Bronx Sites

The third-floor hallway at DeWitt Clinton High School contains two huge New Deal murals by Alfred Floegel, The History of the World (walls) and Constellations (ceiling). The oil on canvas murals were painted in 1934-1940. The History of the World is 5 feet 4 inches high and 194 feet long. Floegel worked on the Clinton High School murals from 1934 to 1940. In the wall mural, different eras of world history are represented in sequence, starting at the rear, proceeding up the right wall, then crossing over and proceeding down the left wall. The ceiling is uniformly done in blue and gold,...

Dunbar Playground is named after African American poet Paul Dunbar. It was opened by the New York Department of Parks on September 23, 1935. The department press release stated that the playground would be "equipped with a wading pool, shuffle board court, handball courts, swings, slides, seesaws, etc." (kermitproject.org). Although the release does not specify federal involvement, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that “it is safe to say that every single project completed by the NYC Park Department during the 1930s was federally funded to some degree.” After April 1935, the WPA was especially involved in the development of...

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Bronx street repair and maintenance project along roads throughout the borough. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were surfaced with penetrated macadam. Roads improved included the 1.2-mile stretch of East 222nd Street between Carpenter Ave. and Boston Rd.

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with street repair and maintenance projects that improved roads throughout the Bronx. An approximately half-mile stretch of what was then Eastern Boulevard (now the Bruckner Expressway) between Middletown Rd. and Westchester Ave. was resurfaced with bituminous concrete as part of one $94,564 WPA project.

An enormous mural called The Evolution of Western Civilization is located in the library of the former Evander Childs High School. The Federal Arts Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissioned the mural cycle in 1935 and it was completed in 1938. It is true fresco, rather than a painting, and covers 1,400 square feet.   (https://newdeal.feri.org) A film made by the WPA depicts the creation of the mural by artist James Michael Newell, aided by students at the high school. It can be viewed on the Living New Deal video page. The murals have generated significant controversy over the years, as discussed in...

In 1937 Romuald Kraus completed this sculpture entitled "Alma Mater" for Evander Childs High School with funding from the WPA's Federal Art Project (Archives of American Art).

"'In the Bronx, the reconstruction of an outfall sewer under Exterior Street near Broadway developed into one of the big engineering jobs at the NYC WPA. This sewer had been laid in the bed of the old Harlem River after the building of the Ship Canal.' It saved neighboring buildings from flooding with sewage."

Ferry Point Park is a large park in the Bronx located at the site of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge on the East River. New York City acquired the land in 1937. It was planned under Robert Moses and constructed by the WPA. A NYC Parks Department press release from August 11, 1941, announced that the park had been completed. The release describes several of the features constructed by the WPA, including: an overlook above the water, "a combination comfort station and storage building," "two baseball diamonds," picnic areas, tree plantings and more. Unfortunately the large portion of the park West of the...

The Works Progress Administration constructed the firehouse on the Henry Hudson Parkway East in the Fieldston section of the Bronx. Frank da Cruz with the Kermit Project describes the history of the firehouse thus: "The Engine 52 / Hook & Ladder 52 firehouse at 4550 Henry Hudson Parkway East in the Fieldston section of Bronx NY (MAP), serving Fieldston, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Kingsbridge, and Marble Hill since 1884. The present building was designed and constructed in 1939 by the US Works Projects Administration: Public Buildings ... The new house built by the WPA for Engine Company 52 at 4550 Riverdale Avenue replaces an old...

"Mosholu Baseball Field on Webster Avenue between East 201st Street and Mosholu Parkway, July 2014. A May 21, 1935, Parks Department press release says (referring to this field by original name, and by its location): This field, recently reconstructed by relief workers assigned to the Park Department, is one of the finest baseball plants in the entire park system, with seating accommodations for 3500 plus 1000 park benches. The diamond has been constructed according to big league specifications... The same press release (which announces a game between Manhattan College and the Bronx Elks) goes on to say, “The Park Department band...

The WPA provided resources to conduct repairs at the Franklin Avenue Armory in the Bronx during the 1930s. The armory was then home to the 105th Field Artillery (Second Battery). The National Guard utilized the building until 1988, at which point it was sold to the City of New York. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-378.

French Charley’s Playground is located within the northern part of Bronx Park, near the park entrance at East 204th Street by Webster Ave. "In June of 1941, Parks developed this playground and the fields, and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) provided the labor force for the new construction."   (www.nycgovparks.org) WPA work included the playground itself, as well as footbridge to the park at East 204th St., landscaping, paths and a large, rounded stone retaining wall. "The park is about 16 feet below street level and the WPA had to convert the sloping landscape into two levels that are flat, which involved moving...

Researcher Frank da Cruz makes a convincing argument that this former playground was built with New Deal funds: "According to a present-day NYC Parks Department web page, 'This property, bounded by East 146th Street, Walton Avenue, and the Grand Concourse, was acquired by the city in 1913 and assigned to Parks in 1934. Garrison Playground opened in 1936, and reopened in 1940 after the widening of the Grand Concourse' (which was a WPA project). The playground was open as recently as June 2014 (next image) but in June 2015 when I took these photos the entire block was being demolished,...

An article in the April 29, 1942 edition of The New York Times reported that WPA work on the Grand Concourse had begun. The work involved widening the Grand Concourse between 153rd and 161st streets by 6 feet, as well as installing a four-foot-wide center mall.

The New York Times reported in Sept. 1941 that "WPA crews are busy on twelve other park and playground projects in other parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx ... At Harris Park, Bedford Park Boulevard and 205th Street, the Bronx, a new ten-acre athletic field is being developed. When completed it will contain a brick field house, concrete bleachers, four baseball and two softball diamonds, four football fields with removable goal posts, a flagpole, benches and drinking fountains. The department intends to plant 17,500 honeysuckle vines on the steep slopes around the field."

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Bronx street repair and maintenance project along roads throughout the borough. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were surfaced with penetrated macadam. Roads improved included a modest stretch of Haviland Avenue from Castle Hill Ave. to Zerega Ave.

The column of the Henry Hudson Memorial in Henry Hudson Park was created in 1909, but the bronze sculpture by Karl Bitter intended for the top of the column was never added. This was rectified in the 1930s.  In 1937, the Department of Parks reported that: "Park Commissioner Robert Moses, sole member of the Henry Hudson Parkway Authority, announces that the Authority will furnish the statue and he has retained Karl H. Gruppe, who for years was associated with Mr. Bitter, to undertake the reproduction of the original design. Fortunately, the sculptor's widow, who resides at 209 East 72nd Street, has...

The  Henry Hudson Parkway runs along the Hudson River from West 72nd Street to the Bronx-Westchester border and includes the Henry Hudson Bridge, which connects Manhattan with the Bronx. The Parkway was part and parcel of the West Side Improvement project of 1934-37, which included the reconstruction of Riverside Park.  The Parkway and Riverside Park were financed and built together, as noted here by researcher Frank da Cruz. Part of its route also runs through Van Cortlandt Park, as described here: "Moses chose to run the new parkway through Van Cortlandt Park because it was already city property. To run it outside...

The Henry Hudson Bridge carries the Henry Hudson Parkway over the Hudson River between the Bronx and Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan. The idea of a bridge in that spot had been raised as early as 1906, but resistance from local residents, among other things, prevented its construction until the 1930s, when Robert Moses became involved. While resistance to the location remained, in part because of the way the bridge would disturb the serenity of Inwood Hill Park, Moses was able to push the project through. He was determined to get this particular location in large part so that he...

Artist James Michael Newell painted this large multi-panel mural with WPA Federal Arts Project funding in 1938. The murals depict the "Evolution of Western Civilization." The murals begin with "primitive man building his society" and end with scenes from 1930s America. "When it was completed, Newell’s progressive mural was well received. It won top honors in the Architectural League’s fiftieth annual exhibition in 1936 and it was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s “New Horizons of American Art” show featuring art commissioned under the Federal Art Project.  By the late 1960s, however, in the crucible of the civil rights movement,...

Located across the Harlem River from the larger Highbridge Park in Manhattan (also developed by the WPA), this small park located at the east end of the High Bridge, was built by the WPA in 1940. A Parks Department press release from April of that year explains: "It has been developed as a sitting park with numerous benches and landscaped with shade trees. There is also a sand pit in which small children may dig and play. The design was prepared by the Park Department and the work performed by the Works Progress Administration."   (https://kermitproject.org)

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Hillside Homes, one of the first subsidized housing projects in the United States. Located in Williamsbridge, the Bronx, the housing complex spans five city blocks. It was designed by architect and urban planner Clarence Stein. The complex was dedicated on June 29, 1935 by Governor Lehman and officials representing of the Federal, State, city, and borough governments. At the time of its opening, the Hillside complex was owned by the Hillside Housing Corporation with with rents controlled by the Federal Housing Authority and the State Housing Board. The facility is still in service...

A New York City Park's Department press release from December 4, 1939 announces the opening of three new WPA playgrounds, including Hines Park: "Hine's Park at Fulton Avenue and East 167 Street is a triangular-shaped area containing a small children's playground, providing a sandpit, see-saws, slides, kindergarten swings and a jungle gym... The opening of these four areas designed by the Park Department and built by the Work Projects Administration makes a total of 306 new or reconstructed playgrounds completed by the Park Department since 1934." (https://kermitproject.org)

"The Hunts Point Branch of the New York Public Library is the thirty-seventh and final Carnegie branch library to be built in New York City and the ninth to be constructed in the Bronx. It has been in continuous operation as a branch library for over eighty years." The library was built in 1929. From 1935-38, the library was expanded by the WPA, "with the construction of a rear two-story addition that accommodated a new activity space and supplementary reading room."   (https://hdc.org)

In October 1935, the New York City Department of Parks announced the opening of twelve new playgrounds, including this one at Hunts Point. Although the release does not specify federal involvement, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that “it is safe to say that every single project completed by the NYC Park Department during the 1930s was federally funded to some degree.” After April 1935, the WPA was especially involved in the development of the New York park system.

An addition to the J.H.S. 80 school building in the Bronx was constructed in 1935-36 as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The  PWA funds were allotted in 1934-36, and the school opened in 1936.

Jane Addams High School, located in the southern Bronx, was constructed during the 1930s with federal Public Works Administration funds. It opened in 1937. The project was PWA Docket No. NY 1178. The school closed in 2012, and the building now houses two smaller charter schools. In 1935, the Department of Parks had also opened a new playground on the site with federal funds, most likely FERA and possibly CWA funds. It is unclear whether that playground became part of the school's recreational facilities, or whether it was demolished in order to build the school.  

As researcher Frank da Cruz explains, "Jerome Park Reservoir has seven gatehouses: three offsite and four onsite such as the two shown here, the darker brick Gatehouse No.7 at left and the lighter brick Gatehouse No.5 at right. Gatehouses control the flow of water into and out of the reservoir via gates, sluices, and pumps and may also perform other functions such as filtering and chlorination. The original 1906 reservoir had gates and sluices but the buildings to contain them were not built as planned for lack of funds, which did not appear until the New Deal. The above-grade...

The reservoir itself dates to 1906, but, this report at nyc.gov describing the history of the reservoir and its surroundings explains that: ”The WPA funded a significant number of New York City projects relating to the water system, including surveys, water main installations, and the alteration, repair, and construction of buildings ... WPA work force moved into the area to complete many Reservoir repairs and new construction.“ As researcher Frank da Cruz documents here, in addition to repairs to the reservoir itself, "New construction included at least three, and possibly all seven, of the red brick and stone gate...

Originally a high school, Junior High School 113 ("Richard R. Green", formerly Olinville Junior High) was constructed during the 1930s with Public Works Administration funds. The project was PWA Docket No. NY 1180.

Junior High School 113 ("Richard R. Green", formerly Olinville Junior High) contains a two-panel oil on canvas mural entitled "Industry and Farming" painted by Edna Hershman in 1941. The murals were funded by the WPA Federal Art Project. The label of the archival photo pictured here reads: Edna Hershman went to the School of Fine Arts at Yale on several scholarships. She won medals from the Beaux Arts in mural painting. One of her murals hangs in the nurses' recreation room of the Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island. She is at present executing a mural "Constructive Effort of Man" for the...

A 1935 New York City Department of Parks Press release announced a: 'plan for the reconstruction of Joyce Kilmer Park, north of the Bronx County Court House between Walton Avenue and the Grand Concourse and extending from 161st Street to 164th Street... The new plan calls for the continuation of the Grand Concourse through these small triangles. The panels planted with Linden trees will be also carried through to 161st Street, The diagonal street through the south end of the Park will be closed and the open well on 161st Street in front of the Court House will be covered over... It will...

The WPA provided resources to conduct repairs at the Kingsbridge Armory (Eighth Regiment Armory) in the Bronx during the 1930s. The armory was then home to the 258th Field Artillery. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-378.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted landscaping work at a "triangular plot at the intersection of Bronx Blvd. and Duncomb Ave." The New York Times reported on an adorable story that occurred during the project, involving the hatching of six baby birds from eggs in a nest "no larger than fist."

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Bronx street repair and maintenance project along roads throughout the borough. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were surfaced with penetrated macadam. Roads improved included the stretch of Layton Avenue between Shore Drive and what was then Eastern Blvd. (Eastern Boulevard provided the foundation for what is now the Bruckner Expressway; however, the exact terminus for the Layton Avenue work is unclear as Layton Avenue intersects the Throgs Neck Expressway and not the Bruckner.)

"Lehman's Historic Campus page states that the “the first four buildings in the plan—Gillet and Davis halls, the Music Building, and the Gymnasium—were completed in 1931 by the New York State Works Progress Administration”. Strictly speaking, this would not be the New Deal WPA (as, for example, claimed by Wikipedia), but a primordial WPA launched by Franklin D. Roosevelt when he was New York's governor, 1929-32, where he “established a number of new social programs, and was advised by Frances Perkins and Harry Hopkins” (key players in the federal New Deal). To confuse matters further, the site was the Bronx...

The road construction project pictured in this photo was sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (NYPL Digital Collections). The road under construction was near the Bronx campus of Hunter College (the present day site of Lehman college).

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Bronx street repair and maintenance project along roads throughout the borough. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were surfaced with penetrated macadam. Roads improved included a half-mile stretch of Leland Avenue in the Clason Point neighborhood of the Bronx from O'Brien Ave. to Randall Ave.

On January 15, 1940, the New York City Department of Parks announced the completion of this "new facility" at Alexander Ave. and 136th St.: "It contains four handball courts, a large, open, biuminous-surfaced play area for group games, small and large swings, see-saws, slides, a jungle gym, a completely equipped playground with sand pit and wading pool for smaller children, and a comfort station. A planting area with shade trees borders the playground. Numerous concrete benches have been provided. ... designed by the Park Department and built by the Work Projects Administration..."   (https://kermitproject.org) The park was renamed for Private Carlos J. Lozada in...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted street repair work on Lurting Avenue in the vicinity of Rhinelander Ave. and Morris Park Ave., ca. 1936.