Federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds enabled the construction of the old terminal at what was then known as Houston Municipal Airport. The Art Deco building at William P. Hobby Airport now serves as the 1940 Air Terminal Museum.
The Texas Highway Department and the Federal Works Agency Public Roads Administration built an overpass in 1941 to separate the grade of Airline Drive and the Houston Belt and Terminal Railway tracks. The overpass is currently open to traffic.
The Stephen F. Austin Senior High School in southeast Houston, Texas was constructed as a New Deal project with the aid f Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The three-story building, featuring “44 classrooms, a large auditorium, a cafeteria, a gymnasium,… read more
“During the Depression, plans for constructing the City Hall were temporarily sidetracked. In 1933, however, the City applied for a federal Public Works Administration grant to help finance the construction of a new City Hall. Straw votes on building a… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed to the early development of the De Pelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau. “Construction of the present nine main units began in 1937. The home had on hand $103,000; the City of Houston voted… read more
Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas was dramatically transformed and improved by construction projects enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA) during the Great Depression. The park “was donated to the City of Houston in 1916. For more than twenty… read more
Houston’s historic Harris County District Attorney’s Building was constructed as a federal office building and [the Franklin Station] post office during the 1930s. The building, whose construction was funded by the Treasury Department, was completed in 1939. Harris County purchased… read more
Several large highway and road development projects, which included improvement work such as street paving, were undertaken in Houston during the Great Depression and were enabled by federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. PWA grants covered nearly half the construction… read more
The Houston Federation of Garden Clubs (HFGC) was founded by several Houstonian women in 1936 with the goal of building a garden center to hold their meetings and educational forums. That dream bore fruition five years later when Mayor Oscar… read more
The Houston Ship Channel officially opened in 1914 after the 52-mile long waterway that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to a tuning basin at the Port of Houston was dredged to a depth of 25 feet. The depth of… read more
Houston, Texas’s old Jefferson Davis Hospital was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. The PWA supplied a $1,003,500 grant toward the eventual $2,388,686 total cost of the project. Work occurred between March 1936… read more
Oncell: “In 1934, as part of a local Public Works [of] Art Project, three Houston area artists were commissioned to paint murals in the Houston Public Library (HPL) building. The murals found on the first and second floors of the… read more
A Public Works Administration package of school construction grants of $3,821,000 helped build Lamar High School in Southwest Houston, along with other schools in the city. The Moderne style school was completed in December 1937. There is a large bas-relief… read more
The Houston Independent School District and the Public Works Administration (PWA) erected the Adele Looscan Elementary School in 1936 under PWA project number TEX-1057R. Looscan is still an active elementary school for the Houston ISD.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed to the development Memorial Park. “At the close of the war, when the camp was abandoned, part of the site was acquired by the Hogg brothers, who, in 1924, turned 1,000 acres over to… read more
“The W.P.A. undertook construction of recreation buildings in Emancipation Park and Milby Park.”
The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Milroy Park Club House, which serves as a community center in Houston TX.
Robertson Stadium was “constructed as a joint project between HISD and the Works Progress Administration by the Fretz Construction Company.” Originally Named Public School Stadium it was completes in 1942. Houston Independent School District renamed the stadium Jeppesen Stadium. In… read more
The University of Houston’s old Science Building, now known as the Roy G. Cullen Building, was constructed as a New Deal project. Houston, a history and guide: “Directly opposite the reflection pool is the SCIENCE BUILDING (open day light hours,… read more
The Public Works Administration contributed $1,329,508 toward the construction of the Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall. The architect of record was Alfred C. Finn. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on November 4, 1936 and dedication was held on November 26,… read more
A large sewer construction project in Houston, Texas was enabled during the Great Depression byfederal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a grant covering nearly half the total cost of the project ($310,053 of $676,777, not adjusted for… read more
The University of Houston’s old Industrial Building, now known as the Technology Annex, was constructed with the assistance of the Work Projects Administration, a New Deal agency. Houston, a history and guide: “Newest of the units is the INDUSTRIAL BUILDING… read more
In 1936, the Texas Highway Department and the United States Bureau of Public Roads built an underpass to separate the grade of Wayside Drive and the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad (now Union Pacific).
The University of Houston’s old Industrial Building, now known as the Technology Annex, was constructed with the assistance of the Work Projects Administration, a New Deal agency. Houston, a history and guide: “Most of the heavily wooded campus was made… read more
