded and hilly with an extensive network of park roads and hiking trails, the majority of which were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps.”    

Created for the former Everett branch post office, the mural "Mail for New England" is an example of New Deal artwork. Painted by Stephen Etnier, and completed in 1940, the work has since been relocated to Boston's Back Bay post office. Jimmy Emerson: "When the Everett post office building was sold in the 1970s, the mural was removed, rolled up and stored where it suffered water damage. It was discovered in 2005 and restored. It was installed in the Back Bay post office in Boston in 2009."

"Locally, the 1,000-acre F. Gilbert Hills State Forest in Foxboro, once surplus farmland, now welcomes about 40,000 visitors a year long after the CCC installed roads, improved trails and constructed buildings on the site."

WPA Bulletin, 1937: "Athol — In horse-and-buggy days when sulky racing was the vogue, Athol fair grounds was a mecca for thousands of horse lovers, race fans and devotees of the old-time cattle show. For many years the grounds had been unused, neglected. WPA has made the grounds into a modern recreation center."

"Sites of WPA projects to preserve historic shrines include ... Faneuil Hall, Massachusetts."

Multiple New Deal work relief agencies were involved with developing the Farm Pond in Sherborn, Massachusetts, conducting work on the following: Bath House Recreational bath house facility designed and built by WPA/ERA. One-story cobblestone building with center gabled porch, shingled hipped roof, and secondary entries on east and west sides. This style reflects the WPA’s design concepts for natural recreation areas. Retaining Wall, Beach Enlargement & Landscaping WPA projects used local labor to enlarge the beach, construct the stone retaining wall along the back of the beach, remove stumps, and surface walks and driveways.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) built a 2.5-mile farm-to-market road in Blackstone starting in late 1937.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed farm-to-market roads in Hardwick, Mass. WPA Bulletin, 1937: With the hearty cooperation of town officials WPA is constructing 10 miles of farm-to-market roads in Hardwick, several of the roads tapping a prolific source of milk for the big city markets. One farmer who has been an active petitioner for the new roads insisted that his milk was butter after a half dozen jolting miles while all agreed that the roads, especially in the Spring, were very bad. WPA will drain the roadsides and widen the streets to a width of 22 leveled and properly graded...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor constructed farm-to-market roads in Lowell, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: WPA in Lowell has improved over 12 miles of farm-to-market roads. Previously many of these roads were impassable during parts of the Spring and Winter seasons and in all seasons travel was difficult.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers constructed water mains in Ware, MA.

"The old bridge across the Charles River at this point had become unsafe. This new bridge is a single span of 105 feet and consists of a three-hinged steel arch encased in concrete supporting a 40-foot roadway and two 6-foot sidewalks. The arch is composed of seven structural-steel, spandrel-braced, three-hinged arched ribs spaced 8 feet 4 inches on centers except the outside ribs which are spaced 9 feet 2 inches from the typical ribs. The abutments are mass concrete enclosing the old stone abutments. A center pier from the old bridge was removed. The project was completed in September 1935...

Quincy, Massachusetts's Historical and Architectural Survey writes: "Other projects elsewhere in the City included several buildings at Faxon Park, including a remarkable stone wall ..."