Leif Ericson Park is a long, narrow park in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, which “features a Norse theme in honor of Leif Ericson and the local Scandinavian-American community” (NYC Parks). By the turn of the 20th century, the… read more
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… read more
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
A site devoted to the history of the park (www.letchworthparkhistory.com) has compiled an extensive list of CCC work done in the park: During the Great Depression, Letchworth Park was the site of several Civilian Conservation Camps. (See the Glimpse of… read more
The Octagon Shelter is one of two stone and wood shelters built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp SP-49 in Letchworth State Park. The shelter stands in the Lower Falls picnic area of Letchworth State Park.
Civilian Conservation Corps Company SP-49 built a stacked stone retaining way and stone staircase to allow visitors to Letchworth State Park access to the Lower Falls from the picnic area above the falls. Over 100 individual stone steps were installed… read more
The former, and since-abandoned, Letchworth Village institution was expanded with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $204,592 grant for the project, whose total cost was $460,431. Construction occurred between Mar. 1936 and Jul…. read more
Levy Playground is a small plot in the Richmond district of Staten Island. It 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 New… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Lewis–Wadhams Road. 2.58 miles of the road were widened, graded, and provided with a gravel foundation. The exact stretch of the road is unclear, though is believed to be that closer to Lewis.
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 federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) conducted major work in and around Ley Creek during the 1930s. A 1940 WPA report described its efforts: “Ley Creek was the largest WPA project in upstate New York. Ley Creek was formerly a… read more
From 1936 until recently, the New Hyde Park library occupied this building on the Jericho Turnpike. The building itself dates to earlier than 1936, but the NYA renovated the building in the 1930s in order for the library to move… read more
The historic former post office building in Floral Park, New York was constructed with Treasury Department and Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds in 1936. The building presently serves as the Floral Park Public Library. Postal operations have been moved to… read more
Lincoln Community Center was established as a community center by Vassar College in 1916. The former Lincoln Community Center Gymnasium was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1937. Arson destroyed the primary center in 1979, and Living New… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work on one mile of Lincoln Pond Road outside Elizabethtown, New York in 1937. The project employed 28 men for six months.
This large, tiered park in Brooklyn was acquired by the City in stages between 1916 and 1935. In 1939-1940, the WPA constructed a brand new playground on the lower level of the park and then completely redesigned the upper levels… 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
The Department of Parks announced the opening of this playground on August 30, 1935 and noted that it contained a wading pool and playground apparatus. Although federal involvement is not explicitly mentioned, federal funding for laborers, materials, architects, landscapers 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
This site, a former sanatorium, holds a collection of over 200 works funded by the New Deal, with roughly 25 paintings at a time on display. The online archive can be accessed here. From the New Deal Gallery website: Our… read more
“The site of this project is a peninsula, locally known as ‘The Island’ and in addition to the school building, there are baseball and football fields, a running track, tennis courts, and a park containing beautiful old trees. The school,… read more
The Department of Parks announced the opening of this WPA playground in Queens on August 9, 1939: “The land was acquired at the time the Board of Estimate approved the modified plan for the Atlantic Avenue Improvement, the playground was… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) played a crucial role in the development of Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. NPS.gov: “By June 1939, the cemetery employed 480 men through WPA projects. A final narrative report of the… read more
This 1938 photo from the National Archives and Records Administration shows the bridge on Lorings Crossing Rd. under construction in 1938.
Loudonville Reservoir’s Basin C was constructed by the federal Work Projects Administration. The agency described its accomplishments in a 1940 report: “Basin C, Loudonville Reservoir, huge concrete retainer, holds 93,000,000 gallons, a guarantee of ten days supply for Albany against… read more
On January 15, 1940, the New York City Department of Parks announced the completion of this “new facility” at Alexander Ave. and 136th St.: “It contains four handball courts, a large, open, bi[t]uminous-surfaced play area for group games, small and… read more
An August 1935 Parks Department press release lists what is now the Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park 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
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted street repair work on Lurting Avenue in the vicinity of Rhinelander Ave. and Morris Park Ave., ca. 1936.
Located in College Point, this green space on the East River is built on the grounds of an old mansion. It was originally known as Chisolm Park: “In 1930 the City of New York acquired the mansion and its grounds… 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 New York City Parks Department Press Release for October 14, 1935 announces the opening of a new playground at the site of what was later called Macombs Dam Park, with some or all of the following amenities: wading pools,… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) assisted in the paving of Madison Avenue from 59th St. to 82nd St.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted road and building improvement work at the old Madison Barracks in Sackets Harbor, New York.
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.
The land for Mahoney Playground was acquired in two parts in 1933 and in 1961. Parks announced the opening of a new playground on the first half in 1937, with “a fully equipped small children’s section besides facilities for handball,… read more
The historic (and current) main post office in Mount Vernon, New York was originally constructed in 1915. The building received an extension as part of a New Deal project completed in 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. Work was overseen… read more