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Projects in Billings

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Airport Improvements – Billings MT

The W.P.A. worked to improve what is now known as Billings Logan International Airport, in Montana. W.P.A. project info: “Make improvements to municipal airport” Official Project Number: 165‐1‐91‐66 Total project cost: $295,767.00 Sponsor: City of Billings

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Airports
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Armory (former) – Billings MT

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Billings, Montana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Numbers 165‐1‐91‐86 [total cost: $75,965.00. Sponsor: War Department], and 165‐1‐91‐X6 [total cost: $145,195.00. Sponsor: Montana State Armory… read more

Project type: Military and Public Safety, Armories
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

City Hall – Billings MT

“In Yellowstone County, the New Deal funded projects large and small. Money from the Public Works Administration helped build Billings’ City Hall in 1940.” The building has been extensively modified.

Project type: City and Town Halls, Civic Facilities
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

Civic Center – Billings MT

The W.P.A. constructed a Civic Center in Billings, Montana, ca. 1935-8. The exact location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Number 65‐91‐6550

Project type: Civic Facilities, Community Centers
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

East Bridge (former) – Billings to Lockwood MT

“The far more substantial East Bridge on the Yellowstone River, which connects Lockwood and Billings, was built with WPA funds in 1935 and served for 58 years before it was replaced in 1993.”

Project type: Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Infrastructure and Utilities
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Federal Building Extension – Billings MT

The historic federal building in downtown Billings, Montana was originally constructed in 1913-4. The building was expanded in 1932 and again in 1940, the latter impacting the “rear central and southern portions of the building” and bringing with it an… read more

Project type: Federal Facilities, Federal Courthouses, Post Offices
Agency: Treasury Department

Federal Building Mural – Billings MT

"Trailing Cattle" (left side)

The oil-on-canvas mural entitled “Trailing Cattle” was painted by Leo J. Beaulaurier in 1942. The mural was commissioned as part of a 1940 expansion of the 1914 building. NRHP: “”The post office also contains a mural at the east end… read more

Project type: Art Works, Murals
Agency: Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA)

Frontage Road – Billings to Laurel MT

“Practically every two-lane highway in Eastern Montana was built with the help of WPA funds, said Jon Axline, a historian with Montana’s Department of Transportation. … Other examples include Highway 87, from Billings to Roundup, and the old Frontage Road,… read more

Project type: Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Infrastructure and Utilities
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Garfield School (former) Improvements – Billings MT

Now known as “The Garfield Resource Center,” the WPA allocated funds toward the remodeling of what was then known as the Garfield School. Work began in 1935.

Project type: Education and Health, Schools
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Highway 87 – Billings to Roundup MT

“Practically every two-lane highway in Eastern Montana was built with the help of WPA funds, said Jon Axline, a historian with Montana’s Department of Transportation. … Other examples include Highway 87, from Billings to Roundup, and the old Frontage Road,… read more

Project type: Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Infrastructure and Utilities
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

MetraPark Horse Barns – Billings MT

“WPA crews also worked on projects on the grounds of what is now MetraPark. Three horse barns built by the WPA are still in use at the fairgrounds.”

Project type: Parks and Recreation
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Montana State University Billings Buildings – Billings MT

[The] Big Timber Pioneer reported that the PWA allotted $250,000 toward the construction of multiple “structures [on the] Eastern Montana Normal School” campus. Further money was allotted to the construction of a high school in Billings. Eastern Montana Normal was… read more

Project type: Colleges and Universities, Education and Health, Schools
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

Pictograph Cave State Park – Billings MT

Formerly known as ‘The Indian Caves’ or ‘The Indian Ghost Caves’ around Billings, MT, this pre-historic site has become one of the most visited state parks in Montana. Artifacts dating back several thousand years were found here in 1937. A… read more

Project type: Archaeology and History, Archaeology, Education and Health, Museums, Parks and Recreation
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Pioneer Park Lily Ponds (demolished) – Billings MT

“The same year the WPA crew worked on the tennis courts, they dug three lily ponds along the creek through Pioneer Park. The beautification project cost $3,537, with the city picking up just $137 of the total cost. …  While… read more

Project type: Parks and Recreation, Landscaping and Tree Planting
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Pioneer Park Tennis Courts – Billings MT

“At Pioneer Park, a Works Progress Administration crew created tennis courts north of the wading pool in 1935.”

Project type: Parks and Recreation, Tennis Courts
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Zimmerman Trail – Billings MT

“In Billings, WPA work crews substantially re-engineered Zimmerman Trail, which was originally hacked into the Rimrocks in 1890 by brothers Joseph and Frank Zimmerman. The WPA crew of 100 to 150 laborers started the project in 1939 with the intention… read more

Project type: Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Infrastructure and Utilities
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

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