Portales Sites

The abstract mural titled "Art," by Lloyd Moylan, was funded by the WPA's Federal Art Project. The medium is tempera on plaster.  There were music classes held on the second floor of the ENMU Administration Building, which explains the choice of a piano mural on the second floor of the building. Later, the classes were moved to former WWII barracks until a new and separate music building was completed around 1958. So the caption might be “Moylan captured the sounds of music through the walls of the school’s Music Dept.” Nearby, the Golden Library houses this mural's twin, titled "Science". As Kathy...

"The 12th Chapter of Ecclesiastes" Medium: tempera on plaster The mural occupies a stairwell. All its components cannot be viewed at once. The following text is quoted from an informational postcard handout available on site: In 1937, the Work Projects Administration of the Federal Government established a program of murals in public buildings throughout the United States. Eastern New Mexico University made application to the Work Projects Administration for a mural to be painted in the Administration Building. Following approval of the application, a mural to represent the 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes in the Holy Bible was chosen. The Work Projects Administration employed...

Cemetery improvements were undertaken as a New Deal project, most likely by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Portales City Park and swimming pool were constructed as New Deal projects, most likely by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed the former Eastern New Mexico State Park, occasionally referred to as "Blackwater Draw Park", ca. 1934-6. Flynn: "This CCC-built site was originally created to reforest 9,600 acres of that Dust Bowl area. Later the state government reduced the amount of acreage to 400. The CCC built a large bath house, other houses, camping areas and a lake. All but one long house near the highway remains and was most likely the home for the park manager. In 1951 the state deeded the property to Eastern New Mexico University in Portales and they later built a large...

Eastern New Mexico University saw great improvements resulting from the efforts and funding of multiple New Deal programs. The campus is home to several outstanding New Deal buildings and artworks.

In addition to "Science," a large New Deal mural, ENMU's Golden library is the home of several smaller commissioned ("portable") examples of New Deal paintings, including: Gene Kloss: "Penitente Friday" and "Acoma" Stuart Walker: "Black and White Sawmill" and "Abstract" Cady Wells: "Mesas" (which may not be New Deal-sponsored) Brooks Willis: "Sawmill" According to Flynn, the ENMU’s Department of Music Building had housed these examples of New Deal oil paintings. They, too, were more recently housed at Golden Library. Three oil paintings done around 1934 by Nils Hogner grace the walls of the staff lounge. They are colorful Navajo Indian scenes. We understand that one has disappeared....

The abstract mural titled "Science," by Raymond Jonson, was funded by the WPA's Federal Art Project. It is in ENMU's Golden Library. Nearby, the university's administration building houses this mural's twin, titled "Art". Flynn: They were planned as a pair, with the aim of serving as spiritual stimuli for the students. Regarding these panels, Jonson wrote in 1937: "My desire is to have a fine quality in these works based on, as a starting point, "Art" and "Science." One panel will place the emphasis on Art—the other on Science (note: my aim is to develop a series of rhythms and forms that can function as...

ENMU's Lea Hall was constructed as a New Deal project in 1936.  The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) provided a $46,000 loan and $37,636 grant for the project, whose total cost was $85,034. P.W.A. Docket No. N.M. 7048

The Portales Woman's Club building was constructed by the W.P.A. It is still in service, and may have housed examples of New Deal artwork in its early days.

The historic post office in Portales, New Mexico was built during the Great Depression as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project, in 1936-7. Construction of the building is sometimes mis-attributed to the WPA. The post office, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The historic Portales post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: a 1938 Section of Fine Arts mural by Theodore Van Soelen entitled "Buffalo Range."

ENMU's Quay Hall was constructed as a New Deal project in 1935-6. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a loan and a grant to cover most of the cost of the project.  

Construction of the Roosevelt County Courthouse and Jail was undertaken as a New Deal project during the Great Depression. Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), the building was actually a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied an $89,173 grant for the building's construction; total cost of the project was $197,381. Construction occurred between 1937 and 1938/9. P.W.A. Docket No. N.M. 1024-D.S.

The Roosevelt County Museum was established in 1940, and a home for it was funded and built by the Work Projects Administration (WPA). It is located at the northern end of the ENMU campus, off W 2nd St. In addition to exhibits contributed by local residents, the museum houses examples of New Deal etchings.