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  • 12th Street Overpass - Folsom NJ
    The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds to construct an overpass carrying 12th Street over the railroad in Folsom, N.J. The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. Living New Deal believes this structure has since been replaced. New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners: "A "Works Program-State Highway Department" project on which the Board initiated proceedings and on March 26, 1936, after a re-hearing of the case, issued an order to eliminate the grade crossing. Contract for construction was let by the State Highway Department on April 7, 1937 ... Funds from the Bureau of Public Roads were allotted...
  • 20th Avenue Paving - Irvington NJ
    Among a series of paving projects undertaken by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Irvington, New Jersey was the 700-foot stretch of 20th Avenue from Ellis Ave. to 21st St. The work was completed in three days in September 1936. The paving, it was reported, "is two inches deep on the old concrete base of six inches, and runs thirty-eight feet from curb to curb. The cost to Irvington was approximately $500 for half of the materials."
  • 21st Street Paving - Irvington NJ
    Among a series of paving projects undertaken by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Irvington, New Jersey was the 1,200-foot stretch of 21st Street from from 20th Ave. to 18th Ave.
  • A. Harry Moore School Addition - Jersey City NJ
    The Jersey City Independent reported in 2009 that the A. Harry Moore School was "one of the first public schools in the country built for students with disabilities." While the school was constructed between 1930 and 1931, the New Deal played a large part in the school's expansion during the late 1930s. The newspaper continues: "The addition — with a natatorium , treatment rooms and solarium — was built in 1939 with WPA funds." The school is still in use today.
  • Allenwood Hospital (former) - Allenwood NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a garage for what was then known as Allentown Hospital (now Geraldine L. Thompson Care Center) in 1936. The status of the old garage is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Armory (demolished) Improvements - Bridgeton NJ
    The historic 3rd Regiment Armory building on Washington St. in Bridgeton, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts: "Replacing present rotted out window sills and painting, cleaning and white‐washing walls in the Armory building." WPA Official Project Number: 65‐22‐5648
  • Armory (demolished) Improvements - Passaic NJ
    The historic 113th Infantry Armory building in Passaic, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts. As per project description: "Improve 113th Infantry Armory Building, located at River Drive and Main Avenue." "The Armory Building served Passaic, and its now defunct, National Guard Unit, from the mid-twenties until the mid sixties, went it was demolished to make way for Route 21." WPA Official Project Number: 65‐22‐6192
  • Armory (demolished) Improvements - Somerville NJ
    The historic armory in Somerville, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts. As per project descriptions: "Improvements to Armory;" "Replacing concrete floor paint walls, replace plumbing fixtures and paint floors, in Armory." The structure, which was located on the east site of Grove St. between Main St. and High St., served from 1910 to 1999.
  • Armory (former) Improvements - Elizabeth NJ
    The historic 1912 armory in Elizabeth, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts. As per project descriptions: "Alter armory building and construct driveways, curbs, ramps, and walls;" "Install new services to building;" "Elizabeth Armory. Interior and exterior painting, drill hall floors, fireproof ceiling in boiler room;" "Take down brick along rear wall and relay." WPA Official Project Numbers: 465‐22‐2‐221, 465‐22‐3‐119
  • Armory (former) Improvements - Perth Amboy NJ
    The historic armory in Perth Amboy, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts. As per project description: "Improve the National Guard Armory by painting, and perform work apparent thereto." The structure is now privately owned. WPA Official Project Number: 685‐22‐2‐20
  • Armory (former) Improvements - Plainfield NJ
    The historic armory building in Plainfield, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts. As per project description: "Improve Armory." The facility presently houses the New Jersey Naval Militia Foundation. WPA Official Project Number: 65‐22‐6192
  • Armory (former) Improvements - Red Bank NJ
    The former armory building in Red Bank, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts: "Improve, renovate, and make alterations at Armory." WPA Official Project Number: 65‐1‐22‐163 The former armory later served as an equestrian riding hall, and presently houses an ice rink.
  • Armory (former) Improvements - Trenton NJ
    The historic 114th Infantry Armory building in Trenon, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts. A 1930 map identifies the armory's location as the northwest corner of what was then the intersection of E. Front St. and Armory Dr. The fate of the building was detailed in a 1975 New York Times article: "A raging fire sent flames more than 100 feet into the sky destroyed the Trenton Civic Center early today. The building, a converted National Guard Armory, housed city offices and records. City officials were looking for room to accommodate 300 city employees who normally work in the Civic Center." WPA...
  • Armory Improvements - Asbury Park NJ
    The armory building in Asbury Park, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts, including the modest projects: "Paint interior of drill shed at National Guard Armory Building," and "Painting of National Guard Armory Building."
  • Armory Improvements - Lawrenceville NJ
    The historic armory building in Lawrence Township (Lawrenceville by mailing address), New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts. WPA project descriptions: "Improve 112th Field Artillery Armory" and "Rehabilitate buildings." Work was sponsored by the Quartermaster General's Department of New Jersey, and the War Department. WPA Official Project Numbers: 165‐1‐72‐340, 165‐1‐22‐340
  • Armory Improvements - Westfield NJ
    The historic armory building in Westfield, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts. As per project description: "Construct drill field, drives, drains, and landscape." WPA Official Project Numbers: 165‐22‐2076, 465‐22‐2‐548
  • Armory Improvements - Woodbury NJ
    The historic 114th Infantry Armory building in Woodbury, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA improvement efforts: "Improve 114th Infantry Armory and surrounding grounds at Broadway* and Red Bank Avenue." (* The location of the armory is Red Bank Ave. and Evergreen Ave.) WPA Official Project Number: 460‐22‐2‐579
  • Athletic Field - Garfield NJ
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed an athletic field in Garfield, N.J. The exact location of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Atlantic Avenue Paving - Atlantic City NJ
    The condition of Atlantic City's primary thoroughfare Atlantic Avenue was so poor that it was occasionally referred to as "no man's land" prior to the federal Works Progress Administration's resurfacing of the road in 1936.
  • Atlantic City International Airport - Atlantic City NJ
    Atlantic City International Airport was "established in 1942 as a Naval Air Station on 4,312 acres leased from Atlantic City." (www.sjta.com) "In 1941, in its attempt to stimulate the local economy, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) had begun clearing a wooded area in Egg Harbor Township for the construction of a municipal airport to service the Atlantic City area. The Works Progress Administration approved $1.5 million for construction (Atlantic City Press/Evening Union 3/28/41). The Project was to employ 1,187 men to cut and clear land for three, one-mile long concrete runways (Atlantic City Press/Evening Union 11/41). Recognizing the airport project as a...
  • Atlantic City Reservoir - Absecon NJ
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed the Atlantic City Reservoir in Absecon, New Jersey. At one point 1,200 WPA employees were working on the project.
  • Avenel Street Underpass - Woodbridge Township NJ
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant for the construction of an underpass to carry Avenel Street under the train tracks in Avenel, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey (at the train station). The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. The PWA provided a grant of $98,100 for the project, whose total cost was $243,367. New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners: "Work on the project was started by railroad forces September 24th, 1936, construction under contract began November 4, 1936, and the project was completed on November 30, 1937. After construction was under way the...
  • B. S. Pollak Hospital (former) - Jersey City NJ
    The old B.S. Pollak Hospital, part of the old Jersey City Medical Center, was constructed with federal funds during the Great Depression. The building is now privately owned. "The Pollak Hospital facility was formerly the site of a three-story building constructed in 1918 for the Jersey City School for Crippled Children. It was taken over as the Infectious Disease Hospital and in 1934 received a loan of $2,996,000 by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation for a new county tuberculosis hospital. The 250-bed facility was eventually named for Dr. B.S. Pollak and became noted for the treatment of chest diseases. When completed in...
  • Baltic Avenue Paving - Atlantic City NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) resurfaced Atlantic City's Baltic Avenue in 1936. "One of the tracks will be removed from that thoroughfare, new gutters will be laid and the street resurfaced with asphalt, the same as Atlantic avenue." "Twelve city blocks of this avenue had been resurfaced by 109 unskilled and 10 skilled WPA workmen who also installed a concrete gutter on the street." The WPA paving job quickly proved its worth. According to City Commissioner Major William F. Casey after the 1936 Cape Hatteras hurricane, "Baltic Avenue was a pleasure to see after the storm because of the new paving....
  • Barclay Brook Elementary School - Monroe Township NJ
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided an $82,500 loan and $67,500 grant for construction of a school in Monroe Township, New Jersey. Total cost of the project was $152,000. Completed in 1936, Living New Deal believes this is the Barclay Brook Elementary School. PWA Docket No. NJ 6920
  • Bass River State Forest Improvements - Tuckerton NJ
    "The CCC camp at Bass River State Forest, Camp S-55, lasted from 1933 to 1942, throughout the entire life of CCC. ... There were usually 200 men at the camp, which was a full complement. The CCC members performed wide range of conservation work. The young men of the CCC built park roads, trails, bridle paths, bridges for vehicles, ponds for fish and waterfowl, lookout towers, nature observatory shelters, picnic areas, cabins, fireplaces, campgrounds, recreational lakes, and landscaping. The most noteworthy feat was the creation of the 67-acre Lake Absegami, by damming two streams flowing through the forest."
  • Bauerle Field Improvements - Paterson NJ
    The federal National Youth Administration (NYA) worked to improve the stadium for Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey in 1938. The NYA "weeded, rolled and marked the stadium track; prepared the broad jump pit; laid out the course of the javelin and discus throw; cut and raked the field; cleaned the field of weeds and debris and cleaned the stadium stands and walked." 18 workers completed the job in two and a half days. Bauerle Field is part of what is now known as Roberto Clemente Park.
  • Belleplain State Forest Improvements - Woodbine NJ
    From the James F. Justin CCC Museum website: "Belleplain was established in 1928 by the state ... Beginning in 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) transformed the Meisle family's cranberry bog into a 26.2 acre reservoir that was first named Meisle Lake and later renamed Lake Nummy (in honor of the last Lenape Sachem, or Chief, to live in the county). Three separate CCC camps operated on the property and the men who served constructed the forest's nature center (formerly the main office) and the maintenance buildings, and created much of the present day road system, bridges, and dams....
  • Belleville Turnpike Grade Separation - Kearny NJ
    The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds for the grade separation of Belleville Turnpike and the Erie Railroad. New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners: "A "Works Program-State Highway Department" project involving two separate grade crossings on which the Board initiated proceedings and on December 12, 1935, issued an order to eliminate the grade crossings. Contract for construction was let by the State Highway Department October 6, 1936, and construction was completed in October, 1937." Given extensive development of highways in the area, it is possible that any overpass structures related to this project are no longer extant.
  • Ben Franklin Bridge Rail Line - Philadelphia PA to Camden NJ
    In conjunction with what was known as the Ridge Avenue Connector, "the high speed electric rail transit line which connects the Ridge Avenue—Eighth Street—Locust Street Subway in Philadelphia with a terminal near the Broadway Station of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in Camden, is the largest of the completed Public Works Administration projects in Pennsylvania," as of 1937. Work involved development of a rail line across what is now the Ben Franklin Bridge.
  • Ben Shahn Mural - Roosevelt NJ
    The Farm Security Administration commissioned this mural in 1937-38 to commemorate the New Deal resettlement community of Jersey Homesteads, now called Roosevelt, N.J. The mural can still be seen in the Roosevelt Public School. "Ben Shahn's mural for the community center at Jersey Homesteads, Roosevelt, is a fresco - a painting done on fresh, moist plaster with pigments dissolved in water. It depicts the life of Jewish immigrants coming to America in the 1930s. Shahn was an American Social Realist painter. His paintings often focused specifically on social problems and the hardships of everyday life. His work was influenced by Diego Rivera,...
  • Bergen County Court House Murals - Hackensack NJ
    "In the 1930’s as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), murals were painted in courtrooms 253 and 352. In the early 1940’s an additional mural was added in courtroom 357. All three murals were designed by Teaneck resident William Winter. The murals in room 352 (formerly known as the Supreme Court Room) represent the roots of American Law. The murals in room 253 (formerly known as the Freeholder Chambers) represent local historical sights. The murals in room 357 (formerly known as the Circuit Court Chamber) represent Roman Law."
  • Bergen Pines (former) Improvements - Paramus NJ
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) provided labor for the improvement of Bergen Pines, the Bergen County Hospital, in Paramus, N.J. The CWA converted swampland into a "fifteen-acre recreation haven" for the grounds.
  • Betty Bacharach Home for Afflicted Children (former) Addition - Longport NJ
    Longport, New Jersey's Betty Bacharach Home for Afflicted Children was constructed in 1924, before the Great Depression. However, the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an addition, featuring a "new physiotherapy pool and treatment unit" at the site starting in 1936. The old Betty Bacharach Home is now the Borough Hall building.
  • Black Brook and Whippany River Work - Whippany NJ
    “WHIPPANY – The Veterans CCC Camp activities are now centered in Whippany at Hait’s bridge on Route 10. The men are busily engaged in dredging the junction and courses of the Black Brook and Whippany River, cleaning out the silt, logs and stumps and other rubbish that has been washed down the course for the past centuries. The stream beds have never been cleaned out before as far as is known. The men have been working at this for the past several months, partly for the elimination of mosquito breeding places and partly for sanitary reasons. The water had become...
  • Bloomfield High School Grandstands - Bloomfield NJ
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) constructed "concrete stands" at Bloomington High School in New Jersey, 1934. The location and status of the project is presently unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Boardwalk Addition - Long Branch NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an addition to the boardwalk in Long Branch, New Jersey in 1936.
  • Boardwalk Improvements - Atlantic City NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve the boardwalk in in Atlantic City ca. 1935-6. The project included the installation of new decking. The improvements helped the boardwalk to withstand the Cape Hatteras hurricane of 1936.
  • Boardwalk Reconstruction - Bradley Beach NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) reconstructed the boardwalk in Bradley Beach, New Jersey. The project "called for 800 linear feet of boardwalk, 24 feet wide, between McCabe and Newark Aves., and 800 linear feet, 34 feet wide, between Lareine and Fifth Aves. Beadley Beach contributed $8,249 for material and equipment; the federal government contributed $17,769. Construction dates: Oct. 1, 1935 to May 29, 1936.
  • Borough Hall - Closter NJ
    "Closter Borough Hall, erected in 1938, was a triumph of effort and cooperation between our local leaders of that time and the able workforce provided by the federal Works Progress Administration (the “WPA”). Its style is described as Art Deco/Moderne, or “WPA Moderne,” a label which denotes both the aesthetic elements of the architecture and its practical origins... Architect Carl G. Mettberg designed the building, and the WPA labor to construct it was provided at very little cost (25% of its actual value). A ceremonial laying of the cornerstone took place on March 12, 1938... Some stylistic details which are make this...
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