New York City Sites

"St. Mary's Park, the largest park in the southeast Bronx, bounded by East 149th Street, St. Ann's Avenue, St. Mary's Street, and Jackson Avenue, June 22, 2015. This park was totally reconstructed by the WPA at the same time as Crotona Park, and reopened in October 1941. The Parks Department press release of October 13, 1941, says: St. Mary's Park consisting in large part of steep and rocky terrain had fallen into a state of shabbiness and disrepair owing to hard usage, outmoded design and erosion due to failure of old drainage systems. The large size of the area made it...

St. Mary's Playground in stretches along Smith St. between Huntington St. and Nelson St., and Nelson St. and Luquer St. in Brooklyn. It sits at the border of three neighborhoods: Gowanus, Red Hook and Carroll Gardens. The NYC Parks site explains the origin of the playground: "The two parcels of land for this park were acquired by the New York Department of Transportation in 1934 as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (1882-1945) Works Progress Administration’s urban revitalization initiative. Originally they were to be utilized for the new Gowanus Expressway (1941), but many in the community thought the land straddling...

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 64th Road between Dry Harbor Rd. and 82nd Pl.

In late 1936, the Department of Parks announced the completion of a major reconstruction of what was then known as St. Gabriel's Park. Today's NYC Parks site further describes this work: "The park was reconstructed in 1936, and a playground, wading pool, roller skating track, and courts for handball, shuffleboard, and horseshoe pitching were added, as well as a field house and comfort station. In 1938, shortly after the park was renovated, part of the land was surrendered to the Board of Estimate. This was part of an agreement with the New York City Tunnel Authority to make way for an approach...

In the 1930s Works Progress Administration laborers undertook a sewer construction project on Stanley Avenue in the Jamaica Bay section of Brooklyn. Pictured here are WPA crews at work on the sewer project at the intersection of Stanley and New Jersey Avenues (WPA - Five Boroughs Project).

The SUNY Maritime College is located on the Throgs Neck Peninsula in the Bronx. Researcher Frank da Cruz has compiled a brief history from multiple sources: "It started as the New York Nautical School in 1874 on a succession of ships moored at various locations in New York City's harbor and waterways. In 1929, it was renamed New York State Merchant Marine Academy, got a new ship, and moved to Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Throgs Neck peninsula had been home to US Army Fort Schuyler since just before the Civil War. The fort itself is the dark grey pentagon in photo, constructed...

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to "renovate and repair" several buildings in Staten Island as part of a $225,507 project begun in 1935. Buildings improved included what is now the Staten Island Civil Courthouse in West New Brighton.

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to "renovate and repair" several buildings in Staten Island as part of a $225,507 project begun in 1935. Buildings improved included what is now the Staten Island Criminal Court in Stapleton.

The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) financed part of the construction of ferry boats for the Staten island Ferry, to the tune of $1,397,500. The first boat, "Gold Star Mother," was dedicated by Mayor La Guardia on May 7, 1937. The project was unusual, as The New York Times reported: the "United States Attorney General had construed a ferryboat as a building in order to make the PWA loan possible." PWA Docket No. NY 1085-R.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped to restore the the Staten Island Historical Society Museum, now part of Historic Richmond Town. New Deal efforts on this project likely began under a precursor agency to the WPA: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) or Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The Federal Writers' Project guide to New York City has this to say: "The Staten Island Historical Society Museum, opposite the old county courthouse at Court Place and Center Street, is housed in the old county clerk's and surrogate's office, a two-story brick structure of Colonial design, built in 1848 and restored in 1933-5 by...

The Staten Island Technical High School building was originally constructed as New Dorp High School during the 1930s, with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds (PWA Docket No. NY 8882). The large building is Georgian Neoclassical in design, bears a 1935 cornerstone, and houses some 1,500 students. It is typical of the dozens of schools built in New York with New Deal aid. These schools were all large, modern facilities, equipped with auditoriums, libraries, cafeterias and gymnasiums, and were often done in sober Neoclassical style. New Dorp was relocated to a new building in 1982 and Staten Island Technical High School...

The Clarence T. Barrett Park Zoo (also known as Staten Island Zoo) is located in Barrett Park, on the former estate grounds of Colonel Edward Hardin. After Hardin's wife willed the property to the city in the early 1930s, it was developed into a zoo with New Deal support: "When construction began in 1933-34, the zoo's plans were state of the art. Parks used New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps labor to help build the $150,000 facility. The exhibits and the zoo's care for its animals were modern for their time and helped the institution avoid some of the trouble other city...

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from France in 1886. It was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War. In 1937, FDR proclaimed the entire island a National Monument administered by the National Park Service. From 1937-1941, the WPA and PWA carried out extensive renovations of the statue and Bedloe (now Liberty) island. In his history of the Statue of Liberty, Berenson (2012) elaborates on the federal government's role: "the NPS devised an ambitious plan to remove all structures save for the statue itself, shore up the...

Located in Straus Park on the Upper West Side is "a bronze 1913 statue by American artist Augustus Lukeman of a nymph gazing over a calm expanse of water in memory of Ida and Isidor Straus, a United States congressman and co-owner of Macy’s, who perished on the RMS Titanic" (wikipedia). In the 1930s, it was restored with federal funding under Karl Gruppe, "chief sculptor of the Monument Restoration Project of the New York City Parks Department, from 1934 to 1937." The program was initially supported by federal funding from the Public Works of Art Project (Lowrey, 2008), and later by...

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 stretches of: Delaware Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 147th St. Cherry Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 149th St. Beech Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 147th St. Nearby improvements were also made at 41st Rd. and...

Strong Street Playground is located within Old Fort Four Park next to the Jerome Park Reservoir. On June 13, 1941, the New York City Department of Parks announced "the completion, of work on the redesign of a play area on Reservoir Avenue between Strong Street and West 197th Street, he Bronx. This property was acquired by the Department of Parks in 1935, at which time it was graded and provided with see-saws and swings by relief workers. The current project represents an amplification of the original work. The area has been paved with a smooth bituminous surface to provide all...

On October 1, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the completion of significant developments in Stuyvesant Square park: "At Stuyvesant Square Park the south half of the rectangular section west of Second Avenue and bounded by Second Avenue, East 15th Street, Rutherford Place and East 17th Street has been redesigned and reconstructed, with the exception of the central portion, comprising eight percent of the west half of the park. The area developed includes wide, semi-circular walks, with continuous rows of benches." In December of the same year, the Department announced further work on the northeast section of the square, including the construction...

William Sunners Playground, located in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn, was constructed using WPA materials and labor. New York City's Parks Department writes: "This playground was acquired by the City in 1940 and first opened to the public on April 12, 1941. It was one of four separate parcels in the area that were obtained by the City for park purpose, in response to a local need for more parkland. At the time, this triangular parcel was valued at approximately $8,000. Each of the four park parcels were laid out as playgrounds by Parks designers and developed with materials and labor provided...

Sunset Park in Brooklyn was improved by the WPA in 1935 (when a small children's playground was added) and, more extensively, in 1940. A press release announced the completion of the later project: "In Sunset Park, the westerly portion located at Fifth Avenue, 41 to 42 Streets, has been redesigned and reconstructed. The new work consists of the rearrangement of new bituminous walks, curbs, concrete stairs, entrances, concrete walls, new overlooks, benches, chain link and wrought iron fencing, a small children's play area with sand pit and play apparatus, and a new modern comfort station. The opening of these park areas designed...

The massive 259-foot-by-162-foot (3.5-foot-deep) outdoor pool in Sunset Park was one of 11 constructed with the help of the federal Work Projects Administration in New York City. "In the summer months, Sunset Park and its pool become home to swimmers and sun worshipers.  Designed in a neoclassical/Art Deco style, the pool first opened its waters to the public in 1936. It has since then offered to the Sunset Park community and visitors from all across New York City a range of recreational activities. Programs include Learn-to-Swim classes for all ages, free After School swimming instruction, and Adult Lap times.  The Brooklyn...

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 used for the U.S. Merchant Marine as a training station. WPA work on the islands included "reconditioning buildings, grounds, utilities and facilities; excavating; back-filling; draining; painting; improving roads and walks; installing electrical and heating facilities; grading and landscaping grounds; doing carpentry and demolition work ..." Approximately $210,000 was dedicated to these projects as well as work to "the Maritime Ship 'Tusitala' at...

This park in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn was built by the Department of Parks in 1934. The press release announcing its opening described the facilities as including "a general girls' play field a boys' play field, a wading pool, basketball court, and an area for outdoor playground apparatus. Handball courts are also provided for boys. A brick recreation building with toilet facilities and indoor playrooms is being constructed.” The NYC Parks site also says that several Pin oaks were planted "in the hope that they might provide much needed areas of shade in the future." Although these sources do not...

"Under the auspices of the New York Department of Sanitation, between 1937 and 1944, three new wastewater treatment plants were constructed — Wards Island in Manhattan, and Bowery Bay and Tallman Island in Queens. These facilities were designed to reduce pollutants in the Harlem River and in the East River, whose dark and murky waters had some of the lowest dissolved oxygen concentrations in the harbor. During the summer months, dissolved oxygen levels were often zero, which caused unpleasant odors. The city and its waterways benefited from an infusion of funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), an ambitious public...

This 1936 WPA mural by Rufino Tamayo is on extended loan to the New York Museum of Modern Art. The history of the mural before it was placed in the museum is unknown to the Living New Deal.

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 three modest stretches of Taylor Avenue: (a) between Lacombe and 'Sound View' Avenues; (b) between Watson and Gleason Avenues; and (c) between East Tremont and Van Nest Avenues.

Bertram Goodman completed this mural, entitled "Evolution of the Book," in 1936 with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

After the mid-1930s, the WPA demolished tenement housing in New York City, Long Island, and Brooklyn in an effort to create new, modern housing units. In some cases, such as the Williamsburg Houses (Ten Eyck Houses), the demolition work was performed by the WPA, while the construction of the new units was done by the PWA. Along with slow housing construction, the demolitions contributed to a minor housing shortage in the five boroughs. (Williams 2013)

"The Horse Tamers, by Frederick MacMonnies (1863-1937), is one of many sculpture groups in the outdoor collection of New York City’s parks. Dedicated in 1899, the Horse Tamers flank the Park Circle Entrance of Prospect Park... Horse Tamers is an allegory of the Triumph of Mind over Brute Strength. The sculptures depict nude young men riding bareback on rearing, unbridled horses. To achieve their great dynamic energy, MacMonnies sculpted the horses after live Andalusian models. The full-scale plaster models (no longer extant) were exhibited to great acclaim in the Parisian Salon of 1898 and at the Universal Exposition of 1900. One...

New York City's Parks Department writes: "Once known as the “Pauper Burial Ground”, “Colored Cemetery of Flushing” and “Martin’s Field”, this site was renamed in 2009 “The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground”. "The Queens Department of Parks acquired this property on December 2, 1914 at which time the land served as a ‘town commons’ or ‘green’ for the neighborhood. ... During the excavation , WPA workers came upon evidence of the site’s previous use as a burial ground, including pennies placed upon the eyes of the dead—an archaic burial practice that was also observed in excavations of the African Burial Ground...

Several different schools are located in this building. This untitled New Deal mosaic by Ilya Bolotowsky is located on the 3rd floor. It was installed in 1936.

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 Theriot Avenue in the Clason Point neighborhood of the Bronx from Randall Ave. to Seward Ave.

The Thirteenth Avenue Retail Market in Borough Park was constructed in the 1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. Much of the structure's visual presence is still intact.

When the Department of Parks first developed a playground at Degraw and 3rd Ave. in 1935, it was leasing the property from a private owner. A press release announced the 1935 opening along with the opening of six other playgrounds, one of which was attended by WPA administrator Harry Hopkins. The City of New York formally acquired the property in 1938 and soon opened a larger, more developed playground on the site "occupying the entire block bounded by Douglass Street, DeGraw Street, Nevins Street and Third Avenue." The press release announcing the opening on October 8, 1939 explained: "This playground, planned to accommodate...

The land for Thomas Jefferson Park park was first purchased in 1897, but was greatly expanded in the 1930s under Commissioner Robert Moses. In September 1935, Moses and Mayor LaGuardia oversaw the opening of the north playground, "equipped with a wading pool, two soft ball diamonds, a roller skating track, play houses, seesaws, jungle gyms, etc."  The south portion of the park opened two months later, including at least some of the following: baseball, basketball, bocci, handball or horse shoe courts, and jungle gyms, swings, slides, playhouses, sand tables, see-saws, shuffle board courts, and  wading pools. In December 1936, Parks...

The WPA project in Jefferson Park "included the new pool complex, baseball diamonds, other athletic fields, playgrounds, and bocce courts." The pool opened on June 27, 1936. It was the second of 10 WPA pools to open that summer, and one of 11 WPA-pools to open in New York City (NYC Parks & Recreation).    

This small park in Queens was acquired by the City in December 1936. Less than a year later, in October 1937, Parks announced the opening of a new playground on the site: "he new playground is equipped with swings, see-saws, slides; playhouses, horizontal bars and ladders. A rectangular wading pool which is encircled by an oval shaped roller skating track, handball courts and a large play area for soft ball games, have also been provided. Shade trees which have been planted around the perimeter of the entire area and permanent concrete benches complete the design." Although the 1937 press release does not...

This small green space between Riverside Dr., Seaman Ave. and Dyckman St. in Manhattan was "provided with shade trees and benches for passive recreation" by the Department of Parks in October 1936. Although the press release announcing the completion of this work 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 between 1934 and 1943 were carried out with New Deal funds and/or labor, and that after April 1935, the WPA quickly became the main source of this support.

The stretch of Todt Hill Road in Staten Island, New York between Schmidts Lane and Ocean Terrace was paved and widened as part of a sponsored federal WPA project during the 1930s.

This sizeable Manhattan park has served as a recreational space since the early 19th century. In the 1930s it was redesigned under Parks commissioner Robert Moses. On October 1, 1936 Parks announced that the: "north half of the park from Ninth to Tenth Streets between Avenues A and B has been redesigned and reconstructed and includes basket ball, volley ball, shuffle board, paddle tennis and horse-shoe pitching courts; complete play apparatus and e wading pool." Although the press release announcing the completion of this work does not mention the WPA or other New Deal agencies, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that...

Tony Dapolito Recreation Center is located at the northwest corner of 7th Ave. S and Clarkson Street in Manhattan. The large outdoor pool was built by the WPA and designed by Aymar Embury II. The Department of Parks announced the official opening of the new pool and renovated bathhouse on June 10, 1939. The ceremony was attended by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, Alexander MacGregor of the Works Progress Administration and others. The press release described the WPA's work on the site: "The new outdoor pool is 50' x 100' with a diving pool 50' x 26' and will provide much needed...