Brooklyn Sites

On May 26, 1939, the Department of Parks announced the official opening of the new Mount Prospect Park behind the Brooklyn Public Library: "At Mount Prospect Park, the exercises will start at 12:00 Noon and besides Commissioner Moses and the Mayor, Honorable Joseph Goodman, Commissioner of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, and Honorable Raymond V. Ingersoll, President of the Borough of Brooklyn will speak. This area, formerly the site of the old Mount Prospect Reservoir and bordered by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Science and the new Brooklyn Central Library, has been completely...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the Brooklyn Municipal Building.

The New York Times reported in 1941 that, as part of WPA efforts, Brooklyn would receive six new playgrounds, located at: "Third Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, Second Avenue and Fifty-fifth Street, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Fifty-second Street, Albany and Foster Avenues, Park and Nostrand Avenues and Eastern Parkway Extension and Fulton Street." The history of this no-longer-extant park, the fifth of the six sites sited above, is detailed by New York City's Parks Department in a page describing the development of nearby Marcy Playground: "An unnamed park preceded this playground that honors Marcy. It was located a block further north, was one-third...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the no-longer-extant municipal yard at DeKalb Ave. and Irving Ave.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the municipal yard at 5th Ave. and 38th St. The site is now utilized by the MTA.

The federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) undertook several road improvement projects along roads in Brooklyn, New York. One such project involved the widening of Navy Street in the area between Fort Greene and downtown Brooklyn from Park Ave. to DeKalb Ave. (Presently, the stretch of this road widened north of Myrtle Avenue is Navy Street while the southern portion is known as Ashland Place.)

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the no-longer-extant water pumping station located at Neptune Ave. and West 27th Street. The station was replaced by a PWA-sponsored project located a few hundred feet east.

The Fulton Street branch of New York City's Independent Subway (IND) was constructed during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. On April 9, 1936, nine stations opened in Brooklyn, including the Court Street subway station. The Court St. subway station closed in 1946; it reopened in 1976 as the New York Transit Museum.

The Department of Health medical center at 130 Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn was constructed with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor. This was one of three infant health stations in Brooklyn dedicated by Mayor La Guardia on May 10, 1939. The buildings cost about $50,000 each, with the WPA paying 60% and the city paying 40% of the costs.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work on Brooklyn's Orange Street in 1936.

A March 27, 1936 Department of Parks press release announced the opening of this new WPA playground: "The Department of Parks will open ten new playgrounds Saturday, March 28, making a total of 125 added to the recreational system in two years. …at Owl's Head Park there will be a wading pool, an area for group games, four slides, six kindergarten slides, kindergarten swings, large swings, see-saws, a jungle gym and a baby jungle gym… All of these playgrounds were constructed as Works Progress Administration projects." Today, the NYC Parks website declares that "Owl's Head Park is now one of the premier parks in...

P.S. 159 in Brooklyn, New York, received an addition in 1938-9 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $94,500 grant for the school, whose total construction cost was $179,930. PWA Docket No. NY 1724

The school auditorium contains a set of murals by Sacha Moldovan entitled "New York Old and New," painted under the auspices of the WPA. "Drawing inspiration from historic images of New York as well as 1930s views of the city, Sacha Moldovan created a fanciful panorama of New York City, old and new, blending recognizable landmarks with a naïve sensibility. Moldovan was born in Russia but lived and worked in Paris, where he came of age artistically as a member of the School of  Paris, befriending Henri Matisse and Chaim Soutine. Moldovan’s paintings feature thick applications of brilliant color, heavy outlines, and...

P.S. 213, on Hegeman Ave. between Vermont St. and New Jersey Ave., was constructed in 1938-9 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $256,725 grant for the school, whose total construction cost was $440,538. PWA Docket No. NY 1446

In 1939, Herman Simms completed a mural for the entranceway of P.S. 216 in Brooklyn with funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The mural is entitled "Children in Vocational Activities and Children in Directed and Undirected Play." The New York Times explains that "...Herman Simms, a 29-year-old artist kept off the bread lines by the Works Progress Administration, painted a mural in the entranceway of Public School 216 in Gravesend, Brooklyn....It took him eight months. He was paid $20 a week." It describes the mural thus: "One piece of the mural dealt with classroom activities -- music instruction, home economics and...

P.S. 221, located on Empire Boulevard in Brooklyn, New York, was completed in 1940 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant of $431,100, 45% of the estimated project cost.

An addition to the P.S. 225 school building in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn was constructed during the mid-1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project.

P.S. 247 in Brooklyn was constructed during the mid-1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project.

The New York Times reported in 1941 that, as part of WPA efforts, Brooklyn would receive six new playgrounds, located at: "Third Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, Second Avenue and Fifty-fifth Street, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Fifty-second Street, Albany and Foster Avenues, Park and Nostrand Avenues and Eastern Parkway Extension and Fulton Street." Paerdegat Park is the fourth site described. New York City's Parks Department website writes: "The land for Paerdegat Park was acquired by purchase and condemnation in 1941 and became a park that same year." Construction on the park was completed in January 1943. A press release announcing the opening...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook several road improvement projects along roads in Brooklyn, New York. One such project involved the removal of malls and other repair work along the modest stretch of Parkville Ave. from McDonald Ave. to 47th St.

The historic Parkville Station post office in Brooklyn, New York was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1937. The building is still in use today.

The Brooklyn school now known as Paul Robeson High School for Business and Technology (originally P.S. 191) received an addition during the 1930s sponsored by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA).

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a $197,000 street repair and maintenance project, along what were then dirt roads, throughout the borough of Brooklyn, New York. Roads improved included a stretch of what was at that point Pelican Avenue from "Flatbush Ave. to Hancock St."  Pelican Avenue was eliminated on New York City maps in 1941, and the land previously allocated for the road was turned over to the city's Department of Parks for development as part of Marine Park. Questions remain as to whether the terminus for the project was really called...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the old Pennsylvania Avenue Court Building, whose present function is unknown to Living New Deal.

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a $197,000 street repair and maintenance project, along what were then dirt roads, throughout the borough of Brooklyn, New York. Roads improved included the half-mile stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue between Linden Blvd. and what was then known as Fairfield Avenue (which was renamed and became part of Flatlands Ave. in 1956).

The federal Works Progress Administration undertook a $93,900 project starting in 1935 to modernize and otherwise improve several public (now-former) bath facilities in Brooklyn, NY. The public baths at 1752 Pitkin Ave. were constructed in 1903; the baths closed in 1949 and the building is privately owned. The facilities identified as part of the WPA project were: 209 Wilson Ave. Municipal Baths, Coney Island Duffield Street Hicks Street Pitkin Ave. Huron St. Montrose Ave.

Plumb Beach (sometimes spelled "Plum") is a beach along the north shore of Rockaway Inlet, across the creek from Marine Park. It was originally an island, but Hog Creek was filled in during the late 1930s. The beach area was extensively developed by the WPA. At the time, the Island was part of Marine Park. An August 1941 Department of Parks press release announced the "completion of the development of Plum Island, Marine Park, Brooklyn. This new recreation area provides a small parking field just off the Belt Parkway, 50 picnic tables and 40 fireplaces, serviced by a concession building, comfort...

Private First Class Thomas Norton Memorial Playground, located on Nostrand Avenue south of Kings Highway, was acquired by the Parks Department in 1940 and completed by the WPA in 1941. The press release announcing the playground's opening described the WPA's work: "The half-acre area has been intensively developed in units designed for various age groups. The kindergarten section contains a sand pit, slides, swings and see-saws together with seating accommodations for mothers and guardians of children. Adjoining this is a space devoted to older children equipped with swings, slides and exercise unit. The central area contains a shower basin and a...

The playground inside Prospect Park, located at the eastern end of 10th Street, was one of 11 Works Progress Administration (WPA) parks that opened April 4, 1936.

In August 1941, the WPA completed the construction of extensive improvements to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The work was focused along the West border of Prospect Park between Garfield Place and 15th st., where the WPA built "marginal playgrounds, two sitting areas with sand pits, walks and bicycle path" to supplement the new bandshell, which had been added in 1939. Specifically, this work included: “a semi-circular sitting area, 100 feet in diameter,” with “a large central sand pit and a continuous row of benches for guardians of the children“ opposite 13th St., as well as a similar sitting area and sand...

"This collection of animals was formalized as the Prospect Park Zoo on Flatbush Avenue that opened to the public on July 3, 1935. A Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, the zoo was part of a massive citywide park improvement program initiated and executed by former Parks Commissioner Robert Moses... As with its WPA cousin in Central Park, the Prospect Park Zoo showcased limestone relief work by F.G.R. Roth, still visible today; the eleven bas-reliefs are based on Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book stories and depict Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves... As was the case with the Central Park Zoo, time and better...

On August 23, 1941, Parks announced the completion of a new WPA playground at Lincoln Rd. and Ocean Avenue (now known as the Lincoln Road Playground): "The playground at Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Road, approximately one-half acre in size, is semi-circular in shape, paved with asphalt so as to provide year round usage and equipped with a shower basin-, a sand pit, kindergarten swings, slides, see-saws and a pipe frame exercise unit. A large open area provides space for general play, skating, and organized games. Around the perimeter continuous benches have been provided for mothers and guardians. A new brick comfort station...

The Brooklyn school P.S. 253, presently The Magnet School of Multicultural Humanities, was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building possesses a 1933 cornerstone.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935.  The project involved the "Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices" at more than 30 locations, including the no-longer-extant water pumping station located at Ocean Parkway and Avenue V.

The New York Times reported in 1941 that, as part of WPA efforts, Brooklyn would receive six new playgrounds, located at: "Third Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, Second Avenue and Fifty-fifth Street, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Fifty-second Street, Albany and Foster Avenues, Park and Nostrand Avenues and Eastern Parkway Extension and Fulton Street." Rappaport Playground is the third site described.

Red Hook Park in Brooklyn was one of several major parks and hundreds of playgrounds created in New York City with Federal funds in the New Deal era. In this 1938 text, Robert Moses describes the work accomplished in New York City parks, including Red Hook, by relief workers: "There are today 372 playgrounds, ranging from small neighborhood plots of a quarter acre to large developments such as Macombs Dam Park in The Bronx, Red Hook and McCarren Parks in Brooklyn, and Randall's Island, adjacent to the East Harlem section of Manhattan, all developed to take care of every type of recreation for both children and...

Red Hook Park swimming pool was one of eleven pools constructed by Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief workers for the New York City Parks Department in 1936.  As the Parks Department website puts it: "A new era in active recreation arrived in the 1930s and 1940s, when the Department of Parks assumed jurisdiction over the city's bathhouses and harnessed Works Progress Administration labor to develop a series of outdoor pools for the city. The WPA swimming pools were among the most remarkable public recreational facilities in the country, representing the forefront of design and technology in advanced filtration and chlorination systems. The...

The federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) undertook several road improvement projects along roads in Brooklyn, New York. One such project involved the removal of malls and other repair work along the modest stretch of Remsen Avenue from Winthrop St. to E. 54th St.

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a $197,000 street repair and maintenance project, along what were then dirt roads, throughout the borough of Brooklyn, New York. Roads improved included the following in central Canarsie in the vicinity of Flatlands Ave. and E. 87th St.: E. 88th St.: Flatlands Ave. to Ave. J E. 88th St.: Flatlands Ave. to Glenwood Rd. E. 87th St.: Flatlands Ave. to Ave. J E. 87th St.: Flatlands Ave. to Glenwood Rd. E. 87th St.: Ave. M to Ave. L E. 85th St.: Flatlands Ave. to Ave. J E. 85th St.: Flatlands Ave. to Glenwood Rd.

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a $197,000 street repair and maintenance project, along what were then dirt roads, throughout the borough of Brooklyn, New York. Roads improved included the following in northeast Canarsie in the vicinity of the L train terminus: E. 98th St.: Farragut Rd. to Foster Ave. E. 99th St.: Farragut Rd. to Foster Ave./li> E. 103th St.: Farragut Rd. to Glenwood Rd. E. 104rd St.: Farragut Rd. to Glenwood Rd. Farragut Rd.: E. 102nd St. to E. 107th St.