New York Sites

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement and construction work at what was then the State School of Agriculture in Delhi, New York. The Catskill Mountain News wrote: Improvements to the Delhi state school will include construction of a farm mechanics and shop building, poultry house, cattle barn and cottage. The milk house will be repaired and enlarged, and the exterior of the barn, administration building, shop and homemaking buildings and the interior of the administration building will be painted. The total cost of these improvements will be $42,216.95. The institution now partly comprises SUNY Delhi.

The SUNY Maritime College is located on the Throgs Neck Peninsula in the Bronx. Researcher Frank da Cruz has compiled a brief history from multiple sources: "It started as the New York Nautical School in 1874 on a succession of ships moored at various locations in New York City's harbor and waterways. In 1929, it was renamed New York State Merchant Marine Academy, got a new ship, and moved to Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Throgs Neck peninsula had been home to US Army Fort Schuyler since just before the Civil War. The fort itself is the dark grey pentagon in photo, constructed...

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to "renovate and repair" several buildings in Staten Island as part of a $225,507 project begun in 1935. Buildings improved included what is now the Staten Island Civil Courthouse in West New Brighton.

The federal Works Progress Administration worked to "renovate and repair" several buildings in Staten Island as part of a $225,507 project begun in 1935. Buildings improved included what is now the Staten Island Criminal Court in Stapleton.

The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) financed part of the construction of ferry boats for the Staten island Ferry, to the tune of $1,397,500. The first boat, "Gold Star Mother," was dedicated by Mayor La Guardia on May 7, 1937. The project was unusual, as The New York Times reported: the "United States Attorney General had construed a ferryboat as a building in order to make the PWA loan possible." PWA Docket No. NY 1085-R.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped to restore the the Staten Island Historical Society Museum, now part of Historic Richmond Town. New Deal efforts on this project likely began under a precursor agency to the WPA: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) or Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The Federal Writers' Project guide to New York City has this to say: "The Staten Island Historical Society Museum, opposite the old county courthouse at Court Place and Center Street, is housed in the old county clerk's and surrogate's office, a two-story brick structure of Colonial design, built in 1848 and restored in 1933-5 by...

"Between 1938 and 1940, a grade crossing elimination project was undertaken over three miles" of the Staten Island Railway "between Great Kills and Huguenot, eliminating seven grade crossings..." The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $1,294,000 grant toward this $3 million project. "The line was depressed into an open cut between Great Kills and Huguenot, with the exception of a section through Eltingville where it was elevated.Four stations—Great Kills, Eltingville, Annadale and Huguenot—were completely replaced with new stations along the rebuilt right-of-way. The project started on July 13, 1938, and was completed in October 1940. The stations themselves were completed...

The Staten Island Technical High School building was originally constructed as New Dorp High School during the 1930s, with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds (PWA Docket No. NY 8882). The large building is Georgian Neoclassical in design, bears a 1935 cornerstone, and houses some 1,500 students. It is typical of the dozens of schools built in New York with New Deal aid. These schools were all large, modern facilities, equipped with auditoriums, libraries, cafeterias and gymnasiums, and were often done in sober Neoclassical style. New Dorp was relocated to a new building in 1982 and Staten Island Technical High School...

The Clarence T. Barrett Park Zoo (also known as Staten Island Zoo) is located in Barrett Park, on the former estate grounds of Colonel Edward Hardin. After Hardin's wife willed the property to the city in the early 1930s, it was developed into a zoo with New Deal support: "When construction began in 1933-34, the zoo's plans were state of the art. Parks used New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps labor to help build the $150,000 facility. The exhibits and the zoo's care for its animals were modern for their time and helped the institution avoid some of the trouble other city...

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from France in 1886. It was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War. In 1937, FDR proclaimed the entire island a National Monument administered by the National Park Service. From 1937-1941, the WPA and PWA carried out extensive renovations of the statue and Bedloe (now Liberty) island. In his history of the Statue of Liberty, Berenson (2012) elaborates on the federal government's role: "the NPS devised an ambitious plan to remove all structures save for the statue itself, shore up the...

This park was originally known as Second Ward Park. In 1935, "WPA workers constructed a wall of fieldstone around the pond," turning it into what was for years a popular swimming pool. The pond still exists but is no longer used for swimming (www.dailygazette.com).

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Stetson Road in Chazy, New York in 1936.

The Village of Stewart Manor received a $16,363 federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant that enabled the construction of the village's Municipal Building in 1936. The total cost of the project was $36,684. The building is still in use today. PWA Docket No. NY 1170.

The Works Progress Administration built a foot bridge between 1937 and 1938 in Stony Brook Park in Newark NY.

Located in Dansville, NY, this waterfall-lined oasis eventually became complete with trails and stone-stacked bridges as a result of work done in the 1930’s by Works Progress Administration and CCC employees through the Finger Lakes State Parks Commission. Unfortunately, specific details were inaccessible -- making it difficult to determine which agency contributed to specific work done on the park. The most notable aspect of the trails are the concrete stairs that appear at some of the steeper points, which have worn over with time – some having nails broken off. When going off the trails, there were additionally some concrete structures...

Stony Point Battlefield is the site of a 1779 Revolutionary War battle. This stone building was constructed on the site as the Stony Point Battlefield Museum in 1936 by the WPA. It continues to serve that function.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a storm sewer in Broadalbin, New York during the Great Depression. More information is needed to determine the present status and exact location of this project.

The WPA allocated funds and labor for the improvement of storm sewers along "portions of Stewart avenue, Baldwin place and Central avenue" in Bethpage, N.Y.

A Feb. 1937 news story references a soon-to-be-undertaken WPA project involving the construction of storm sewers "on Maple street and Brook avenue" in Islip, N.Y.

In Dec. 1937 the WPA approved the construction of ".12 mile of 18-inch storm drain on Main street and .33 mile on Hauppauge road" in Smithtown, N.Y.

A storm sewer construction project in Tonawanda, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $45,000 loan and $17,949 grant toward the $60,226 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between April and July 1935. (PWA Docket No. NY 4533)

A storm sewer construction project in White Plains, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $94,000 loan and $64,001 grant toward the $228,811 total cost of the project. Work occurred between July 1935 and July 1936. (PWA Docket No. NY 3594)

"The 1913 Wyandanch Grade School was purchased by the Wyandanch Post 2912 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and used as the Post headquarters. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) financed the laying of sidewalks on the east side of Straight Path so school children could walk safely to school."

Located in Straus Park on the Upper West Side is "a bronze 1913 statue by American artist Augustus Lukeman of a nymph gazing over a calm expanse of water in memory of Ida and Isidor Straus, a United States congressman and co-owner of Macy’s, who perished on the RMS Titanic" (wikipedia). In the 1930s, it was restored with federal funding under Karl Gruppe, "chief sculptor of the Monument Restoration Project of the New York City Parks Department, from 1934 to 1937." The program was initially supported by federal funding from the Public Works of Art Project (Lowrey, 2008), and later by...

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included the stretches of: Delaware Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 147th St. Cherry Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 149th St. Beech Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 147th St. Nearby improvements were also made at 41st Rd. and...

A street improvement project in Gloversville, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $25,446 grant; the total cost of the project was $60,276. Work occurred between April and July 1936. (PWA Docket No. NY 1143)

A large-scale street improvement project in Island Park, New York was undertaken during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $143,750 loan and $56,682 grant; the total cost of the project was $200,352. Construction occurred between June 1935 and December 1935. (PWA Docket No. NY 3377)

Multiple street improvement projects in Ossining, New York were undertaken during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. For one such project the PWA supplied a $81,500 loan and $17,696 grant toward the $99,049 eventual total cost of the project. (PWA Docket No. NY 4543)

A street improvement project in Rome, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $20,195 grant toward the $67,638 total cost of the project. Work occurred between August and November 1934. (PWA Docket No. NY 4244)

A street improvement project in Utica, New York was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Work occurred between December 1933 and April 1934. (PWA Docket No. NY 2271)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) photo taken by Dan Nero and dated May 12, 1938, describes WPA improvements to East Stole Street in Wellsville, New York: "East Stole Street improved by WPA for 3500 feet. Work includes installing storm sewers, retaining walls, sidewalks, curbs, gutters and laying bituminous pavement, heavy gravel, and field stone base" (WPA). More information is needed to determine the present status and exact location of this project.

A street light installation project in Rome, New York was undertaken during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Work occurred between March and October 1936. (PWA Docket No. NY 1058)

Strong Street Playground is located within Old Fort Four Park next to the Jerome Park Reservoir. On June 13, 1941, the New York City Department of Parks announced "the completion, of work on the redesign of a play area on Reservoir Avenue between Strong Street and West 197th Street, he Bronx. This property was acquired by the Department of Parks in 1935, at which time it was graded and provided with see-saws and swings by relief workers. The current project represents an amplification of the original work. The area has been paved with a smooth bituminous surface to provide all...

On October 1, 1936, the Department of Parks announced the completion of significant developments in Stuyvesant Square park: "At Stuyvesant Square Park the south half of the rectangular section west of Second Avenue and bounded by Second Avenue, East 15th Street, Rutherford Place and East 17th Street has been redesigned and reconstructed, with the exception of the central portion, comprising eight percent of the west half of the park. The area developed includes wide, semi-circular walks, with continuous rows of benches." In December of the same year, the Department announced further work on the northeast section of the square, including the construction...

No-longer-extant, the Suffolk County Tuberculosis Sanatorium is now the site of Suffolk County Community College in Selden. Suffolk County News reported that, between 1935 and 1936, the WPA undertook many projects in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, including landscaping the grounds of the Suffolk County Sanitorium.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) resurfaced Suffolk St. in Buffalo, New York during the 1930s.

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..."

William Sunners Playground, located in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn, was constructed using WPA materials and labor. New York City's Parks Department writes: "This playground was acquired by the City in 1940 and first opened to the public on April 12, 1941. It was one of four separate parcels in the area that were obtained by the City for park purpose, in response to a local need for more parkland. At the time, this triangular parcel was valued at approximately $8,000. Each of the four park parcels were laid out as playgrounds by Parks designers and developed with materials and labor provided...

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 Sunrise highway from the Nassau line at Amityville to its terminus at Great River."

Sunset Park in Brooklyn was improved by the WPA in 1935 (when a small children's playground was added) and, more extensively, in 1940. A press release announced the completion of the later project: "In Sunset Park, the westerly portion located at Fifth Avenue, 41 to 42 Streets, has been redesigned and reconstructed. The new work consists of the rearrangement of new bituminous walks, curbs, concrete stairs, entrances, concrete walls, new overlooks, benches, chain link and wrought iron fencing, a small children's play area with sand pit and play apparatus, and a new modern comfort station. The opening of these park areas designed...