This classic fire lookout tower has the stairway extending to the ground with encircling wire for safety. There are extensive forest service buildings immediately adjacent to the tower. It was completed in 1942 with funds and labor provided by the… read more
Originally constructed as Fire Station #3, this single door fire station in University City, Missouri was completed in 1939 with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The brick façade has a blond color. The door is framed with… read more
The WPA did extensive landscaping in the park in 1936, including redoing the tennis courts and surrounding retaining walls.
Forest Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the nation, just larger than Central Park in NYC. It was the site of the 1904 Worlds Fair and the WPA projects in the park transformed it and brought it… read more
This WPA project included the headquarters building and multiple hatchery ponds. The hatchery became one of the largest producers of fish for the state’s waterways.
“This structure houses rare and beautiful plants, trees, and flowers, and is an important unit of the general park improvement program for St. Louis. The steel frame of the building supports structural glass panels on its vertical surfaces which are… read more
Extensive rock work was done from locally quarried limestone, building the Grand Staircase, fireplaces, patios, lily ponds, fencing, and other landscaping items. The site is that of Fort Belle Fontaine, a historic fort initially established on a bluff on the… read more
The earthen works from the original Civil War fort and a replica powder house were restored by the Works Progress Administration in 1936 and 1937. During the Civil War, it was one of the forts that guarded the City of… read more
The land on which St. Louis Hills was developed was owned by David Francis, former governor of Missouri and ambassador to Russia in 1916. He donated 60 acres of land for the park in 1917. It was developed as a… read more
The original part of this building dates to 1916, with the two sections flanking the central building being built in 1935. Small, recent additions are at the north and south of the building. This was a traditionally black school until… read more
The airport was initially constructed in the 1930s, probably the late 1930s, by the WPA with three turf runways. These are still being used, one is now concrete, one asphalt, the last is still turf.
Presently a middle school, the Fulton High School building was constructed by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works in 1938. An addition to the building was completed at a later date with the high school moving to the newer… read more
The Fulton State Hospital was the first mental health facility west of the Mississippi, opening originally in 1851. During the 1930s, an extensive building program transformed the hospital. The building projects included: An addition to the clinic building, a power… read more
This PWA-constructed school is a combination of classrooms and an auditorium that is just south of the high school building. It has a dark brick façade with the name and date clearly carved into the cornerstone. It is now Grundy… read more
This two-story Modern Deco brick building was completed in 1938 by the Public Works Administration to serve as the community recreation center for this part of St. Louis. The center is still in operation. The community center is surrounded by… read more
This school addition is located immediately to the west of the previous AP Green factory. It has a rather unique art deco style on the front and rear façades.
This well-built school was part of the same 1937 PWA project as the Jefferson School in the adjacent Pasadena Hills. Unfortunately, this school has not been as well maintained and is currently permanently closed. Extending to the east from the… read more
This building was constructed as a schoolhouse for the rural community of Garwood by the Works Progress Administration of local materials and completed in 1940. The building also served as a community center. It is currently a private residence.
Gentry Hall was constructed as a women’s dormitory, named after the second female graduate of the University of Missouri. This was part of the “women’s campus” on the east side of the MU campus and in contrast to how things… read more
George Washington Carver school was a school for African American students in Fulton during segregation. It underwent integration in the 1960s. While the structure is now abandoned, there are hopes that it can be rehabilitated. The school’s namesake was present… read more
This long, linear high school was constructed as a PWA project in 1937. It is still in active use and in very good condition having been well-maintained.
This one-room stone school house features an unusual entry at its front corner. As of 2014 the building was abandoned and slowly deteriorating.
In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed work on the Graham School, a large 2-story school with a brick façade, designed by H.D. Pampel and featuring concrete highlights and carvings. The building is now the Nodaway-Holt High School.
Constructed by the WPA in 1939. This was an elementary school in the Lindbergh School District and was sold to the Catholic Church in 1979. It currently houses a Catholic Academy.
The school was named after James Greenwood, a noted educator in Missouri in the 1800’s.
The historic Gwen B. Giles Station post office—also known as Wellston Station (prior to a Congressional renaming)—in St. Louis, Missouri, was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds between 1936 and 1937. The building, which houses a New Deal mural inside,… read more
The historic Gwen B. Giles Station post office—also known as Wellston Station (prior to a Congressional renaming)—in St. Louis, Missouri contains a 1939 Section of Fine Arts mural by Lumen Winter entitled “Old Levee and Market at St. Louis.” The… read more
Gwynn Hall is immediately to the east of the Memorial Union, a memorial to students who fought in WW1. Gwynn Hall was built in 1922, but was not completed, in fact was a shell. It was completed by the PWA… read more
This large Works Progress Administration (WPA) project includes the gymnasium which has been in continual use since construction and also the space below the gym floor. Currently, it is used for storage, but it is anticipated that it could potentially… read more
"Various wells connected with the city water supply at Excelsior Springs were found to contain certain chemicals of medicinal and therapeutic value. This water is firs purified and then pumped to the dispensing outlets in the 'hall of waters' which… read more
Harley Park is historically significant as the home of 4 Hopewell Indian mounds. It has an overlook of the Missouri River, recently having a Lewis and Clark campsite marker placed at the overlook. Several WPA projects were completed in the… read more
Sometimes misattributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Bethany, Missouri’s Harrison County Courthouse and jail was enabled by the provision of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The stately Art Deco project was authorized in an election in 1938 as… read more
The PWA conducted two separate projects to build Helena Elementary School. The first was for $9540, reported in the Moberly Monitor Index in 1938, and the second for the gymnasium/ auditorium $23,466 in 1939.
This building was designed by architectural firm Bonsack and Pearce and constructed by the Public Works Administration for the Jackson Grade School in 1939. Although it is not apparent from the outside, the addition that was initially built for the… read more
This gymnasium, built by the PWA in 1937, is on the south side of the Hallsville High school campus. It has a light red brick façade with windows on the south side for offices.
Homer G. Phillips Hospital was built from 1932-1936 and dedicated in 1937. It was a segregated black hospital in a highly segregated city at the time. The initial funding for the hospital was a bond issue in 1922 for $1,000,000… read more
In 1939, the PWA built this well-maintained 2-story school with a brick façade and concrete elements. It is currently home to the North Nodaway High School.
"The Lake of the Ozarks is an artificial lake with a shore line of approximately 2,500 miles, and its creation necessitated the construction of this highway bridge. Construction is of the hurricane-deck type, the roadway being supported on three main… read more
The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction the Infirmary Building, Missouri State Hospital Number 3 in Nevada, Vernon County. The Infirmary was part of a larger program in the state of Missouri that sought to rehabilitate overcrowded healthcare and penal… read more
“On June 9, 1933, the Jackson County Court awarded a $2,073,609 contract to the Swenson Construction Company for construction of the Jackson County Courthouse. The opulent Art Deco-style 300-foot tall building would reside alongside Kansas City’s skyscrapers and provide much-needed… read more