“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,… read more
Dunellen, New Jersey’s historic borough hall building was constructed during the Great Depression by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) ca. 1937. The building is still in use today.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Brighton Avenue in Neptune and Wall Townships, a $92,756 project. WPA Official Project Number: 265‐1‐22‐129
The federal Works Progress Administration paved Broadway in Camden, New Jersey between Federal Street and the city line at Newton Creek. The project took 242 man-hours of work and required 4,000 tons of material.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to reconstruct a broken sewer line along and around Broadway in Passaic, New Jersey ca. 1936. The project would provide 150 men work for six months. Most of the cost of the work… read more
“Hackettstown is receiving full value of Federal work relief money and is accomplishing a much needed improvement. The clearing and widening of the brook that flows back of Park Avenue, then through the dump meadows on Franklin Street before it… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration constructed bulkheads in Surf City, New Jersey ca. 1936 to mitigate soil erosion. WPA N.J. Project No. 5-248.
A local newspaper reported that, “Sixty Morristown and ten Morris Township men went to work this morning on placing a rock bottom in Burnham Park swimming pool. This was one of two federal-aid projects approved for immediate start here in… read more
“BUTLER – An endeavor to employ local county men on PWA work now in progress around Butler finally met with success….Thus the aim of the Borough to engage its own citizenry for its own projects, reducing town unemployment slack to… read more
“The bowling greens at Cadwalader Park are kept in playing condition by the [National Youth Administration (NYA)] personnel.” The WPA conducted major work at the park as well.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to renovate the old Municipal Building in Pennsauken, New Jersey in 1936. The project was completed with no direct expense to local taxpayers. The exact location of the old building is unknown to… read more
The Work Projects Administration (WPA) undertook development work at an unidentified location in or near New Brunswick, New Jersey. As two projects were sponsored by the War Department, Living New Deal believes these projects to be involved with the development of… read more
The WPA conducted a large-scale reconstruction project at the Cape May Naval Air Station, located at the easternmost part of Cape May. A thorough history of the installation can be found at Abandoned & Little Known Airfields (airfields-freeman.com). There are… read more
Access to the Carranza Memorial in Tabernacle, New Jersey was difficult prior to the advent of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA widened and reconstructed what had been a seven-foot-wide sand road, clearing brush and trees along the… read more
The WPA and NYA worked to construct a large wading pool in what is now known as Carver Park, in 1936. The pool is no longer extant. Paterson, New Jersey’s Evening News wrote on May 8, 1936: Thirty Negro workers… read more
“An additional 75 men will be put to work in Morristown tomorrow, making about 375 who have been given employment under the CWA and other relief projects, it was announced this morning by Town Clerk Nelson S. Butera, Deputy Director… read more
The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant for the construction of a bridge to carry Central Avenue over the train tracks in Clark, New Jersey (“Picton”). The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that… read more
The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds for the grade separation of Central Avenue and the Central Railroad of New Jersey, in Westfield. New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners: “A “Works Program-State Highway Department” project on which the Board initiated proceedings… read more
The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: “[Mr. Lenson] moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street … Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and… read more
The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: “[Mr. Lenson] moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street … Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and… read more
According to a Works Progress Administration (WPA) Information Division document, a new museum was built in the park. As well, “Five miles of road and 20 miles of trail have been completed by WPA workers, with large auto parking spaces… read more
An 8’7.5″-span stone arch bridge on Church Road, in Holland Township, New Jersey, was widened by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The structure is/was located approximately 240 feet east of the intersection with Amsterdam / Crab Apple Hill Road.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an addition to Hackensack, New Jersey’s old River St. City Garage in 1936. The addition was used as a truck storage shed. As part of the project a brick wall was constructed between… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted miscellaneous improvements and repairs at Bayonne’s old City Hall during the 1930s. One project involved painting tens of thousands of square feet of interior walls and exterior trim; another included work on trim… read more
The annex to Bayonne, New Jersey’s old City Hall was town down by federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers. The building had been condemned, was in danger of collapsing, and the job of demolition was deemed “imperative” by Bayonne’s Evening… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) demolished an abandoned cement block stable on Bayonne’s Avenue F between East 29th St. and East 30th St.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook multiple projects in Livingston, New Jersey. “Among the local WPA projects are a sewing project for women, road building, the laying of water mains and the clearing of lands at the Civic Centre Park.”… read more
Then the main post office for Clifton, New Jersey (and later known as Clifton’s Main Avenue Station post office), what is now the Clifton Recreation Center received a six-panel oil-on-canvas mural titled “Transportation”. John Sitton was awarded the contract for… read more
The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant for grade separations of Colonia Boulevard and “Sucker Brook Road,” from the train tracks, in Colonia, New Jersey. The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that… read more
The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds for the construction of a span to carry Comly Road over the railroad in Lincoln Park, New Jersey. The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. New Jersey… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed three tennis courts at what was known as Cookerow Park / playground in Boonton, New Jersey. The exact location or status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted unspecified work along the Cooper River [Valley] in New Jersey ca. 1936.
An old unsatisfactory wagon road, connecting the village of Dennisville with Cape May Court House, New Jersey, was converted into a farm-to-market road in Middle Township, New Jersey, with approximately 100 federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers. “The entire cost… read more
In the mid 1930s the new Cranford High School building was constructed with assistance from the Federal Public Works Administration (PWA). In their photographic history of Cranford, New Jersey, Robert Fridlington and Lawrence Fuhro tell us that the high school building… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration constructed dam and spillway, presumably as a mechanism for flood control, to serve the people of Lacey Township, New Jersey ca. 1936. The exact location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New… read more
Two large murals for the Davis School in East Camden, New Jersey were painted by WPA Art Project artists Esther Heppler Inglesby and Russell J. England. The murals portrayed a half-century of progress in the City of Camden. Their names,… read more
The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds for the construction of an underpass carrying Deans Lane under the railroad in South Brunswick Township. The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners:… read more
The Works Progress Administration completed repairs at the Delanco school in Delanco NJ. “Just when things looked as if they might be getting better, they found in 1937 that the walls in the· auditorium were faulty and unsafe. They were… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration filled in the old Delaware & Raritan Canal, which ran through downtown Trenton, New Jersey, beginning August 8, 1936. The unused canal had proved to be a barrier to the city’s development. The land was… read more
The WPA conducted extensive work at former Delaware Ordnance Depot, located on the west side of Route 130 about halfway between Penns Grove and Pedricktown. Many buildings and much of the infrastructure from the time is still extant. WPA projects at the… read more
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
