Harrisburg’s 19th Street Armory was constructed in 1937-8 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $28,752 grant for the project, whose total cost was $89,050. PWA Docket No. PA [W]1807.
The federal Civil Works Administration improved 4th Avenue— “ashing” the road—in Greenville, Pennsylvania between 1933 and 1934.
Pennsylvania State University’s Ag[ricultural] Engineering building was one of a dozen buildings constructed on the campus during the Great Depression as part of a massive construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The building is still in use… read more
The W.P.A. helped to develop what was then known as the Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton airport, now Lehigh Valley International Airport. Wikipedia: “The airport hangar served as the passenger terminal; the first terminal building at the airport was built in 1938 as a Works… read more
The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied funds to enable additions to what was then the Allegheny County Home and Hospital, later Woodville State Hospital.
“The construction of this hospital plant was begun in 1929 but work was discontinued in 1931 due to financial difficulties. It was resumed in 1935 with the aid of the P.W.A. and when completed covered most of a site of… read more
“The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided jobs to people willing to work towards reforestation of cut-over timber land and was the progenitor organization of the Allegheny National Forest. A number of CCC camps and CCC associated property types are located… read more
Pittsburgh’s then-new Allegheny River Road (as extended through Oakmont and Verona) was one road paved as part of New Deal efforts: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $212,472 grant for one Allegheny County highway improvement project undertaken in 1937, whose total cost was… read more
Refurbishing of Reading, Pennsylvania’s former Angelica [Lake] Dam was made possible by the WPA. The dam was damaged in 2001 and is no longer extant.
Refurbishing of Reading, Pennsylvania’s Antietam Dam, which created the Antietam Reservoir, was conducted by the WPA.
The Pennsylvania National Guard armory building at W Allen St. and 15th St. in Allentown was originally constructed in the late 1930s as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $40,000 grant for the project, whose… read more
The Clearfield Armory was constructed in 1937-8 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $29,118 grant for the project, whose total cost was $91,324. PWA Docket No. PA [W]1810.
The Coraopolis Armory was constructed in 1938 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $34,908 grant for the project, whose total cost was $105,572. PWA Docket No. PA [W]1850.
The Lewisburg Armory was constructed in 1937-8 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $28,726 grant for the project, whose total cost was $88,543. PWA Docket No. PA [W]1852.
The Williamsport Armory was constructed in 1937-8 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $16,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $47,896. PWA Docket No. PA [W]1822.
The former Ligonier Armory was constructed in 1937-8 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $20,282 grant for the project, whose total cost was $63,948. The structure was demolished in the 2000s. PWA Docket No. PA [W]1835.
The former Tunkhannock Armory, which one article identifies as being on West Street*, was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $28,392 grant for the project, whose total cost was $84,956. Construction… read more
“Sarah Brock wished the Arthur Brock mansion demolished and in 1937 this work was completed under a work order from the WPA.” The mansion was located in what is now known as Coleman Memorial Park; its exact location within the… read more
Among a set of 26 WPA projects approved for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in Sept. 1935 was “grading and landscaping [an] athletic field” in Mount Lebanon. The Federal government allocated $11,970 for the project and local sponsors contributed $2,336. The exact… read more
“Harrison Construction Company was awarded a PWA contract in December 1935 to relocate a 2.3 mile section of Babcock Boulevard in McCandless and Pine Townships to eliminate dangerous curves.”
“WPA’s legacy is visible today in those and many other ways” in Wilkes-Barre. “Travel was made easier when the East End Boulevard was straightened out and crucial highway links in the Back Mountain and West Side areas were constructed, all… read more
Bardo Gymnasium, now a part of the Pennsylvania College of Technology, was originally built as part of Williamsport High School. Sometimes mis-attributed to the WPA, the gym was constructed in 1936-7 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA)… read more
Bedford Dwellings was the first of Pittsburgh Housing Authority’s construction of low-cost housing. Dr. B. J. Hovde, the administrator, announced the contract would be awarded to Ring Construction Company with the low bid for the 420 units at $1,173,000. The… read more
In conjunction with what was known as the Ridge Avenue Connector, “the high speed electric rail transit line which connects the Ridge Avenue—Eighth Street—Locust Street Subway in Philadelphia with a terminal near the Broadway Station of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in Camden,… read more
A WPA project in Reading, Pennsylvania involved “washing all of the exterior of the old 19-story county courthouse” and painting its interior. The project provided work for 19 laborers during the summer of 1939.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funding toward the paving of previously unpaved roads in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “The costliest job … was the paving of Birch Street from Pittston Avenue to Crown Avenue, at an estimated cost of $63,469.”
Then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA provided a $184,604 grant for the project, whose final cost… read more
“In 1935, the National Park Service created the Blue Knob National Recreation Demonstration Area to provide recreation to the people of Altoona and Johnstown. The Works Progress Administration employed local workers to build cabins, hiking trails and roads. Civilian Conservation… read more
The historic Wilkinsburg Borough Building—also home to the public library—was built in 1939 as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $130,014 grant for the project, whose total cost was $407,643. PWA Docket No. PA [X]2209
The historic Emmaus Borough Hall was constructed between 1938 and 1939 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $41,422 grant for the project, whose total cost was $87,141. PWA Docket No. PA X1902.
Towanda’s historic Borough Hall building was constructed in 1934 as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $7,283 grant for the project, whose total cost was $25,866. PWA Docket No. PA 2005
The historic Ambler Borough Hall was originally constructed as the community’s post office ca. 1937. An example of New Deal artwork constructed for the building has since been relocated.
What is now North East’s New Deal Borough Hall was originally built as the North East post office during the mid-1930s by the US Treasury.
The structure at Buckland Spring, between Colebrook and Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania along Rt. 117, was constructed as a federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1938. ““From the back wall of this structure, there were two separate pipes from which… read more
"The construction of the Burgwin School, in a residential district adjacent to a mill and commercial district, made possible the elimination of the old Hazelwood School built in 1875, and of the Glenwood School built in 1882, both of which… read more
Pennsylvania State University’s Burrowes Building was one of a dozen buildings constructed on the campus during the Great Depression as part of a massive construction project enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The building, which has since been added… read more
Buttermilk Hollow Road was built as part of a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $299,852 grant for the project, whose total cost was $475,186. PWA Docket No. PA [X]2109.
Located in the small town of California, Pennsylvania, “Cal U” is a public university that was founded in 1852. The main campus consists of 38 buildings situated on 92 acres of land. Then known as the State Teachers College, California University… read more
Philadelphia’s first public housing project, the Carl Mackley Houses (also known as Juniata Park Housing), was financed by the Housing Division of the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA supplied a $1,030,000 loan for the project, whose eventual total cost… read more
“Stone retaining walls that line streets and highways throughout the region — along Route 611 in Easton, Spruce Street in Tamaqua and Carlton Avenue in Bethlehem — were WPA projects.” This approximately 350-foot-long retaining wall begins on Carlton Avenue halfway… read more
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
