• Camp Rapid - Rapid City SD
    "One of the most significant WPA projects in Rapid City was Camp Rapid. Construction of permanent buildings began on June 25, 1934 and one year later, Executive Order 7034 allowed the WPA to begin hiring men to take part in the construction of the headquarters building. James C. Ewing, an architect from Rapid City, designed the brick and reinforced concrete Administration Building and Project 956 began in 1936 and was completed by the end of the year. The original buildings main floor consisted of a reception area with a vault and was surrounded by four offices, one of which was...
  • Canyon Lake Park - Rapid City SD
    "Canyon Lake Park was developed around the 1890s by the Upper Rapid City Company, who planted the Lombardy poplar trees that still line the roads of the park. Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy was a partner in the company that planned to develop Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake as a resort with a hotel and a railroad from the downtown area. The lake flooded out in 1907, and thirty years later the WPA rebuilt the lake and dam, adding the rock landscaping. Working in conjunction with the WPA, enrollees at the Custer State CCC camp spent two years in a side camp located...
  • Dinosaur Park - Rapid City SD
    "R. L. Bronson, secretary of the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, first propositioned the idea of a Dinosaur Park to federal agencies after visiting the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition and viewed a mechanically operated reproduction of a brontosaurus. The government approved the five prehistoric sculptures, Triceratops, Triconodon, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus Rex, allowing WPA Project 960 to begin excavation work in March, 1936. An engineer, H. H. Babcock, initially supervised twenty workers as they prepared an area south of Hangmans Hill for the life-size reproductions. An office building that sat on the rim of the Stratobowl during the Stratosphere...
  • Governor's Mansion (former) - Rapid City SD
    WPA crews built the South Dakota Governor's Mansion in 1936 in the capitol city of Pierre. In 2004, it was purchased and moved 175 miles to Rapid City, but in 2013 was sold at a foreclosure auction. It remains privately owned, and serves as an event hall. From a local Rapid City television station report in 2008: The current owner paid around $40,000 for the mansion 16 of South Dakota's governors called home.  It cost him five times that to have the property moved from Pierre to Rapid City. Now, instead of being home to South Dakota's first families, it's open to...
  • O'Harra Memorial Building - Rapid City SD
    "The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology took advantage of the New Deal program when it received a $95,000 federal grant that it combined with a $120,000 appropriation from the 1941 South Dakota state legislature to construct the OHarra Memorial Building. James C. Ewing, later known for his design of the concession building at Mount Rushmore, incorporated an Art Deco style into the OHarra structure. An Egyptian Revival pavilion dominated the front of the building, constructed of native stone. The interior of the building consisted of two floors and a full basement, showcasing terrazzo floors and faux marble walls....
  • O'Harra Memorial Stadium - Rapid City SD
    CCC and WPA crews constructed this football stadium for the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City. From the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Quarterly: "With the help of Works Project Administration (WPA) laborers and a $50,000 WPA grant, development continued from 1932 through 1936.* The Alumni Association raised the remaining funds to finish the field by contacting the school's 750 alumni through meetings held in 26 alumni regions around the country. With the successful fundraising drive, the $132,000 O'Harra Memorial Stadium was dedicated on September 16, 1938. Black Hills businesses and government agencies also provided valuable...
  • Rapid City Historical Museum (former) - Rapid City SD
    "In an effort to preserve the rich history of Rapid City and the surrounding area, WPA Project 1112 began in 1937 in an effort to construct a massive, native-stone edifice to house various collections of historical artifacts. Early in 1936, several city commissioners began to meet with architect Waldo Winter to discuss the construction of a local museum. Talks came to a standstill when Winter vehemently opposed locating the museum in Halley Park, purchased by the city from several individuals in 1916 and 1917, as the intended location of a future museum. Negotiations resumed in late 1936 when George Mansfield,...
  • Rapid City Library - Rapid City SD
    "The Rapid City Carnegie Library was constructed in 1915 at what is now 700 Kansas City Street. The library became part of the WPA legacy when workers carefully constructed matching extensions on each side of the central portion. Completed in 1938, the slightly recessed additions used the same yellow limestone that constituted the original structure and two window bays were added to each side. Pilasters and columns completed the corners of the extensions and complimented the rows of small windows that were located above the bookcases on the inside walls. Vacated after the completion of a new public library in...
  • Water System - Rapid City SD
    A substantial waterworks construction project in Rapid City, South Dakota was undertaken during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $85,130 grant for the project, whose total cost was $189,357. Work occurred between December 1936 and September 1937. (PWA Docket No. SD 1162)
  • Wilson Park - Rapid City SD
    "It was not uncommon for WPA employees to work side by side with Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) members on projects throughout the Black Hills and in Rapid City. Some of these projects included landscaping work that utilized native stone in rock walls and ponds throughout Canyon Lake and Wilson parks."