Researcher Frank da Cruz makes a convincing argument that this former playground was built with New Deal funds: “According to a present-day NYC Parks Department web page, ‘This property, bounded by East 146th Street, Walton Avenue, and the Grand Concourse,… 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 Gates Avenue… read more
“This monumental bronze portrait bust, dedicated in 1893, depicts Civil War General Winfield Scott Hancock (1824–1886), and was created by American sculptor James Wilson Alexander MacDonald (1824–1908).” (www.nycgovparks.org) In the 1930s, the bust was restored with federal funding under Karl… read more
“In 1934, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) converted an eleven-year-old pier into a waterside recreation center at a cost of one million dollars. … Opened in 1936, the George Cromwell Recreation Center soon came to play a vital role in… read more
Lucienne Bloch’s mural, “The Evolution of Music”, encircles the upper wall of the old music classroom at the former George Washington High School. As the NY Public Schools Public Art for Public Schools website states: “Among New Deal New York City… read more
Gertrude B. Kelly Playground was one of five model playgrounds designed after Robert Moses assumed control of the New York City Parks Department in 1934. These playgrounds were “meant to serve as templates for further playground designs and included standard… read more
A March 27, 1936 Department of Parks press release announced the opening of this new WPA playground: “The Department of Parks will open ten new playgrounds Saturday, March 28, making a total of 125 added to the recreational system in… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to restore the Giuseppe Verdi Monument during the mid-1930s.
The federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed a new public library in Glendale, Queens. The WPA also constructed additions to other libraries in the borough.
In Sept. 1941 the New York Times described a playground being constructed by the WPA in Queens at “Central Avenue and Seventieth Street.” This site, Glendale Playground, is still in use today. The site is also known as the “Uncle”… read more
Then known as the Welfare Hospital for Chronic Disease, this hospital on New York’s Roosevelt Island opened in 1939. The hospital soon received three rare 7 x 50 foot WPA murals by Ilya Bolotowsky (1907-1981), Joseph Rugolo (1911-1983) and Albert… read more
Gorman playground at 84th St. and 25th Ave. in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens 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… read more
In 1936, Abram Champanier painted a large, multi-panel mural, entitled “Alice in Wonderland,” in the children’s ward of the old Gouverneur Hospital on Water Street, with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The oil-on-canvas murals were all seven feet high, of varying widths, with subjects… read more
From 1794 to 1966, Governors Island housed US army facilities. The whole island is now a National Monument and remains a “vibrant summer seasonal venue of art, culture and performance against the backdrop of two centuries of military heritage and… read more
In addition to WPA improvements made around Governors Island, “a mural in the Administration Building, depicting scenes from six American wars, was painted by artists of the Federal Art Project.” The Administration Building is better known today as Pershing Hall…. read more
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… read more
Gracie Mansion has been the official residence of New York City’s mayor since 1942, Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia and his family moved in. It is located on East 88th Street in Carl Schurz park. The federal style house was built in the 18th century for… read more
A Department of Parks press release from March 17, 1935 describes the extensive improvements made to Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza with New Deal support: “The Grand Army Plaza, constituting the main entrance to Prospect Park, Brooklyn, is to be completely… read more
“This majestic, gilded-bronze equestrian group statue depicts one of the United States’ best-known generals, William Tecumseh Sherman (1820 – 1891). Dedicated in 1903, it was master sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s (1848 – 1907) last major work, and serves as the centerpiece… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to restore the Pomona statue (also known as the “Lady of the Plaza”) in Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan, during the mid-1930s. The statue tops the Pulitzer Fountain in the plaza’s southern half.
This dramatic arch in Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza was created by architect John Hemingway Duncan in 1889-1892. The statuary on the arch was added over the next several years, by several different artists including William Rudolf O’Donovan (men), Thomas Eakins… read more
An article in the April 29, 1942 edition of The New York Times reported that WPA work on the Grand Concourse had begun. The work involved widening the Grand Concourse between 153rd and 161st streets by 6 feet, as well… read more
“This large bronze equestrian statue by William Ordway Partridge (1861-1930) depicts Civil War General and 18th United States President Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-1885). Though Grant’s reputation was tarnished after serving as President amidst one of the most corrupt administrations in… read more
On May 25, 1942 the Parks Department announced the completion of a major reconstruction of the Gravesend Park Playground in Brooklyn. After removing much outdated equipment, the WPA constructed significant new facilities: “The new development permits greater utilization of space… read more
The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Staten Island street repair and maintenance project along roads throughout the borough. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were surfaced… read more
The former Greenpoint Hospital was constructed during the 1930s with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration funds (Docket No. 9063). According to New Deal New York, “The Public Works Administration helped to finance the construction of a new out-patient… read more
Anton Refregier’s first mural assignment under the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (WPA-FAP) in the 1930s was to paint a mural for the children’s ward at Greenpoint Hospital in Brooklyn. Joining the WPA rolls allowed him to get off… read more
Today’s NYC Parks site explains: “Greenwood Playground [in Brooklyn, New York] is bounded by Fort Hamilton Parkway, and Prospect and Greenwood Avenues.” “Greenwood Playground first opened to the public on December 19, 1935, as one of hundreds of Works Progress… read more
The land for Grover Cleveland Park was first established in the 1920s. It acquired its present name in 1939. In June 1940, the Department of Parks announced the completion of the WPA’s reconstruction of the park: “This five-acre park has… read more
The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Staten Island street repair and maintenance project along roads throughout the borough. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were surfaced… 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 nearly a… read more
“The third project which Louis Schanker completed while in the Mural Division of the WPA was for the Hall of Medicine and Public Health Building at the New York [W]orld’s Fair (1939-1940). Large sharply angled geometric shapes are the background… read more
Hamilton Fish Park was first opened in 1900, featuring a gymnasium and playground. In 1936, it was thoroughly remodeled and the new WPA swimming pool (the first of eleven to open that summer) became the main attraction. A June 1936… read more
In April 1942, the WPA and the Department of Parks completed the reconstruction of Hamilton Metz Field in Brooklyn. After removing an existing football field and other facilities, the WPA constructed extensive new facilities: “The area has been completely enclosed… read more
Renovations to Harlem Hospital were undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Harlem Hospital murals include two 1940 pieces by Charles Alston, “Magic in Medicine” and “Modern Medicine”, painted under the auspices of the Federal Arts Project of the WPA in 1936. As the New York Times notes, “Harlem Hospital’s were perhaps the first… read more
Alfred D. Crimi painted this 250-square-foot fresco, entitled Modern Surgery and Anesthesia, in 1940 for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). According to the webpage entry “Harlem Hospital WPA Murals” from Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African-American Studies, “Alfred D. Crimi,… read more
An eight panel mural by African America artist Vertis C. Hayes, entitled “Pursuit of Happiness,” was commissioned for Harlem Hospital Center with funding from the WPA’s Federal Arts Project. The mural, which was completed 1937, “…traces the African diaspora from 18th-century African… read more
In 1937 Elba Lightfoot completed this mural, entitled “Toy Parade,” for the Harlem Hospital Center with funding from the WPA’s Federal Arts Program. It was one the first major federal commissions to be awarded to African-Americans. The hospital initially rejected… read more
Below is a photograph that shows Georgette Seabrooke at work on her mural entitled “Recreation in Harlem” for the nurses’ recreation room at Harlem Hospital Center. She made the mural with funding from the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP). The WPA commissioned… read more