Puerto Rico Sites

The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) built El Falansterio, a new public housing development located in Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, between 1936-1937. PuertaDeTierra.info: In Puerta de Tierra a neighborhood house would be built between Matías Ledesma streets, San Juan Bautista, Fernández Juncos avenue and the train track (today the exclusive lane of the Authority Metropolitan Buses); cataloged as Tenement Group Project A, today known as El Falansterio. The inauguration of El Falansterio took place on November 7, 1937 at a cost of in 110,708 square meters and 216 apartments. The foundation work cost about $130,000, as there was a need...

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration work relief division efforts included "the remodeling of the old 'Manicomio'" in San Juan, in 1937, "to render it available for the motorized transport of the Sixty-Fifth United States Infantry." The facility now houses Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico (the School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico).

In addition to the New Deal Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration ( PRRA), the PWA, CCC, and Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration (PRERA) all operated on the island as well. As on the US mainland, the CCC built many of the trails, lookouts, buildings, and roads in various federal and insular parks and forests, including in the majestic El Yunque National Rainforest. "El Yunque is a monument to the impact of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Most of the trails and observation points, and even Highway 191, were CCC projects-and they have seen better days. The major roadside recreational sites include two interpretive trails, the tiny...

In October 1936 -- two years after the First Lady visited Puerto Rico to assess social and economic conditions -- it was announced that the New Deal’s Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) was taking bids for the construction of the Eleanor Roosevelt housing development.  We don’t know which firm won the bid, but by 1939 about 472 homes were completed and about 1,500 more were planned.  The Eleanor Roosevelt neighborhood still exists today – it is a subbarrio of Hato Rey Norte, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico had been plagued by hurricanes, poverty, sub-standard housing, and a lack of...

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Factor and Santana Roads in Arecibo.

The Civil Works Administration and the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Florida Road in San Lorenzo.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Fraternidad Road in Fajardo.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Garrapatas Road in Barceloneta.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Garrochales Road in Barceloneta.

Garzas Dam, a hydroelectric generation facility, was constructed as part of a large rural electrification plan undertaken by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, a New Deal agency. Construction began in 1935 and it included "the reservoir, hydroelectric plant, and three minor river diversions.”

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration reinforced the Guajataca Dam in Isabela, between 1933 and 1935.

The Public Works Administration built a 30-meter truss bridge over the Guamani River in Guayama, in 1936. Google Street View imagery suggests that the bridge has since been replaced.

The Civilian Conservation Corps carried out improvement work at the Guanica State Forest (Bosque Estatal de Guánica). The work included “roads, trails, timber stand improvements and tree planting, as well as recreational developments.”

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration (with funds from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration) built sidewalks near the Guillermo Esteves Bridge in San Juan.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Hato Abajo Road in Arecibo.

Grants from the Federal Government helped build healthcare facilities across the island. “The outstanding achievement in the field of public-health this year was the extension, after twelve years of endeavor, of health services to every municipality in the Island. Twenty-four new buildings, made possible by grants from the Federal Government, have been completed and occupied by health units in twenty-three municipalities. These buildings have not only improved conditions under which the work is done but will mean a substantial saving in rentals, which may now he used for further expansion of the service. Four District General Hospitals, with a capacity of...

The PRRA carried out slum clearance work and built hurricane-proof housing developments in Arecibo and Ponce. “The PRRA located nine parcels of land available to purchase in Ponce, and two in Ponce Playa, and began construction on 4,290 concrete houses in Ponce and Ponce Playa. Built to house over 21,000 people, the PRRA also constructed an nearby incinerating plant, concrete storm sewers, new water supply system, and temporary workingmen's residencies (for PRRA construction workers) as part of the Ponce slum clearance project.”1 The PRRA created housing programs across the Island, as described in the 1938 Annual Report of the Department of the Interior: “The development...

The PRRA built housing across the Island, as described in the 1938 Annual Report of the Department of the Interior: “The development of that part of the urban housing program of the P. R. R. A. originally aimed for the elimination of unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions, for the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings for families of low income, and for the reduction of unemployment and the stimulation of business activity, was continued during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938. Inasmuch as the funds originally allotted were not sufficient to accomplish the demolition and clearance of the existing slum areas,...

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Indieras Road in Maricao.

The Civil Works Administration and the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on the Insular Highway between Guayama and Ponce.

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration forestry division efforts included reforestation work on Isla de Mona during the 1930s. Dept. of the Interior report: Mona Island—lying in the Mona passage separating Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic—some 25 square miles in extent, formerly rich in tropical timber, and virtually a deserted island, with two cave-dwelling families and three lighthouse keepers as its sole inhabitants, is now being reforested.

What was then the San Juan Naval Air Station, now Isla Grande Airport in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, was developed in substantial part with Work Projects Administration (WPA) labor. Nearly $2,000,000 were expended on such infrastructure development projects at the behest of the U.S. Navy and War Departments.

The Civil Works Administration and the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Jaguar Road in Gurabo.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Jaguar, Barrio Real Road in Patillas.

The Civil Works Administration and the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Jagüeyes Road in Aguas Buenas.

The Civil Works Administration carried out new construction on Javilla Barrio Salto Road in San Sebastian.

The work relief division of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) conducted "extensive repairs to the patio" of La Fortaleza, the 16th Century governor's mansion in San Juan, capitol of the territory of Puerto Rico, ca. 1937. In 1940-1 the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) conducted extensive restoration work on La Fortaleza. Improvements included utilities upgrades, new roof, replacement of floor and ceiling beams, elevator installation, modern bathtubs & showers installation, and more.

The Civilian Conservation Corps built a viewpoint and picnic spot for travelers along Ruta Panoramica over the central mountains, in the vicinity of Maricao, PR.

Lago Dos Bocas was created upon completion of the Dos Bocas Dam, a Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration project, in 1942. It primarily serves as a reservoir.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work in Malezas in Mayagüez.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Mameyes Road in Luquillo.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Mameyes Road in Jayuya.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Mango and Rio Arriba Roads in Manati.

The Civilian Conservation Corps carried out improvement work at the Maricao Forrest (Bosque Estatal de Maricao). The work included “roads, trails, timber stand improvements and tree planting, as well as recreational developments.”

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Marieno Road and Pampanos Road in Vega Alta.

The Army Corps of Engineers, with funds from the National Industrial Recovery Act, carried out improvements in the Mayagüez Harbor.

The Civil Works Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Miraflores Ave. in San Juan.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Miraflores Road in Arecibo.

Youth employed by the National Youth Administration carried out maintenance work at the Mona Airfield on Mona Island. “Campos is one of the Mona boys engaged in clearing and maintaining the Mona Air Field, strategic L-shaped landing field controlling historic Mona Passage midway between Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico. Campos is also champion boxer of the project.”

The Civilian Conservation Corps planted trees on 400 acres and built 6 recreational cabins on Mona Island.