• Bert Mooney Airport Improvements - Butte MT
    Then known as Butte Municipal Airport, the CWA, FERA, and WPA each contributed toward the finishing of the "best equipped landing field in the state." The Big Timber, MT Pioneer reported in Sept. 1937: "Definite plans were completed for the construction of an asphalt surfaced runway 100 feet wide and a mile long, by means of a WPA project, with the city of Butte and the county of Silver Bow co-operating equally in furnishing materials and equipment." 150 WPA workers worked tirelessly to ensure that the runway was constructed before the onset of winter. As Bert Mooney Airport's runway 12/30 is one mile long...
  • Butte High School - Butte MT
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant of $360,000 in 1935 for the construction of Butte high school. The total cost of the high school was $930,000 and the project was completed in late 1937. The should be a PWA plaque inside the school but we were unable to locate it. The current Assistant Principal, whose father was Principal after the World War, confirmed that the school was a New Deal project. The design of the 3-4 story building is brick Moderne with bas-relief columns between the windows. New additions have been made and the current entrance on...
  • Landscaping, Montana Tech University - Butte MT
    Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in 1938 that 40 WPA laborers were "doing a $40,000 job of tree painting, landscaping, road oiling, leveling and general beautification" at what was then known as the Montana School of Mines, now Montana Tech of the University of Montana. Most evidence of such renovations is long gone, but one rock wall we observed looks suspiciously like WPA work. WPA employment was vital to the welfare of unemployed miners around Butte, Montana during the Great Depression.
  • Prospector Hall, Montana Tech University - Butte MT
    Th PWA granted $320,000 for the construction of a new dormitory at the Montana School of Mines, now known as the Montana Technical campus of the University of Montana. The residence is now known as Prospector Hall. The school's website explains: "Construction of the Residence Hall began in 1935 with an appropriation grant from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration of Public Works. It was open for use during the 1935-1936 academic year. The main structure has four floors each with a student lounge. In addition, there are two wings, each with one floor. It was originally designed to house 110 students."
  • Recreation Areas - Butte MT
    Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in early 1937 that several National Youth Administration (NYA) recreation projects had recently been completed around Butte:  "winter sports area at Robbers' Roost, four tennis courts which will be ready for use the next spring, 44 regulation horseshoe courts and three playground areas."
  • Silver Bow County Courthouse Improvements - Butte MT
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided labor toward repainting and renovations at the Silver Bow County Courthouse in Butte, Montana. In the course of the restoration work, several murals were discovered beneath earlier paint jobs. The WPA was critical to the welfare of unemployed miners in Butte, and this was just one of several projects around the city. The historic plaque in front of the courthouse makes no mention of the WPA work.
  • Silver Bow County Road Improvements - Butte MT
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) did extensive road improvement around Silver Bow County Montana in 1938 (and probably into 1939). WPA employment was vital to the many jobless miners in Butte area. Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in May 1938:"WPA authorities approved a $428,640 improvement project for Silver Bow county roads, streets and bridges... The project will improve 152 miles of county highways." In September, the same newspaper reported that the WPA had allocated $1,102,751 for such projects during August 1938. An estimated 500 WPA laborers were employed on this project.
  • Street Paving - Butte MT
    The New Deal funded a large Street paving project in Butte, Montana in 1938 (possibly extending into 1939). More than 35 miles of streets, "representing virtually every important thoroughfare in Butte and its immediate vicinity," were  paved, representing the "largest street improvement undertaking in the history of Butte." (Big Timber Pioneer). The federal government provided approximately $2,500,000 for the project, a very large sum at the time. The money almost surely came through the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) to the state highway department.  The Public Works Administration (PWA) may have contributed, as well.  Some 3,700 WPA workers were employed on the project,...
  • Swede Dahlberg Field - Butte MT
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an athletic complex for the high schools in Butte, Montana, The complex included a football field, quarter mile running track and tennis courts, which can still be seen in the satellite photo. The football field is now called Swede Dahlberg Field, next to West Elementary School (we are unsure if the tennis courts come under that designation). The WPA contributed almost $60,000 in relief labor for the athletic fields. Given the high unemployment in the mining district of Butte, WPA jobs were vital for the survival of workers in the Great Depression.
  • Thompson Park Improvements - Butte MT
    Big Timber Pioneer reported in late 1935 that Thompson Park, 11 miles south of Butte, "is being transformed into a scenic recreational center as well as a winter sports site, under supervision of the WPA."