Texas Sites

The Work Projects Administration constructed and improved 27.75 miles of SH 16, between Brackeen Drive and State Highway 254, and State Highway 254 in Palo Pinto County below Possum Kingdom Dam between 1940-1942. This section, the corridor from Brackeen Drive to State Highway 254, included the masonry bridge across the Brazos River, a masonry guard wall around Kimberlin Mountain, and 21 masonry culverts. Of the 21, 16 are still in original condition. The guard wall is approximately 1,800 feet long with limestone block crenellations spaced along the wall. Of the 129 original crenellations, 88 remain unaltered or undamaged and in original...

The construction of the Colorado River bridge was part of a larger THD undertaking to reroute SH 29 around Buchanan Dam, which was under construction beginning in 1931. The original roadway and the bridge across the Colorado at Bluffton were inundated by Lake Buchanan after completion of the dam in 1937. The bridge site was fixed 1 mile below the Buchanan Dam, at a location where a granite outcropping formed a ledge at the east bank of the river. This ledge was considered an ideal location for the eastern approach to the bridge. In a preliminary inspection report dated July 17,...

SH 78 bridge at Red River is the only surviving K-Truss bridge in Texas. It has an overall length of 2,108 feet, and provides a crossing between Fannin County, Texas and Bryan County, Oklahoma. The "eight riveted K-truss through spans, with two camelback pony truss spans at each end" (Lauderdale, 1996) was a joint project between the Texas Highway Department and the Oklahoma Highway Commission. Primarily designed by OHC engineers, the K-Truss is "meant to afford greater span length and strength" (Jensen). Kansas City Bridge Company were the contractors, and there is a roadside park on each side of the...

State Highway 79 Bridge at the Red River which connects Jefferson County, OK with Clay County, TX. "State highway #79 bridge at the Red River is a camelback pony truss bridge built in 1939... This type of bridge is rare and this particular example maintains a high degree of integrity. It is also important for the role it played in facilitating major economic development in the region.  Listed in the National Register, 12/20/1996."   (https://www.ocgi.okstate.edu) The exact source of federal financing is unclear, but an application was made to the Bureau of Public Roads.

On June 14, 1935, a devastating flood washed out the two truss spans and the center pier of the 1930 bridge of State Highway 9 across the Llano River in Mason County, Texas. The Texas Highway Department considered the reconstruction of the Llano River Bridge a priority as it isolated the town of Mason from the south. The Texas Highway Department applied to the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) for emergency relief highway funds provided for under Section 3 of the Hayden-Cartwright Act of 1934. In addition to extending federal relief funding established under the National Industrial Recovery Act, the...

The Works Progress Administration project 65-1-66-2583 removed the streetcar rails from Houston and Commerce Streets in downtown San Antonio in 1940. San Antonio streetcar service began on June 22, 1878. San Antonio's streetcar system reached its peak at ninety miles of track in 1926. As the Great Depression took hold, the declining amount of people living in downtown San Antonio, where the bulk of the streetcars' ridership occurred, were less able to buy tickets. Buses and automobiles were also adding to the competition for riders. San Antonio became the first major U.S. city to abandon streetcar service. The last car ran...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) hired local workers to build the Stephenson High School. The school replaced an older facility that no longer met the needs of a growing population the surrounding area. Dedicated in 1939, the new structure was a one-story limestone building with a metal hipped roof. The school was named after a popular student, Allen J. Stephenson. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. The structure is currently home to American Legion Post 290 and VFW Post 2933.

The Sterling County Courthouse was built in 1938 with assistance from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works under docket number TEX 1585-F. It has "wonderful Art Deco details of the local sheep and cattle-ranching enterprises and the ubiquitous cactus.” (waymarking)

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.

Stinson Field was established by the Stinson family at this location in 1916. The family were accomplished aviators and had been running a flying school at nearby Fort Sam Houston prior to leasing this 500 acre plot of land from the city of San Antonio. The field was the training sight of many military aviators before, during and after World War I. Charles Lindberg kept an airplane at the field while he was stationed at Brooks Field. The field was briefly known as Windburn Field in memory of a reporter who died in an airplane crash; the field was re-named...

Stoddard Hall was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. "The first Stoddard Hall was the original state dormitory at TWU and was completed in 1908. The current building was completed in 1936 and now is home to the College of Professional Education."

The Stone Cottage in Addison, Texas, originally called the Addison Community Building, was built by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) between 1939 and 1940 as the permanent meeting place for the Addison Home Demonstration Club. The official project number was 65-1-66-362. The building originally cost $4,600, which the Addison Home Demonstration Club helped raise through bake sales. The building is rock veneer construction on a concrete foundation. It had a kitchen, restrooms and fireplace. The building was the original home of the Addison Centre Theatre until it fell into disrepair. In 1998 the City Council voted to remodel the cottage at a...

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 inflation). Work occurred between December 1937 and May 1939. (PWA Docket No. TX 1142)

The works Progress Administration manufactured 18", 24" amd 36" diameter reinforced concrete pipes on site, dug trenches and installed the pipes underground for a storm sewer system in Luling. The official project number was 665-66-1-161.

Alamo Stadium (previously submitted) was about to open in 1940 when the City of San Antonio applied for WPA funding to improve the streets in the surrounding neighborhood of the stadium. Streets were widened and repaved and simultaneously were developed into a new system of more convenient routes to the new Stadium. This was done in anticipation of the vehicles that would be coming on game days to the facility. The marker embedded in the curb is partially obscured by subsequent layers of asphalt. It gives a date of 1938-1940; the stadium opened September 20, 1940.  

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted street paving work in Cleveland, Texas in 1935/6.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted street paving work in Liberty, Texas in 1935/6.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) paved streets on the south side of Palestine, Texas in the fall of 1940. Some of the streets paved were Angelina Street, Michaeux Avenue and Highland Avenue. The WPA used an iron ore base with an asphalt top.

By 1923 only about five miles of Tyler's 130 miles of street were paved and most residential streets remained unpaved. A bond for street paving passed in 1925 by Tyler provided funding for continued street paving, some of it in south central residential areas. When Federal money became available in the 1930s, the City applied for grants to continue the paving efforts. Paving using both brick and asphalt was conducted by the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Progress Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the mid-to-late 1930s (City of Tyler Engineering Records). By 1942 about 20 miles...

From the Forest Service website: "Stubblefield Lake Recreation Area was built in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Just an hour north of Houston, in the Sam Houston National Forest, Stubblefield offers great outdoor experiences, including camping, canoeing, fishing, hiking and picnicking."

The campus of Sul Ross State University was greatly developed during the 1930s as a result of efforts on the part of several New Deal agencies, including the Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Per the El Paso Herald-Post: A modern state institution of higher learning in the far-western "Big Bend of Texas,” Sul Ross State College faces its 20th anniversary in 1940 with a college plant and campus of first rank among state educational centers Opening of a new $150,000 PWA dormitory for women this year has brought...

Among the numerous construction and improvement projects undertaken at Sul Ross State University during the Great Depression was the construction of the original outdoor theater at Kokernot Lodge by the Civil Works Administration (CWA). Per the El Paso Herald-Post: Earliest of relief projects on the campus ,a CWA program o 1934, and one of the most interesting in background is the outdoor theater at Kokernot Lodge, a park site presented to the college in 1929 by the: L. G. Kokernot heirs of Alpine. The stage is of native stone with seating capacity for 1200. It is flanked by dressing rooms and...

Sul Ross State University, named for former Texas Governor Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross, was founded in 1917. The university built Lawrence Hall, also named after Sul Ross, in 1938 to be a dormitory for 116 female students. The Public Works Administration provided the university a loan of $83,000 and a grant of $67,900 for the construction of the building. In 1996, Lawrence Hall was converted for use as an academic facility, housing the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Per the El Paso Herald-Post in 1939: "On a sunny south slope the new dormitory commands a sweeping view of the rolling...

A men's dormitory was one of multiple residence projects constructed at Sul Ross State University as a result of New Deal efforts by way of the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA supplied a $36,000 loan and $15,886 grant for the project, whose total cost was $57,406. Construction began in May and ended in December 1935, though the dormitory opened in 1936. Per the El Paso Herald-Post: Men students in Sul Ross are provided with modern housing accommodations in the men’s residence hall completed as a PWA project in 1936 at a cost of $68,000. Like most of the buildings on the...

A series of 14 stone cottages, later known as the "rock cottages," was among the multiple residence projects constructed at Sul Ross State University as a result of New Deal efforts by way of the Public Works Administration (PWA). The cottages were built as part of a larger men's dormitory project that was the construction of a larger dormitory and band home. PWA supplied a $36,000 loan and $15,886 grant for the project, whose total cost was $57,406. Construction began in May and ended in December 1935. PWA Docket No. TX 5605. Per the El Paso Herald-Post: Built as a part of...

The Sulphur Creek Bridge is a three span steel stringer bridge that carries U.S. Highway 281 over Sulphur Creek in Lampasas, Texas. W. W. Vann & C0. built the bridge in 1934 under the direction of the Texas Highway Department and the United States Bureau of Public Roads.

"The theater originally was constructed in 1930 and expanded and renovated in 1937 using Texas Centennial funding. The architect for the 1930 project was Harvey P. Smith, who was joined by George Willis and Charles T. Boelhauwe to design the 1937 project. The old quarry wall forms the western (back) edge of the theater site, providing an open-air setting with natural acoustic features. The 193- design included stage and classical wings, while the 1937 expansion added dressing rooms and stage support buildings, restrooms, seating, and a concrete floor for the seating area. The 1937 project was constructed by WPA workers, while...

The Sweetwater Hospital in Nolan County, eventually renamed Simmons Memorial Hospital, was the first official hospital in Sweetwater, Texas. The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the SweetWater Memorial Hospital in 1936. Sweetwater Hospital was an L-shaped one-story brick hospital, which cost around $85,000 in bond issues. The PWA funded the construction of  a hospital with the most "modern practices'' and hospital designs. The vicinity could accommodate up to 34 patients, which was enough for the small town, and included medical rooms, maternity wards, operating rooms, and air conditioning. However, the city needed to solicit bids in January for...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a swimming pool and bathhouse in Swenson Park in Spur TX. The pool was built between 1935 and 1937 and closed in 2009. A WPA marker in front of the bathhouse reads: "Works Progress Administration  1935-1937."

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed a pool in Pearsall, Texas. The entrance to the pool area is marked. Rock wall, rock decorations at edge of pool, and rock wall on one side of pool filtering equipment. The pool is located behind the Pearsall Junior High.

The 285,000 gallon concrete pool was started August 25, 1936 and completed a year later. It was officially dedicated in 1938. Total cost of construction for the pool, walkways, rock house for living quarters for the caretakers, showers, concession room, filtration plan, and smaller rock clubhouse for the golf course was $36,000, of which the city funded $5,000.

Per the Odessa American, 1939, the Public Works Administration (PWA) supported the financing of the construction of the former public swimming pool in McCamey, Texas: The new swimming pool at McCamey opened June 2, 1939. The new $50,000 swimming pool was built by Upton County as a PWA project. The new pool, recently completed, is one of the finest of its kind in this section of the state. It Is modern in every detail, and is now open to the public free of charge. It is equipped with the latest filtration system that will assure swimmers of pure water at all...

The University of North Texas's Marquis Hall was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. "1936 was also the date when construction started on a new library building. The first library, now known as Curry Hall, had been opened in 1912. The new structure, currently known as Sycamore Hall, was located on Avenue B and opened in 1937. Government funds made it possible for construction to take place and in 1938 a grant from the Carnegie Corporation helped North Texas to purchase books." The building which was dedicated on April 27, 1937.

Sycamore Park received extensive improvements with assistance from the WPA and the NYA. Pictured here is a WPA shelter and drinking fountain built in 1935-36. The structures were designed by Hare & Hare of Kanas City, Missouri. The Fort Worth Park Department's 1937-38 Annual Report details later New Deal improvements to the park: "Through an agreement with the Board of Education, an area in the southeast section of this park was set aside for an amphitheater which is now under construction by the WPA. This will not only be an addition to the park facilities but will be an additional feature to...

When the school for African American students burned in 1935, Belton sought a federal grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA) to replace the school and repair and renovate three other schools. PWA project 1431 for a grant of $13,590 was awarded 9/25/1935. Newspaper items used the terms PWA and WPA in referencing the new T. B. Harris School and repairs to the other city schools, but total amounts equal the cited costs and dates in the Texas region PWA records and it seems evident that the funds were provided by the Public Works Administration. Funds were secured in the...

The Works Progress Administration built the Taylor County Agriculture Building in Abilene, Texas between 1938 and 1939. The building then became the Taylor County Welfare Office for a number of years. The building's current use is unknown. Anecdotes tell that the stone in the building came from Abilene's 1895 jail. The jail was demolished as another WPA project.

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 (open workdays), north east of the central quadrangle. The first of a six-structure center planned for industrial training in a proposed north quadrangle, the one-story building harmonises in design with the other edifices and, like them, is finished in Texas limestone. Over-all dimensions are 310 feet by 150 feet. Following the industrial style, windows almost completely encircle the building. Its central facade...

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 Unvisited Dallas by Noah Jeppson: Soon after the Terminal Annex was completed, three murals were commissioned and a national design competition was held. From an entry field of 149 applicants regionalist painter Peter Hurd — who rose to national fame in the 1930s — won the anonymous competition (the winning designs were displayed with all other entries at the Dallas Museum...