The Harlem River Houses, together with First Houses in Manhattan and the Williamsburg Houses in Brooklyn, were the first federally-funded public housing projects in New York City. The project was funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA Docket No. H-1302). Wikipedia states:… read more
A 2016 article celebrating Black History Month highlighted this unique and little known WPA mural by artist Aaron Douglas: “The Harlem Branch of the Y.M.C.A., which is located at at 180 West 135th Street, contains an exquisite example (though in need… read more
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 … [Projects in the Bronx…] At Harris Park, Bedford Park… read more
Today’s NYC Parks website explains that the village of Whitestone (now the neighborhood of Whitestone in Queens) acquired this land in 1892. Parks took over the 21 acre site in 1936 in conjunction with the construction of the Whitestone Parkway. … read more
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… read more
In 1938 William Karp completed the mural entitled “Armed with Learning and Reality, Looking from the Past to the Future” for the Hebrew Orphan Asylum on Amsterdam Avenue between 136 and 138th Street in New York City. The Hebrew Orphan… read more
The NYC Parks website explains that, “This playground received its name after the city purchased the land from the Heckscher Foundation for Children in 1935. The property had served as a public playground since 1934. When Parks took over, the… read more
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,… read more
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… read more
In 1940, the WPA rehabilitated the “hourglass” intersection formed by Broadway, 6th Ave., 35th St. and 32nd St, the north end of which is known as Herald Square and the south end as Greeley Square. The project centered around the… read more
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 486 Hicks Street were constructed in 1903; the building was “demolished… read more
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… read more
What is now the High School of Fashion Industries began in the 1920s as a vocational program in a garment center loft on West 31 Street. It was intended to train a work force for New York’s large garment industry,… read more
The High School of Fashion Industries (formerly the Central High School of Needle Trades) is a New Deal building, which contains a well-known mural by Ernest Fiene. It is commonly believed to be a WPA Arts Project mural, but Gerald… read more
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… read more
NYC Parks describes the WPA’s role in developing the Highbridge Pool: “The Highbridge Pool and Recreation Center were built in 1936. The pool was the fifth of eleven city pools built with labor supplied by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works… read more
In December 1936, the Department of Parks announced the completion of a new playground in Highbridge Park “equipped with wading pool, swings, see-saws, slides and jungle gym for younger children and a large play area with horizontal bars and ladders,… read more
Highland Park on the border of Queens and Brooklyn received new playground equipment for small children from the Department of Parks in August 1935. As explained here, all Parks projects at the time were carried out with New Deal labor… read more
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… read more
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… read more
The WPA worked during the late 1930s to improve “properties of the U.S. Maritime Commission on Hoffman and Swinburne Island in New York Bay” in New York City. Each island was previously artificially created and was, at the time, being… read more
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… read more
The New York Times reported that WPA laborers had begun work in late 1941 on a playground consisting of “two and one-third acres … The facilities will include a brick comfort station, concrete wading pool, irrigated sandpit and mothers’ sitting… read more
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 Homicide Court… read more
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… read more
The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with Staten Island street repair and maintenance projects along roads throughout the borough. One project involved the widening and paving of what was then known as Serpentine Road,… read more
The New York Times reported in 1941 that the WPA was to be involved with several street improvement projects in Brooklyn, including “the widening of Howard Avenue in Brownsville.”
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… read more
The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Staten Island project that removed dangerous street ditches from roads throughout the borough. Granite block gutters and headers were installed by WPA laborers along a dozen… read more
The North Building at Hunter College was built between 1937 and 1940, using funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). It lies between 68th and 69th Streets along Park Avenue. FDR dedicated the building on October 1940 and in his speech he… read more
“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… read more
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… read more
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 on Huron St. (a few hundred feet west of Manhattan Avenue, on… read more
A program of repairs to Hylan Blvd. along a 1.2-mile stretch from Page Avenue to Arthur Kill (Staten Island Sound) was undertaken as a sponsored federal WPA project during the 1930s. The project occurred in the Tottenville neighborhood of Staten… read more
What’s now the Dyker Heights Intermediate School was constructed during the mid-1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project.
Construction of New York’s Sixth Avenue subway line was enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA) during the 1930s. The PWA supplied a massive loan and grant totaling $23,160,000 for the project, one of the largest New Deal construction… read more
The Sixth Avenue branch trunk line of New York City’s Independent Subway (IND) was constructed during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. On December 15, 1940, six IND subway stations opened along Sixth Avenue…. read more
The Sixth Avenue branch trunk line of New York City’s Independent Subway (IND) was constructed during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. On December 15, 1940, six IND subway stations opened along Sixth Avenue…. read more
The Sixth Avenue branch trunk line of New York City’s Independent Subway (IND) was constructed during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. On December 15, 1940, six IND subway stations opened along Sixth Avenue…. read more
The Sixth Avenue branch trunk line of New York City’s Independent Subway (IND) was constructed during the 1930s with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. On December 15, 1940, six IND subway stations opened along Sixth Avenue…. read more