New York City Sites

The New York City Parks Department website declares: "Despite the hardships endured by New Yorkers over the course of the World Wars and the Great Depression, the demand for golf courses increased steadily. Under the tenure of Parks Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981), New York City’s recreational facilities saw great changes. With federal funding provided by the Works Progress Administration, Moses created a variety of new public facilities and expanded others throughout the city. In 1936, the Pell Golf Course was refurbished, and renamed the Pelham Golf Course. That same year, the adjacent Split Rock Golf Course and clubhouse were built." Nonetheless, a Parks...

Pelham Bay Park, the largest in the city of New York (three times the size of Central Park), sits on Pelham Bay in the northeast corner of The Bronx. It was established in 1888, when The Bronx was still separate from New York City. The park was greatly improved by Robert Moses and the NY City Parks Department, with the help of federal New Deal funds and workers from the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA). On November 10, 1941, the New York City Department of Parks announced the completion of the massive overhaul of the 60-acre Isaac L. Rice Memorial...

The Pelham Parkway bicycle path east of White Plains Road. "The Parks Department website says "Bicycling was an integral part of the New Deal work relief projects of the 1930s and 1940s. The Moses administration planned bicycle paths using WPA funds along the Harlem River Speedway, in Hillside Park in Queens, along the center strip of Pelham Parkway in the Bronx"."   (https://kermitproject.org)

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).

"Peoples Park on Brook Avenue and East 141st Street in the Bronx, June 22, 2015. The New York City Parks Department press release for July 27, 1934, announces the opening of fourteen playgrounds on August 11, including: PLAYGROUND at 141st STREET between BROOKand ST. ANN'S AVENUES, 587 ft. x 175 ft. Facilities: Recreation building, wading pool, handball and basketball courts and playground and gymnasium apparatus.and goes on to say that the 'labor and materials for the construction of these additional playground areas are being supplied thru Work Relief funds.'"  (https://kermitproject.org)

An August 1935 Parks Department press release lists the site now known as Peretz Square 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 and older children. The site was acquired by the Parks Department in May 1934. Although the press release does not identify which federal agencies were involved, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that New Deal park projects developed before August 1935 would have been financed by one or more agencies including the CWA, FERA, the...

Formerly known as Stuyvesant Square, the park in which this statue sits was renamed Cooper Square after Peter Cooper, a 19th century industrialist and philanthropist. As the NYC Parks site documents: “Following Cooper’s death in 1883, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), the preeminent 19th century sculptor and one of the earliest alumni of Cooper Union (class of 1864), was commissioned to design a monument in honor of the great visionary. Saint-Gaudens collaborated with the renowned architect Stanford White (1853–1906) who created the piece’s marble and granite canopy… In 1935, coinciding with reconstruction of the park, the newly created Parks Monuments Crew, with funding from...

The property for this playground and the adjacent school (P.S. 108 also known as the Peter Minuit School) were both acquired in 1941. The Board of Education cleared old buildings and constructed the school on the West half of the block, while Parks and the WPA cleared the East half of the block and constructed a playground on the site. In October 1942, Parks announced the opening of this playground: "The shortage of critical war materials which became acute after the construction of the playground was started made it necessary to omit temporarily all chain link fencing and metal goal standards...

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...

Pier 64, located along the Hudson River opposite West 24th Street with respect to 12th Avenue, is presently a New York City park. The park opened in 2009. The pier was originally constructed by the Work Projects Administration: "Built by the WPA for lease by the city to the Government's Panama Railroad Line. Dedicated by the Secretary of War on May 15, 1940. Thoroughly modern pier, 570 feet by 100 feet, with two-story steel pier shed and steel, brick and concrete bulkhead building, 340 feet by 50 feet, housing the offices of the steamship company." (National Archives) The shed has recently been...

In its 1936 report entitled "The First 3 Years. PWA," the PWA remarks that "...probably the most dramatic and spectacular changes effected by PWA are advances in transportation." Among the the transportation advances listed in the report are water-related improvements to wharves, docks, piers, and other harbor improvements..." Such projects were "...built by local government units" with funding from the PWA. The report proudly highlights "...the huge new piers built for New York City to harbor new superliners, such as the Normandie and the Queen Mary.." ("The First 3 Years. PWA" Page 15) The  construction of pier 92 at the foot of West...

On September 30, 1941, Parks announced the opening of a new playground behind Public School 119 to be shared by the Department of Parks and the Board of Education. The press release explained that the playground was divided in two sections. In the south section, "A central free play area is flanked by three combination volleyball Legend basketball courts with removable goal posts, and a string, three shuffleboard courts and four paddle tennis courts. This entire section may be used for roller skating and flooded for ice skating." The north section contained benches and trees, a brick comfort station, a...

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.

The historic Planetarium Station post office in New York, New York is located on West 83rd Street, between Amsterdam Ave. and Columbus 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 'W' until its redesignation as Planetarium Station on Oct. 1, 1946. The building's cornerstone, and an interior plaque, put the dates of construction at 1935 to 1937. The building is still in service. Plaque text: This building was erected under the act of Congress dated June 16, 1933 and was completed during the administration of...

This playground just across from the East River between 103rd and 104th Streets, was developed in relation to the adjacent East River Housing development with the cooperation of the Department of Parks and the NYC Housing Authority to serve both the residents of the public housing development and the rest of the neighborhood. In November 1942, Parks announced the completion of the new playground: "The Housing Authority constructed a low granite wall around three sides of the proposed play area providing three entrance points. A seven foot wrought iron picket fence with gates has been set in a concrete foundation just inside...

Playground of the Americas was built circa 1935 with the help of the New Deal. The agency involved in funding or completing the work is unknown to the Living New Deal. During his tenure as Parks Commissioner, Robert Moses used New Deal funding and labor to build public park facilities, yet rarely credited the New Deal agencies that supported the projects. Because he prohibited the placement of New Deal plaques and corner stones, we have few sources that tie public parks in New York to New Deal agencies. However, several of Moses’ statements reveal that during the 1930s, most of...

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...

The Poppenhusen branch of the Queens Library system, located in the College Point neighborhood of Queens, was constructed in the early 1900s. A WPA photo shows the WPA sign and explains that "new copper sheeting for roof is another improvement provided for the College Point Branch of the Queens Library system by the WPA," implying that other improvements were made as well.

The historic main post office building in Far Rockaway, New York "was built in 1935, and is one of six post offices in New York State designed by architect Eric Kebbon as a consultant to the Office of the Supervising Architect. It is a two-story brick building with limestone trim and a low granite base in the Colonial Revival style. Its main façade features a centrally placed polygonal shaped frontispiece with a rounded dome inspired by Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. It also has a grand entrance vestibule." (Wikipedia) The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

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 Powell Avenue from Virginia Ave. to Olmstead Ave.

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...

Public School 11, formerly Public School 91, and also known as the Highbridge School, is a Romanesque Revival building built in 1889. In 1937-39, a two-panel oil on canvas mural by Francis Costa was added over the stage. Painted under the auspices of the WPA's Federal Art Project, the murals depict The Old Bronx & The Bronx Today.

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 NYC Department of Parks announced the official opening of Pulaski Park (named in honor of Revolutionary War soldier Casimir Pulaski) on October 11, 1939: "The park was named in honor of Pulaski ten years ago. The reconstruction was done by WPA forces under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks. Included in the development is a small children's playground, equipped with apparatus and shower basin, a sitting area for mothers and children, and a large paved recreation area containing softball diamonds. There are also four handball courts, four horseshoe pitching courts, four shuffleboard courts, a volleyball and basketball court included in...

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 "Flemish Revival" style Astoria branch of the Queens Borough Public Library was constructed in 1904, but heavily renovated by the CWA in the 1930s: "The angled corner was squared off, which created two new windows and made the structure three bays wide, two bays deep, and more rectangular.  The original saffron brick pattern and tripartite window designs were carefully replicated in the new corner walls.  A new stairway and main entrance were constructed, with narrow windows with stone sills and keystones on either side of the door.  A basement entrance for children was created and the basement windows were widened. ...

The Astoria branch of the Queens Borough Public Library received a series of murals as well as accompanying sculptures under the Works Progress Administration (WPA)'s Federal Art Project. "here was no controversy about the playful mural commissioned in 1938 for the children's reading room of the Queens Borough Astoria branch, which celebrated the centennial of its building last year. Painted by Max Spivak (1906-81), an artist little known today, the mural, depicting whimsical circus and opera puppets, was originally done in five parts. But three have been lost, as have all of the original polychromed figures, by the sculptor Eugenie Gershoy,...

Daniel Celentano, once an apprentice to Thomas Hart Benton, was already a successful artist when he joined the Mural Division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In 1936, under the WPA, he completed his mural “Commerce” for the Queens Borough Public Library, Flushing Branch.

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 WPA undertook a $940,000 project aimed at improving the campus of Queens College during the 1930s. The description for the project is as follows: "landscaping; draining; constructing roads, sidewalks, parking areas, athletic fields, field house, bleachers, and tennis and handball courts; and performing incidental and appurtenant work."

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 Queens–Midtown Tunnel was completed with the assistance of a $58 million Public Works Administration grant approved by Franklin D. Roosevelt: "In 1935, with the promise of $58 million in Public Works Administration loans made available under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, then Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia created the Queens Midtown Tunnel Authority, telling the new agency's three–members, "You are starting from scratch with no appropriation and nothing but an idea and a law.” A year later the Queens Midtown Tunnel Authority became the New York City Tunnel Authority, which merged again in 1946 with the Robert Moses–led Triborough Bridge Authority...

New York City's Queensboro Bridge, which connects Long Island City in Queens with Manhattan, was improved by the federal Work Projects Administration during the 1930s. The bridge is also called the 59th Street Bridge or, more recently, the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. A WPA report from 1940 described its work: "Repaving of the Queensboro Bridge, an example of the improvement made to New York City's bridges. The old paving was of wood blocks and had become dangerous, particularly in wet weather. This was replaced by a concrete paving on a special I-beam grid. The lower roadway was completed in 1937 and,...

From the Works Progress Administration (WPA)'s New York City Guide (1939): “Queensbridge Houses, north of Queensboro Bridge Plaza, between Vernon Boulevard and Twenty-first Street, is the fifth low-rent, government-financed housing project in the city since 1936. Twenty-six brick dwelling structures, six stories high with elevators, a community building, and a children’s center, all arranged around open polygonal courts, will cover less than one quarter of the projects 62.5 acres; the remaining land will be landscaped park and recreation space. When completed late in 1939, the 3,161 apartments will house approximately 11,400 people.” The building was constructed through the WPA under the...