New York Sites

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 the commission for depicting too much African-American subject matter. The hospital commissioner reversed this decision, however, after public controversy was aroused by protest from the artists and their supporters (New York Times).

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 the mural in 1936.  The New York Times notes that, "Harlem Hospital’s were perhaps the first major federal government commissions awarded to African-Americans." “'Recreation in Harlem' depicts children roughhousing, a couple dancing, a group of women chatting." It was rediscovered during hospital renovation in 2004. This and the other murals, originally in the old hospital and visible only to staff, have been restored for over $4...

The Harlem River Houses, together with First Houses in Manhattan and the Williamsburg Houses in Brooklyn, were the first federally-funded public housing projects in New York City.   The project was funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA Docket No. H-1302). Wikipedia states:  "The Harlem River Houses is a New York City Housing Authority public housing complex located between West 151st and West 153rd Streets and between Macombs Place and the Harlem River Drive in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The complex, which covers 9 acres (3.6 ha), was built in 1936-37 and opened in October 1937 – one of the...

A 2016 article celebrating Black History Month highlighted this unique and little known WPA mural by artist Aaron Douglas: "The Harlem Branch of the Y.M.C.A., which is located at at 180 West 135th Street, contains an exquisite example (though in need of a thorough restoration) of a rare African-American contribution to the Works Progress Administration (WPA)... While much of the building has been renovated over the years, some of the Y.M.C.A.’s original artwork by Alfred Floegel and noted African-American artists William E. Scott and Aaron Douglas remain. One of the murals was designed by Aaron Douglas, an African-American painter and illustrator whose works appear in...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed roads, trails, and camps in this park. The CCC also built a number of lakes, including Pine Meadow, Wanoksink, Turkey Hill, and Silver Mine.

The New York Times reported in Sept. 1941 that "WPA crews are busy on twelve other park and playground projects in other parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx ... At Harris Park, Bedford Park Boulevard and 205th Street, the Bronx, a new ten-acre athletic field is being developed. When completed it will contain a brick field house, concrete bleachers, four baseball and two softball diamonds, four football fields with removable goal posts, a flagpole, benches and drinking fountains. The department intends to plant 17,500 honeysuckle vines on the steep slopes around the field."

"The prominence of soaring in Elmira was established with the first thirteen national soaring contests, held here from 1930 to 1946. This was made possible through an alliance of the Soaring Society of America (SSA), the Harris Hill Soaring Corporation (HHSC), and what became our county's Chamber of Commerce. Harris Hill, home to the Museum and HHSC, has since hosted many other national, regional and international contests and exhibitions. The Works Projects Administration (WPA) built Chemung County's Harris Hill Park in the 1930s. These facilities included the gliderport, hangars, cabins for housing contest pilots and crews, a youth camp, and...

Today's NYC Parks website explains that the village of Whitestone (now the neighborhood of Whitestone in Queens) acquired this land in 1892.  Parks took over the 21 acre site in 1936 in conjunction with the construction of the Whitestone Parkway.  This site says that a children's playground opened on the site in 1939. However, the official opening of the playground was announced by the Parks Department on April 25, 1940: "Here recreation facilities nave been provided for all age groups. There are three separate children's completely equipped playgrounds, handball, horseshoe pitching, shuffleboard and basketball courts, a full-sized hard ball and a...

The grand Haverstraw Elementary School in Haverstraw, New York was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. As part of PWA Docket No. NY 6912, "SCHOOLS," the PWA provided a $270,000 loan and $227,143 grant for this and possibly other educational facilities in the town, whose total cost was $841,696. Construction occurred between 1935 and 1937. The building's cornerstones identify "1935" as well as "Knappe & Morris / Architects"

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 Haviland Avenue from Castle Hill Ave. to Zerega Ave.

Hyde Park, New York has three school buildings "which were built in the Hyde Park Central School District with a grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA) of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration: Haviland Middle School which was original dedicated as the Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School but was later renamed when a new high school building was constructed, Hyde Park Elementary School and Violet Avenue Elementary School. The total cost of construction of the three historic buildings was $1,300,000 with $585,000 coming from a PWA grant. Construction began in December of 1938 and was completed in December of 1939."

Medford, New York's Mid-Island Mail reported in 1940 that the WPA completed work on a sidewalk along Hawkins Avenue "near the Five Corners" of Lake Ronkonkoma.

In 1938 William Karp completed the mural entitled "Armed with Learning and Reality, Looking from the Past to the Future" for the Hebrew Orphan Asylum on Amsterdam Avenue between 136 and 138th Street in New York City. The Hebrew Orphan Asylum closed in 1941, and the building was demolished in the mid 1950s. The Living New Deal needs further information to determine the current status of William Karp's WPA mural for the Hebrew Orphan Asylum. William Karp worked as a master mural artist and administrator with the WPA Federal Art Project. Also included are images of Karp with friends at his home in...

The NYC Parks website explains that, "This playground received its name after the city purchased the land from the Heckscher Foundation for Children in 1935.  The property had served as a public playground since 1934.  When Parks took over, the property included a recreation building with a dental facility and an indoor play area.  The park was home to summer activities such as puppet shows, storytelling, and arts and crafts.  Originally, the playground was a little under one acre in size." The Department of Parks further improved the playground and officially opened it to the public in December 1935. As researcher...

Suffolk County News reported that between 1935 and 1936, the WPA “improved recreational facilities in following State Parks : Sunken Meadow, Heckscher, Wildwood, Orient Point and Hither Hills…” One such allotment, for $13,959.63 and reported in Nov. 1935, called for "repairing and painting buildings, playgrounds, and beach equipment" at Heckscher State Park.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at was then known as Helen Hall Academy and High School in Ogdensburg, New York.

The Cape Vincent Eagle reported that the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved 11 roads in the town of Cape Vincent, New York. "All school bus, milk, and rural mail routes, the roads form an important part of the town's highway system." The project encompassed eight miles of road, and called for "grading, draining, placing base, trimming shoulders and ditches, surfacing and incidental appurtenant work." Roads improved included "Hell Street, leading from Constance southerly one mile."

Five Suffolk County highway beautification projects, directed by the WPA, put approximately 1,000 men to work for seven months beginning April 1936. The projects included "the Farmingdale-Hempstead turnpike from Babylon to Hempstead."

The column of the Henry Hudson Memorial in Henry Hudson Park was created in 1909, but the bronze sculpture by Karl Bitter intended for the top of the column was never added. This was rectified in the 1930s.  In 1937, the Department of Parks reported that: "Park Commissioner Robert Moses, sole member of the Henry Hudson Parkway Authority, announces that the Authority will furnish the statue and he has retained Karl H. Gruppe, who for years was associated with Mr. Bitter, to undertake the reproduction of the original design. Fortunately, the sculptor's widow, who resides at 209 East 72nd Street, has...

The  Henry Hudson Parkway runs along the Hudson River from West 72nd Street to the Bronx-Westchester border and includes the Henry Hudson Bridge, which connects Manhattan with the Bronx. The Parkway was part and parcel of the West Side Improvement project of 1934-37, which included the reconstruction of Riverside Park.  The Parkway and Riverside Park were financed and built together, as noted here by researcher Frank da Cruz. Part of its route also runs through Van Cortlandt Park, as described here: "Moses chose to run the new parkway through Van Cortlandt Park because it was already city property. To run it outside...

The Henry Hudson Bridge carries the Henry Hudson Parkway over the Hudson River between the Bronx and Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan. The idea of a bridge in that spot had been raised as early as 1906, but resistance from local residents, among other things, prevented its construction until the 1930s, when Robert Moses became involved. While resistance to the location remained, in part because of the way the bridge would disturb the serenity of Inwood Hill Park, Moses was able to push the project through. He was determined to get this particular location in large part so that he...

In 1940, the WPA rehabilitated the "hourglass" intersection formed by Broadway, 6th Ave., 35th St. and 32nd St, the north end of which is known as Herald Square and the south end as Greeley Square. The project centered around the restoration and re-placing of a large sculptured clock originally constructed by Antoin Jean Carles in the late 1800s. The Parks press release announcing the completion of this work was especially long and enthusiastic: "The rehabilitation of the hour-glass intersection of Broadway and Sixth Avenue extending from 32nd Street to 35th Street is now completed. Elevated structures, and surface car tracks have...

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 486 Hicks Street were constructed in 1903; the building was "demolished in 1941 for construction of the BQE" (Brooklyn Relics). 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 Works Progress Administration's (WPA's) Federal Art Project commissioned a set of five murals for the auditorium of what was then known as Hicksville Junior-Senior High School (now Hicksville Middle School), on Jerusalem Ave. WPAMurals.com: "These murals were done by Joseph Allen Physioc, and are titled “Man Beating Gold” (missing),”Cantiague Rock,” “Early Hicksville,” “Farm Field,” and “Curtis Airfield.” They are oil on canvas. Three of them measure approx. 8′ x 7′ and 2 of the murals are arched in shape and measure approx. 11′ x 7′."

The historic high school in Dobbs Ferry, New York was constructed using federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the 1930s. The PWA contributed a $607,400 loan and $193,049 grant to the project, whose total cost was $832,335. Construction occurred between May 1934 and June 1936. The building, designed by architects Knappe & Morris, is still in use today. PWA Docket No. NY 3301.

Federal Public Works Administration Docket No. NY 2754 entailed the construction of two school buildings in Jamestown, New York: the new Jamestown High School and the Industrial Arts Building nearby. "In 1935 a new Jamestown High School opened for classes. Financed in part by the Public Works Administration, it is an Art Deco school that occupies the site of the Jamestown Union School and Collegiate Institute on East Second Street. Plans for a new high school had been considered as early as 1920 but problems with cost and siting kept the project from proceeding. The architectural firm of Beck and Tinkham...

Chester, New York's former high school was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration funds during the 1930s (PWA Docket No. NY 1205). The building is now home to the Chester Learning Center.

The former high school building on School St. in New Woodstock, New York was constructed in 1938 as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The building, which has been added to since its construction, is now privately owned and. As of 2017, it appears to be used primarily as storage, although the U.S. Postal Service is also a tenant in the south wing (an extension) of the building. P.W.A. Docket No. NY 1489-D.S.

The old high school in Beacon, New York served as the city's high school from 1913 to 2002. An extension was built to the school during the 1930s with federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. NY 1217-DS).

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a two-story addition to the old high school in Plattsburgh, New York. The addition was completed in 1938. However, the exact location and present status of the building is unknown to Living New Deal.

Artist James Michael Newell painted this large multi-panel mural with WPA Federal Arts Project funding in 1938. The murals depict the "Evolution of Western Civilization." The murals begin with "primitive man building his society" and end with scenes from 1930s America. "When it was completed, Newell’s progressive mural was well received. It won top honors in the Architectural League’s fiftieth annual exhibition in 1936 and it was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s “New Horizons of American Art” show featuring art commissioned under the Federal Art Project.  By the late 1960s, however, in the crucible of the civil rights movement,...

What is now the High School of Fashion Industries began in the 1920s as a vocational program in a garment center loft on West 31 Street. It was intended to train a work force for New York's large garment industry, and most early students were first or second generation immigrants. In 1938, the WPA helped build a new campus for the what was then called the Central High School of Needle Trades. The school was completed in 1941. The school's current website explains that "It’s curriculum was almost entirely vocational, stressing sewing, machine work, and fashion design. It had many ties...

The High School of Fashion Industries (formerly the Central High School of Needle Trades) is a New Deal building, which contains a well-known mural by Ernest Fiene. It is commonly believed to be a WPA Arts Project mural, but Gerald Markowitz, co-author of A New Deal for Art (1977), assures us that it is not, even though the spirit of the painting is so typically New Deal.  We have left it on our map because of the common confusion, which this may help allay. "In Manhattan, the fledgling coalition of government, industry, and organized labor created the Central High School of Needle Trades...

Located across the Harlem River from the larger Highbridge Park in Manhattan (also developed by the WPA), this small park located at the east end of the High Bridge, was built by the WPA in 1940. A Parks Department press release from April of that year explains: "It has been developed as a sitting park with numerous benches and landscaped with shade trees. There is also a sand pit in which small children may dig and play. The design was prepared by the Park Department and the work performed by the Works Progress Administration."   (https://kermitproject.org)

NYC Parks describes the WPA's role in developing the Highbridge Pool: "The Highbridge Pool and Recreation Center were built in 1936. The pool was the fifth of eleven city pools built with labor supplied by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA). It opened during the hot summer of 1936, leading Fortune magazine to dub 1936 “the swimming pool year.”" In July 1937, Parks announced the further completion of "a new brick building, with copper roof...   be used as a concession stand to serve spectators and bathers at the swimming pool."

In December 1936, the Department of Parks announced the completion of a new playground in Highbridge Park "equipped with wading pool, swings, see-saws, slides and jungle gym for younger children and a large play area with horizontal bars and ladders, basket ball, hand ball, paddle tennis and horseshoe courts for older Children and adults." Although the press release 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,...

Highland Park on the border of Queens and Brooklyn received new playground equipment for small children from the Department of Parks in August 1935. As explained here, all Parks projects at the time were carried out with New Deal labor and/or funding. Given the date of this project, it was most likely supported by the WPA.

A highway construction project in Cortlandt, New York was undertaken during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $129,674 grant; the total cost of the project was $289,649. Work occurred between November 1936 and May 1938. (PWA Docket No. NY 1135)

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Hillside Homes, one of the first subsidized housing projects in the United States. Located in Williamsbridge, the Bronx, the housing complex spans five city blocks. It was designed by architect and urban planner Clarence Stein. The complex was dedicated on June 29, 1935 by Governor Lehman and officials representing of the Federal, State, city, and borough governments. At the time of its opening, the Hillside complex was owned by the Hillside Housing Corporation with with rents controlled by the Federal Housing Authority and the State Housing Board. The facility is still in service...

A New York City Park's Department press release from December 4, 1939 announces the opening of three new WPA playgrounds, including Hines Park: "Hine's Park at Fulton Avenue and East 167 Street is a triangular-shaped area containing a small children's playground, providing a sandpit, see-saws, slides, kindergarten swings and a jungle gym... The opening of these four areas designed by the Park Department and built by the Work Projects Administration makes a total of 306 new or reconstructed playgrounds completed by the Park Department since 1934." (https://kermitproject.org)