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  • Milwaukie City Hall - Milwaukie OR
    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 administrative office space. The red brick building was designed by Portland architect Walter E. Kelly with embellishment primarily at the entrance. The rounded arch entrance is decorated with four pilasters above the arch that have cast stone capitals. A few Art Deco features such as brass light fixtures at the entry complete the facade. The contractor Joseph H. Anderson built the...
  • Mott Bridge - Steamboat OR
    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 at couple miles away. Bridge is all-timber construction, with a one-land roadbed supported by a wooden arch underneath.  There are pedestrian walkways on either side and drain holes to carry off the abundant rain of the region. Mott Bridge is an Oregon Civil Engineering landmark. The settlement of Steamboat has long since disappeared, but remains on the name of Steamboat Creek and the...
  • Multnomah County Poor Farm Improvements - Troutdale OR
    "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 the fall of 1910 by a coalition of members from Portland charitable organizations who declared the crumbling building and its deplorable conditions to be disgraceful. That spurred Multnomah County Commissioners to hasten work on a progressive new institution at Troutdale intended to help the poor become self-sufficient through farming. This "back to the land" concept in social welfare was based on...
  • Munson Valley Historic District Projects - Crater Lake National Park OR
    "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 of the rustic landscape around Munson Valley at almost every level.  The landscaping of Munson Valley no longer has much of the original work of Vint, Sager, Lange and the CCC, but the layout and natural placement of buildings still remains. Some of the historically significant buildings within the Munson Valley Historic District include: Administration Building Ranger Dormitory Superintendent's Residence (now housing part of...
  • Muriel O Ponsler Memorial State Scenic Viewpoint - Florence OR
    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 small park's improvements consisted primarily of a picnic area and viewpoint with a circular access road. The entrance to the park is enhanced by an ornamental stone fence on both sides of the circular roadway.
  • Museum of Contemporary Craft - Portland OR
    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 WPA labor and donated materials and was dedicated to investigating and advancing the "role of craft and design in contemporary culture while at the same time honoring the history of the studio craft movement." (Museum of Contemporary Craft) In 2007 the museum moved to a new building on Davis St. Status of the original building unknown.
  • Musick Guard Station, Umpqua National Forest - Dorena OR
    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 located in Umpqua National Forest near the town of Dorena.
  • Natural Bridge Overlook - Union Creek OR
    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 20th century and has been little altered since the 1930s.   There are almost one hundred buildings and other facilities in the Union Creek Historic District, almost all of which conform to the Forest Service plans of the 1920s and 30s.  Roughly a third were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1933 to 1942, working out of the Upper...
  • NE 223rd Stonework Retaining Wall - Fairview OR
    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 traffic safety. The stonework completed this road improvement in the area of Depot Street and NE 223rd. A 2001 Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) report documented the 340-foot retaining wall along NE 223rd in Fairview, arguing for its significance as an example of the craftsmanship of WPA workers. Drawing inspiration from work completed on the Columbia River Highway and National Park...
  • Neahkahnie Mountain Section of US Highway 101 - Manzanita OR
    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 provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Improvements to this fourteen-mile section of highway between Cannon Beach and Manzanita took approximately eight years to complete. Just before the roadway's opening in 1941, The Sunday Oregonian referred to it as "chiseled on rocky Neahkahnie Mountain" and informed prospective motorists that they would be traveling over a road that "cost $100,000 a mile." The...
  • Necarney Creek (Sam Reed) Bridge - Manzanita OR
    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 Viewpoint of Highway 101: ". . . this is one of Oregon's first bridges to be constructed with steel girders and towers. The 602-foot deck, with gothic arch balustrades railings, rises 90 feet above Necarney Creek in a broad sweeping curve." Locally known as the Sam Reed bridge, the name honors an individual active in the area's promotion. Samuel Reed developed the town...
  • Nehalem River Bridge - Seaside OR
    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 Oregon coast. The concrete arch bridge cost $130,000 and was built in a cooperative effort between the US Bureau of Public Roads and the Oregon State Highway Commission. Mountain States Construction Company, a Eugene firm, built the bridge.
  • North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District (Concord School) - Milwaukie OR
    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 construction. Portland architect F. Marion Stokes designed the simple, modernist style building with pared down classical details. Malarkey & Kallander, Portland contractors, built the school. The local newspaper noted that twenty-five men were put to work in its construction. Concord School served as a grade school until 2014 when the building was acquired by the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District for...
  • North Salem High School - Salem OR
    "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 stories in height, with a basement used only for storage purposes and the heating plant. It provides 23 classrooms, a commercial department of 7 rooms, 14 laboratories, a library, an art department of 2 rooms, a music room, 4 administrative offices, 5 teachers' rooms, and a clinic of 4 rooms. The auditorium is 88 by 100 feet and...
  • Northern Great Basin Experimental Range Station (Squaw Butte Federal Range Experiment Station) - Burns OR
    As noted on the sign for the Northern Great Basin Experimental Range today, the research station was "established in 1936, (and) dedicated to research on the ecology and management of rangelands." At its inception, the research facility was known as the Squaw Butte Federal Range Experiment Station. The project was a joint effort of the Grazing Service of the Department of Interior and researchers from Oregon State University to address issues of range and livestock management. The federal Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 had brought Western public domain lands together in an effort to stabilize the livestock industry and improve range...
  • Notch Corrals - Klamath County OR
    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 the ‘figure 4’ fence posts along the state line and old wooden poles used for telephone lines, and you will pass the ‘CCC Road.’ To reach Notch Corral, drive to Bonanza, go south on East Langell Valley Road for about 18 miles, then turn left on Willow Valley Road (gravel) and drive 9 miles to Notch Corral.”
  • NW Cornell Road Tunnel 1 - Portland OR
    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, local basalt was used to face the arched tunnels and adjacent retaining walls. The tunnels themselves are concrete and allow a travel lane in each direction and sidewalks for pedestrians on either side. The dates of completion are inscribed above the entrances. At the beginning of the 1930s, approximately eighty percent of Portland's residential growth had taken place on the city's...
  • NW Cornell Road Tunnel 2 - Portland OR
    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 an element of the City's infrastructure, its design was intended to fit into the beautiful and rough landscape of the West Hills by using local basalt on its portals that were finished in the National Park Rustic style. The crew of masons on the project were employed by the Oregon WPA and supervised by Raffale (Ralph) Curcio, who had two decades...
  • Ocean Crest Elementary School (former Bandon Grade School) - Bandon OR
    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 request, providing 45 percent of the necessary funds for the new grade school. Construction began in January 1939 and after five months of work, the new Bandon Grade School was presented to the community. The local newspaper noted that PWA inspections occurred throughout the process with the result being: "the federal aid was efficiently administered and the local school district not...
  • Oregon Department of Forestry Complex - Salem OR
    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 a significant example of New Deal-era planning and development. It includes 4.5 acres originally utilized as the state headquarters for the Civilian Conservation Corps and 7.25 acres purchased for the Oregon State Forester’s Office and forest service supplies. Although new construction exists, the lay-out, buildings and landscaping are a legacy of WPA and CCC work and the collaborative contributions of the...
  • Oregon Department of Forestry Headquarters (former) - Sisters OR
    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. What is still unclear is who built the building. One former resident had heard that a private construction company from Salem built the structure; not the Civilian Conservation , who built many of the department buildings throughout the state. However, Bill Willitts found the CCC marker cut into the siding of the building in one of the rooms, showing that there was...
  • Oregon State Capitol Building - Salem OR
    "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 main façade of the capitol, cutting through several city blocks, which will be flanked on each side by future buildings of the State government, one of which, the State library, has already been constructed. It is one of the few PWA projects for which an architect was selected through competition. The first floor is occupied by offices and work space for...
  • Oregon State Forester's Office Building: Exterior - Salem OR
    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, this structure is considered one of Oregon’s best examples of a building in the National Parks style. Timberline Lodge heads the list in this category but the Oregon State Forester’s Office, although significantly smaller, shows a remarkably high quality of workmanship as well. Linn A. Forrest, the US Forest Service Architect associated with Timberline Lodge’s floor plan and elevations, produced the...
  • Oregon State Forester's Office: Interior - Salem OR
    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 to window frames and wood floors provided by workers supported by the National Youth Administration (NYA). Making every room in the office building distinctive, different Oregon native woods were selected to panel each room – and each ceiling received a special treatment as well. Eighteen native woods are used in the interior. Eugene based artist Arthur Clough carved the stairway railing...
  • Oregon State Library - Salem OR
    "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 connected with the library, and also 57,200 square feet of floor space for the offices of various departments of the State government. The stack space is furnished with elevators and a book conveyor. The construction is fireproof and the exterior walls are faced with marble. The building was 98 percent completed in June 1939, the estimated construction cost...
  • Original Oregon Shakespeare Festival Theater (demolished) - Ashland OR
    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 Shakespeare Festival has became a major cultural draw on the West Coast, with several theaters in Ashland and Portland.  It all started in 1935 under drama teacher Angus Bowman of Southern Oregon (Teachers) College in Ashland, who asked the city to let him and his students perform Shakespeare as part of the annual July 4th festival.  Bowman designed a rough copy...
  • Oswald West State Park (Short Sands Beach State Park) - Manzanita OR
    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 (CCC) Camp was located within the park from 1939 through 1941. During those years, the CCC enrollees worked primarily on developing the park's trail system. The CCC Camp improved the park property as work on the Neah-kah-nie section of the Coast Highway (Highway 101) underwent construction. Before the nine-mile section of road between Cannon Beach and Manzanita opened, access to Short...
  • Overlook Park Shelter and Comfort Station - Portland OR
    Acquired by the City of Portland in 1930, the ten-acre Overlook Park required improvements during the Depression years if it were to serve adequately the north Portland Overlook neighborhood, which had reached full development during the 1920s real estate boom. The site sits in a ravine and on  a former garbage dump; additional fill was added over several years to level the area. By 1937, the process of settling was complete and the park was prepared for more extensive development. In 1938, Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers undertook the largest and most significant part of the park plan – the Shelter...
  • Overlook Park Wading Pool - Portland OR
    Overlook Park sits on a bluff above the east bank of the Willamette River in the north Portland Overlook neighborhood. Recognizing the demand for recreational opportunities in a neighborhood built-out during the 1920s, the City of Portland acquired land for the park in 1930. Developing the park during the Depression Era, however, placed two pressures on this as well as other neighborhood parks – increased demand for affordable activities and a decrease in city funds for the development. Progress in attaining the improvements identified in the Overlook Park general plan depended on relief funding. In addition to landscaping, playground equipment, a...
  • Pacific Crest Trail Santiam Trailhead (improved Skyline Trail Santiam Trailhead) - Willamette National Forest OR
    The Oregon Skyline Trail, a portion of today's Pacific Crest Trail, was established in 1920. Its popularity among hikers and climbers grew to such an extent that a 1934 study of trail conditions produced a detailed report. Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees provided much of the labor for the recommended improvements. Improvements included relocation of stream fords due to hazardous or inconvenient conditions, alternative routes over portions of the trail, evaluation of campsites, recommendations for building of shelters, latrines, and garbage pits, and new trail signs and maps. Construction of shelters on the Skyline Trail was one notable priority facilitated by CCC...
  • Pacific Terrace Sidewalks - Klamath Falls OR
    Two 'WPA 1940' stampings are located in concrete sidewalks along the NE side of Pacific Terrace. One stamping exists on the the block between Melrose and Portland Streets. An even better-quality WPA stamping can be seen at the corner of Del Moro St and Pacific Terrace which also includes a stamping of 'Pacific Terrace' nearby. Multiple original sections of WPA sidewalks survive along the NE side of Pacific Terrace between Melrose and Van Ness Streets.
  • Paradise Campground (Paradise Camp) - Willamette National Forest OR
    Paradise Campground is less than a mile and a half from the McKenzie Ranger Station on the south bank of the McKenzie River. This camping area was laid-out and improved by Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees from CCC Camp Belknap in 1937. When constructed it included both the current Paradise Campground and the adjacent Paradise Day Use Area. At the time, "Paradise Camp" was meant to serve as many as five-hundred campers. Today the Campground's 64 campsites serve visitors to the Willamette National Forest. The campground offers access to the McKenzie River as well.
  • Paradise Day Use Area (Paradise Camp)- Willamette National Forest OR
    Paradise Day Use Area is just a mile and a half from the McKenzie Ranger Station on the south bank of the McKenzie River. This picnic area was laid-out and improved by Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees from CCC Camp Belknap in 1937. When constructed it included both the current day use area and the adjacent Paradise Campground. At the time, "Paradise Camp" was meant to serve as many as five-hundred campers. In addition to the picnic areas with stone fireplaces/stoves, an amphitheater is located in the day use area. The log benches with back rests, laid out in two columns of...
  • Park Improvements - Crater Lake National Park OR
    "The ultimate direction of development in the parks became an important issue due to the increase in construction activity during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. To ensure that this activity was proceeding in an orderly fashion, long-term planning was essential. Serious work along this line began in FY 1931, and resulted in the preparation by Vint and Sager of a master plan program for the National Park Service. The first Service master plans were six-year ones to be revised each year as work was completed. Each landscape architect was responsible for developing plans for his particular field areas. By mid-1932...
  • Parker Meadows Shelter - Butte Falls OR
    Built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps company quartered at Camp South Fork, the Parker Meadows Shelter is typical of "rustic" style trail shelters or fire guard shelters constructed on the National Forest during the period. Constructed along an important Forest road, the shelter was intended for recreational purposes and associated with a nearby campground. The shelter was open for use by anyone and probably contained a fire-tool cache in a locked box, for potential fire emergency use (LaLande, August 4, 1999). Records of CCC activity associated with Camp South Fork refer to five man-months of labor at Parker Meadows...
  • Paulina Lake Guard Station - Newberry National Volcanic Monument OR
    Located within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument area of the Deschutes National Forest (approximately 36 miles southeast of Bend), the Paulina Lake Guard Station was built by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employees in 1938 to house a seasonal ranger responsible for patrolling the campground and surrounding forest during wildfire season.  It currently houses the Paulina Visitors Center, the interpretive center for the Newberry Caldera. Finished in horizontal clapboard, with vertical board and batten on its gable ends, the one-story wooden structure with an interior stone chimney reflects the rustic-style developed by the Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest during the early...
  • Portland Air National Guard Base - Portland OR
    "The base is the home of the 142d Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard. The 142d FW participates around the globe supporting drug interdiction, USAFE air defense, as well as contingency operations such as Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. To complete these missions, four groups are assigned to the 142nd Fighter Wing: 142nd Maintenance Group, 142nd Operations Group, 142nd Mission Support Group and the 142nd Medical Group... The base's history begins in 1936 when Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding allowed the City of Portland to purchase 700 acres of land along the Columbia River and bordering the Columbia...
  • Portland Baha'i Center Mural (former St. Johns Post Office) - Portland OR
    The two panels of the New Deal mural "Development of St. Johns" were commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts for the St. John's Station post office. The building served as the St. John's Station Post Office and is currently the Portland Baha'i Center. These wall murals, located in the entryway, "depict the history and industrial development of the St. Johns area." (portlandbahai.org)
  • Portland International Airport - Portland OR
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the original Portland Airport (now Portland International, PDX) in the late 1930s. "The present PDX site was purchased by the Portland City Council in 1936. At the time it was 700 acres (280 ha) bordered by the Columbia River in the north and the Columbia Slough in the south. The city council issued $300,000 and asked the Port of Portland to sponsor a $1.3 million Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant to develop the site into a 'super airport'. The project provided badly needed Great Depression-era jobs and was completed in 1940." (Wikipedia) Given subsequent enlargements and improvements...
  • Portland Waldorf School (Milwaukie Junior High School) - Milwaukie OR
    Doors of the Milwaukie Junior High School opened in November 1936 after the structure's construction with funding from a Public Works Administration grant ($53,118) and a local bond issue ($65,000). The new building replaced a wooden school a short distance away that was demolished for construction of Milwaukie's City Hall. In 2002, the Portland Waldorf School acquired the red brick building and currently occupies it. The Portland based architect Luther L. Dougan designed the Georgian-style school building with Walter E. Kelly serving as the site architect. Portland contractor Joseph H. Anderson won the bid to construct the structure. As noted in...
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