The Living New Deal Menu
  • About Us
    • Boards
    • The Core Team
    • National Associates
    • History
    • Growth.
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • Map & Sites
    • Map
    • All Projects
    • Projects by State and City
    • Projects by Category
    • Projects by Agency
    • Projects by Artist
    • Endangered New Deal Art
    • Submit New Site Information
  • The New Deal
    • New Deal Programs
    • New Deal Timeline
    • New Dealers
    • New Deal Inclusion
    • The New Deal and Race
    • African Americans in the CCC
    • New Deal Smiles
    • The New Deal Worked
    • Glossary
  • Resources
    • Websites on the New Deal
    • New Deal Book Reviews
    • New Deal Bibliographies
    • Films & Videos on the New Deal
    • New Deal Resources for Teachers
    • Oral Histories of the New Deal
    • New Deal Stories
    • On the Road Series
  • News
    • The Fireside Newsletter
    • Lessons for a Green New Deal today
    • Discoveries
    • New Deal Today
    • New New Deal
    • [email protected] New Deal
    • The New Deal in the News
    • SF Mural Fight
  • Press & Events
    • Living New Deal Webinars
    • Living New Deal
      in the News
    • Living New Deal Events
    • The New Deal Speaks
    • Annual New Deal Book Award
  • Get Involved
    • Submit New Site Information
    • Researching New Deal Sites
    • Share Your New Deal Story
    • Finding New Deal Ancestors
    • New Deal Site Preservation
    • Living New Deal NYC
  • Donate
    • Advanced Project Search

Projects in Reading

Go

Angelica Dam (demolished) – Reading PA

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.

Project type: Dams, Infrastructure and Utilities
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Antietam Dam Refurbishing – Reading PA

Refurbishing of Reading, Pennsylvania’s Antietam Dam, which created the Antietam Reservoir, was conducted by the WPA.

Project type: Dams, Infrastructure and Utilities
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Berks County Courthouse Improvements – Reading PA

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.

Project type: Civic Facilities, Courthouses (State & Local)
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

City Hall Improvements – Reading PA

Reading, Pennsylvania’s City Hall was built in 1904 as a high school and became the city hall in 1928. The WPA helped to clean and paint the building during the New Deal.

Project type: City and Town Halls, Civic Facilities
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

City Park Fireman’s Memorial Bandshell – Reading PA

Reading, Pennsylvania’s historic City Park Fireman’s Memorial Bandshell was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. “The City Park Fireman’s Memorial Bandshell was dedicated on Labor Day in 1939. The Bandshell, located… read more

Project type: Amphitheaters, Parks and Recreation
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA)

List Road Wall – Reading PA

WPA workers constructed a stone wall along part of the northern portions of Oak Lane in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Northwest Branch Library – Reading PA

Northwest Branch of the Reading Public Library

Reading, Pennsylvania’s historic Northwest Branch Library was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. PWA Docket No. X2138

Project type: Education and Health, Libraries
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

Northwest Junior High School – Reading PA

Northwest Junior High

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of Northwest Junior High School, completed in 1935. Windows and doors were recently replaced, but the school retains its original elements. Muhlenberg Greene Architects (at the time of construction was called Muhlenberg, Yerkes,… read more

Project type: Education and Health, Schools
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

Oak Lane Wall – Reading PA

WPA workers constructed a stone wall along part of the northern portions of Oak Lane in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Reading Fire Department EMS Station – Reading PA

The Reading Fire Department EMS Station was built as a New Deal project: the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $33,789 grant for the project, whose total cost was $69,493. A 1939 cornerstone can be found at the northeast corner. The facility was dedicated October 9,… read more

Project type: Military and Public Safety, Firehouses
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

Reading Regional Airport Improvements – Reading PA

The New Deal had an impact on the development of Reading Regional Airport. Reading Eagle: The Work Projects Administration (WPA) “built terminal buildings and created runways for Reading Regional Airport in 1941.” The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant… read more

Project type: Airports, Infrastructure and Utilities
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Reservoir (former) – Reading PA

A reservoir serving Reading, Pennsylvania was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The reservoir has since been demolished. Reading Times: “[T]he new concrete reservoir on Mt. Penn, at the head of… read more

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Water supply
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

Schlegel Park Improvements – Reading PA

Schlegel Park in Reading, Pennsylvania is one of many local parks that was improved by the WPA during the New Deal. WPA workers constructed a new field house in the park.

Project type: Parks and Recreation
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Skyline Drive Improvements – Reading PA

Skyline Drive was improved and a stone wall built by WPA workers along the road “from the Pagoda to McKnight’s Gap,” a distance of nearly three miles through a large area park.

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

William Penn Memorial Fire Tower – Reading PA

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… read more

Project type: Fire Lookouts, Forestry and Agriculture, Parks and Recreation
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

About Us

Site Guide Learn More About Our Project Our Boards National Associates

Newsletters

Read the Fireside Get the Lowdown Past Newsletters Join Our E-Mailing List

Donate

Donate

Get in Touch

General Inquiries:
[email protected]
510-642-5987
Department of Geography
505 McCone Hall
University of California
Berkeley CA 94720-4740

Website:
[email protected]

Help | About Us | Donate | Privacy & Terms

Sign up for our E-Mailing List