Pangborn Park was one of 8,000 parks built, repaired, or improved by the WPA. Today, visitors to Pangborn Park can enjoy tennis courts, a horseshoe court, an athletic field, a picnic shelter, a children’s playground, and an artificial pond.
“Conservation efforts began in the river valley in 1907 when the Patapsco State Forest Reserve was established. During the Depression years of the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted trees and built trails, picnic areas, campsites… read more
President Franklin Roosevelt created Patuxent Research Refuge (PRR) with Executive Order 7514, December 16, 1936, and Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace dedicated it on June 3, 1939. The refuge began with 2,670 acres and has grown to 12,841 acres. It… read more
This is a small memorial building in Westernport, Maryland, at the St. Peter’s Cemetery (it is unclear whether the Philos Cemetery still exists and, if it does, if it is still called “Philos”). A plaque on the building reads, in… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) reconstructed what was then Pier No. 8 in Baltimore Harbor. Believed destroyed, the exact location of Pier Eight is unknown to Living New Deal. Maryland WPA Project #18.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted repairs to Pier Six in Baltimore. Maryland WPA Project #157.
Pocomoke State Forest (which contains Pocomoke River State Park) consists of over 15,000 acres of “loblolly pine, mixed pine-hardwood, bottomland hardwood, and bald-cypress” trees, and offers opportunities for fishing, hunting, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, boating, canoeing, and camping. … read more
The WPA constructed this building in 1936. It originally served as a firehouse, and now serves as the town’s police department headquarters.
The Aberdeen, Maryland post office was constructed with federal funds. The building, which opened for business in 1937, is still in use today.
The historic post office building in Dundalk, Maryland was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds beginning in 1940. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork in its lobby, is still in use today.
“It would be difficult to design a small public building better fitted than this to the native architectural traditions of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The plan is typical of the ‘one man’ post-office type which can be managed by… read more
This post office “in a Federal Revival style of Port Deposit granite blocks” was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1939. The building is still in use today.
The historic Hagerstown post office was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1935. The building, which houses a grand example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.
“The Hyattsville Post Office is a one-story brick building constructed over a full basement, located on Gallatin Street in Hyattsville, Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Colonial Revival building consists of a central, three-bay block flanked by smaller one-bay flat-roofed pavilions…. read more
A cornerstone on the Oakland, Maryland Post Office shows it to be a project of the Federal Works Administration from 1940.
The U.S. Post Office building in Pocomoke City, Maryland, is a U.S. Treasury project from 1937. It is one of the many hundreds of post offices built during the New Deal era that still serve Americans today.
The Towson Post Office was built circa 1936-1937, as a U.S. Treasury Department project.
Constructed by the Treasury Department in 1938. The post office eventually moved to Blum Court. This building now houses the Historical Society of Harford County.
The historic New Deal post office building in Bethesda, Maryland, sometimes misattributed to the WPA, was constructed with Treasury Department funds. The “new, classically inspired post office was built on Wisconsin Avenue. The neo-Georgian building was constructed out of native… read more
The historic former Ellicott City post office was constructed ca. 1940 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, presently serves as Howard County’s Tourism & Promotion building.
The historic (former) Havre de Grace post office was constructed in 1936 with Treasury Department funds. The building is now privately owned.
Constructed by the Treasury Department and PWA in 1938, and now used as a city police station. “By the mid-1930s, Rockville’s population was about 1,500, County government had erected the Grey Courthouse, and across the street arose a stately bank… read more
The historic post office building in Silver Spring MD was constructed in 1936-7 by the Treasury Department. Its construction is sometimes mis-attributed to the WPA (Works Progress Administration). It is a typical Colonial Revival style building, often used in… read more
This 1942 Section of Fine Arts tempera on plaster mural depicts “Scenes of Old Ellicott City.” The mural is 4′ by 12′ and was painted by R. Dunne for what was the then-new (and now former) Ellicott City post office.
The oil-on-canvas mural “Sugarloaf Mountain” was painted for Rockville, Maryland’s old post office, which is now a police station. From the Peerless Rockville blog: “The interior of Rockville’s Post Office is beautiful as well as functional. Fifteen foot ceilings look… read more
Robert F. Gates painted the mural, “Montgomery County Farm Women’s Market,” in 1939 for the recently completed Bethesda post office. It shows a woman feeding animals next to women selling produce at the Farm Women’s Market, which opened on Wisconsin… read more
The carved and painted wood bas relief “Power of Communication,” by Perna Krick, hangs in the lobby of the Pocomoke, Maryland post office. It was funded by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.
The Section of Fine Arts mural entitled “First Performance of Edwin Booth,” painted by William Calfee, was completed for the former Bel Air post office in 1938. It now hangs in the current post office at Blum Court.
This mural “Incidents in the History of Catonsville” by Avery Johnson was completed with Section of Fine Arts funds in 1942.
Alexander Clayton painted “Arrival of the Post, 1780” (oil on canvas) for the Elkton post office with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. During renovations in the 1970’s, the mural was removed. It was restored but has remained… read more
Robert F. Gates completed this tempera on canvas mural, entitled “Buckwheat Harvest,” in 1942 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.
New Deal mural entitled “History of Transportation” painted by Nicolai Cikovsky in 1939. The mural is composed of five tempera panels.
The post office contains a set of three murals entitled “Transportation of the Mural.” The murals were funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and painted by Frank Long in 1938. The murals are a set of 3 panels… read more
1938 New Deal frescoes by Eugene Kingman, depicting the agricultural heritage of Prince George’s County, decorate the post office lobby. The frescoes are tempera on plaster, and consist of multiple small panels, some oddly shaped.
The historic post office in Dundalk, Maryland houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Section of Fine Arts-commissioned relief entitled “Welding,” produced in 1942 by Harrison Gibbs.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement and restoration work in Preston Gardens in Baltimore. Work included grading, planting, and the restoration of green space in the park. Maryland WPA Project #16.
Mitchell Jamieson painted this mural “Tobacco Cutters” in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in what was previously the post office.
The public library building in Upper Marlboro used to be the town Post Office, built in 1936 – one of 1,100 post offices built by the U.S. Treasury Department as part of the New Deal. Today, it serves as the… read more
This 16′ x 6′ oil on canvas entitled “The Old Tavern” was painted for the former Silver Spring Post Office by Nicolai Cikovsky in 1937, under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. When that post office closed… read more
