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  • Ocean Avenue Wall - Sea Bright NJ
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a concrete wall along the west side of Ocean Avenue. A metal plaque reads "Built by Works Progress Administration 1935-1036."
  • Ocean Front Boardwalk - Spring Lake NJ
    This WPA boardwalk was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. "After Hurricane Sandy, pieces of the boardwalk lay strewn on the beach or across the street on residents’ lawns. Only the original concrete pilings were left standing. As a reminder of the boardwalk’s history, one piling shows a stamp with “WPA 1937” which stands for Work Progress Administration, a Roosevelt New Deal program intended to put public workers back to work after the Great Depression."   (https://www.prweb.com) It has since been rebuilt, with the WPA pilings incorporated into the new structure.
  • Oceanic Bridge - Rumson to Middletown NJ
    "This 2,712-foot, fifty-seven-span steel double-leaf bascule bridge across the Navesink River between Rumson and Middletown was built in 1939 as one of the many Depression-era public-works projects" of the New Deal. Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), it is the M.O. of the Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) to pay "45 percent of the construction cost" of larger projects, as was the case here. As of 2016 the bridge was slated for replacement during the 2020s.
  • Oyster Drill Eradication - Mauricetown NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) assisted in efforts to eradicate the oyster drill, a predatory sea snail that preys on oysters, in New Jersey waters. One specific work site was the Maurice River Cove of Delaware Bay, by Heislerville, New Jersey.
  • Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey - Alpine NJ
    The Palisades Interstate Park system, a major beneficiary of New Deal public works projects, spans New York and New Jersey and stretches from The Palisades—cliffs overlooking the Hudson River in sight of Manhattan—to forested hills dotted with lakes in the western Hudson Highlands. The park system was founded in 1900 through the activism of women’s clubs that fought to protect the Palisades
from quarrying. They were aided by some of the richest men in America, among them J.P. Morgan, the Rockefellers and the Harriman family. Mixing civic idealism and the desire to preserve the beauty of their own region, they purchased or...
  • Palisades Interstate Park, State Line Cafe - Alpine NJ
    Originally known as the "Lookout Inn." A sign at the current State Line Cafe describes the building's New Deal history: "'Lookout Inn' was built from Palisade stone and chestnut wood in 1937-38 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The Park kept the Inn open-air during warmer months, and an attendant...operated a filling station in the parking area.  
  • Palisades Interstate Park: Alpine Pavilion - Alpine NJ
    The Civil Works Administration built the Alpine Pavilion in Palisades Interstate Park in Alpine NJ. Built in 1934 and used as a bathhouse until 1944, the Pavilion was restored in 2016 and is used for picnics and gatherings.
  • Palisades Interstate Park: Englewood Picnic Area, Bloomer's Beach Bathhouse, and Refreshment Stand - Englewood Cliffs NJ
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) built the Bloomer's Beach Bathhouse and Refreshment Stand in the Palisades Interstate Park in Englewood Cliffs NJ. The Palisades Interstate Park Bathhouse served swimmers in the Hudson River until swimming at the beach was terminated during World War II. Since then, the Bathhouse has fallen into ruin, but the refreshment stand remains. The CWA also built the picnic pavilion at the nearby Englewood Picnic Area. By the 1920s the Englewood Picnic Area and Boat Basin was a vigorous facility with swimming, boating basin, picnicking, and ferry service that brought visitors from upper Manhattan. New Deal workers added a snack bar...
  • Palisades Interstate Park: Henry Hudson Drive - Alpine NJ
    The Henry Hudson Drive provides access to sections of the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey located on the banks of the Hudson River. The section of the drive from the Englewood Cliffs entrance to the Edgewater entrance were built by New Deal laborers.  (A section to the north of this portion precedes the New Deal.) Three New Deal agencies—the Civil Works Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Works Progress Administration—were involved in the construction of the road. Further north, the Alpine Approach Road and its retaining walls in the northern section of the park were also built by New Deal...
  • Palisades Interstate Park: Undercliff Picnic Area - Englewood Cliffs
    The Civilian Conservation Corps built the picnic area on Henry Hudson Drive near the Hudson River in the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey.    
  • Palmer Square Post Office (former) - Princeton NJ
    The historic former Palmer Square post office in Princeton, New Jersey, was constructed in 1934. It was originally Princeton's main post office. Sold in the mid-2010s, the building is privately owned, serving as a restaurant before undergoing extensive renovations around 2021 and housing new functions. The building contains an example of New Deal artwork, "a controversial 1939 mural depicting Native Americans reacting to the arrival of European colonists, a scene that some consider racist."   (https://savethepostoffice.com)
  • Palmer Square Post Office (former) Mural - Princeton NJ
    The historic former Palmer Square post office in Princeton, New Jersey houses an example of New Deal artwork: a large mural, entitled "Columbia under the Palm," painted by Karl Free in 1939. The mural remains in place despite USPS having sold the building to private interests and the building undergoing multiple transformations since that time. "One of the distinctive features of the post office building is a controversial 1939 mural depicting Native Americans kneeling at the arrival of European colonists, a scene that some have denounced as racist."   (https://www.nj.com)
  • Palmyra Borough Hall - Palmyra NJ
    The old Palmyra Methodist Church (later Society Hal), built in 1854, was acquired by the borough. The Works Progress Administration moved the structure forty feet further from the railroad and lifted the building to create a basement. The building was brickfaced and a colonial-style cupola added. The architect of record was F. Herbert Radey. The work was completed in 1941.
  • Palmyra High School Stadium - Palmyra NJ
    Palmyra High School's football stadium was originally constructed by the WPA in 1936, with a full grandstand, quarter mile cinder track, and football field with accompanying locker rooms. It was recently renovated by the Aliano Brothers and Garrison Architects, who describe the outcome as "A fully functioning stadium that stands once more as a monument to WPA and the restoration of the American spirit during the Great Depression"   (https://www.alianoconstruction.com).
  • Park Avenue Overpass - South Plainfield NJ
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant for the construction of a bridge to carry Park Avenue over the train tracks in South Plainfield, New Jersey. The project was undertaken as part of a larger grade crossing elimination initiative during that era. The PWA provided a grant of $20,523 for the project, whose total cost was $74,836. PWA Docket No. NJ 4175
  • Park Development - Dunellen NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed park(s) in Dunellen, New Jersey ca. 1936. The exact location or status of the work is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Park Retaining Wall - Boonton NJ
    "Forty are building a retaining wall at the foot of Morris avenue here near the Rockaway River. The plot will be filled with refuse and dirt after the wall is built. Eventually it will become a park." The park mentioned is today known as Grace Lord Park.
  • Parkway School (former) Sidewalks - Ewing Township NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed crushed-stone footpaths around the old Parkway School in Ewing Township, New Jersey in 1936. The project was undertaken to advance the safety of children attending the school.
  • Parvin State Park and CCC Camp - Pittsgrove NJ
    "In 1930, the State purchased 918 acres of land and a 108 acre lake.  On September 12, 1931 the property was dedicated as Parvin State Park. The new Park continued to be a popular recreation area, adding camping to its list of activities.  Water festivals with swimming races were held each summer during the early years of the Park.  Joe Truncer was appointed as the first Park Superintendent and Bob Seymour, who had been the caretaker under the previous owner, became a Park employee.  Between 1932 and 1933 Almond Road was moved about 50 yards north of its earlier location in...
  • Paterson Armory (former) Improvements - Paterson NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to clean and otherwise improve the old Paterson Armory on Market St. in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1936. In addition to giving the armory its first scrubbing since its construction in 1894, WPA workers oiled, sanded and finished the 225'-by-151' drill floor; rebuilt two stairways; repaired all the doors; and fixed the sewer connection. Federal funds: $9,338.49; sponsor funds: $3,857.65. Project descriptions, per a DoD Heritage Assessment: "General repairs to Armory on Market Street"; "Improve 113th Infantry Armory, including constructing floor, walls, ceilings, and rifle ranges, filling, removing floors, painting, installing plumbing, electrical, heating, and...
  • Penns Grove Middle School - Penns Grove NJ
    The middle school was built as Penns Grove High School in 1934-6 as a PWA (Public Works Administration) project and has undergone numerous repairs in recent years. Because of its unique architecture, the school was listed by Preservation New Jersey as one of the 10 most endangered historic places in New Jersey in 2011. The PWA supplied a $230,000 loan and $83,061 grant for the project, whose total cost was $312,159. The building served as the high school until the current high school on Harding Highway was built. PWA Docket No. NJ 3188
  • Philip G. Vroom School Improvements - Bayonne NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work on all school buildings in the city of Bayonne ca. 1939. Work on the Philip G. Vroom School building included "painting, repairing, and general improvement work."
  • Picatinny Arsenal - Rockaway Township NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted millions of dollars (not even adjusted for inflation) of improvement and development work at the Picatinny Arsenal and a sub-installation, the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Depot, in New Jersey. Work involved the construction and improvement of storage facilities and various utilities. One WPA project description: Repair and rehabilitate buildings, utilities, equipment, water supply, and purification, water and sewer lines, transportation facilities, and airport, improve plumbing, heating, and electrical installations, landscape, grade, and drain grounds, also includes the construction of storage buildings officers quarters extension to storage buildings, officers quarters, extension to carpenter shop, change houses,...
  • Piney Hollow Road Improvements - Winslow NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve roads and highways in Winslow Township, New Jersey. Improvements to the two-mile stretch of what was then the "Old Piney Hollow" wagon trail from Mays Hollow Road to the Monroe Township line were part of a greater construction program to "connect eight farm roads ... into a network of feeders to the White Horse Pike and other market arteries." Federal funds: $263,631; sponsor funds: $18,505.
  • Play Area - Newark NJ
    Works Progress Administration (WPA) project 3-77 involved the construction of "a large playfield area at Chancellor avenue" in Newark, New Jersey. Examination of a photo from a 1936 WPA publication places the field between Chancellor Avenue Elementary School and Hobson St.
  • Playground - Bordentown NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a playground / recreational center in Bordentown, New Jersey ca. 1936. The exact location or status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Playground - Delanco NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a playground / recreational center in Delanco, New Jersey ca. 1936. The exact location or status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Playground - Maple Shade NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a playground / recreational center in Maple Shade, New Jersey ca. 1936. The exact location or status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Playground - Palmyra NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a playground / recreational center in Palmyra, New Jersey ca. 1936. The exact location or status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Playground - Riverton NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a playground / recreational center in Riverton, New Jersey ca. 1936. The exact location or status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Playground - Scotch Plains NJ
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a playground "at the corner of Route 29 and Park Avenue" in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, 1936, near Diamond Hill Road. Two tennis courts and bocce courts were built. "Stone walls 16 inches thick have been constructed along each side of the brook, which runs through the playground." A 25-by-35-foot stone shelter was constructed as well. The approximate location of the facilities is shown on the map below.
  • Poison Ivy Eradication - Elizabeth NJ
    "WPA workers under direction of the Board of Health are engaged in eradication of poison ivy growth prevalent in outlying sections of the city , principally in the vicinity of Shelley avenue, Harding road, Coolidge road, Edgewood road and Byron avenue."
  • Police Pistol Range - Perth Amboy NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration constructed a police pistol range in Perth Amboy, New Jersey in 1936. The exact location and status of the project are unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Ponds Church Demolition - Oakland NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) demolished Oakland, New Jersey's Old Ponds Church in April 1936, after the building had been deemed unsafe by local authorities. However, the WPA then salvaged "stones and hand hewn timbers" from the old church and used them to construct what was then a municipal building and what is now Oakland's public library. The exact location of the old church is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Port Terminal (former) - Bayonne NJ
    Bayonne's massive Port Terminal—later the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne—was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. While plans for the development were made in the early 1930s, construction occurred between 1937 and 1938. The PWA supplied a $2,430,000 loan and $1,785,682 grant for the project, whose total cost was $4 million. PWA Docket No. NJ 159.
  • Post Office - Belmar NJ
    Constructed by the Treasury Department in 1936.
  • Post Office - Bergenfield NJ
    The historic post office building in Bergenfield, New Jersey was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. Construction was completed in 1935. The building, which has since been expanded, is still in use today.
  • Post Office - Bloomfield NJ
    The historic main post office building in Bloomfield, New Jersey was constructed with Treasury Department funds in 1934. The building is still in service.
  • Post Office - Bordentown NJ
    The historic post office building in Bordentown, New Jersey was built in 1939 with federal Treasury Department funds.
  • Post Office - Bound Brook NJ
    The post office in Bound Brook, New Jersey was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which opened in 1935, is still in use today.
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