Constructed in 1941, with WPA labor, the Banita Creek Bridge crosses the waterway of the same name with three spans of reinforced concrete girder. The 100’-long bridge has a 24’-wide roadway with cantilevered sidewalks on both sides. The hand railing… read more
The federal National Youth Administration (NYA) built circular walls surrounding Barton Springs and created a terraced sunken garden. The site can be found along Barton Creek in Zilker Metropolitan Park, just off the Lady Bird Lake Bike Trail. There are… read more
This beautiful park is nestled in the “Lost Pines” area of Texas. The park was built as a CCC project and opened to the public in 1937. In September 2011 96% of the park was burned by a devastating wildfire;… read more
Hailed as the first major Works Progress Administration (WPA) project completed in Texas, what was then a bridge spanning the Colorado River along the primary link connecting Bastrop and Elgin, located on a farm-to-market road, opened in January 1936. Given… read more
In 1937 the Wichita Falls Times described a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in a photo caption: “a bath house … as an addition to city park facilities in Vernon.” The status and location of the project are unknown to Living… read more
The Electra city pool “was built in 1935-36 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the facility includes a stone building with native stone from the area.”
The historic Baytown Historical Museum building was originally constructed in 1936 as the city’s post office and Federal Building. Construction was funded by the federal Treasury Department. The building houses an example of New Deal artwork.
The historic Baytown Historical Museum building (formerly Federal Building / post office) houses an example of New Deal artwork: “Texas,” a fresco mural by Barse Miller. The mural was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was restored… read more
The State of Texas erected a historical marker in 2009 to commemorate this New Deal resettlement community. The text reads: “Named for its location between Beaumont and Port Arthur, Beauxart Gardens was developed during the Great Depression by the U.S…. read more
On October 31, 1935, the City of Austin accepted a grant from the Public Works Administration not to exceed $286,363 to cover 45% of the costs of building new schools, and making additions and repairs to existing schools. The voters… read more
The Bee County, Texas Courthouse was built in 1912. In 1941 a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project built an L-plan brick addition to the south side of the courthouse. The brick used to create the addition is nearly identical to… read more
Belvin Hall was the first student residence constructed on the campus of Sam Houston State University, then called Sam Houston State Teachers College. With an occupancy of 92, the building has remained a women-only residence since it opened. The Public… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted development work at Ben Ficklin Park in San Angelo, Texas. Work included $3,095 on a garden.
What is now Benson Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was constructed in 1937-8 with the assistance of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $37,933 grant for the project, whose total cost was $84,817. Construction began in Dec…. read more
In 1913 the City of Tyler purchased the land for Bergfeld Park. Starting in 1936, the Works Progress Administration made improvements to the park including a stone amphitheater, rock culverts, and a rock lined creek, restrooms, and tennis courts. The… read more
WPA funded two projects for the Bexar County Boys’ School in 1939. Construction of a greenhouse for the facility, which served as a “juvenile delinquent” training school was authorized in December 1939, with WPA funding $2,213 and Bexar County funding… read more
“Dramatic views off of the 200-foot bluff and from the CCC-built loop road are among the featured attractions of this 382-acre park. Early morning or sunset, joggers, walkers and cyclists circle the loop, enjoying these views as they exercise. An… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook mosquito control work in Tyler, Texas. Work included lining a creek bed with rubble masonry walls, and paved cement pan to keep down mosquitoes.
The National Youth Administration built the Blanco High School in 1940. Austin American Statesman Newspaper, December 19, 1940: “Blanco lays cornerstone for new building, built by National Youth Administration workers. The new high school started a year ago, is built of… read more
Blanco State Park is located in historic Blanco, Texas. The park offers camping, hiking, fishing and swimming and scenic views of the Blanco River. In 1933 local landowners donated just over 100 acres for the park. The CCC worked here… read more
The Marie Heineke Memorial Gymnasium was built in 1938-40 by Blinn College and the Work Projects Administration.
The state acquired the land for Bonham State Park in 1933 from the City of Bonham. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed the 261-acre park, landscaping the rocky, hilly terrain for erosion control and recreational purposes, and constructing an earthen dam… read more
Text on a historical marker at the school reads: “In 1880, two years before the City of Gainesville created a public school system for all its children, Island Sparks, a young Mulatto, taught the black children of the city. In… read more
In June 1938 the PWA approved an $8,181 grant toward the construction of Borger High School’s football stadium. However, due to delays in obtaining the grant the stadium had been already built. “The school board undoubtedly will seek to keep… read more
In 1935, the Meridian Tribune reported that a “contract for re-modeling the Bosque county courthouse [in Meridian, TX] and constructing a one-story addition was awarded … to O.K. Johnson, Waco contractor, for $44,113.00.” In 1934, the clock tower and hipped… read more
The Bosque River Bridge was constructed under a Works Progress Administration work-relief contract between 1940 and 1941. The bridge was as part of a larger project that created a new alignment of Texas State Highway 22 though Bosque County. The… read more
Text from the state historical marker reads: “Aurelius Delphus Bourland (1840-1904), a North Carolina native and a veteran of the Civil War, bought land here in 1873. A farmer and Primitive Baptist preacher, he first used this site as a… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps built the Boykin Springs Recreation Area in 1937 and 1938. The park is set in a forest of longleaf pine trees surrounding a nine-acre man-made. spring-fed lake. In the early 1900s this area was the center… read more
The Wichita Falls Boys Club (now the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls) at 1318 6th Street, Wichita Falls, TX, was dedicated on November 22, 1942. The one-story stone building was sponsored by the Rotary Club and constructed by… read more
Brackenridge Hall was completed in 1916. A fourth floor was constructed during the 1930s with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building, since demolished, has since been replaced by the Brackenridge Student Union.
This lenticular truss bridge was moved to historic Brackenridge Park in 1925. It had been constructed in 1890 on St. Mary’s Street over the San Antonio River by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company of East Berlin Connecticut. After a devastating… read more
“A low limestone perimeter wall built in 1936–1937 separates Broadway and the adjacent sidewalk from the green space in front of the Witte and Pioneer Hall. The wall, which runs the length of the property, was built by Witte museum… read more
The Reptile Farm had originally opened in 1933 in close proximity to the Witte Museum. It would move twice before coming to this final location in 1937 when permanent stone structures replaced the temporary structures made of planks, barbed wire… read more
The Brady Creek Bridge is a 270 foot long, 50 foot wide steel stringer bridge that carries US Highway 377 (also called N Bridge St) across Brady Creek in Brady, Texas. Jensen Construction Co. Inc. built the bridge in 1939… read more
Text from the state historical marker: The town of Brazoria began in 1828 as a port and trading center in Stephen F. Austin’s colony. Partially burned in 1836 during the Texas Revolution, it rebuilt and served as county seat until… read more
The Brazoria County Courthouse had undergone much damage after the 1932 storm that hit the Houston and Galveston area, having also been used as a refugee site during the storm. After investigations about whether the courthouse should be renovated, in… read more
“Constructed with locally available building materials in the traditions of the Rustic Style, the Brenham High School Gymnasium combines a native fieldstone veneer with metal factory-sash and massing reminiscent of the International Style. Ranging from 1 to 3 stories, the… read more
A local source states that brick road paving in Dalhart, Texas was undertaken as a WPA project. Additional information about this project is requested.
A city sponsored Works Progress Administration (WPA) project (14752) dismantled a hazardous steel truss bridge crossing a drainage ditch in Clarendon. The WPA then excavated and widened the channel and built a new reinforced concrete slab over masonry substructure bridge…. read more
