Text on a plaque in the building reads: The Bachman Lake Shelter House was designed by the National Park Service and constructed by the young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939. Just as today, the shelter served the… read more
“A vacant site of approximately 22 acres was purchased for the Cedar Springs Place low-rent housing development in Dallas, Texas. It cost $66,149, or about 7 cents per square foot. The structures cover 15 percent of the land area and… read more
Civilian Conservation Camp SP-55-TX is the main encampment that was the headquarters for the CCC’s Dallas operations. A historical marker can be found at the location of the camp. Excerpt from Steven Butler’s From Water Supply to Urban Oasis: A History… read more
“In 1940, WPA workers completed this park in the heart of Dallas. Named for an early publisher of the Dallas Morning News, the plaza lives in infamy as the location of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963…. read more
Fair Park was expanded by New Deal agencies WPA, CCC, and PWA in 1936. The Dallas City Commission is considering to privatize Fair Park in 2018.
The oil-on-canvas mural “Texas of History,” a ten-panel behemoth, each 30′ x 80′, was painted by Eugene Francis Savage as a New Deal project.
Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2896 resided at White Rock Lake in Dallas from 1935 to 1942. The CCC Company also built neighboring Flag Pole Hill between 1936 and 1937. Improvements constructed by the CCC included a picturesque overlook surmounted by… read more
Juanita Jewel Craft Park was originally called Wahoo Park and was purchased by the City of Dallas in1924. A Works Progress Administration (WPA) community building, retaining wall, landscaping, planting, walks and other improvements were executed 1936-38. The park was renamed… read more
In 1931, Edwin Kiest, an influential Dallas businessman, made a gift of 247 acres of land to the City of Dallas for a regional park as a memorial to his wife, Elizabeth Patterson Kiest, who had died in 1917. The… read more
The site, originally developed in 1906 as an amusement park, was acquired by the City of Dallas in 1914. The park encompasses 44 acres and a large lake. Works Progress Administration (WPA) sponsored improvements included construction of a stone picnic shelter in 1938, roque court, retaining wall, paving, picnic units, a bridge,… read more
Arlington Hall is a two-thirds-size replica of Arlington House, General Robert E. Lee’s Virginia home. The City of Dallas and the Works Progress Administration completed the building in 1939. For years, it served as a popular spot for community events… read more
“General Lee and Young Soldier” is a sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor that stands in Lee Park in Dallas, Texas. The Dallas Southern Memorial Association gave the statue to the City of Dallas in 1936. The Dallas Park Board provided… read more
The Leonhardt Lagoon was constructed with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds in 1936. The lagoon named after philanthropist Dorothea Leonhardt and was built at the site of the Texas Centennial Exposition. “The man-made lagoon lies south of the Midway. It… read more
Lincoln High School in Dallas, Texas was constructed in large part with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Text from the state historical marker reads: In 1937, the Dallas school board appointed a building committee to find land for a… read more
"At the time of the Texas Centennial Exposition at Dallas in 1936 certain of the buildings constructed were made permanent, and one of these was the Museum of Natural History. The structure is two stories in height and 71 by… read more
The Oakland-Merlin Overpass is a 1,759 foot long overpass that currently carries Malcom X Blvd (formerly Oakland Ave.) over the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Railyard near downtown Dallas, Texas. The Texas Highway Department and the United States Bureau of Public… read more
The WPA did extensive work in this Dallas park as part of “an extensive parks beautification program intended to make the city a showplace. For Reverchon, this meant the introduction of a series of stoneworks, including the floral amphitheater known… read more
In 1937, a school was built in Rylie, Texas (now Dallas) to replace the former school that burned down the year before. An article published in 1937 in the Dallas Daily Times Herald, recounts the process by which federal funds were… read more
This stone pavilion was constructed by the WPA in 1934-1936. After many years it was in danger of collapsing into a nearby creek, until the city recently moved the entire pavilion 25 feet to a more secure location.
Tenison Park is in the divide of East and West Grand Avenue. On the site there is a rock bathroom (in need or restoration), a rock trash container, and a small rock bridge, as well as rock-lined drainage ditches.
The historic Terminal Annex Federal Building in Dallas, Texas was constructed during the Great Depression with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses examples of New Deal artwork inside, was constructed in 1936 and is still in use today.
The Terminal Annex Federal Building contains two oil on canvas murals by Peter Hurd: “Pioneer Home Builders” and “Airmail Over Texas.” They were painted in 1940-1941 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. From an entry on the website… read more
Tietze Park is a 9-acre park in the City of Dallas acquired in 1924. At that time it was named Keith Park. Ten years later it was renamed Tietze Park, after W.R. Tietze, who was Superintendent of Parks for the… read more
The State of Texas chartered the Union Terminal Company on March 16, 1912. The mission of the company was to build a central terminal in Dallas for the seven railroads then serving the city. The company opened the Dallas Union… read more
Original school erected in 1916. Under the auspices of the New Deal, the Public Works Administration [PWA) administered the School Building-Aid Program that provided funds for much-needed additions to the Adamson High School building in 1938. This project added wings… read more
Construction on White Rock Lake began in 1910 in response to a water shortage in Dallas. The City of Dallas dammed White Rock Creek in 1911 and built a water processing plant. White Rock Lake was the city’s main source… read more
“The zoo was upgraded in the late 1930s, at an estimated cost of $100,000.00 with Federal Works Project Administration (WPA) labor and money and Texas Centennial bond money. An extensive system of concrete and natural stone bridges, park houses, winding… read more
Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D.C. It includes 500 New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Take a look at our previous guides, equally comprehensive, covering key New Deal sites in San Francisco and New York City.
