Pennsylvania Sites

Then known as the West Chester State Teachers College, West Chester 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 $240,924 grant for the project, whose final cost was $770,533. Construction occurred between February 1938 and May 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1873.) Seven buildings were constructed on the campus, including a library addition, dormitory, laundry, and heating plant. The present status of these structures is unknown to Living New Deal.

The historic West Scranton Branch post office building of Scranton, Pennsylvania was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which possesses a New Deal mural in the lobby, is still in use today.

The oil-on-canvas mural "Nature’s Storehouse," which hangs in the lobby of the West Scranton Branch post office, was completed in 1941. The work, which was painted by Herman Maril, was undertaken using Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts funding.

"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 by WPA workers."

The CCC operated in the Whipple Dam area from 1933 to 1941. In addition to other improvements throughout Whipple Dam State Park, "in 1935, the CCC dismantled the old dam and constructed the existing dam and bridge."

"Between 1933 and 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a work camp at Owl’s Gap (S-60-PA), east of the park. The corps members built pavilions, roads, beach and restrooms during this period. In 1935, the CCC dismantled the old dam and constructed the existing dam and bridge. In 1987, the 32-acre park day use area was designated the Whipple Dam National Historic District. This entry on the National Register of Historic Places recognizes, protects, and preserves the work site of one of the Depression-Era's most important relief programs, the CCC. The CCC work was performed to guidelines embraced by the...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement and development work at Wildwood Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Among other efforts, such as conservation work, they constructed a bridge along a bridle path over a stream. The location and status of the structure is unknown to Living New Deal. The park is bordered by highways that did not exist during the Great Depression.

"The Wyoming Valley Airport, located in Forty Fort and Wyoming and built in the 1920s, was expanded and given a paved runway through WPA, enabling it to handle passenger and freight traffic – including early air mail -- and help train World War II pilots." (timesleader.com)

The PWA completed this stone fire observation tower atop Mt. Penn, overlooking Reading, PA and the surrounding area, in 1939. From the Literary and Cultural Heritage Map of Pennsylvania interactive website: "When President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal created the Public Works Administration in the mid 1930s, Reading had found a way to create jobs. On September 15, 1938, the city received $15,091 in Federal grant money for the tower. This amount was combined with the city's $18,445 and in the wintry months that followed construction began. G.C. Freeman designed the tower, incorporating cosmetic and functional elements from over a half-dozen towers...

"President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal allowed for the expansion of the school in 1936. During this time, a Federal Public Works Administration project added six classrooms on the western side of the building. Following this expansion, Wilson High School expanded again with the help of Roosevelt's New Deal when, in 1937, the Federal Public Works Administration awarded the Spring Township School District with a second grant, allowing it to build the school's west wing." The school has since been greatly expanded, again, to the west.

An addition to the Wyoming County Courthouse in Tunkhannock, PA was constructed in 1939 as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $29,844 grant for the project, whose total cost was $61,882. PWA Docket No. PA 2080

"The oldest section of the high school was begun in 1938 and opened to students in September 1939. ... The federal Public Works Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt funded 45 percent of the school's $600,000 cost. Designed by architect and Wyomissing resident Charles H. Muhlenberg, it featured the classic architectural elements popular at the time. ... he library's murals depicting the industrial history of the county, painted by Berks County artist Ralph D. Dunkelberger. The murals were funded by Ferdinand Thun and Henry Janssen, founders of Wyomissing Industries, which included Textile Machine Works, Narrow Fabric and Berkshire Knitting Mills. The partners...

Originally constructed as a gymnasium, what is now Zimbar-Liljenstein Hall at East Stroudsburg University was one of four buildings constructed as a New Deal project. Work was sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA).