Jamaica Sites

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included the stretch of 86th Avenue in Jamaica between 139th St. and 143rd St.

New York City's Parks Department website states: "During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981) and the Works Progress Administration constructed recreational facilities in the park, including a boat landing, several playgrounds, tennis and handball courts, baseball diamonds, and a football field."

The City acquired Breininger Park (previously known as Braddock Park) in 1938. The Department of Parks officially announced the opening of the park in August 1939: "In Queens, the new playground is located at Braddock Avenue and 240 Street, in the Queens Village section, where a three and one half acre plot, on which there is a fine stand of mature shade trees, was acquired as an adjacent playground site in connection with the Belt Parkway, from which it is three blocks distant. A feature of this playground is a large oval lawn surrounded by a roller skating rink. A comfort...

The former Queens Central Library, located at 89-14 Parsons Blvd., "opened in 1930 and was expanded with WPA funds in 1941." "The current Central Library is a product of its era. In the mid-1960s, instead of renovating the existing library at 89-14 Parsons Boulevard, officials chose to build an entirely new structure at 89-11 Merrick Boulevard, six blocks east. The older building was recycled as a courthouse. Its facade has since been incorporated into an apartment building called the Moda."

The Queens County Supreme Court building in Jamaica was constructed as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. Short and Stanley-Brown: "This structure houses the 23 civil courts of Queens County and provides quarters for the judges, the clerk of the city court, the grand jury, the district attorney, and the county clerk. In addition, it provides offices for the naturalization bureau, the motor-vehicle bureau, the bar association, the supreme-court board, and the law library. The building is fireproof, of steel-frame construction, and the exterior is of limestone. The courtrooms are air-conditioned. It is seven stories in height, with two mezzanine floors, and...

The WPA made numerous improvements to the rapidly growing Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital in Jamaica, New York during the 1930s. Projects included: the installation of "underground piping for heating"; "excavation and construction of steam tunnels"; the "planting of trees and shrubs"; grading the hospital's grounds; fencing the grounds; constructing "additions to shop building" as well as to garages and to the "South wing"; and more. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-501.

NYC Parks explains: "O’Connell Playground opened on July 15, 1934, and is one of nine playgrounds that were built by Parks through the War Memorial Fund. The Fund was established in 1921 with $250,000 collected by the Police Department. In 1934, the fund remained untouched and had grown in value to $350,000. Seeking additional open spaces for children, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses obtained a legal ruling that permitted the fund to be spent on several playground developments. The properties were intended to honor the memories of individual soldiers who had given their lives in combat. The Fund was transferred to Parks on...

Formerly known as Liberty Park, this site was acquired by the City in late 1936. In July 1937, Parks announced that "the new playground...is the first section of a large recreational area which is being constructed to be completed. It is for small children and has slides, swings, see-saws, sand tables, play houses and a rectangular wading pool which can be used for volleyball when not in use as a pool. Benches and shade trees are also provided. When the entire area is completed, it will have facilities for baseball, football, tennis, roller-skating, basketball, horseshoe pitching and paddle tennis, as...

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included block of 91st Avenue between 188th and 189th St. and 189th St. between 91st Ave. and Jamaica Ave. This project is separate from a large, adjacent, Jamaica Avenue paving project that was undertaken by...

From NYC Parks: "Howard Von Dohlen Playground opened on July 15, 1934, and is one of nine playgrounds built by Parks through the War Memorial Fund. The fund was established in 1921 with $250,000 collected by the New York City Police Department. Until 1934, the money had remained untouched, during which time it had grown in value to $350,000. Seeking additional open spaces for children, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses obtained a legal ruling that permitted the Fund to be spent on several playground developments. The properties were intended to honor the memories of individual soldiers who had given their lives in...

The Queens Branch of New York City's Independent Subway (IND) was extended during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The IND line completed in 1933 only went as far as Jackson Heights' Roosevelt Street station. On December 31, 1936, eight new stations were inaugurated, extending the line down Broadway and along Queens Boulevard to Kew Gardens. Four additional stations opened on April 21, 1937, extending the line along Hillside Avenue to downtown Jamaica.  

The Queens Branch of New York City's Independent Subway was extended during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The first extension was completed in 1936.  On April 21, 1937, four new subway stations opened in Jamaica, including the 169th Street station that presently serves F train. Completion of this subway branch, The New York Times reported, "will add four new stations to the line and mark the beginning of express service on a rush-hour basis. ... The new link of the Queens line from Kew Gardens to 169th Street cost about $14,400,000 this figure including the...

The Queens Branch of New York City's Independent Subway was extended during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The first extension was completed in 1936.   On April 21, 1937, four more subway stations opened in Jamaica, including the Parsons Boulevard station that presently serves F train. Completion of this subway branch, The New York Times reported, "will add four new stations to the line and mark the beginning of express service on a rush-hour basis. ... The new link of the Queens line from Kew Gardens to 169th Street cost about $14,400,000 this figure including the...

The Queens Branch of New York City's Independent Subway was extended during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The first extension was completed in 1936.  On April 21, 1937, four new subway stations opened in Jamaica, including the Sutphin Boulevard station that presently serves the F train. Completion of this subway branch, The New York Times reported, "will add four new stations to the line and mark the beginning of express service on a rush-hour basis. ... The new link of the Queens line from Kew Gardens to 169th Street cost about $14,400,000 this figure including the...

The Queens Branch of New York City's Independent Subway was extended during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The first extension opened in 1936. On April 21, 1937, four more subway stations opened in Jamaica, including the Briarwood / Van Wyck Boulevard station that presently serves the E and F trains. Completion of this subway branch, The New York Times reported, "will add four new stations to the line and mark the beginning of express service on a rush-hour basis. ... The new link of the Queens line from Kew Gardens to 169th Street cost about $14,400,000...

The WPA provided assistance in repairing and otherwise improving the One Hundred and Fourth Field Artillery / 172nd Street-Jamaica Armory in Jamaica, Queens. The building is no longer extant.

The paving of the 3.5-mile stretch of Jamaica Avenue between 168th St. and 225th St. in Jamaica, Queens was first undertaken as a nearly-half-million-dollar WPA project during the 1930s. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-11.

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to conduct repairs and alterations to several civic buildings in Queens as part of a $300,464 project begun in 1935. The project included the construction of an addition to what was the Registers Building in Jamaica, NY. From Wikipedia: "Office of the Register, also known as Queens Register of Titles and Deeds Building, is a historic government building located in the Jamaica section of the New York City borough of Queens. It was built between 1895 and 1913 and is an imposing, three-story building with a limestone facade in the Neo-Italian Renaissance style. A rear five-story...

In early 1942, the WPA began work on a new park and playground to be operated jointly by the adjacent P.S. 40 (Samuel Huntington School) and the Department of Parks. A press release announcing the start of construction described the work to be accomplished: "Twenty-three one to two and a half story frame buildings are being demolished in preparation for the new development which will provide the following facilities: eight concrete surfaced handball courts, wading pool, brick comfort station, irrigated sand Pit and sitting area, seesaws, slides and swings for pre-school and older children, a pipe frame exercise unit, two large open...

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to conduct repairs and alterations to several civic facilities in Queens as part of a $300,464 project begun in 1935. Facilities improved included the "Jamaica Storage Sheds" at 132nd St. and 150th Ave. The original structures don't appear to be standing, but a municipal sanitation department storage lot is still located at the intersection.

Parks acquired what is now Marconi Park "on February 15, 1938, for the benefit of the adjacent P.S. 40 (William Wordsworth School) and the South Jamaica community. The playground opened on June 26, 1939, under the administration of Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia" (NYC Parks). On June 30, 1939, the Department of Parks held official opening ceremonies for the park, attended by Mayor LaGuardia and Robert Moses among others. The press release announcing the opening described the work done on the site: "South of the school, the one block square area developed to care for older children and adults has been provided...

P.S. 136 in Cambria Heights was constructed in the late 1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project.

P.S. 15, now called the Jackie Robinson School, in St. Albans, New York, was constructed in 1938-9 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $256,500 grant for the school, whose total construction cost was $430,448. PWA Docket No. NY 1711

The original P.S. 48 school building, at the eastern corner of 108th Ave. and 155th St. was constructed during the mid-1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The building bears a 1935 cornerstone.

The land for the Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park, known more commonly as the Smokey Oval Park, was acquired by the city in 1938. On October 31, 1939, the Department of Parks officially celebrated the opening of the park with a ceremony attended by Mayor La Guardia, Borough President George U. Harvey, Work Projects Administrator of New York City Brehon Somervell, and Park Commissioner Robert Moses. The press release announcing the opening explained: "the new 4.3 acre playground contains a separate children's area with wading pool, slides, see-saws and jungle gym, as well as kindergarten apparatus and sand pit for children of...

The Queens Borough Public Library features a number of murals completed through the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The murals are: A. Grant Arnold's "The Big Maple Tree" (1936), Philip Cheney's "12th and Market Sts., Phila." (1936), Louis Lozowick's "Night Repairs" (1939), Nan Lurie's "Next" (1937), Elizabeth Olds's "Pittsburgh" (date unknown), and Raphael Soyer's "Portrait of a Man (A Transient)" and "Working Girls Going Home" (both 1936). The location and status of these works is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) tore up disused trolley tracks along, repaved, and otherwise beautified Queens Boulevard during the 1930s. 2,500 men, who would otherwise be unemployed, were put to work on the job. Work stretched along Queens Blvd. for eight miles: from Roosevelt Avenue in Sunnyside to Hillside Avenue in Jamaica. Groundbreaking for the massive $1.5 million infrastructure improvement project occurred on October 5, 1935, with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. One aspect of the project called for the "plant Norway Maple Trees in Malls. Pave mall area with concrete block. Plant vines and hedges at Elevated Pillars along Queens...

The PWA constructed the Queens General Hospital at 161st St. and 82d Drive. The hospital opened in 1935. The hospital was later greatly expanded and became part of the Queens Hospital Center. The current facility is located on the same site; most, if not all original buildings have been replaced or otherwise incorporated into more recent construction.

The extension of the Richmond Hill branch library in Queens was undertaken as a sponsored federal WPA project during the 1930s.

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included large stretches of Springfield Boulevard.

Springfield Park was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and were "turned over to the Park Department" on August 18, 1939. "A three-acre lake, once a mosquito-breeding swamp, is the center of the Springfield Gardens development," wrote The New York Times, "which embraces seventeen and one-half acres and includes an athletic field, a football gridiron, two basketball courts, two softball diamonds and more than 100 shade trees."

The land for St. Albans Memorial Park in Queens was first acquired by Parks in 1914 and received its current name in 1932. A Department of Parks press release announced the opening of a new playground in St. Albans Park on July 17, 1934. At that time, the playground contained "facilities for softball and basketball, besides see-saws, swings, horizontal bars and ladders. Here too, benches and shade trees are part of the layout." Although the release does not mention the WPA or other New Deal agencies, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that almost all New York City Parks Department projects...

Triboro Hospital for Tuberculosis in Jamaica, Queens was established in 1941. The Public Works Administration (PWA) approved a $1,317,825 (45%) grant for construction of the project in 1938.

The historic Woodhaven Station post office in Jamaica, New York was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds between 1939 and 1940. The building, which contains a New Deal Ben Shahn mural in the lobby, is still in use today.

The Woodhaven Station post office in Jamaica, New York contains a 1941 Section of Fine Arts mural painted by Ben Shahn entitled “The First Amendment.”