New Jersey Sites

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, titles, and current status are unknown to Living New Deal.

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: "A "Works Program-State Highway Department" project on which the Board initiated proceedings and on December 4th, 1935, issued an order to eliminate the crossings. This, order was later modified on June 29, 1937, to eliminate the Deans Road crossing on its present alignment. Contract for construction of the project was let by the State Highway Department on August 4, 1937. ... Funds...

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 rebuilt by the Works Projects Administration - more familiarly the WPA." The facility was located at Walnut, Hickory, Union and Chestnut St. It was removed circa 1962.

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 then redeveloped into State Route 129.

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 old Ordnance Depot included: "Improve buildings and grounds by constructing magazines and rail facilities, barracks, dispensary, offers and non‐commissioned officers quarters, roads, sidewalks and utilities, landscaping; and performing appurtenant and incidental tasks." Official Project Number: 713‐2‐19 Total project cost: $900,000.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Delaware Ordnance Depot, and War Department "A non‐construction project to improve and rehabilitate buildings, public utility systems, water supply and gypsy...

The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds for the construction of a bridge carrying Dewey Avenue over the railroad in Wharton N.J. The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners: "A "Works Program-State Highway Department" project on which the Board initiated proceedings and on October 5, 1935, issued an order to eliminate the grade crossing Construction started April 23, 1936, and work under contract was finished in January, 1937."

The Dey Mansion was originally constructed in the mid-18th century and was inhabited by the Dey family until 1801, when it was sold to a private owner. According the Dey Mansion official website, "In 1930, the now defunct Passaic County Park Commission purchased the Dey Mansion, together with several barns and 55 acres of land. A plan of restoration was developed under the direction of Charles OverCornelius who was a former Associate Curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a recognized authority on early American architecture" (passaiccountynj.org). The restoration was undertaken by the Civil Works Administration (CWA), which restored...

The since-demolished Douglass and Harrison Apartments was a housing project in Newark, New Jersey. According to the Federal Writers' Project, "Construction costs (approximately $1,800,000) were reduced through the help of the city and the Civil Works Administration in grading the entire site."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) reconstructed Bayonne's old East 49th Street—then unpaved—from Avenue E to the New York Bay waterfront. The road has since been either renamed Pulaski Ave. or otherwise replaced.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed East Newark's first playground. The 50'-by-100' facility opened July 13, 1936. Located on Searing Avenue between Passaic and Grant Avenues, the playground is no longer extant.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed Elijah Perry Park (then called "South Camden Park") in Camden, New Jersey. Among the amenities were a "spacious bath house ... swimming pool, 200 feet by 78 feet; wading pool amid a playground for children; tennis court." Camden's Evening Reporter described the facilities in June 1936: The bath house is constructed of concrete block and stone. Its exterior is of salmon-tinted California stucco with white granite trim. Locker rooms on the main floor are equipped with 1,600 clothing baskets of wire, each with a numbered brass tag. As many as 2,400 persons can use the...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to clean, beautify and generally improve the condition of the Elizabeth River in Elizabeth, New Jersey during the Great Depression.

WPA workers constructed a concrete flume for the Elizabeth River in Irvington, New Jersey.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a massive grant for a giant grade separation project involving 13 roads, and two railway branches, in the Elizabethport section of Elizabeth, New Jersey. The PWA provided a grant of $2,110,950 for the project, whose total cost was $4,281,464. The railway right of way is located just south of where the New Jersey Turnpike has since been built. Railway overpasses at the following roads (and geographic coordinates) bear date stamps consistent with this New Deal project: 1st Ave. (40.651156, -74.196509) Elizabeth Ave. (40.651590, -74.195717) Marshall St. (40.652011, -74.194944) Franklin St. (40.652427, -74.194179) Fulton St. (40.652848, -74.193420) E. Jersey...

The New York Times reported in 1935: "TWO grade crossings of the Erie Railroad on Routes 6 and 23 at Singac, Passaic County, N.J., will be eliminated under a contract for which bids have been received by Highway Commissioners Arthur F. Foran and James Baker. Funds appropriated through the United States Bureau of Public Roads under the NRA will be used for the project." The infrastructure relating around Routes 6 (now 46) and 23 in the area has been extensively modified since the time of these projects, and the bridges are no longer extant.

The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: " moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street ... Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and executing murals for the state W.P.A. program. He went on to become assistant state supervisor in charge of the other muralists in the agency. ..." "Three of Mr. Lenson's New Jersey murals still exist, all in Newark... The three other New Jersey murals are gone. ''The History of New Jersey,'' a 16-by-75-foot mural for the dining room at the Essex Mountain Sanatorium in...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed storm sewers in the Fairmount section of Hackensack in 1936. They worked to construct and improve sewers along Lincoln St. and Summit Ave.

The federal Works Progress Administration constructed Farm to Market Road in Montville, New Jersey in 1936. The exact location of the road is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a farm to market road in West Milford, NJ ca. 1936. The exact stretch of road is unknown to Living New Deal. WPA Project No. 1-271.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve Farnham Park in Camden, New Jersey ca. 1936.

The federal Works Progress Administration paved Federal Street in Camden, New Jersey in 1936. Additionally, the WPA tore up obsolete trolley car tracks along the road, notably along the viaduct over Admiral Wilson Blvd.

The WPA worked to improve the conditions at Finns Point National Cemetery near the former Fort Mott, southwest of Pennsville, New Jersey. Project description: "A non‐construction project to improve and rehabilitate buildings, install plumbing, heating, and electrical facilities, realign headstones, landscape, grade, and drain grounds including improvements to roads and walks at the Finns Point National Cemetery" Official Project Number: 713‐2‐202 Total project cost: $150,000.00 Sponsor: War Department

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the branch fire station at the western corner at Avenue A and W. 16th St. The building, which, as of 2015, houses Engine Company 4 and Rescue Squad 1, has been in use since 1940.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to repair and replace fire hydrants in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In addition to making the fire-fighting infrastructure more effective (and aesthetic), WPA involvement with the project meant that the city of Elizabeth did not have to cede the availability of 15 firemen for several months.

Dating from WWI, Fort Dix provided training for soldiers enlisted in the U.S. Army. According to a Works Progress Administration (WPA) Information Division document, the WPA engaged in “Campwide improvement to grounds, including grading, checking of soil erosion, improvements to drainage to eliminate mud, and clearing fire trails and brush; construction of target pits and machine gun range, landing field, one mile of railroad. Construction or repair of garage, motor repair shop, schools, tent floors, incinerator, sawmill, woodshop, quarters, storage buildings, mess hall, cold storage plant, hospital, airport buildings, disposal plant, improvements of water supply system, clearing of ditches...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted substantial development work at the former Fort Hancock. Numerous projects undertaken by the New Deal agency, totaling more than two million dollars , included utility and infrastructure overhauls, building new military facilities, reconstructing docks, erecting a training camp, and even building tennis courts.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work along the railroad at what was then Fort Hancock, New Jersey in 1936.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted millions of dollars (not even adjusted for inflation) of improvement and development work at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. No aspects of the installation were left untouched: improvement and construction work involved developing "an auxiliary flying field," roads, sidewalks, electrical, heading, plumbing and sewer systems, and erosion control. All manners of facilities were built, refurbished, improved, or expanded. A captioned image in "The Dawn," a WPA publication, states that conducted "extensive repair work" at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey ca. 1936. Here is one typical project description, Official Project #765‐22‐2‐14: Improve buildings, including general overhauling of plumbing, heating, and...

The WPA worked to improve the facilities and infrastructure at Fort Mott, southwest of Pennsville, New Jersey. The site is now a state park. These WPA projects were sponsored by the Commanding Officer, Fort DuPont, U.S. Army: "Improve cemetery road and dock road, including placing curbs, grading and paving roadway" Official Project Number: 765‐22‐1‐5 Total project cost: $12,198.00 "Improve buildings, grounds, and facilities" Official Project Number: 165‐2‐22‐215 Total project cost: $137,676.00 "Rehabilitate and improve buildings, facilities, and grounds" Official Project Number: 65‐2‐22‐365 Total project cost: $17,435.00

"The Four Freedoms" by Michael Lenson was created in 1942 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: " moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street ... Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and executing murals for the state W.P.A. program. He went on to become assistant state supervisor in charge of the other muralists in the agency. By the time the federal W.P.A. closed in 1943, Mr. Lenson had created six murals and supervised the execution of 15 more...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked on a project that involved "resurfacing, grading, and seeding uplands on 27th St. park." Francis G. Fitzpatrick Park is still in use today; modern facilities include: "spray park, walking path, playground and benches."

The main post office in downtown Newark, NJ—designated the Frank R. Lautenberg Post Office and Courthouse in 2000 by act of Congress—was constructed during the Great Depression. The cornerstone bears the year 1933. The post office occupies the first floor of the building and features a grand lobby.

"In 1935 the Section on Painting and Sculpture of the Treasury Department of the Federal Government announced two competitions – one for a mural painting and one for a statue to be located in two courtrooms of the newly constructed United States Post Office and Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey, which opened in April of 1936. There was a sculpture competition to select a 7-foot high bronze figure of “Justice”, with the winner receiving a sum of $6,500.00 to complete and install the sculpture. The Newark Museum coordinated the competition for a sculpture to grace Courtroom #2. The sculpture selected...

"According to the American Guide Series, ...on Green Bank Rd., a macadamized highway, to Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, 3 m. (athletic fields, playgrounds, bathing beach). Much of the work on the 5.00-acre municipally owned park has been done by the WPA. --- New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past By Federal Writers' Project, 1939, page 602 "

"Hackettstown is receiving full value of Federal work relief money and is accomplishing a much needed improvement. ... WPA workers... are busy digging the ditches for the storm sewer down Franklin Street which will carry flood waters off High, Sharp, Cook, and Franklin Streets."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to construct "a recreation field extending from 15th to 19th Sts. inclusive on Newark Bay front." Additionally they constructed two comfort stations, walks, pathways and roadways; and undertook "filling, grading, and seeding the lowland park at 16th St." The WPA also demolished an old park house at the park, constructed two baseball fields, and constructed a shower and wading pool for children; among other improvements. G. Thomas DiDomenico Park is still in use today; modern facilities include: "restrooms, playgrounds, handball court, municipal pool, amphitheatre, boat launch, walking paths, benches, baseball/softball/soccer fields, basketball court, tennis...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook several improvements at what was then known as Chancellor Playground (and today known as Garden State Chancellor Park) beginning in 1936. The large-scale project involved "replacing two bridges washed away by storms, building new bleachers, regrading diamond, etc. Cost of this work is figured as $25,693.90, WPA supplying $22,391.50." (Herald)

"Five hundred acres of the 1,200 acre tract were to be used for farming, and the remaining portion for 200 houses on 1/2 acre plots, a community school, a factory building, a poultry yard and modern water and sewer plants. ...terms were reached with the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union when it was agreed that the Jersey Homesteads factory would be a new cooperative run by the settlers themselves, so would remove no union jobs from New York. Jersey Homesteads was set up as a triple cooperative, comprised of a farm, retail stores and a factory. The farm, consisting of general, poultry...

"One regional example of these structures is the Vineland High School Stadium, built by the WPA and dedicated in October 1938. It was soon after renamed Gittone Memorial Field in honor of Harry A. Gittone, proponent of local scholastic sports programs. Gittone Stadium was planned as part of the Vineland High School campus in 1926 when land was acquired, extending the school grounds south to Montrose Street. For the next ten years, improvements to the field continued and it was used for physical training and track. Football games were held at Landis Park until 1938. in 1930, a state championship win...

The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds for a grade separation project, carrying "Jimmy Lee Crossing" over the railroad in Estell Manor, N.J. It is possible that is now Tuckahoe Rd. The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners: "A "Works Program-State Highway Department'' project on which the Board initiated proceedings and on February 4, 1936, issued an order to eliminate the grade crossing. Contract for construction was let by the State Highway Department on January 11, 1937, and construction was completed in September, 1937."