Michigan Sites

"Created through the WPA/FAP programs and a gift from the Class of 1938, this limestone marker" at MSU's Abbot Road entrance "welcomes visitors and students to the MSU campus, then known as Michigan State College. The classical column, reinterpreted in the Art Deco style of the 1930s, along with the man, horse and woman with a sheaf of wheat, recall MSU’s agricultural heritage."

"In 1938 PWA funds were secured to expand the Veterinary Clinic, erected in 1913 on the southeast corner of Farm Lane and East Circle Drive. Designed by the Bowd-Munson architectural firm, the addition blended well with the Collegiate Gothic style of the existing structure. In 1952, a Veterinary Clinic added, joining the Department of Anatomy and Animal Pathology to form Giltner Hall. This building honors former professor and Dean of Veterinary Medicine, Ward Giltner (1882 – 1950) and houses scientific laboratories and classrooms."

"The estate of alumnus Frederick Cowles Jenison and the PWA funded this building, originally designed to house male athletic activities. Characteristic of early 1940s architecture, the horizontal and vertical elements culminate in a monumental entrance, accentuated by low reliefs. From left to right, these glass-brick limestone reliefs depict basketball, football, and baseball athletes. The main entrance hall is embellished with Art Deco details from the brass and wood staircase railing to the streamlined, geometric lighting in the foyer and main lobby."

Michigan State University's main library houses a mural by Henry Bernstein titled "America's First Agricultural College." The work was first created for the then-new East Lansing post office. From the Kresge Art Museum New Deal Walking Tour: "Originally commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts ... for the old East Lansing Post Office on Abbott Road (now Dublin Square Pub), this mural is typical of the emphasis on representational art, scenes of local history, and nostalgia for the disappearing rural life. The Section, however, did not initially approve of Bernstein’s proposals for the mural, which all related to Michigan State University. Although Bernstein...

"The hipped roof, limestone trim and simple design of the PWA-funded Music Building complement the Collegiate Gothic and other architectural styles of this historic section of campus. The large, metal-framed windows, however, allude to future stylistic developments. Samuel Cashwan, supervisor of the Michigan Sculpture Program for the WPA, designed the Art Deco limestone reliefs framing the southwest entrance. They depict images of dance and performance, such as children dancing to the beat of drums."

"Samuel Cashwan, supervisor of the Michigan Sculpture Program for the WPA, designed the Art Deco limestone reliefs framing the southwest entrance. They depict images of dance and performance, such as children dancing to the beat of drums." Also featured on this post are four reliefs, located on the building's southeast corner.

Samuel Cashwan completed this cast concrete sculpture, entitled "Three Musicians," in 1940, with funding from the WPA Federal Art Program. From the Kresge Art Museum New Deal Walking Tour website: "The Three Musicians is all that remains of a pair of large angular cast-concrete sculptural groupings that flanked the streamlined 1930s MSU Band Shell. The Cubist sculpture, which depicts a bass player, drummer, and saxophonist, was moved to its present site when the band shell was destroyed in 1959." (https://artmuseum.msu.edu/wpa/WPA/pages/music.htm)

"This PWA building by architect Ralph R. Calder, built in memory of Richard M. Olin, M.D., was considered “modern in every detail.” Although additions to the building were made in 1956 and 1969, the bulky massing, textural variety, and minimalist limestone trim distinguish this building from others nearby. Samuel Cashwan designed the twelve symbolic reliefs that frame the main entryway. He chose the fitting subject of the healing arts, framing the building’s name with two Greek goddesses of health, Panacea and Hygeia. The two pilasters display themes from modern medicine. On the left, in descending order, they are “Medical Magic,”...

This glazed terracotta sculpture, titled Children Reading, is located at the Michigan Avenue entrance to Sarah Langdon Williams Hall. "This small yet vibrant glazed terracotta sculpture and fish head fountain spout are part of a garden wall that leads to Sarah Langdon Williams Hall. Completed through the WPA/FAP, the three young girls reading serve as a symbol of education, which is fitting to this once all-female residence hall."

"Although the original structure of the MSU Union, built in 1924 by Pond and Pond, was not government sponsored, in 1936 $150,000 was secured in WPA funds to add the east wing. The Michigan architectural firm Bowd-Munson completed this addition."

This mural is located on the first floor of the Union Building on the MSU campus. Plaque on site: "During the Great Depression, through President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration program, many artists were commissioned to decorate public buildings. This mural depicting Thomas Edison's workshop was painted by Edgar Yaeger for the Public Lighting Commission building in Detroit. The artist retrieved the mural when the building was razed in 1983 to make room for the Renaissance Center. In 1988 at the age of 84, Mr. Yaeger restored the mural with the assistance of Kat Skotarczyk. Two years later, he donated...

Three very large New Deal murals hang in the auditorium of the Royal Oak Middle School. The first two,  "The Naming of Royal Oak" and "The Value of Arts, Culture, and Science," were painted by Andrew Maglia. The third, "Career Paths," was painted by Bronislaw Makielski.   Maglia worked on the first two paintings, then bowed out for lack of funds; when funding was renewed, Makielski was commissioned to complete the project.  Apparently, Makielski was substantially aided by his brother on the third mural. The murals were commissioned by the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), though exact information about...

The second nine holes of the Milham Park Golf Course in Kalamazoo, Michigan, were constructed as a federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. From the Milham Park website: "The course is considered to be one of the best-conditioned municipal courses anywhere, and regularly hosts city and county tournaments.  The first nine holes at were completed in 1931 and turned over to the KMGA for operation and maintenance. Robert Millar was the first golf professional at Milham Park.  The second nine holes were built as a WPA-assisted project and put into play in June, 1936." Built at the depth of the...

This oil on canvas mural, entitled "Romance of Monroe," was completed by Ralf Henricksen in 1938 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural is currently displayed in the lobby of the Monroe Historical Museum, located in the old post office, which dates to 1910. From the New Deal Art Registry: "In 1972, the mural was moved to the Monroe Community College library when a new post office was built. The mural has since been moved back to the original building it was painted for but not the original location over the Postmaster's door."

The historic St. Ignace Municipal Building was constructed in 1939-40 by the Work Projects Administration (WPA).

The historic Ontonagon School received an addition as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The addition extended the building southeast. The P.W.A. supplied a $28,228 grant for the project, whose total cost was $62,878. Construction occurred in 1937-8. "In 1938, a two-story addition for elementary schooling, designed by architect A.B. Nelson of the Warren S. Holmes Company, was constructed next to the original high school building. The addition was connected to the original building on the southeast side via an annex corridor." A further addition was built continued the building's extension to the southeast. (Wikipedia) PWA Docket No. MI 1441

"Orchard Beach State Park is located on the shore of Lake Michigan, two miles north of the center of Manistee. The park's 211 acres are split by M-110 and it is the portion west of the highway, comprising 57 acres, that is included in this nomination. This section is one-quarter of a mile wide at its widest point, one-half of a mile long and has 3000 feet of shoreline. The park's terrain is gently rolling and sparsely wooded with a steep bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. Many trees and shrubs planted by the CCC are still growing within the park, as...

"Lake Ottawa Recreation area is in a beautiful forested northwoods setting located 5 miles southwest of Iron River, Mi., on the Iron River Ranger District. Located in the general area is Lake Ottawa, Brule Lake, Hagerman Lake, Brule River, Bass Lake, the Historic Mile Post Zero/Treaty Tree, The Ge-Che Trail, and miles of hiking trails. Lake Ottawa Campground is 95% surrounded by National Forest System Land and offers a picnic shelter with two stone fireplaces and original log picnic tables, and two log toilet buildings, which were constructed by the CCC in the late 1930's. A pressurized water system and...

The CCC did extensive work in the park, including building a day use area and an impressive log and stone picnic pavilion on the shores of Lake Huron.

"Parkside, a low-rent housing development in Detroit, Michigan, was built on an undeveloped 31-acre plot adjacent to Chandler Park. The site cost $170,000, or about 17 cents a square foot. The buildings, which are fireproof, consist of 2- and 3-story apartments and 2-story row houses, which cover 25 percent of the site area and provide an average of 93 rooms to the acre. There are 3,025 rooms, arranged to provide 775 family-dwelling units of which 6 percent are 2-room, 33 percent 3-rooms, 51 percent 4-room, and 10 percent 5-room units. All apartments are supplied with heat, hot and cold water, and...

Paving work in Colon, Michigan was undertaken as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. PWA Docket No. MI 1679

The historic post office in Allegan, Michigan was constructed ca. 1936 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building is still in use today.

The historic post office in Alma, Michigan was constructed ca. 1938 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in use today.

The historic post office in Belding was constructed in 1933 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Marvin Beerhom's 1943 mural, "Belding Brothers and Their Silk Industry," viewable in the library.

During the New Deal era, Blissfield was fortunate enough to have a new Post Office constructed. In 1938, funded by the Federal Emergency Construction Fund, construction was completed on the village’s new post office. That same year a mural by Jean Paul Slusser was commissioned by the Treasury Department’s Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office in Bronson, Michigan was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses New Deal artwork inside, was completed in 1941 and is still in use today.

The historic post office in Buchanan, Michigan was constructed in 1940 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in use today.

The historic post office in Calumet, Michigan was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds ca. 1939. It is still in use today.

The historic Caro, Michigan post office was a New Deal project completed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1939. The building contains a Section of Fine Arts tempera mural entitled "Mail on the Farm," painted by David Fredenthal in 1941.

The historic post office in Clare, Michigan was constructed in 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork inside, is still in use today.

The historic post office in Crystal Falls, Michigan was constructed ca. 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which housed an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

The historic post office in East Tawas, Michigan was constructed in 1941 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building is still in service.

The historic Eastpointe post office was originally constructed as the East Detroit post office. The building, which was constructed in 1938, houses an example of New Deal artwork and is still in service.

The post office in Eaton Rapids was completed in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

The historic post office in Ferndale, Michigan was constructed in 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building is still in service.

The historic post office in Frankfort, Michigan was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which was constructed in 1940, contains an example of New Deal artwork and is still in use today.

The historic post office in Fremont, Michigan was constructed in 1935 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

The historic post office in Gladstone, Michigan was constructed in 1934 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building is still in service.

The post office in Grand Ledge was constructed in 1939 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of James Calder's 1939 mural, "Waiting for the Mail," painted for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The historic post office in Grayling, Michigan was constructed in 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.