New York Sites

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a $197,000 street repair and maintenance project, along what were then dirt roads, throughout the borough of Brooklyn, New York. Roads improved included a stretch of what was at that point Pelican Avenue from "Flatbush Ave. to Hancock St."  Pelican Avenue was eliminated on New York City maps in 1941, and the land previously allocated for the road was turned over to the city's Department of Parks for development as part of Marine Park. Questions remain as to whether the terminus for the project was really called...

Constructed by the Treasury Department and the PWA from 1933-35. A 1933 article in the Suffolk County News described the PWA allotments for this and other nearby post offices: "Actual allotments for post office buildings in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, amounting to $502,430, have been made by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. This sum will provide three new post office buildings in Suffolk and four in Nassau, as follows: Suffolk—Bay Shore, $71,270; East Hampton, $73,400; Riverhead, $81,000. Nassau—Floral Park, $67,760; Garden City, $84,300; Port Washington, $65,300; Oyster Bay, $59,430."

"In addition to its architectural importance, the contains a noteworthy relief sculpture entitled Speed by Wheeler Williams that was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture in 1936. This was one of the New Deal art programs during the 1930’s which created murals and other public art for public buildings. Williams emphasizes the speed of communication by mail with his sculpted image of Mercury, the messenger and god of commerce and travel. The Penataquit Station Post Office was entered in the National Register of Historic Places on November 17, 1988." (www.bayshorecommerce.com)

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 Pennsylvania Avenue Court Building, whose present function is unknown to Living New Deal.

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a $197,000 street repair and maintenance project, along what were then dirt roads, throughout the borough of Brooklyn, New York. Roads improved included the half-mile stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue between Linden Blvd. and what was then known as Fairfield Avenue (which was renamed and became part of Flatlands Ave. in 1956).

"Peoples Park on Brook Avenue and East 141st Street in the Bronx, June 22, 2015. The New York City Parks Department press release for July 27, 1934, announces the opening of fourteen playgrounds on August 11, including: PLAYGROUND at 141st STREET between BROOKand ST. ANN'S AVENUES, 587 ft. x 175 ft. Facilities: Recreation building, wading pool, handball and basketball courts and playground and gymnasium apparatus.and goes on to say that the 'labor and materials for the construction of these additional playground areas are being supplied thru Work Relief funds.'"  (https://kermitproject.org)

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 play areas designed for mothers and infants and older children. The site was acquired by the Parks Department in May 1934. Although the press release does not identify which federal agencies were involved, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that New Deal park projects developed before August 1935 would have been financed by one or more agencies including the CWA, FERA, the...

Peru's Central School building was developed during the Great Depression. Its construction was enabled by a $135,000 federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant, which covered nearly half of the eventual $300,882 total project cost. Construction occurred between Jan. 1938 and Nov. 1939. The educational complex has since been greatly expanded. PWA Docket No. NY 1484

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 preeminent 19th century sculptor and one of the earliest alumni of Cooper Union (class of 1864), was commissioned to design a monument in honor of the great visionary. Saint-Gaudens collaborated with the renowned architect Stanford White (1853–1906) who created the piece’s marble and granite canopy… In 1935, coinciding with reconstruction of the park, the newly created Parks Monuments Crew, with funding from...

The property for this playground and the adjacent school (P.S. 108 also known as the Peter Minuit School) were both acquired in 1941. The Board of Education cleared old buildings and constructed the school on the West half of the block, while Parks and the WPA cleared the East half of the block and constructed a playground on the site. In October 1942, Parks announced the opening of this playground: "The shortage of critical war materials which became acute after the construction of the playground was started made it necessary to omit temporarily all chain link fencing and metal goal standards...

The land for the Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park, known more commonly as the Smokey Oval Park, was acquired by the city in 1938. On October 31, 1939, the Department of Parks officially celebrated the opening of the park with a ceremony attended by Mayor La Guardia, Borough President George U. Harvey, Work Projects Administrator of New York City Brehon Somervell, and Park Commissioner Robert Moses. The press release announcing the opening explained: "the new 4.3 acre playground contains a separate children's area with wading pool, slides, see-saws and jungle gym, as well as kindergarten apparatus and sand pit for children of...

Pier 64, located along the Hudson River opposite West 24th Street with respect to 12th Avenue, is presently a New York City park. The park opened in 2009. The pier was originally constructed by the Work Projects Administration: "Built by the WPA for lease by the city to the Government's Panama Railroad Line. Dedicated by the Secretary of War on May 15, 1940. Thoroughly modern pier, 570 feet by 100 feet, with two-story steel pier shed and steel, brick and concrete bulkhead building, 340 feet by 50 feet, housing the offices of the steamship company." (National Archives) The shed has recently been...

The Pierre Van Cortlandt School was completed and opened in January 1940. The school was built as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project, a New Deal progream established under Franklin Roosevelt. The building has some beautiful artwork, including a stone relief on the grand staircase, sculptures on the gymnasium walls, and a stunning stained glass window. The stained glass window depicts a sailboat that appears to be floating on the actual Hudson river. The artwork was done under the auspices of the Federal Art Project.

In its 1936 report entitled "The First 3 Years. PWA," the PWA remarks that "...probably the most dramatic and spectacular changes effected by PWA are advances in transportation." Among the the transportation advances listed in the report are water-related improvements to wharves, docks, piers, and other harbor improvements..." Such projects were "...built by local government units" with funding from the PWA. The report proudly highlights "...the huge new piers built for New York City to harbor new superliners, such as the Normandie and the Queen Mary.." ("The First 3 Years. PWA" Page 15) The  construction of pier 92 at the foot of West...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work "to the Pelfishire road linking Mineville and highway 22."

A $19,000 WPA project at Brentwood's Pilgrim State Hospital involved the "construction of walks, steps, and retaining wall steps around various buildings of the institution."

Men from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp reforested up to 3,000 acres of cutover land on the western edge of the Adirondack State Park, east of Boonville, New York .  The exact locations of the plantations are unknown, but the uniform appearance of red pines of about the right age is quite striking along State Route 28 just outside the park boundary near Woodgate Village (part of the town of Forestport). This stretch of woods is in sharp contrast to the natural mix of forest species within the Adirondack park, leading one to believe that these trees are the...

On September 30, 1941, Parks announced the opening of a new playground behind Public School 119 to be shared by the Department of Parks and the Board of Education. The press release explained that the playground was divided in two sections. In the south section, "A central free play area is flanked by three combination volleyball Legend basketball courts with removable goal posts, and a string, three shuffleboard courts and four paddle tennis courts. This entire section may be used for roller skating and flooded for ice skating." The north section contained benches and trees, a brick comfort station, a...

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 1752 Pitkin Ave. were constructed in 1903; the baths closed in 1949 and the building is privately owned. 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.

In 1940, CCC 'boys' from the Boonville Civilian Conservation Corps camp S-122 built the facilities at Pixley Falls State Park on Route 46 south of Boonville NY.  According to Podskach: "They made clearings for campsites and created a wading pool with a stone masonry dam on the stream. The next summer the boys built a 25-ft reinforced concrete bridge and the park project was completed."  Podskach also includes a photo (see below) of a picnic shelter presumably built by the CCC boys. The original picnic shelter is still prominent and there are picnic tables but no designated campsites.  A path down to...

The historic Planetarium Station post office in New York, New York is located on West 83rd Street, between Amsterdam Ave. and Columbus Ave. It was one of many post offices in Manhattan constructed with federal Treasury Department funds during the New Deal era. The post office was initially known as New York, New York's Station 'W' until its redesignation as Planetarium Station on Oct. 1, 1946. The building's cornerstone, and an interior plaque, put the dates of construction at 1935 to 1937. The building is still in service. Plaque text: This building was erected under the act of Congress dated June 16, 1933 and was completed during the administration of...

The federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) conducted improvements to the old stone barracks in Plattsburgh, New York ca. 1940-1.

This playground just across from the East River between 103rd and 104th Streets, was developed in relation to the adjacent East River Housing development with the cooperation of the Department of Parks and the NYC Housing Authority to serve both the residents of the public housing development and the rest of the neighborhood. In November 1942, Parks announced the completion of the new playground: "The Housing Authority constructed a low granite wall around three sides of the proposed play area providing three entrance points. A seven foot wrought iron picket fence with gates has been set in a concrete foundation just inside...

Playground of the Americas 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 his tenure as Parks Commissioner, Robert Moses used New Deal funding and labor to build public park facilities, yet rarely credited the New Deal agencies that supported the projects. Because he prohibited the placement of New Deal plaques and corner stones, we have few sources that tie public parks in New York to New Deal agencies. However, several of Moses’ statements reveal that during the 1930s, most of...

Parks received the property for this park from the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity in 1940. It completed this playground, originally called the P.S. 166 Playground after the adjacent school, in June 1941. The press release announcing the playground's opening explained the WPA's work: "New concrete street curbs have been installed along 35 Avenue and Steinway Street and the existing concrete sidewalks have been widened to 18 feet. A 5 foot wide granite block panel extends along the inside of the fence with benches spaced between the new 3 inch calipher pin oaks. A battery of kindergarten swings for pre-school...

Sayville's Suffolk County News reported during August 1940 that WPA labor was working to improve the previously abandoned Fort Terry on Plum Island: "WPA workmen are now engaged in repairing the soldiers' barracks, officers' quarters and all roads on the island.  The harbor is to be dredged and new wharves constructed. New armament, including anti-aircraft guns and other artillery, has already been installed and a landing field will be constructed." Riverhead's County Review reported in 1941: “The Works Projects Administration has assigned a force of men to construct a new water line and grade and resurface roads on Plum Island, site of historic...

Plumb Beach (sometimes spelled "Plum") is a beach along the north shore of Rockaway Inlet, across the creek from Marine Park. It was originally an island, but Hog Creek was filled in during the late 1930s. The beach area was extensively developed by the WPA. At the time, the Island was part of Marine Park. An August 1941 Department of Parks press release announced the "completion of the development of Plum Island, Marine Park, Brooklyn. This new recreation area provides a small parking field just off the Belt Parkway, 50 picnic tables and 40 fireplaces, serviced by a concession building, comfort...

The Cape Vincent Eagle reported that the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) was to improve several roads to the Lake Ontario shore in the Three Mile Bay area of Jefferson County, New York, during the summer of 1939. Roads included "Point Peninsula South Shore, from the county road to the lake shore, six-tenths of a mile."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed improvements to Poplar and Broad St. in Schenectady NY. Pictured WPA curb stamp was originally located near the intersection of Broad and Poplar Streets.

The Poppenhusen branch of the Queens Library system, located in the College Point neighborhood of Queens, was constructed in the early 1900s. A WPA photo shows the WPA sign and explains that "new copper sheeting for roof is another improvement provided for the College Point Branch of the Queens Library system by the WPA," implying that other improvements were made as well.

The elevated Port Richmond railway station was constructed during the mid-1930s as one link in a massive grade separation project along what was then a freight and passenger railway (the North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway). The structure opened Feb. 1937. Long since abandoned, the station—which is located between Park and Port Richmond Avenues—still stands. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $1.46 million grant for the $6 million grade crossing elimination project, which included work elsewhere in Staten Island and even in Manhattan. PWA Docket No. NY 4926.

The historic post office in Akron, New York was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses New Deal artwork inside, was completed in 1941 and is still in use today.

The historic post office in Albion, New York was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses New Deal artwork inside, was completed in 1938 and is still in use today.

The historic post office building in Amsterdam, New York "was built in 1935–1936, and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department under Louis A. Simon. It consists of a 2½-story, symmetrically massed brick building with 1-story side wings and a large rear wing in the Colonial Revival style. The interior features a pair of 1939 murals by Henry Schnakenberg (1892–1970)."

The historic post office building in Angola, New York "was designed and built 1938-1939, and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, Louis A. Simon. The building is in the Colonial Revival style."

The historic post office building in Attica, new York was "designed and built in 1936-1937 ... by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, Louis A. Simon. It is a one story brick structure on a stone watertable in the Colonial Revival style. The interior includes a mural painted in 1938 by Thomas Donnelly and titled 'Fall in the Genesee Country.'"

The historic post office in Ballston Spa, New York was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which was constructed in 1935, is still in use today.

The historic post office in Beacon, New York was constructed with Treasury Department funding as part of the New Deal. "Architects Charles Rosen and Gilbert Stanley Underwood produced a Colonial Revival style building in stone, a common building material for many early houses in the Hudson Valley." The building, which was completed in 1937, houses a striking wraparound New Deal mural.

The post office in Boonville, New York was built in 1937 by the US Treasury Department. It is one of many post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, Louis A. Simon – though likely with the help of local architects, as was often the case.  It is a one story brick building in Colonial Revival style, with hipped roof and octagonal cupola with metal window tracery and an iron weathervane. It is part of the Boonville Historic District.

The Post Office in Brockport, New York was built in 1940 as the village's post office. It is still in use. The cornerstone indicates that it was a project of the Federal Works Agency. Historic photographs of the building include the name of the contractor.