New York Sites

A school in Walton, New York, possibly part of what is now known as Townsend Elementary School, was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $45,934 grant for the project, whose total cost was $159,163. Construction occurred between Jun. 1935 and May 1936. PWA Docket No. NY 4599

Living New Deal believes this structure to be originally one of several similarly designed school buildings built in the area in 1934-5 as part of a New Deal project. Their construction was enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA), which provided a $178,140 loan and $56,289 grant, effectively covering the entire $230,491 total project cost. PWA Docket No. NY 2624

The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) sponsored a school addition project in Bemus Point, New York. The PWA provided a $33,689 grant for the project, whose total cost was $74,914. Construction occurred between March and December 1936. The exact location and present status of this project is unknown to Living New Deal.

Built between 1936 and 1937, a large school building addition in Gouverneur, New York was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. "Supplanted an antiquated building," the PWA-sponsored school building is believed to still be in use, part of a larger educational complex. PWA Docket No. NY W1270.

A school building in Mooers—which Living New Deal believes to be part of the town's School St. facility—received an addition during the Great Depression. Its construction was enabled by a $117,000 federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant, which covered nearly half of the eventual $257,745 total project cost. Construction occurred between Dec. 1937 and Feb. 1939. PWA Docket No. NY 1519

The historic Ausable Valley Central School District building between Keeseville and Au Sable Forks was, Living New Deal believes, originally one of several similarly designed school buildings built in the area as part of a New Deal project. Their construction was enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA), which provided a $178,140 loan and $56,289 grant, which effectively covered the entire $230,491 total project cost. PWA Docket No. NY 2624

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) put 20 men to work improving school grounds in Mexico, New York beginning in March 1939. The exact location of the grounds is unknown to Living New Deal.

Labor funded by the federal Civil Works Administration worked to paint and redecorate one or more educational facilities in Hamburg, New York between 1933 and 1934.

Seaview Hospital was a tuberculosis sanatorium constructed "between 1905 and 1938 and was the largest and most costly municipal facility for the treatment of tuberculosis of its date in the United States" (wikipedia). The children's hospital pictured here was constructed by the PWA. The hospital was eventually abandoned and spent many years in a state of ruin. In recent years some of the facilities have been restored as the Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center. As far as the Living New Deal has been able to ascertain, however, this building remains in ruins.

Seaview Hospital was a tuberculosis sanatorium constructed "between 1905 and 1938 and was the largest and most costly municipal facility for the treatment of tuberculosis of its date in the United States" (wikipedia). In addition to the nurses' residence and children's hospital, New Deal agencies did other work on the site, including completing new roads, like the one pictured here. The hospital was eventually abandoned and spent many years in a state of ruin, but in recent years many of the facilities have been restored as the Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center.

Seaview Hospital was a tuberculosis sanatorium constructed "between 1905 and 1938 and was the largest and most costly municipal facility for the treatment of tuberculosis of its date in the United States" (wikipedia). The nurses' residence pictured here was constructed by the PWA. The hospital was eventually abandoned and spent many years in a state of ruin. Many of the facilities were eventually restored as  the Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and the nurses' residence was turned into a senior housing facility known as Park Lane at Sea View. However, the Living New Deal recently received word that the facilities have fallen into ruin.  

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a "sea wall and boathouse" by the site of the former Naval Militia armory in Whitestone, New York. The boathouse, which still stands, is likely abandoned.

The Department of Health medical center at 62 Second Place in Brooklyn was constructed with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor. This was one of three infant health stations in Brooklyn dedicated by Mayor La Guardia on May 10, 1939. The buildings cost about $50,000 each, with the WPA paying 60% and the city paying 40% of the costs. The building continues to serve health purposes, though the operations are now privately owned.

Originally a fruit farm, the camp Sp-10 project began in November of 1933. The CCC built many of the buildings. Company # 236 arrived in 1939 and sawed timber, constructed a sea wall, designed and built campsites and built furniture on site along with planting trees. CCC camp # 1204 Port Ontario, NY.

Now part of the Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School complex, what was then known as the Senior High School in Port Washington, New York was improved by the federal Work Projects Administration during the 1930s.  One modest project undertaken in 1938 involved repairs to the building's walls, ceilings, and plastering. Other schools in Port Washington were similarly improved. WPA Official Project No. 665-21-2-219.

This five-acre playground in Brooklyn was first established in 1924. In 1941 the WPA completed an extensive reconstruction of the main area of the park as well as the addition of a new 1/4 acre sitting area (Bealin Triangle) separated from the rest of the park by Stillwell Ave. The Department of Parks press release announcing the opening described the WPA's work: "The kindergarten area has been reduced in size and resurfaced. The existing seesaws and swings were relocated and... the school has been provided with new swings, slides and an exercise unit. The wading pool and comfort station area required minor...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) assisted in the paving of what was then Seventh Avenue (now Frederick Douglass Blvd.) from 145th St. to 152nd St.

The construction of Freeport, New York's old sewage Treatment Plant was aided by the provision of funds by federal Public Works Administration during the 1930s (PWA Docket No. NY 7138). The plant was located at the south end of Albany Avenue in Freeport. A new sewage plant has been constructed a few miles west; however, at least some of the buildings of the old sewage plant still stand, and the site is now occupied by the Freeport Water Department. Engineers and designers included Baldwin & Cornelius Co., Village Engineers of Freeport; and Clyde Potts of New York served as a consulting engineer.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) photo pictured here shows the Pittsford Sewage Treatment Plant in Monroe County, New York. The photo is dated to 1938. More information is needed to determine the current status and exact location of this project.

When the recreation area in Seward Park first opened in 1903, it was "the first permanent, municipally built playground in the United States" (NYC Parks). The park was significantly redeveloped during the New Deal. In April 1935, relief workers completed the reconstruction of the section of the park as a setting for the Jacob H. Schiff fountain, which had formerly been located in Rutgers Park. On November 26, 1940, Parks announced the completion of a good deal of this work: "This recreation area, one of the oldest and most extensively used in Manhattan, has been redesigned, reconstructed, and landscaped to provide wider all...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a sewer system for the village of Hammond, New York.

A sanitary sewer construction project in Ardsley, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $172,500 loan and $61,500 grant toward the $231,791 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between December 1934 and April 1936. (PWA Docket No. NY 6147)

A massive combination sewer construction project in Buffalo, New York was undertaken during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The three-year effort amounted to one of the largest construction projects in the country at the time. The PWA supplied a $3,358,000 loan and $6,750,000 grant; the total cost of the project was $15,091,077. (These figures have not been adjusted for inflation.) Work occurred between March 1936 and June 1939. (PWA Docket No. NY 1034)

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed three miles of sanitary and storm sewers in Ogdensburg, New York. Among the sewer lines were laid by the WPA were those to "the Customs House, the Junior High School and the Ogdensburg Free Academy."

A sanitary sewer construction project in Pleasantville, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $54,000 loan and $13,265 grant toward the $52,116 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between January and October 1935. (PWA Docket No. NY 5022)

A combination sewer construction project in Scarsdale, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $18,635 grant toward the $64,822 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between May and November 1935. (PWA Docket No. NY 4364)

A sanitary sewer and sewage treatment plant construction project in Canton, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $11,125 grant toward the $41,110 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between May and September 1935. (PWA Docket No. NY 5085)

This modest playground near the Northern edge of Brooklyn was developed under the New Deal. A Department of Parks press release from April 1, 1935 announced the opening of this playground "constructed with Work Relief Funds" and went on to describe the park's development and new facilities: "The playground at Vandervoort Avenue and Cherry Street has an area of nearly an acre. The land was acquired by the Sinking Fund Commission by purchase at a cost of £22,500 and it was turned over to the Department of Parks on April 3, 1924, for development as a playground, but the land lay...

In the late 1930s, the WPA rebuilt the piers along Emmons Avenue and the pedestrian footbridge spanning Sheepshead Bay. The footbridge connects Emmons Avenue with Shore Boulevard and Manhattan Beach. Excerpt from the (1939) WPA Guide to New York City, Federal Writers Project: The Sheepshead Bay Neighborhood, whose low wooden houses spread north of Emmons Avenue from the basin, has drawn metropolitan anglers and epicures since its founding in the early 1800's. Fronting the bay are many restaurants noted for their shore dinners. Best known are Lundy's, Villepigue's, Seidel's, the Beau Rivage, and Tappen's.   The Sheephead Bay fishing "fleet," consisting of about fifty boats,...

Sheridan Park in Tonawanda, New York was one of a number of parks in Erie County improved ca. 1936 by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Sayville's Suffolk County News reported in 1935 that more than $420,000 in PWA funds were allocated toward the completion of the Shinnecock Canal, including the construction of two jetties at its "northerly entrance."

The New York Times reported that five playgrounds had been constructed by WPA labor within Shore Park along Brooklyn's Narrows, alongside the recently constructed Belt Parkway. The playgrounds were located at 79th St., 83rd St., Ridge Blvd., 99th St., and 3rd Ave. They were meant to accommodate people of all ages, providing "sandpits, swings and slides ..., court games ..., and athletic fields with field houses ..." The long 'shoestring park' was also equipped with promenades and bicycle paths. Facilities at this location are still in use today.

The New York Times reported that five playgrounds had been constructed by WPA labor within Shore Park along Brooklyn's Narrows, alongside the recently constructed Belt Parkway. The playgrounds were located at 79th St., 83rd St., Ridge Blvd., 99th St., and 3rd Ave. They were meant to accommodate people of all ages, providing "sandpits, swings and slides ..., court games ..., and athletic fields with field houses ..." The long 'shoestring park' was also equipped with promenades and bicycle paths. The 79th Street Playground is still in use today.

The New York Times reported that five playgrounds had been constructed by WPA labor within Shore Park along Brooklyn's Narrows, alongside the recently constructed Belt Parkway. The playgrounds were located at 79th St., 83rd St., Ridge Blvd., 99th St., and 3rd Ave. They were meant to accommodate people of all ages, providing "sandpits, swings and slides ..., court games ..., and athletic fields with field houses ..." The long 'shoestring park' was also equipped with promenades and bicycle paths. Athletic fields are still in use at this location.

The New York Times reported that five playgrounds had been constructed by WPA labor within Shore Park along Brooklyn's Narrows, alongside the recently constructed Belt Parkway. The playgrounds were located at 79th St., 83rd St., Ridge Blvd., 99th St., and 3rd Ave. They were meant to accommodate people of all ages, providing "sandpits, swings and slides ..., court games ..., and athletic fields with field houses ..." The long 'shoestring park' was also equipped with promenades and bicycle paths. Facilities at this location are still in use today.

The New York Times reported that five playgrounds had been constructed by WPA labor within Shore Park along Brooklyn's Narrows, alongside the recently constructed Belt Parkway. The playgrounds were located at 79th St., 83rd St., Ridge Blvd., 99th St., and 3rd Ave. They were meant to accommodate people of all ages, providing "sandpits, swings and slides ..., court games ..., and athletic fields with field houses ..." The long 'shoestring park' was also equipped with promenades and bicycle paths. Facilities at this location are still in use today.

The WPA and the Department of Parks together developed an extensive park and parkway area (sometimes known as Shore Road Park and sometimes as Shore Park) along the shore adjacent to the Belt Parkway. The area eventually developed extended from Owl's Head Park south to Fort Hamilton, and included multiple playgrounds and athletic fields. In August 1941, Parks announced the completion of the first section of the Shore Road Park development stretching from Bay Ridge Ave. to 72nd St. The WPA's work included: "remov a considerable quantity of old paving, benches and drinking fountains. The new promenade along the west side...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) photo pictured here shows a sidewalk in Lake Luzerne, New York that was completed by the WPA during the Great Depression. The Living New Deal does not know the present status or exact location of this project.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) reconstructed sidewalks and roads in downtown Margaretville, New York in 1939. Catskill Mountain News reported: Claude Caswell and his WPA workmen have completed the sidewalk job in Margaretville's business section and a much better looking village has been set up because of their work. No more scraping hub caps along the Main street curbs, wider streets for auto parking, and smoother sidewalks make a great improvement in the most traveled area of the village.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) put 20 men to work improving sidewalks in the town of Mexico, New York in 1939.