Pennsylvania Sites

A high school building, likely Bentworth Senior High School, was constructed in Ellsworth as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $57,177 grant for the project, whose total cost was $145,358. PWA Docket No. PA 1620.

Part of the facility now known as Ferndale Area High School was constructed as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $112,584 grant for the project, whose total cost was $243,286. The building bears a plaque detailing its provenance. PWA Docket No. PA 1645.

Pen Argyl Area High School was constructed in 1936-7 as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $54,798 grant for the project, whose total cost was $190,863. The original building can be found at the northwest corner of W Laurel Ave. and N Heller Ave.; the facility has since been expanded to the west. The original building bears a 1936 cornerstone. Its grounds feature a stone retaining wall along West Laurel Ave. and the grounds feature stone-sided staircases. These were possibly constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), though Living New Deal does not have evidence for this at this...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) painted the interior of the senior high school in Darby, Pennsylvania. The school, which was located on the east side of S 7th St. between Walnut St. and Spruce St., is no longer extant.

The former Hawley High School, located at Atkinson St. & School Ave., was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $53,286 grant for the project, whose total cost was $119,865. Construction occurred between Dec. 1937 and Nov. 1938. PWA Docket No. PA 1656

A high school in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania was constructed between March 1936 and April 1937, enabled by the provision of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. The New Deal grant amounted to $144,855 toward the $322,230 eventual total cost of the project. The location of the building is unknown to Living New Deal, though we suspect it has since been demolished. PWA Docket No. Penn. 1171

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) undertook a project to paint and install new steps at what was then the high school in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal, though we believe it to be no longer extant.

"The Highland Park Highway Bridge, illustrated at the top of this page, crosses the Allegheny River, replaces a bridge built in 1902, and eliminates four railroad grade crossings. The main spans consist of a steel-deck cantilever structure with north and south anchor-arm spans 162.5 feet each and five main spans 278 feet each. Six deck-plate girder spans over the railway line have a total length of 585.1 feet. The project was completed in August 1939 at a construction cost of $2,314,205 and a project cost of $2,554,180. (Short and Brown)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted multiple projects in Highland Park in Pittsburgh. "In Highland Park, WPA workers built stone steps throughout the park and modernized the main zoo building." Another article notes that the WPA built a "rhino quarters" at the zoo in 1939.

"WPA’s legacy is visible today in those and many other ways" in Wilkes-Barre. "Thanks to WPA labor, ... he Miner Park and Hollenback swimming pools were built." Living New Deal believes the pool to be no longer extant.

Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School, originally a high school, was built in 1936-7 as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $117,818 grant for the school construction project in Bradford, whose total cost was $262,499. The since-expanded facility is still in service. PWA Docket No. PA 1137

"The Pittsburgh-Homestead high-level bridge, which spans the Monongahela River, replaces the obsolete Brown's highway bridge and eliminates two railroad grade crossings and a circuitous approach. The total length of the bridge and its approaches is 4,200 feet and the bridge itself is approximately 3,100 feet long. The main river spans consist of four Wichert continuous steel trusses, each of the two central spans being 533.3 feet in length and the two end spans 291 feet each. The approach spans in Homestead consist of seven girder spans and six Wichert continuous truss spans with a total length of 1,450 feet....

The federal Civil Works Administration worked to improve the incinerator plant in Greenville, Pennsylvania between 1933 and 1934. The location and current status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

"Sites of WPA projects to preserve historic shrines include ... Independence Hall."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at the historic former Pennsylvania National Guard Armory in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Located at the northeast corner of Washington St. and Wayne Ave., the building presently houses the Indiana County Historical Society and also serves as a Veterans' Memorial.

Then known as Indiana State Teachers College, Indiana 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 $226,000 grant for the project, whose final cost was $700,440. Construction occurred between February 1938 and June 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1820.) Three buildings were constructed on the campus, including an auditorium and dining hall addition. The auditorium is now known as Fisher Auditorium. The present status of the other structures is unknown to the Living New Deal.

Ingomar Road was one road paved as part of New Deal efforts: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $52,450 grant the project, whose total cost was $86,270. PWA Docket No. PA 2004.

"This high school occupies a site of 35 acres. Large play areas, 7 fields for games, 6 tennis courts, and 12 handball courts, as well as a stadium seating 2,626 and bleachers seating 1,000, are part of the plant. The building accommodates 2,500 pupils. The academic, commercial, and science departments are in the wings on the left; and the shops, domestic science, and art departments on the right, with the auditorium and gymnasium between them. There are 52 standard and 30 special classrooms, a library seating 250, and a cafeteria with a capacity of 625. The construction is fireproof. Exterior walls are...

"Before he developed his famous drip method of painting -- a technique in which the canvas is placed on the floor and splashed with paint -- Pollock worked for the WPA's Federal Art Project from 1938 to 1942. He created Male and Female, one of his earliest paintings, in 1942. Now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the painting is an excellent example of Pollock's early abstract expressionism, characterized by vibrant color and texture."

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania's historic Jenkintown Elementary School was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $101,899 grant for the project, whose total cost was $226,893. Construction occurred between December 1935 and November 1936. PWA Docket No. PA 1007

"The Jerome Street Bridge replaces two narrow steel bridges erected in 1890 and crosses the Youghiogheny River to McKeesport. It was completed in August 1939 at a construction cost of $575,033 and a project cost of $783,124." (Short and Brown) "The Jerome Street Bridge, is an arch bridge across the Youghiogheny River connecting the east and west banks of the Pittsburgh industrial suburb of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. It was engineered by George S. Richardson. Originally, an 1880s truss bridge stood on the site. This structure mainly served streetcar traffic and was inadequate for automobiles. A Great Depression-era public works bond was provided to...

John Bartram High School was constructed as a New Deal project in 1937-8. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $1,001,700 grant for the project, whose total cost was $2,385,307. PWA Docket No. PA 1562-1 Wikipedia: "On February 5, 1939, John Bartram High School, located at the intersection of 67th Street and Elmwood Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia, opened for the first time to 1,700 students. According to a history of the school published on its 50th anniversary, the school was originally planned to be built at 74th Street and Dicks Avenue, but the site was changed before construction started. It was...

Mcall.com article: Union Terrace, Jordan Park, Fountain Park and the Lehigh Parkway in Allentown and Saucon Park, Monocacy Park and Franklin Park at Sand Island in Bethlehem were built under WPA and its precursor ...   "Probably it would have taken 50 years of slow progress to accomplish what has been done under WPA in two years," Robert J. Wheeler, then-secretary to the Allentown Planning Commission, told The Morning Call in 1937.

"The airport ... outside Connellsville was one of the first in Western Pennsylvania, opening in 1938. It was the product of a cooperative effort between the city of Connellsville, Fayette County and the federal Works Progress Administration program." "Work on the Connellsville Airport began in January 1936, when project plans were submitted to the WPA; the state-of-the-art facility was dedicated Sept. 30, 1938. The airport initially cost $495,000, with an additional $350,000 allocated for infrastructure and to establish an army base once the airfield had been completed."

Joseph H. Brown Elementary School was constructed as a New Deal project in 1937. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $269,100 grant for the project, whose total cost was $516,456. PWA Docket No. 1584. "The  project calls for construction of new elementary school building at 66th street and Chester avenue. It will be a three-story "L" shaped structure. The federal government contributed $269,100."

Retaining walls constructed along Union St., Junction St., and Martin Luther King Jr., were constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Art Deco-style, abandoned Junior High School building in Braddock, Pennsylvania was constructed as a New Deal project in 1938-9. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $301,367 grant for the school, whose total cost was $664,090. PWA Docket No. PA 1692

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) undertook a project to install a new floor and steps at what was then the junior high school in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal, though we believe it to be no longer extant.

Among a set of 26 WPA projects for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania approved in Sept. 1935 was the "grading and draining Kelton school playground." The Federal government allocated $10,360 to the project while local sponsors contributed $2,422. The school in question is no longer in operation; its exact location and current status are presently unknown to Living New Deal.

Electrification of the Keystone Corridor "west of Paoli to Harrisburg came in the 1930s, after the PRR completed electrifying its New York-Washington, D.C. section (the present-day Northeast Corridor)." The total cost ... was financed by government-supported loans from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the Public Works Administration."

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's old Kingsessing Station post office, located at the western corner of Whitby Ave. and S 52nd St., was constructed during the Great Depression with federal Treasury Department funds. The building has undergone extensive renovations and is now privately owned. A pair of New Deal murals that had been housed at the post offices have been relocated to a non-public setting.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's old Kingsessing Station post office hosted a pair of New Deal murals: "Philadelphia Waterways with Ben Franklin Bridge" and "View of Downtown Philadelphia Skyline," that were installed in the post office lobby in 1939. The murals were painted by Moses and Raphael Soyer. Upon relocation of postal services in Kingsessing, the murals were removed from the old post office. Presently the murals hang along the back wall of the offices of USPS's Philadelphia Metro District—a facility near the city's primary mail processing plant that is not accessible to the public. The murals have been sliced vertically into multiple segments...

Kooser State Park in Western Pennsylvania is surrounded by the Forbes State Forest. "The park’s original design character was stamped by the Civilian Conservation Corps projects of the 1930s that established the existing lake and most of its use areas, its architecture and site details."   (https://www.dcnr.state.pa.us) "The CCC established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression built a camp on the western edge of Kooser State Park. The young men of the CCC built the dam on Kooser Run creating Kooser Lake. They also built roads, outdoor fireplaces and cabins. Much of their work can still be seen today...

Then known as the Kutztown State Teachers College, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania benefited during the Great Depression from large construction projects enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). In one instance the PWA provided a $188,216 grant for the project, whose final cost was $605,070. Construction occurred between January 1938 and September 1939. (PWA Docket No. 1866.) Nine buildings were constructed on the campus, including an auditorium and shop/garage. The present status of these structures is unknown to Living New Deal.

Lake Warren was built by the federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1936.

"Beginning in 1935, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration began purchasing sub-marginal agricultural and forest land so that it could be converted to better use. In 1936, the National Park Service was given the responsibility of the Recreational Demonstration Areas. Laurel Hill was one of five areas in Pennsylvania and targeted for restoration and reforestation, and organized group camping and day picnicking. Beginning in 1935, with cooperation of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, men of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began building roads, trails, bridges and recreational facilities. Two CCC camps, SP-8 and SP-15 arrived...

"A chiseled stone plaque marks the WPA-built wall along the Laurel Run Creek in Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre. ... This WPA-built retaining wall helps keep Laurel Run Creek in Wilkes-Barre within its banks."

Laurelton State Village was formed in 1913, but several buildings were added during the Great Depression: "This project called for the construction of two cottages, buildings for administration, recreation, and hospital purposes, and improvements and extensions to the existing plant. The administration building contains in the basement a garage, psychological laboratory, a post office, and various service and storage rooms. On the first floor are board and staff rooms and a number of offices. The second and third floors are devoted to living quarters for the staff and officials. The building is reinforced concrete with exterior walls of local stone, wood trim,...

Lehigh Parkway is a large public park along the Little Lehigh River in Allentown. Along with much of the rest of Allentown's park system, Lehigh was developed largely by the WPA. "The stone wall in Lehigh Parkway may be the most recognizable relic. Under the WPA, the 700-foot-long wall was built to support the road that runs above it. At its highest point, two decorative turrets frame a staircase that allows people to reach the park from the road."   (https://articles.mcall.com) The WPA also built a boat landing and other structures in Lehigh Parkway.

Among the WPA projects in the Lehigh Valley area were "... the stone retaining walls that run along the banks of the Lehigh River in Bethlehem." The exact location and status of these structures is presently unknown to Living New Deal.