Minnesota Sites

Between 1935 and 1943, the Ah-Gwah-Ching (“out of doors” in Ojibwe) sanitarium housed “more the 160 items including prints, watercolors, oils and woodcarvings by such artists as Bob Brown, Henry Bukowski, Reathel Keppen, Dorothea Lau, Alexander Oja and Bennet Swanson,” all created through the Works Progress Administration (WPA). When the sanitarium, which opened in 1907 to treat tuberculosis, closed in 2008, the Minnesota Historical Society became the steward of many of these artworks. They now comprise the Ah-Gwah-Ching Archive, much of which can be viewed through this page of the Minnesota Historical Society.

The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked to construct an airport for Grand Marais, Minnesota in 1933-4. Living New Deal believes this to be Grand Marais Cook County Airport, which is still in use today.

Al Krueger Field, located at the EOT County Fairgrounds in Perham, Minnesota, was originally constructed as a federal Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression. The original structure was torn down in 2012 and replaced; the site is now known as Al Kreuger Field at Tuffy Stadium.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Alice Whitney Park Dam on the Sauk River in St. Cloud MN in 1938.  WPA workers also built steps going down the riverbank to the dam and a path along the river.  The dam was  meant to provide a swimming hole for park users. The dam was about 4 feet tall and provided a walking path to get across the river, connecting Whitney Park and Sauk River Park.  All of the stone and wood was cut by WPA workers.  The dam’s purpose was to raise the water level of the Sauk River to create a...

WPA-built American Legion building in Moorhead, MN. "The American Legion Melvin E. Hearl Post No. 21 was completed in 1936 with grant assistance from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It is significant as an example of a public works project which was a source of community pride during a period of great economic adversity. It also reflects an unusual, handwork-intensive construction technology which exploited local materials and local labor."

St. Paul's west side "contains two W.P.A. built recreational structures, the Harriet Island Pavilion and the Baker Playground building at 670 S. Waseca Street."

Also known as Muni on Main, this art deco building was built by the WPA in 1937-38.

In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the Clear River Camp (also known as the Norris Camp), which served as the headquarters for the Beltrami Island Project.   The Project was part of a “pioneering experiment in relocation and land-use planning” undertaken nationally, through the Land Utilization Project (est. 1937). Under the Project, “farmers on cutover lands were relocated and the land was reclaimed by the CCC, whose enrollees went to work ‘developing and managing forestry, wildlife and recreational resources.’”   The Clear River Camp is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

From 1933 to 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted 304 acres of “white pine, Norway pine, Scotch pine, and jack pine.”

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built sidewalks on the 1500 block of Birchmont Dr. NE in Bemidji MN.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) pursued a number of improvements at Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota in 1938. Initial improvement plans called for the “construction of a bathhouse, facilities for picnicking and camping and general recreation.” The WPA also built dams and other structures.  In what was then called Mounds Springs Recreational Reserve, “workers in the WPA (Works Progress Administration) built five structures: a latrine and the upper and lower dams on Mound Creek, which created Upper and Lower Mound Lakes. The rustic style of the structures features native materials such as locally quarried quartzite. Rustic-style architecture, as defined by...

The grade separation bridge on Bridge Street, on the south side of Minnesota City, was constructed as a Federal Aid Project in 1940.

The front of the High School Sports Stadium in International Falls, MN, features a bold, concrete relief sculpture of 1940's-era athletes created by a Minnesota-born sculptor named Evelyn Raymond. Raymond created the sculpture through the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project.

In 1940, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) pursued a variety of improvements at Buffalo River State Park, which had been established in 1937. “Buffalo River State Park near Glyndon is included in a $900,000 improvement project to be launched by the conservation department of the State of Minnesota during the next few months,” a reporter for Parks & Recreation noted in January 1940.  The WPA allocated labor and $84,000 for the project. According to the Minnesota Historical Society, “The Buffalo River State Park WPA/Rustic style historic resources include three buildings and three structures that form a historic district;” these are a Bath...

The CCC operated a camp in Savage in the 1930s. In the early 1940s it was used as a Military Intelligence Service Language School for training Japanese-American soldiers.

In 1936 the WPA developed the area of Carlos Avery Game Farm, now the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, and constructed several buildings on the site. From the National Register of Historic Places nomination: Located within the 23,000 acre Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, the district includes eleven buildings, three structures, and one non-contributing building. The buildings at the Game Farm are designed in the Colonial Revival Style. All buildings and structures are considered contributing unless otherwise noted. 1. Entrance Gateway - The entrance to the Carlos Avery Game Farm is defined by an elaborate gateway flanked by stone pylons. Each gate...

In 1934 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) implemented a camp at the Spruce Creek State Park for drought relief by Robert E. Fechner (p.4, The Minneapolis Star), who was selected by President Roosevelt to direct the CCC (Roosevelts tree army). The Spruce Creek Camp established its camp ground at the Cascade River on the North shore. From there they started to build the Cascade River Overlook, which is the largest structure built by the Spruce Creek CCC camp. The CCC camp worked on the overlook for one year between 1934-1935, The Cascade River Overlook is Minnesota’s first example of a...

From 1935 to 1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted 3,655,090 trees at their camp in Larsmont. “These included 1,842,183 jack pine, 1,600,700 Norway pine, 169,163 white pine, and 42,974 white spruce.”

"The camp is located six miles south of Blackduck, Minnesota on County Road 39... Rabideau was built and maintained by Company 3749 out of Bennett Springs, Missouri. They remained here until January 1936 at which time Company 708 of Bena took over the camp. They arrived at Rabideau in open trucks in temperatures as low as 45 below zero and remained there until the program ended in 1942... Camp Rabideau is located in a 112-acre tract that was purchased in 1934. The buildings are situated about 100 feet apart and are surrounded by tall trees forming a large glade on which the original Mess Hall used to stand. This building burned in...

Beginning in 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), working from NPS regional office designs, built new structures and cleared “unneeded or undesirable” buildings, lakes, and ponds. Corpsmen also did landscaping work to improve the camp- and picnic grounds, overlooks, and places for parking. Corpsmen also helped restore historic buildings.

"The cemetery is located at the junction of Midway Road (County #13) and Seville Road (County #694), a short distance south of the intersection of Midway Road and US Highway 53... Some WPA funding in the 1930’s and 1940’s allowed the town to add a few improvements."

According to the Minnesota Historical Society: “By the 1930s, the boyhood home of famous aviator Charles A. Lindbergh had been badly damaged by souvenir-hunters. In 1936, the WPA began restoration of the house, which, along with the adjoining farmland, had been given to the state of Minnesota by the Lindberghs. Today, the homesite is a National Historic Landmark managed by the Minnesota Historical Society.” The WPA also put in two miles of footpaths, planted 4,000 trees and bushes, and built parking lots and other amenities on the Lindbergh property, creating what is now a state park.

Known as the “Kitchen Shelter” because it includes a fireplace and stove, it was constructed in 1936, making it one of the first WPA buildings in the park. The WPA also put in two miles of footpaths, planted 4,000 trees and bushes, and built parking lots and other amenities on the Lindbergh property, creating what is now a state park.

Built of native granite in 1939, it once held 5,000 gallons of water. The WPA also put in two miles of footpaths, planted 4,000 trees and bushes, and built parking lots and other amenities on the Lindbergh property, creating what is now a state park.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) undertook conservation work in Chippewa National Forest, under the supervision of the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In 1935 and 1936, workers for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Chippewa National Forest Headquarters. The building, overseen by Ike Boekenoogen, “an expert in log building techniques,” is “made entirely… from Minnesota forest products. The exterior is Scandinavian style notch-and-groove (chinkless) log construction. And many interior details, including the fifty-foot glacial stone fireplace designed by Nels Bergley, the wooden stairway, and the ironwork on the door hinges and fireplace, were made by hand.” The building is used to this today and is in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Arts-and-Crafts-style City Auditorium in Kelliher, MN, was built in 1938-40 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

"The well-constructed City Auditorium, built by the Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1937 in downtown Willmar, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and continues to provide long-term value for the city." "Relief sculpture panels adorn the space above the Willmar City Auditorium’s front entrance. These sculptures on the front facade," which were created by the Federal Art Project, "are damaged due mostly to the effects of winter climate. That is just one of many detailed findings included in a new master plan that looks out 10 to 15 years." (https://www.wctrib.com)

Constructed by the WPA in 1936: "The Bigfork City Hall is one of the only original historic buildings still standing in this northwoods town of approximately 450 people. The building, constructed in 1936 as a Depression-era federal relief project, consists of cast concrete exterior walls faced with field stones. Today, the building houses a small clerk’s office, with a public meeting room on the ground level and a VFW meeting hall in the basement and former firehouse bay."   (https://www.mnpreservation.org)

Carlton's stately city hall was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1937.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the city hall in Osakis, Minnesota in 1936. The building was dedicated at the fall festival on September 18, and featured council rooms, jail cells, and a community room and hall. The facility has since been enlarged.

Tower, Minnesota received a new City Hall in 1940. The building was constructed with federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) labor.

Winona's historic city hall was constructed during the Great Depression as a Public Works Administration (PWA) New Deal project. Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), this three-story brick and Winona stone structure was constructed in 1938-9. The PWA provided a grant of $103,815 for the project, whose total cost was $216,406. "The building was renovated and expanded in 2004. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999." PWA Docket No. Minn. 1439

"This Art Deco-style building smack-dab in the middle of the state was originally a Water Treatment Facility built in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration. When a new water treatment facility was built across the street in the 1970’s, the structure was converted to the City Hall building."

The Brandon Auditorium and City Hall was designed by F. Boes Pfeifer, built by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), and completed in 1936. The new Village Hall at Brandon was built by the WPA at a cost of $65,000. It has two stories and measures 116x44, a wing measure of 25x27. It has a concrete foundation and fieldstone exterior walls with cast stone trim. It also has reinforced concrete first floor slabs, steel beams and wood joists in second floor and roof. The basement accommodates the boiler and fuel rooms and locker rooms. The first floor has an auditorium, stage, lobby,...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided labor for landscaping work at Duluth, Minnesota's Civic Center .

Clark field is an athletic field built in St. Cloud by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and the National Youth Administration (NYA), set up for Technical High School by the principal at the time, Elizabeth Clark. When the field was dedicated in 1942, a program for the event deemed that they dedicated the field to Tech High. Dedicated to the school by the Grace McConnell property, although it was originally a pig farm. Built by students under the NYA and the WPA, it was finished in 1942 and named in honor of Elizabeth Clark. The NYA was originally set up by...

The historic Clearwater County Courthouse was constructed in 1937-8 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a grant of $29,250 for the project, whose total cost was $90,358. Foss and Company of Fargo, N.D. designed the building, which was built by Hendenburg and Company. The PWA Moderne-style building has since been remodeled and added to. PWA Project Minn. 1196

The historic former Ranier Community Building was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), ca. 1936-7.

"This building serves the city of Ely as a community and recreation center. It is three stories and a basement in height and 125 by 78 feet in plan. In the basement are a meeting room, a cafeteria, serving room, and kitchen. The first floor is occupied by a library, a lounge, meeting rooms, a kitchen, office, and work space. The large auditorium with its stage, meeting rooms, a kitchen, and storage space are on the second floor. The third floor contains the fan room, a projection booth, and storage space. The floor slabs and...