In 1933-1934, Civilian Conservation Corps workers built several wood frame buildings to serve as the Ochoco National Forest’s Supervisor’s Warehouse or Lamonta Compound. Exemplifying the rustic architectural style developed by the US Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region, the three structures… read more
Originally named the Longbow Forest Camp, the Longbow Organization Camp is a group facility constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the Sweet Home Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest (WNF). Starting during the winter season of 1937-1938,… read more
Macleay Park, a 130-acre portion of the City of Portland’s enormous Forest Park, was the site of Works Progress Administration (WPA) works projects during the mid-1930s. WPA workers built several miles of trails, access roads, and comfort stations, improving a park… read more
The Public Works Administration (PWA) approved a grant for construction of the Madras Grade School in 1938. The original, $35,000 four-room school building plus auditorium was designed by the Portland architectural firm of Roald & Schneider and constructed by Baldwin… read more
As noted in the State of Oregon’s Historic Preservation database: “The John Day Compound, Supervisor’s Warehouse is a complex of work buildings, employee residences, and related infrastructure owned an operated by the Malheur National Forest in John Day,… read more
The federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop southeast Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge during the 1930s. “The Refuge was expanded on February 21st, 1935 to incorporate the 164,503 acre Blitzen Valley. The Blitzen Valley was purchased using funds… read more
With the provision of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding, the City of Marshfield, Oregon replaced its crowded, thirty-year-old high school in 1939-1940 on the same site. Local funds covered 55% of project costs. The New Deal era campus construction included… read more
As noted on a history plaque at the Marshfield IOOF Cemetery: “The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds improvements to Ingersoll Avenue, including a 490-foot-long rock wall at the southern end of the cemetery.” The WPA improvements occurred in 1938 and… read more
Red oaks line a section of McLoughlin Boulevard on its southern entry into the City of Portland. The nearly ninety-year-old trees are the legacy of a highway beautification project funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934. The Oregon… read more
As motorists travel southbound on the Milwaukie section of McLoughlin Boulevard they pass through a corridor of Giant Redwood trees. The Public Works Administration funded the planting of these Sequoia Giantea in 1934. The Oregon State Highway Commission selected six… read more
Restoration and preservation of the John McLoughlin House, dating from 1846, advanced in several ways during the New Deal era. The Civil Works Administration (CWA) funded local architects to document the house in 1934 as part of the first Historic… read more
Oregon City’s Grand Staircase links the historic center with the town’s premier park located on a bluff 100-feet above it. Completed in 1939, the stone and cement pathway replaced an old wooden stairway in approximately the same location. Skilled and… read more
In 1851, Dr. John McLoughlin formally platted Oregon City reserving land along the city’s prominent bluff for use as a park and naming that public amenity the Promenade. For decades, the Promenade’s minimally improved walkway provided a view of the… read more
Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers began construction of the Singer Hill Creek Falls landscape feature in May 1936. Oregon City manager J L Franzen designed the series of five waterfalls as part of improvements to the McLoughlin Promenade. WPA funding… read more
A Public Works Administration (PWA) grant provided approximately forty-four percent of the cost of constructing Milwaukie’s City Hall in 1938. The simple Moderne style structure included space for the city’s fire department as well as meeting the city’s need for… read more
Mott Bridge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1935-36. It is the one remaining wooden bridge of several the CCC constructed in the Umpqua River canyon. It was the work of enrollees from the Steamboat CCC camp… read more
“The Multnomah County Poor Farm in Troutdale was built in 1911 to replace Multnomah County’s first home for the destitute, the Hillside Farm in Portland’s West Hills. The latter institution, which housed the poor, ill, and disabled, was inspected in… read more
“Munson Valley Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 for its landscaping and eighteen of the buildings. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, landscape architects Thomas Vint, Merel Sager, and Francis Lange oversaw the development… read more
The State of Oregon received a two-acre, ocean-front property from Jack Ponsler in 1939 to be made into a public park in memory of his wife Muriel O. Ponsler. Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees provided the labor to develop it. The… read more
Founded in 1937, the Museum of Contemporary Craft was originally located in 3934 SW Corbett Avenue. At the time, it was known as the Oregon Ceramic Studio and became the Contemporary Crafts Gallery in 1965. The studio was built with… read more
Built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Musick Guard Station was used to house fire crews. Like many other guard stations, the Musick Guard Station was rented out to the public in the 1990s. The Guard Station is… read more
The Union Creek Historic District on the upper Rogue River in Union Creek, Oregon, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places because it is a fine representative of a type of rustic resort popular in the early… read more
In 1935, Works Progress Administration (WPA) stone workers built a retaining wall along the east and west banks of NE 223rd to finish a Multnomah County road improvement. The road project involved constructing a railroad bridge and underpass for improved… read more
Neahkahnie Mountain rises almost perpendicularly, 1600 feet from the Pacific Ocean. This headland posed an engineering and budgetary challenge to the completion of the Oregon Coast Highway until funding was provided by the Bureau of Public Roads and labor was… read more
Referred to as either Necarney Creek or Sam Reed Bridge, this bridge was a critical part of the completion of the Neahkahnie Road section of Highway 101, As described on a Oregon Department of Transportation plaque at the Neahkahnie Mountain… read more
Completed in 1939, the biggest bridge on what was then the newly constructed Wolf Creek Highway (now the Sunset Highway) spans the 600-foot-deep Nehalem River gorge. It eliminated a three-mile detour on this major highway between Portland and the northern… read more
This two-story brick building served the Concord School District of Clackamas County when it was built in 1936. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant and local voters approved a bond for the local contribution in the $60,000 structure’s… read more
"This building is somewhat removed from the center of the city but is located with reference to the school population and is situated next to the junior high school which is equipped with an athletic field. The structure is 2… read more
From the Journal of the Shaw Historical Library Editorial Committee: “The Notch Corral was built by the CCC in 1937 and has two circular stockade-like corrals connected by a center pen. On the way to the corral, you can see… read more
In 1940 and 1941 respectively, Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers constructed two tunnels approximately a quarter mile apart from one another to improve vehicular movement through Portland’s Forest Park in the city’s west hills. As with the Rocky Butte tunnel,… read more
The second of two tunnels on NW Cornell Road constructed by WPA workers, the 250 long Tunnel 2 was completed in 1941. It was prioritized among infrastructure improvements as a means of opening up residential development in Portland’s West Hills. As… read more
After the Bandon Fire of September 26th, 1936 destroyed the city’s grade school along with most of the town, the community sought funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA) to assist in construction of its replacement. The PWA approved the… read more
Historically identified as the Oregon State Forester’s Office Complex, the Oregon Department of Forestry Complex was developed by workers from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The Historic American Buildings Survey described this complex as… read more
This former Department of Forestry building was purchased by a private owner to preserve and live in after it was vacated by the DoF in 2011. From the Nugget Newspaper: “County records show that the residence was built in 1938…. read more
“The Oregon State Capitol replaces a structure which was destroyed by fire in 1935. It occupies the site of the former building and is the dominating feature of a well-designed city plan. A mall has been laid out from the… read more
The Oregon State Forester’s Office was designed by a US Forest Service architect and constructed by Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers after preparation of the site by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places,… read more
Constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the interior of the Oregon State Forester’s Office demonstrates a high level of craftsmanship. Its interior was decorated by a wood carver employed in the Federal Arts Program of the WPA with finishes… read more
"This structure is the first of the buildings which will ultimately compose the 'Capitol Group' on the plaza which leads to the State capitol. It includes the stack space which occupies the entire central rear portion, the vaults and rooms… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the original theater used to launch the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland OR in 1935, as part of general improvements the WPA was making to Lithia Park at the time. Over the years, the Oregon… read more
Oswald West State Park, known for its quiet, secluded beach and its picturesque trail system, was established in the early days of the Depression. At that time, it was known as Short Sands Beach State Park. A Civilian Conservation Corps… read more