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  • Joyce Kilmer Memorial Fireplace - St. Paul MN
    The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Fireplace is a unique New Deal project located in Como Park in St. Paul. Saint Paul Almanac: "Labor for the fireplace was provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federal relief program that provided jobs for unemployed workers during the Great Depression. An old newspaper article said that the stone used to build the fireplace came from the Saint Paul City Hall, which had been demolished three years earlier in 1933."
  • Kabetogama State Forest CCC Improvements - Kabetogama MN
    Kabetogama Lake CCC Camp number S-81, Company 724 was active in the Kabetogama State Forest from 1933-37. A marker at the site today describes CCC activity in the forest: "In 1934 a CCC camp of 400 men was established a mile south of Lake Kabetogama. This most northerly camp in the US had all its facilities under one roof and the lowest sickness rate.The CCC boys worked on forest and building projects in Kabetogama State Forest. In 1936 they fought and 18,100 acre forest fire saving the Kettle Falls Hotel from destruction. A few structures remain to memorialize this depression era program....
  • Lac qui Parle Dam - Watson MN
    "Lac qui Parle is a reservoir located in western Minnesota, United States, which was formed by the damming of the Minnesota River. The dam was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Lac qui Parle is a French translation of the native Dakota name, meaning "lake which speaks". The northernmost point of the lake is about 3 miles southeast of the city of Appleton. The lake flows 10 miles southeast to the dam, which is about 4 miles to the west of the town of Watson. Lac qui Parle State Park is located on the southern portion of the lake. Lac qui...
  • Lake Bronson State Park - Lake Bronson MN
    The park contains 12 rustic style park structures built in the 1930s, “including a unique observation/water tower and a dam engineered over quicksand."   (Wikipedia)
  • Lake Carlos State Park Bathhouse - Carlos MN
    The Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed this bath house in 1941-1942. Located at Lake Carlos, the facility includes a concession area, restrooms, and storage. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with other 4 structures, in 1987. A 1992 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form describes the formal characteristics of the Bath House: “The Bath House is a standard design utilized in many state parks with overall dimensions of 82'2" x 22'6". It consists of a split stone gable roofed central section containing a concession, restrooms, and storage areas flanked on either side by loggias which allow circulation through the building....
  • Lake Kabetogama Ranger Station - Kabetogama MN
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the Lake Kabetogama Ranger Station, in Kabetogama State Forest. The structure is still in use.  
  • Lake McCarron School - Roseville MN
    Built in 1936, the brick structure appears to be the only extant WPA building in Roseville, MN. The address is 211 McCarrons Blvd N, Roseville, MN. The building predates the city. The structure is in good shape, and renovations have been done in such a way as to preserve the original building.
  • Lake Shetek State Park - Currie MN
    The Wikipedia page for Lake Shetek State Park, indicates that both the FERA and the WPA played instrumental roles in the early development of the park, including roads, sewers, and the construction of several structures, some of which are still in the park today. From the Murray County website: Much of the early development and construction of park facilities was done by Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers. The workers were part of a WPA Camp which was located on Keeley Island, across the lake to the west, from 1934 to 1940. The camp employed 200 transient and homeless men. Initially operated...
  • Lake Superior Zoo - Duluth MN
    Lake Superior Zoo's website states: "The Duluth Zoo weathered through the depression years and the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) Program built bridges over Kingsbury Creek and many animal enclosures (including the elephant house) that are still serving the zoo today." Waymarker: "This majestic and historic bluestone picnic pavilion was built during the Great Depression in the late 1930’s, under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA Program). Many similar buildings were constructed across the United States during this period, creating useful, beautiful and lasting structures for the benefit of the public while providing meaningful employment during the depression. The Lake Superior...
  • Lakeside Gymnasium - Chisago City MN
    The Lakeside School was built in 1918 in Chisago City, MN. The original school was not built with an auditorium or anywhere for entertainment, plays, etc. and after 30 years the gymnasium in the school had fallen into disarray and many schools in the area refused to play in the gym that had a narrow floor, low ceiling, and no room for spectators. In 1934 the WPA selected Chisago County among 13 other counties to receive a WPA project. The school board submitted an application for federal aid in August of 1938 to make improvements to the school. In September...
  • Lincoln County Fairgrounds: 4-H Exhibition Building - Tyler MN
    The Works Progress Administration built the County Fair Exhibition Building at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Tyler, MN.
  • Lincoln Park Pavilion - Duluth MN
    "During the Depression, Mayor Sam Snively and Park Superintendent F. Rodney Paine took advantage of government funding to put unemployed men to work on projects in the city’s parks. Lincoln Park’s stone pavilion was built in 1934 with funds and labor from two of the earliest government relief programs—the Emergency Relief Administration (ERA) and the Civil Works Administration (CWA). Reportedly two dozen of the CWA laborers gave three days’ work without pay to get the Lincoln Park pavilion ready for the annual Midsummer Festival." (zenithcity.com)
  • Long Prairie River Diversion - Long Prairie MN
    In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) decided to diverge the Long Prairie River to address issues that were both economic and community-driven. Long Prairie and Osakis are two small, rural, farming communities in Minnesota less than 30 minutes from one another. One community, Osakis, was supported through its tourist economy, while its sister community’s lifeblood was its farmers. A lake in and around the community of Osakis, Osakis Lake, and it was suffering to the point it was “nearly useless”, according to the newspapers written at the time (cited and pictured on this page). Lake Osakis was in desperate...
  • Longfellow House - Minneapolis MN
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) renovated what is now known as Longfellow House during the 1930s. The WPA converted the building into the Longfellow Community Library; the project was completed in 1937.
  • Mahnomen Fire and City Hall - Mahnomen MN
    The combination Fire Hall and City Hall in Mahnomen was built in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The structure was designed by George H. Carter and Company in WPA moderne style and built out of field stone hand-cut by WPA crews. It was listed in the National Register in 1988.
  • Main Post Office - Minneapolis MN
    Constructed by the Treasury Department, this building was completed in 1935. Placeography describes the building in detail: "The popular Moderne Art Deco style building uses Mankato’s own Kasota limestone and St. Cloud black granite. The building achieves the vertical emphasis typical of the Art Deco style, despite being extremely horizontal, with a striking pattern of three-story window units with decorative relief panels (Koutsky, 2002). Approximately 500 to 700 local laborers and carpenters were summoned to construct the monumental building (Russell, 2003)." Of this building, "Postmaster General James Farley said ... 'Magnificent buildings are memorials of the strength and glory of a...
  • Marcell Ranger Station - Marcell MN
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed Chippewa National Forest's Marcell Ranger Station between 1934 and 1936, and it is now part of the National Register of Historic Places.   Five of the original six buildings, all constructed in the Rustic style, are extant. The buildings were meant to "serve as the administrative headquarters for the Marcell Ranger District, which was established in 1933-34" (edgeofthewilderness). In fact, "The facility represents the only surviving example of a Rustic Style ranger station on the Chippewa National Forest and is believed to represent the best developed example of a Rustic Style ranger station in the state"...
  • Milaca Museum Murals - Milaca MN
    In 1938, artist Andre Boratko painted these murals in Milaca's new town hall with funding from the WPA.
  • Minneapolis Armory - Minneapolis MN
    "This armory at Minneapolis provides quarters for 16 artillery, infantry, and naval units of the National Guard and Naval Militia. The main drill hall is flanked on each side by balconies underneath which are 16 supply rooms, each with an office and orderly room. There are also a trophy room, medical-examination rooms, officers' rooms, recreation rooms, and storerooms. The building is 215 by 330 feet in plan and is constructed of reinforced concrete, steel, and brick. The exterior walls have a high granite base above which they are brick with stone trim. The curved roof is supported by hinged steel arches. It...
  • Minneapolis Armory Murals - Minneapolis MN
    "The Armory houses two of the few remaining examples of Federal Arts Project murals – two 12-foot frescoed murals by local artists Lucia Wiley and Elsa Jemne."   (https://www.placeography.org)
  • Minnehaha Park Development - Minneapolis MN
    Throughout the 1930s, CCC and WPA crews made extensive improvements to the already popular Minnehaha Park, site of Minnehaha Falls. Federal workers built impressive stone retaining walls throughout the 170-acre park, staircases from the upper park down to the creek, and bridges, all from native limestone. Improvements have since been made to the park, including a Pergola Garden and most recently a river overlook and playground area. The stonework has remained largely intact, and the park continues to draw a steady stream of both locals and tourists.
  • Minneopa State Park - Mankato MN
    Established by the Minnesota legislature in 1905 to allow public access to Minneopa Falls, the Minneopa State Park was enlarged and improved during the New Deal period by Works Progress Administration funding. WPA workers improved the falls with new stairs, built public hiking trails, and constructed seven new buildings, including a public shelter, new maintenance buildings, restrooms, and other structures. Constructed from local sandstone and lumber, the seven rustic-styled WPA buildings constructed on the site were added to the National Historic Register in 1989.  
  • Minnesota Correctional Facility - Moose Lake MN
    America Builds: "At Moose Lake in Minnesota a PWA allotment enabled the State to build a complete new $2,181,500 unit in the State asylum system. On 1,700 acres in Carlton County there have gone up a new administration building, men's receiving hospital, women's receiving hospital, auditorium, gymnasium, service building, women's dormitory, men's dormitory, nurses' home, doctors' home, male employees' dormitory, two residences, power plant, garage and shop building, freight depot, dairy barn, horse barn, chicken house, piggery, and three cottages for farmers. This project includes landscaping, roads, and equipment for buildings and for the farm. Many of the mental hospitals are...
  • Minnesota Machinery Museum - Hanley Falls MN
    The Minnesota Machinery Museum is housed in the former Hanley Falls School built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939.
  • Minnesota State Capitol Improvements - St. Paul MN
    The WPA did extensive work on the building: rehabilitating, altering, and adding additional space. Redecorating the walls, ceilings, and Capitol dome. Repairing marble floors. Hundreds of windows weather-stripped. Expansion of the basement area via excavation, creating additional storage space. Improvement to heating system. Plumbing and wiring utilities modernized. Tunnel constructed, connecting Capitol to State Historical building. Two storage rooms added to library. Roof rebuilt. Landscaping. Sidewalks extended. Painting.
  • Minnesota State Fairgrounds - St. Paul MN
    The WPA built several structures for the Minnesota State Fair from 1935-1940, including the art deco Horticulture building, the horse barn and decorative friezes, the sheep and poultry barn, the swine barn, the commissary building and the 4-H building. From a 2011 Finance & Commerce article: “If the Fair had a great architectural era, said Granger , it would have been the years before and during World War II, when the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed some of the most beloved Art Deco-influenced buildings, among them the Horse Barn, 4-H, Sheep & Poultry, Swine and Commissary.”
  • Minnesota State Highway 100 - St. Louis Park MN
    The WPA and PWA constructed this stretch of highway on Minneapolis' west side between 1934 and 1940 From the St. Louis Park Historical Society: “Highway 100 (i.e., the section north of Excelsior Blvd.) was wrested from the earth by unemployed men of the Depression in the 1930s, as a part of joint project of the Minnesota Highway Department and the Works Progress Administration.  Its purpose was as much to provide work for desperately poor men as it was to provide a roadway that would circle or create a "belt line" around Minneapolis and St. Paul.”
  • Mitchell Student Center (former library) - Rochester MN
    The Mitchell Student Center at the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota was built between 1936 and 1937 by the Public Works Administration (PWA). Designed by Harold Crawford, Rochester’s preeminent architect at the time, the building originally housed the Rochester Public Library and could hold 75,000 books. The Jacobean-style structure was built of limestone quarried in the town of Kasota, in South Central Minnesota. The PWA grant funded 45% of the total building costs, and the remainder was covered by the Library Board. After the library moved in the early 1970s, the Mayo Clinic purchased the 1937 building. It was listed...
  • Moland Township Hall - Glyndon MN
    This stone building was a WPA project completed in 1937 as a schoolhouse. It was originally known as District #121, later known as the "Gunderson School" and rezoned as District #6. It is now used as the Moland Township Hall. The architects were two recent NDSU grads, Allen Carter and George Meineke.
  • Mountain Lake Dam and Bridge - Mountain Lake MN
    WPA funded the construction of a dam and bridge north of the town of Mountain Lake, Minnesota. The dam created what became Mountain Lake itself. The original bridge, with 1938 WPA plaque, is still in use, though now for pedestrians only.
  • National Guard Armory (former) Addition - Duluth MN
    Duluth's National Guard Armory, built in 1915, received a significant expansion through the Works Progress Administration on the eve of World War II. Minnesota's WPA administrator, Sidney L. Stolte, announced the plans to "increase the size of the building, provide new meeting rooms, and extend the stage easterly" in the fall of 1940. Architect Philip C. Bettenberg drew up the plans. Bettenberg had already designed armories throughout Minnesota, including those in Minneapolis and Brainerd. A rift between the city and state regarding what type of curtain (steel or asbestos) should be used for the stage delayed the project. Construction was further postponed...
  • New Ulm High School Additions - New Ulm MN
    With support from the Works Project Administration (WPA), major additions to this 1915 school were completed in 1939, designed by the Mankato firm of Pass and Rockey. The south addition, with an auditorium/ gymnasium, uses Art Deco motifs, while the north addition, containing classrooms and a dining hall, mimics the 1915 design.
  • New Ulm High School Auditorium Murals - New Ulm MN
    In March 1939, the school received notification that the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) had awarded a grant that would pay for three murals for the school’s new auditorium. John Martin Socha was chosen as the artist. The selected scenes, drawn from regional history, included the treaty of Traverse de Sioux, the battle of New Ulm, and a third mural depicting the “progress of industry in New Ulm.” The New Ulm murals reflect the influence of Diego Rivera, whom Socha studied under in Mexico.
  • Norcross Public School (former) - Norcross MN
    The former Norcross Public School at 17568 Norton Ave S opened as a public school in 1938, operated until c. 1970s. As of 2021 being marketed as a residential project, but needs a total restoration. According to Docomomo, the structure is an "Art deco school built under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the federal New Deal, replacing a two-story wooden school. The brick structure cost approximately $46,000. Closed in 1970s." In 2020, it was listed for sale as a potential 3500-3800 sq. ft. residential adaptive reuse.
  • Northern Pacific Railway Locomotive No. 2650 (demolished) - Saint Paul MN
    In 1933, the Public Works Administration (PWA) authorized a loan to the Northern Pacific Railway for $1,250,000 to purchase new locomotives. The Interstate Commerce Commission then issued a certificate of approval for the loan, although for a slightly lesser amount - $1,220,000. The loan allowed the Pacific Railway to purchase ten A-2 class locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. They were delivered in 1934, numbers 2650 to 2659.  These engines would carry passenger trains between Jamestown, North Dakota and Missoula, Montana – a 906 mile-long route, one of the longest in the U.S. at the time. On October 13, 1934, The Missoulian...
  • Old Mill State Park - Argyle MN
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted development work at Old Mill State Park. The park contains a 25-acre historic district that includes eight structures built by the WPA in 1937, including a suspension bridge and a water tower.
  • Onamia Municipal Hall - Onamia MN
    The Onamia Municipal Hall in Onamia, MN, was built in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration. The building housed a community room, a council chamber, the jail, and the fire hall. The town first tried to obtain funding for a community hall from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. The project was estimated at $8,500 and was turned down. According to a 1985 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, "nterest in a community hall project was revived following the establishment of the Works Progress Administration in 1935. New, lower estimates of construction costs were obtained. These estimates, along with the possibility that the...
  • Ortonville Golf Course Clubhouse - Ortonville MN
    The WPA constructed the clubhouse on this golf course circa 1940 to 1943.
  • Park Point Beach House and Recreation Field - Duluth MN
    The Park Point Beach House and adjacent recreation field, located in Park Point on Minnesota Point, were constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
  • Paynesville Sidewalks and Curbs - Paynesville MN
    Starting in the spring of 1938, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) team laid 2,000 square feet of sidewalk and 4,000 linear feet of curbing in downtown Paynesville MN. The St. Cloud Times reported that the Stearns Country WPA projects were wrapping up in June of 1941. Like the rest of the United States, the depression affected Stearns County and Paynesville. In 1938 a WPA project came to Stearns County; according to the St. Cloud Times, on April 16th, 1938, Paynesville was one of five towns to receive WPA sidewalk projects. The job was to build 2,000 square feet of sidewalk and 4,000...
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