New Jersey Sites

The old Jersey City Medical Center complex along Montgomery Avenue was constructed in stages beginning in 1928. Several buildings at the facility were constructed as part of federal Public Works Administration projects during the Great Depression. NJCU.edu: "After its completion in 1941, the Medical Center was the third largest health care facility in the world." Medical institutions including the B.S. Pollak Hospital and Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital contributed to the larger Jersey City Medical Center complex. The buildings that contributed to the Medical Center have all since been re-purposed; most are now privately owned and used for housing, with the...

The massive Building 'C' of the old Jersey City Medical Center complex was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the Great Depression. The building, which mirrored the center's primary Medical Building (and to which it was connected with a four-story wing), housed administrative offices, a general hospital and kitchen facilities. It abuts Beacon Way within the larger medical Center complex and possesses some Deco ornamentation. Building 'C' was constructed ca. 1938-1941. It now serves as part of the privately-owned Beacon residential complex.

The massive Health Services Building of the old Jersey City Medical Center complex was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the Great Depression. The building, whose former main entrance faces Baldwin Avenue along the west end of the old Medical Center, is 18 stories tall, possesses Deco motifs, and was connected to other buildings on the campus with wings. The Health Services Building possesses a 1936 cornerstone and was completed in 1938. The building now serves as part of the privately-owned Beacon residential complex.

The massive Medical Building of the old Jersey City Medical Center complex was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the Great Depression. The building, which faces Baldwin Avenue in the northwest corner of the Medical Center grounds, served as the primary entrance and lobby for the complex. The building possesses a 1936 cornerstone and was completed in 1938. The building possesses many Deco motifs and is connected to two other buildings on the complex with wings (one five stories tall). A cascading retaining pool lies in front of the building's old main entrance, which finishes with...

Murdoch Hall, part of the old Jersey City Medical Center complex, was constructed with the provision of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Constructed between 1940 and 1941, the Art Moderne-style building originally served as a nurses' residence, became a county-run healthcare facility, and is now privately owned. Further architectural description can be found in the National Register of Historic Places nomination form cited below.

"This high school in Union County accommodates the students of 7 communities which formerly had no high-school facilities within their boundaries. Its site has an area of 16 1/2 acres and has been graded and landscaped and provided with playing and athletic fields. The building is 2 stories and a part basement in height and contains in the basement a cafeteria, kitchen, print shop, general shop, and storage rooms. On the first floor is an auditorium, gymnasium, 13 classrooms, administration offices, and rooms for bookkeeping and typewriting. On the second floor are 7 classrooms, a library, teachers' rooms, locker rooms,...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work on all school buildings in the city of Bayonne ca. 1939. Work on the Junior High School building included "painting, repairing, and general improvement work."

“BUTLER – Work is expected to start soon on the erecting of a dam for the proposed Kakeout reservoir. Engineering details have been completed under the direction of Cornelius C. Vermeule, engineer of the Butler Borough Water works. Three hundred and fifty men will be employed for about six months, when the building starts, and will be done under a WPA project. Clearing and grading of the site in addition to constructing the dam will also be done. The cost to this borough will be about $35,000. The total estimated cost is $245,484… The water from the proposed reservoir would...

Constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), this public library was completed and opened to the public in 1936. In 1981, the town of Kenilworth added an addition to the existing New Deal Structure. Located in the heart of downtown, the library continues to serve as an important community resource to the public of Kenilworth.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve what was then known as Killeen Park in Bayonne. The project involved grading 20 acres and seeding 17 acres in the park. It is now part of Mayor Dennis P. Collins Park.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed crushed-stone footpaths around what was the Klockner School in Hamilton Township, New Jersey in 1936. The project was undertaken to advance the safety of children attending the school.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a sewer and resurfaced the pavement of Lafayette Avenue in Passaic, New Jersey between what was then the Erie Railroad tracks and River Drive. "The present conditions there," reported the city's Director of Streets and Public Improvements Nicholas Martini, "have been an annoyance for many years and the construction ... will prove invaluable to the City." The project, his report continued, would bear no additional expense to the City, and would provide employment for approximately 30 men for a period of four months. Project No. 1-16-380.

The Bureau of Public Roads provided funds to construct an overpass carrying Lake avenue over the railroad in Scotch Plains, 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 2nd, 1935, issued an order to eliminate the grade crossing Construction started July 21, 1936, and the project was opened to traffic in January, 1937. Funds from the Bureau of Public Roads were allotted to meet the entire cost of construction."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a boat house along Lake Carasaljo in Lakewood, New Jersey in 1936. The structure was constructed "from wood and stone salvaged from the surrounding countryside." The exact location of the house and its current status are unknown to Living New Deal. WPA Project No. 5-15-11.

A Paterson landmark dating back to 1892, Lambert's Castle was originally home to the Lamberts, a wealthy family that owned area silk mills. The building fell into disrepair in the early twentieth century, was purchased by the city of Paterson for $125,000 in 1925 and in 1928 transferred the title to the Passaic County Parks Commission. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped to expand and build up the grounds in 1940.  According to a WPA press release, “A picnic area developed by WPA which adjoins the tower is one of the most popular improvements at Garret Mountain. The tower itself was...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant for the construction of an underpass to carry Leesville Avenue under the train tracks in Avenel, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. The PWA provided a grant of $49,635 for the project, whose total cost was $105,455. PWA Docket No. NJ 1103

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed an artificial lake in Lenape Park, in Cranford / Springfield Township, New Jersey, along the Rahway River Parkway, ca. 1936.

The Harrison N.J. Public Library was constructed in 1936-8 as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $42,476 grant for the project. "The overall dimensions of the building are 94 by 60 feet. In the basement there are a community room, staff room, workroom, boiler room, and toilets. On the first floor are a reading room, a stack room, and librarian's office. There is an exhibit room on the mezzanine floor. It is fireproof with concrete floors, steel trusses, and brick bearing walls. The roofing is slate. It was completed in February 1938 at a construction cost of $79,041...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Metuchen Borough Library in 1935-6. The library is still in use today. Quote "The Dawn," a monthly WPA newsletter, June 1936: Laying of the cornerstone for the new Public Library in Metuchen was marked with appropriate ceremonies on May 3. The Library, which was begun on December 19, 1935, is a WPA project sponsored by the Borough Council and is being built by funds provided jointly by the Works Progress Administration, the Metuchen Library Association and the estate of the late Professor Theododore Hunt of Princeton. The Federal contribution total $68,444.00. The sponsors...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a municipal building, now the town library, based on the design of—and using stones from—Oakland's Old Ponds Church. In fact, the building's façade was designed as an "exact replica of the old church."

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant for construction of the the former library in Linden, New Jersey. The building was completed in 1939, and was demolished in 2010 to make way for the "modern facility behind it on the same East Henry Street site." PWA Docket No. NJ 1212

Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers conducted building repairs at the main public library in Bayonne, New Jersey. Furthermore, WPA workers were employed to re-bind thousands of damaged books at the library. An additional WPA project involved "organizing and operating branch library services."

Trenton, New Jersey's old Lincoln School, then a segregated facility, was improved by the federal National Youth Administration (NYA) ca. 1936. The facility now operates as the Rivera School. Quote "The Dawn," a monthly WPA newsletter, July 1936: Twelve colored boys are constructing a baseball diamond at the Lincoln School, and eight girls are doing bookbinding work at the same school.

The Lincoln Tunnel is a 1.5-mile long tunnel under the Hudson River, from  Weehawken, New Jersey to the borough of Manhattan.  The  project was funded by the New Deal's Public Works Administration and the design was by Ole Singstad. Construction began in March 1934 and the tunnel opened to traffic on December 22, 1937, charging $0.50 per passenger car. The cost of construction was $85,000,000.  The original design called for two tubes. Work on the second was halted in 1938 but resumed in 1941. Due to war material shortages of metal, completion was delayed for two years. It opened on February 1, 1945 at a...

Among a series of paving projects undertaken by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Irvington, New Jersey was the 3,000-foot stretch of Linden Avenue from Clinton Ave. to Silkman Pl. The WPA also constructed storm sewers along Linden Ave.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Main Street in Oceanport, New Jersey, a $72,018 project. WPA Official Project Number: 265‐1‐22‐65

A 12'9"-span stone arch bridge in East Amwell Township, New Jersey (just off Wertsville Road, by Wertsville) was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

A bridge over Barnagat Bay connecting Mantoloking NJ and Brick NJ was built in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration. It was made of concrete and wood and was used for almost seventy years before being replaced in 2006. The western section of the bridge was repurposed as a fishing pier and is still used. A perfect example of the Living New Deal!

Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital, constructed 1928 to 1931, underwent a $2,000,000 extension project undertaken in part with federal Public Works Administration funds. At one point this was among—if not the single—busiest maternity hospitals in the U.S. The massive addition, identifiable as the tallest component of the building, faces Cornelison Avenue, was completed ca. 1940. Jersey City's mayor at the time, Frank Hague, named the hospital for his mother, Margaret Hague. Terry Golway of The New York Times writes that "...W.P.A. money allowed... to expand the complex into the nation’s third-largest medical facility. At Hague’s insistence, the center offered medical care...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook the project in Bayonne, New Jersey of "reclaiming tidal marsh lands for recreational purposes at East 49th St. and New York Bay." It involved constructing a retaining wall; "grading, filling, and seeding 23 acres of upland and submerged land"; and construction of an additional cinder road at the foot of what was then East 49th Street.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work on all school buildings in the city of Bayonne ca. 1939. Work on the Mary J. Donohoe School building included "painting, repairing, and general improvement work."

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration completed upgrades/repairs for the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library on Main Street, Matawan, NJ. "As the year draws to a close, a WPA-funded upgrading project begins. The project includes book repair, creation of local history scrapbooks, mounting of photos (for instructional purposes), indexing/cataloging and shelf-listing."

The existing Mechanic Street School was renovated and enlarged with Works Progress Administration funds in 1936. The building has since been converted into an office building.

The website for Hudson County, New Jersey writes that Mercer Park in Bayonne, N.J. "was named after General Hugh Mercer, a famous American Revolution figure known for his bravery at the Battle of Princeton. The Park’s development was made possible through Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the New Deal, which provided funds to employ local residents to work on the park."

The bridge carrying what was then known as Ocean Highway (presently known as County Road 621, or Ocean Drive) over Middle Thorofare was constructed as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project, as part of the largest New Deal construction effort in Cape May County, New Jersey. The bridge is still in use today. State.NJ.us: "In 1934 the county government created the Cape May County Bridge Commission as a means to apply for Federal Emergency Administration Funds to build bridges on the Ocean Highway and to bring to completion the promotional tourist route from Atlantic City to Cape May. The Ocean Highway bridges,...

"The Millville airport was dedicated on August 2, 1941, by local, state, and federal officials. The first contingent of Air Corps personnel arrived on 17 December 1942. In less than a year construction of base facilities began, and in January 1943, the Millville Army Air Field opened as a United States Army Air Forces gunnery school for fighter pilots. It was assigned to First Air Force." The Work Projects Administration (WPA) undertook a $740,593.00 project to construct the airport, sponsored by the War Department. Official Project Number: 165‐1‐22‐337.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed Milton Lake Park in Rahway, New Jersey during the Great Depression.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $93,300 loan and $37,399 grant for construction what is now the Mohawk Avenue School in Sparta, New Jersey. Total cost of the project was $136,628. PWA Docket No. NJ 8215

The federal Works Progress Administration constructed an amphitheater for what was then known as Montclair State Teachers College. The 2,000-seat theater was constructed into a hillside, its 22 tiers of seats measuring between 92 and 190 feet long. The stage, at construction, measured 70 feet by 40 feet and contained a tree in the middle. An orchestra pit in front of the stage measured 70'-by-30'.

The federal Works Progress Administration conducted several construction projects ca. 1936 at what was then known as Montclair State Teachers College. The largest project was the 2,000-seat amphitheater, still in use today. Other work at the college included construction of an athletic field (the original Sprague Field) "to care care of track, football and baseball;" and a parking lot with a capacity of 125 cars. The exact location and status of the latter project is unknown to Living New Deal.