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  • Kings County Hospital Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    While the Kings County Hospital was founded in the 1830s, WPA photos in the National Archives and Records Administration, as well as other sources, show that the PWA built several structures for the Kings County Hospital, including a loading dock, a nurses' home, and other buildings. The current status of the specific PWA buildings is unknown to the Living New Deal.
  • Kings County Supreme Court Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    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 Kings County Supreme Court building.
  • Kings Highway Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a $360,000 street repairing and repaving project along Kings Highway in Brooklyn, New York. WPA labor worked to improve the 2.5-mile stretch of Kings Highway from Avenue J in Flatlands through East Flatbush to E. 98th Street, just beyond Rockaway Parkway.
  • Kingsboro Psychiatric Hospital Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    The WPA made numerous improvements to the Kingsboro Psychiatric Hospital (then known as Brooklyn State Hospital) in New York City during the 1930s. Work included the construction of, and remodeling and renovation of, buildings around the campus; landscape modifications, including tree and shrub planting; the installation of fences; improvements to drainage and sewer lines; modernization of other utilities at the hospital; and other more modest improvements. The WPA made numerous improvements to the Kingsboro Psychiatric Hospital (then known as Brooklyn State Hospital) in New York City during the 1930s. Work included the construction of, remodeling and renovation of, and the fu
  • Kingsbridge Armory Repairs - Bronx NY
    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.
  • Kissena Lake Draining - Flushing NY
    In 2002 New York City's Parks Department wrote: "March’s Capital Project of the Month is the restoration of Kissena Lake. It will be undergoing a $1.77 million restoration project, funded by Council Member Julia Harrison, beginning this spring. It is said that the lake and park are named after the Chippewa word "kissina," meaning "it is cold." This capital project is necessary because of construction done to the lake sixty years ago. The WPA drained the lake in 1943 and filled it with a concrete liner, giving it the nickname of a "bathtub lake." While originally this project was meant to improve...
  • Kissena Park - Flushing NY
    The extensive Kissena Park was first established in the early 1900s and now forms part of the "Queens Corridor" park system. In addition to building a golf course at the east end of the park in the mid 1930s, in 1941, the WPA completed extensive work on the main section of the park surrounding Kissena Lake in 1941: "Included in the new improvement is a new modern one story brick boat house and boat landing constructed on the east shore of the lake replacing the old outmoded frame boat house and dock formerly located on the south bank adjacent to the...
  • Kissena Park Golf Course - Flushing NY
    This golf course at Kissena Park in outer Queens was one of several golf courses created with federal funding under Robert Moses' tenure as Parks Commissioner. The Department of Parks first announced the opening of the course in August 1935. Another Department press release in May 1936 announced the opening of the Kissena Park golf course again, suggesting that there was likely further work done in the meantime. The 1936 release further noted that the work was completed "with relief funds provided by the C.W.A., T.E.R.A. and W.P.A."
  • Knickerbocker Station Post Office - New York NY
    The historic Knickerbocker Station post office in New York, New York was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1937. The building, located in Manhattan's Lower East Side, is still in use today.
  • Kolbert Park - Brooklyn NY
    NYC Parks describes the origins of this small park: "In August 1936, the City of New York acquired this property by condemnation for the sum of $87,938.40. That year, Parks assumed jurisdiction over the property, removing sections of both Ocean and Locust Avenues that traversed the property in order to create a full park area. In June 1937, the playground officially opened to the public." The press release announcing the opening stated that "the new playground has swings, see-saws, slides, sand tables, playhouses, handball, horseshoe pitching and shuffleboard courts. There is also a wading pool, a softball diamond and an oval...
  • La Marqueta - New York NY
    La Marqueta "is a marketplace under the elevated Metro North railway tracks between 111th Street and 116th Street on Park Avenue in East Harlem in Manhattan, New York City. ... In its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, over 500 vendors operated out of La Marqueta, and it was an important social and economic venue for Hispanic New York." federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The market was the first of eight similar projects in the city.
  • La Tourette Golf Course - Staten Island NY
    On May 7, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the opening of the newly constructed second nine and the reconstructed first nine at La Tourette Golf Course in Staten Island, which had been “thoroughly reconstructed with new tees and greens throughout…with relief funds provided by the C.W.A., T.E.R.A. and W.P.A.” The course is still in use.
  • Lafayette Avenue Development - Staten Island NY
    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 streets, including the stretch of Lafayette Avenue between Prospect and Brighton Avenues.
  • LaGuardia Airport - Flushing NY
    Construction of New York's LaGuardia Airport was among the largest undertakings of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA) and included both today's main airport (then the "landplane field") and what is now the Marine Air Terminal (then the "seaplane division"). The airport was constructed on the site of the former North Beach Airport between 1937 and 1939. Under Mayor LaGuardia the city began expanding the site with landfill from Rikers Island. At the time of its completion, LaGuardia was among the most advanced airports in the world. The 1939 WPA Guide to New York City (p.567) describes the new...
  • Landscaping (Bronx Blvd. and Duncomb Ave.) - Bronx NY
    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."
  • Laurelton Playground - Queens NY
    The NYC Parks website explains that: "In May 1934, after closing P.S. 38, the Board of Education transferred the property to Parks. Parks opened Laurelton Playground on August 23, 1935 in service of the local community. Parks acquired two small parcels that were added to this playground during 1936." A Parks press release announcing the opening explained that it was then "developed as a small children's play area." As researcher Frank da Cruz explains here, almost all New York City Parks Department projects between 1934 and 1943 were accomplished with New Deal funds and/or labor. Given the date of this project,...
  • Lawrence Triangle Improvements - Flushing NY
    The New York City Parks Department website details the history of Lawrence Triangle, a 0.14-acre park in Flushing, New York. "In July , the Flushing Garden Club presented the land to the Flushing Hospital to be used by hospital patients as an outdoor retreat during their stay. The hospital then granted the park to the City of New York in July 1939. The WPA (Works Progress Administration) worked to improve the park for general use by planting trees, grass and flowers, paving the paths, and removing an old gate. A local law named the park in honor of Lawrence in 1951."
  • Lawrence Virgilio Playground - Woodside NY
    On July 28, 1937, the Department of Parks announced the opening of "five playgrounds, constructed by the Department of Parks with relief labor and funds," noting that "These playgrounds are five of the twenty-four sites in neglected areas selected by the Commissioner of Parks and acquired by condemnation after authorization by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on July 15, 1936." One of these five playgrounds was what is now known as the Lawrence Virgilio Playground in Windmuller Park. Today's NYC Parks website confirms that "The land comprising Windmuller Park was acquired from the Windmuller family in 1936 and the park...
  • Layton Avenue Improvements - Bronx NY
    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.)
  • Lee Avenue Court Building (former) Improvements - Brooklyn NY
    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 Lee Avenue Court Building.
  • Lehman College - Bronx NY
    "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...
  • Lehman College-Area Road Construction - Bronx NY
    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).
  • Leif Ericson Park - Brooklyn NY
    Leif Ericson Park is a long, narrow park in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, which "features a Norse theme in honor of Leif Ericson and the local Scandinavian-American community" (NYC Parks). By the turn of the 20th century, the neighborhood had a large Norwegian population, and in 1925 community leaders convinced City Hall to turn the five blocks from 4th Ave. to Fort Hamilton Parkway between 66th St. and 67th St. into a park. In the 1930s, the park was extensively developed by the New Deal. In October 1934, the Department of Parks announced the addition of two play areas...
  • Leland Avenue Improvements - Bronx NY
    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.
  • Lenox Hill Station Post Office - New York NY
    The historic Lenox Hill Station post office in New York, New York is located on East 70th Street, between 2nd Ave. and 3rd Ave. It was one of many post offices in Manhattan constructed with federal Treasury Department funds during the New Deal era. The post office was initially known as New York, New York’s Station ‘Y’ until its redesignation as Audubon Station on Feb. 1, 1947. The building’s cornerstone dates an initial stage of construction to 1935. The building is still in service.
  • Levy Playground - Staten Island NY
    Levy Playground is a small plot in the Richmond district of Staten Island. It was one of five “model playgrounds” designed as templates for further playground development by Robert Moses and his team after Moses assumed control of the New York City Parks Department in 1934. The August 1934 press release announcing the opening of this and 13 other playgrounds – constructed with Work Relief funds probably coming from the Civil Works Administration (CWA) – described this playground as containing: "Recreation building and the usual playground apparatus. There is an octagonal wading pool. The smaller children will be separated from...
  • Lewisohn Stadium (demolished) - New York NY
    In the summer of 1935, the College of the City of New York (today's City College of New York), completed construction of the north ramp of Lewisohn Stadium with funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) (CCNY Newspaper). Lewisohn Stadium was an amphitheater that served as a public space for athletic, musical, and theatrical performances. The stadium was razed in 1973 in order to expand the academic facilities on campus (CCNY Libraries). Lewisohn Plaza now encompasses the area of what was once the stadium (New York Times).
  • Lincoln Terrace Park - Brooklyn NY
    This large, tiered park in Brooklyn was acquired by the City in stages between 1916 and 1935. In 1939-1940, the WPA constructed a brand new playground on the lower level of the park and then completely redesigned the upper levels as well. The August 1939 press release announcing the opening of the lower section described this work in detail: "The Brooklyn playground, in Lincoln Terrace Park, is one of the most intensively developed recreational areas that has been constructed by the Park Department. It is thirteen acres in size and contains a large open play area for group games for older...
  • Lincoln Tunnel - New York to New Jersey
    The Lincoln Tunnel is a 1.5-mile long tunnel under the Hudson River, from  Weehawken, New Jersey to the borough of Manhattan.  The  project was funded by the New Deal's Public Works Administration and the design was by Ole Singstad. Construction began in March 1934 and the tunnel opened to traffic on December 22, 1937, charging $0.50 per passenger car. The cost of construction was $85,000,000.  The original design called for two tubes. Work on the second was halted in 1938 but resumed in 1941. Due to war material shortages of metal, completion was delayed for two years. It opened on February 1, 1945 at a...
  • Lion's Pride Playground - Brooklyn NY
    The Department of Parks announced the opening of this playground on August 30, 1935 and noted that it contained a wading pool and playground apparatus. Although federal involvement is not explicitly mentioned, federal funding for laborers, materials, architects, landscapers and engineers employed on Parks projects is acknowledged in about 350 press releases from 1934 to 1943. As researcher Frank da Cruz explains here, from these and other sources, it can be confidently stated that all New York City parks projects from 1934 to 1938 and almost all from 1939-1943 were completed in whole or in part with New Deal funding...
  • Little Flower Playground - New York NY
    "This playground, formerly La Guardia Houses Park, refers to the popular nickname of New York City mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia (1882-1947), Little Flower. The nickname is a literal translation of the Italian mayor’s first name and an allusion to his small physical stature of 5 feet 2 inches." It was completed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA)." It is also the site of Jo Davidson's bust of LaGuardia.  
  • Little Flower Playground Bust - New York NY
    "A bust of La Guardia stands at the southeastern corner of the . The life-size bronze bust was created in 1934 by sculptor Jo Davidson (1883-1952), who also immortalized in bronze Mohandas Gandhi, James Joyce, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Gertrude Stein. The bust remained in Davidson’s collection until he died in 1952, when the La Guardia Memorial Association purchased it. The monument was dedicated and installed in its present location in 1957, when the La Guardia Houses and the adjoining playground were completed."
  • London Planetree Playground - Woodhaven NY
    The Department of Parks announced the opening of this WPA playground in Queens on August 9, 1939: “The land was acquired at the time the Board of Estimate approved the modified plan for the Atlantic Avenue Improvement, the playground was designed by the Department of Parks, and built for the Park Department by the Works Progress Administration. The small children's area in the southerly part of the playground contains various types of play equipment, a wading pool, and a sand pit. The balance of the area is taken up with basketball, volleyball, and handball courts, a softball diamond and a roller skating...
  • Lozada Playground - Bronx NY
    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...
  • Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park - Brooklyn NY
    An August 1935 Parks Department press release lists what is now the Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park as one of seventy-three play areas developed in the preceding year with "city, state and federal relief funds." The release describes this park as having play areas designed for mothers and infants, older children, adolescents and adults. The playground opened on May 24, 1935. NYC Parks website further explains that "Distributed around its perimeter were handball courts, slides, swings, a wading pool, jungle gym, and recreation building." The park was renovated in 1993. Although neither source identifies which federal agencies were involved, researcher Frank da Cruz explains...
  • Lurting Avenue Improvements - Bronx NY
    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.
  • MacNeil Park Playground - College Point NY
    Located in College Point, this green space on the East River is built on the grounds of an old mansion. It was originally known as Chisolm Park: "In 1930 the City of New York acquired the mansion and its grounds for a public park. The Parks Department improved the property with a new playground, football field, roller skating rink, baseball diamond, and picnic grounds. Popular with picnickers, the waterfront property was known alternatively as Chisholm Park (a variant spelling of the Chisolm family’s name) and College Point Shore Front Park. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia made the Chisolm mansion his summer City Hall...
  • Macombs Dam Bridge Improvements - Bronx NY
    The WPA allocated $157,756 toward reconstruction of the roadway crossing the Macomb's Dam Bridge, which connects the Bronx to Manhattan in New York City. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-36.
  • Macombs Dam Park Playground (demolished) - Bronx NY
    The New York City Parks Department Press Release for October 14, 1935 announces the opening of a new playground at the site of what was later called Macombs Dam Park, with some or all of the following amenities: wading pools, handball courts, basketball courts, jungle gyms, swings, slides, seesaws, and other outdoor gymnasium equipment. Macombs Dam Park was not a New Deal creation; it was first opened in 1899 and was famous for its athletic fields (see history). But the press release confirms that at least one playground was added to it by the Parks Department during the New Deal. Later...
  • Madison Avenue Paving - New York NY
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) assisted in the paving of Madison Avenue from 59th St. to 82nd St.
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