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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
“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… read more
“A bust of La Guardia stands at the southeastern corner of the [Little Flower Playground]. 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,… read more
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.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) assisted in the paving of Madison Avenue from 59th St. to 82nd St.
The Madison Square Station post office in New York, New York “was built in 1935, and designed by consulting architects Lorimer Rich for the Office of the Supervising Architect.” (Wikipedia) Professor Dolkart of Columbia University School of Architecture, Planning and… read more
The interior of New York’s Madison Square Station post office features eight tempera-on-plaster murals entitled “Scenes of New York” (1937-1939), commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts funding. Four panels are found on each the right and left wall… read more
The exterior of the Madison Square Station post office sports five bronze reliefs above its main entrance (on 23rd St.) known, collectively, as “Communication.” Three were cast by Edmond R. Amateis and two by Louis Slobodkin in 1937, with funding from… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to restore the Admiral Farragut monument in Madison Square during the mid-1930s.
Among the traffic improvement projects in Brooklyn undertaken by the WPA and described by the New York Times in 1941 was that which impacted a major traffic artery connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan: the Manhattan Bridge and Flatbush Avenue Extension. The… read more
The criminal court building in Manhattan was constructed with the assistance of the PWA in the late 1930s, for a cost of $14 million. Construction began in 1938 and was completed in 1941. The site, once known as Collect Pond,… read more
New York’s 1 Centre St. Municipal Building received improvements as part of the New Deal, including new elevators installed in part by Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.
“Marcus Garvey Park is one of the oldest public squares in Manhattan. Central to the life of Harlem for more than 150 years, it has served as a meeting place for neighbors, a front yard and play area for schoolchildren,… read more
NYC Parks states that this small park was acquired by the City in 1936-1938. It opened to the public on April 16, 1937. The press release announcing the opening explained: “the new playground has see-saws, swings, jungle gym, garden swings,… read more
O. Louis Guglielmi completed a mural, entitled “One Third of a Nation,” in 1939 with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration. It was given by the WPA to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1943. “The title of this work… read more
The WPA allocated $12,100.41 in 1935 to assist with miscellaneous repairs to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The New York Times reported in Sept. 1935: “A shooting gallery to make the guards more proficient in the use of firearms… read more
In 1938-9, the WPA built a new station house for the NYPD’s 18th precinct on West 54th St. The building was designed to replace the older 18th precinct building on 47th St. The New Deal structure is still in use… read more
Minetta Green 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 the 1930s, Robert Moses used New Deal funding and labor… read more
The NYC Parks site explains the origins of this playground: “In 1934 Board of Transportation granted the Department of Parks a permit to develop this parcel as a playground which opened the following year.” The November 1935 press release announcing… read more
Minetta Triangle 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 the 1930s, Robert Moses used New Deal funding and labor to… read more
The playground in Morningside Park located at Morningside Avenue, between W 113th and 114th Streets, was one of seven Works Progress Administration (WPA) playgrounds opened in New York City on November 22, 1935.
On September 29, 1941, the Parks Department announced the completion of a reconstructed playground in the northeast corner of Morningside Park: “Two bench-lined tree shaded malls extend along the entire north and east sides of the playground connecting the park… read more
This house “was built in 1765 by Roger Morris, a British military officer,[2] and served as a headquarters for both sides in the American Revolution” (wikipedia). It was declared a national landmark in 1961 and is now a house museum…. read more
This land was first developed as a playground in 1903 and has been known by several names over the years, including the John J. Murphy Playground and Murphy Park, and now, according to NYC Parks, the Murphy’s Brother’s Playground. In… read more
The WPA undertook a project to improve what was then known as New York’s City Museum, during the 1930s. Work included: “Paint interior and exterior, construct exhibition cases, stages, buns, shelves, install ventilating and electrical systems; repair elevators; and make… read more
“In 1936, under the Works Progress Administration, the artist Abram Champanier created a series of murals for the children’s ward [of Gouverneur Hospital]. Champanier had done large commercial murals in the 20’s for the Roxy Theater in New York and… read more
The McGraw Rotunda of the 5th Ave. library building contains a set of WPA murals: “It features The Story of the Recorded Word, a set of four large arched panels by Edward Laning, were executed for the McGraw Rotunda of… read more
This building, formerly known as the New York County Courthouse, contains several large New Deal murals created by a variety of artists, begun under the Public Works of Art Program (PWAP) in 1934 and continued under the WPA’s Federal Art Project…. read more
This building, formerly known as the New York County Courthouse, contains several large WPA murals. Most of the murals, including those in the vestibule and rotunda, were painted by Attilio Pusterla with the help of several assistants. Jury room 448,… read more
The historic Old Chelsea Station post office on West 18th Street was constructed with Treasury Department funds in 1935-7. The building, which houses examples of New Deal artwork, is still in service.
The historic Old Chelsea Station post office houses examples of New Deal artwork: two sculptures, titled “Deer” and “Bears,” by Paul Fiene, housed just inside the public entrance on 18th Street. Made of “cast stone with silver leaf finish,” the works were commissioned… read more
The New York Times reported that WPA laborers had begun work in late 1941 on a playground on the “eastern half of the block bounded by Madison Avenue, Park Avenue, East 108th Street and East 109th Street.” The playground was… read more
P.S. 139 in Upper Manhattan, New York, received an addition in 1938-9 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $209,250 grant for the school, whose total construction cost was $402,059. The former school now houses a senior… read more
P.S. 194, located on W 144th Street in upper Manhattan, New York, was completed in 1940 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant of $474,300, 45% of the estimated project cost.
These WPA photos show WPA crews constructing a “vehicular tunnel” along Park Avenue, from 40th to 42st Streets. Current status of the project unknown to the Living New Deal.
According to the NYC Parks website: “The site of this ballfield was acquired by the City of New York for the construction of the Independent Subway whose line curves from the Avenue of the Americas to West Houston Street. In… read more
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… read more
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… read more