Texas Sites

Like other public buildings from the 1930s, the design and construction of the Austin U.S. Courthouse were part of the federal construction programs enacted to reduce unemployment during the Great Depression. Most notable among the programs was the Public Works Administration that provided thousands of jobs and funding for public service projects; one of the recipients was the Austin U.S. Courthouse. In June 1934, U.S. Congressman J. P. Buchanan requested an appropriation of $415,000 for the construction of a U.S. courthouse in Austin. Groundbreaking took place on September 16, 1935. The building was formally dedicated and opened to the public on...

Artist Tom Lea was commissioned in 1938 to paint the "Pass of the North" mural for the Federal Courthouse in El Paso. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts funded the project. Artist Milford Zornes spoke about Tom Lea's art at the El Paso Courthouse: “Both are very fine and an inspiration to me. The Tom Lea especially pleased me. It was in beautiful color harmony with the room. So beautiful and skillfully painted. To me the idea of going through a country, feeling its characteristic personality, then being able to see in the vicinity the work of a painter who has interpreted...

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 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 Terminal in October 1916 and was also operating five miles of track within Dallas. At the peak of its usage, as many as eighty trains stopped each day at the station. In 1936, the Texas Highway Department with funding from the United States Bureau of Public Roads built a triple underpass to separate the grade of the Union Terminal Company track...

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 available through donations of the Settegast and Ben Taub estates, of 75 acres and 35 acres respectively. The school board purchased a small tract. On the grounds are 101 varieties of trees and shrubs. This campus in 1941 was being improved by a large-scale landscaping program designed by Hare and Hare of Kansas City, Missouri, in cooperation with the Work Projects...

Multiple New Deal agencies, including the Public Works Administration (P.W.A.), Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), were involved in dramatically developing and transforming what was then the North Texas State Teacher's College (now University of North Texas - Denton TX) in Denton. Federal assistance was responsible for several new buildings on campus in addition to other infrastructural developments.

The student body of the University of Texas increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. The university added Andrews Dormitory for women and Roberts Dormitory for men in 1936. The Public Works Administration provided a grant of $114,000 and a loan of $354,000 for these two buildings of which $239,000 went to build Andrews. The university named Andrews Dormitory for Jessie Andrews, the first woman to graduate from UT (1886). Andrews was the third dormitory built for women on-campus. It opened in September 1936 to house approximately 118 students. The building...

"The student body of the University of Texas increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. Carothers Dormitory for girls was one of the first buildings constructed. It is three stories and a basement in height and provides 61 double bedrooms, living room, dining room, matron's suite, staff bedrooms, and the necessary kitchens and service rooms. The building is semi-fireproof, the exterior walls being brick trimmed with stone and stucco. It was completed in March 1937 at a construction cost of $250,572 and a project cost of $264,923."

Beginning in 1939, the university housed its athletes in Hill Hall. The five story building (including basement) is of Spanish Renaissance style with red roof and tan bricks. The Public Works Administration provided a grant of $46,636 and a loan of $57,000 to cover the cost of construction. When originally opened the building housed 84 men. Hill Hall is named for Dr. Homer Barksdale Hill of Austin who volunteered to treat UT athletes from 1893 until his death on July 18, 1923. As its athletic programs grew, the university added Moore Hall in 1955, just south of Hill Hall and connected to...

The University of Texas opened on September 15, 1883 with the completion of its Victorian style main building. The university was funded by a combination of state appropriations and annual distributions from the Permanent University Fund (PUF), an endowment of 2.1 million acres of land in West Texas. Initially, the PUF provided minimal income from leasing the land for grazing cattle, but when the first oil was discovered on the land on May 28, 1923, the university was set to receive a windfall. However, it was not until 1930, that all the details were worked out on how the money...

Due in part to the growing number of men returning to college after World War I, the student body of the University of Texas at Austin increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. Plans for Prather Dormitory for men were approved by the Board of Regents in September 1935. The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the building with a grant of $110,454 and loan of $135,000. The cornerstone of the building marks the building as "Project No. 9229-Y of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works." Now called Prather Residence...

The student body of the University of Texas increased from 6,000 in 1920 to 10,000 in 1930, necessitating an extensive building program for the university. The university added Andrews Dormitory for women and Roberts Dormitory for men in 1936. The Public Works Administration provided a grant of $114,000 and a loan of $354,000 for these two buildings of which $220,000 went to build Roberts. The university named Roberts Dormitory in honor of Oran Milo Roberts who served as Governor of Texas from 1878 to 1883. The building is of Spanish Renaissance style architecture with cream bricks and a red tile roof...

As part of the planning for the 1936 Texas Centennial, academics, citizens and other politicians desired to create a state museum for Texas. They wanted the museum to contribute to the conservation of the historic treasures of Texas and also to the educational system of the state. The American Legion Texas Centennial Committee, The University of Texas at Austin and Texas Congressman James "Buck" Buchanan worked together to secure $300,000 from the Public Works Administration for the Texas Memorial Museum. In addition, the Legislature of the State of Texas appropriated $225,000 for furnishing and equipping the museum and for gathering and...

The PWA built two dormitories in 1936 for what was then called the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy. The two dorms are Benedict and Worrell Halls, both of which are still standing. The school's newspaper, The Prospector, reported in April 1936 that "Construction started April 15, 1936 on the two PWA allocated dormitories for 102 men and women students," and that school officials believed the new dormitories would help attract more and stronger students to the school.

Originally called Davis Hall, this building was a PWA project for a dormitory at North Texas Agricultural College in Arlington, TX. The building is now known as Brazos House and the college is now known as the University of Texas at Arlington. It was dedicated in 1936. Brazos House has been demolished and turned into a campus park.

The Civil Works Administration built two bridges in 1934 to carry Shoal Creek Boulevard over Shoal Creek. The Upper Shoal Creek Bridge structure consists of a shallow concrete arch between concrete piers. The Lower Shoal Creek Bridge structure consists of flat concrete slabs between concrete piers. The two lane bridges are open to traffic and are contributing structures to the Old West Austin Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 12, 2003.

The US 190 Bridge at the Colorado River conveys U.S. Highway 190 over the Colorado River at the Lampasas and San Saba county line west of Lometa, linking the cities of Lampasas and San Saba, the county seats. The Texas Highway Department (THD) designed the bridge. The bridge was constructed by Cage Brothers & L.A. Turner between 1939 and 1940. The Colorado River bridge was constructed to replace the former bridge, known as the Red Bluff Bridge, damaged in a severe flood in July 1938. The THD district engineer believed that the damaged bridge would be too costly to rebuild. THD...

The US 281 Bridge at the Brazos River is a through truss bridge consisting of one three-span continuous unit 656 1/2 feet long and 12 steel I-beam approach spans, each 40 feet long, for an overall length of 1,138 feet.The three spans form a continuous Warren truss with top chords resembling the curve seen in suspension bridges The bridge provides a crossing over the Brazos River on U.S. Highway 281 in southeastern Palo Pinto County. By September 1938, the Brazos River bridge project had been placed on the 1939 Regular Federal Aid Program. Texas Highway Department engineers designed the bridge. The...

A power/waterworks project in Littlefield, Texas was undertaken in 1935 with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. provided a $36,000 loan and $13,773 grant for the project, whose total cost was $48,676. P.W.A. Docket No. TX 2329

From the Uvalde NFH website: Establishment of the hatchery originated from a 100 acre land donation by the County of Uvalde in 1935. This donation came shortly after the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934 which allowed for the acceptance of land donations to be used for the protection, rearing, stocking, and increase of game supply. Construction began on October 1, 1935 under a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program, and was mostly complete in 1937, with commencement of operations beginning in 1938. Today the hatchery is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and focuses on propagation efforts to promote...

The 1937 Van Zandt Courthouse was principally funded by the Public Works Administration at a cost of $142,000. The project provided much needed jobs for many unemployed citizens in Canton, Texas. The three story limestone structure has a cast stone veneer exterior with Moderne and Art Deco details.

The original Vereins-Kirche (Society Church) was the first public building in Fredericksburg. It was used for church services by the different denominations in early Fredericksburg. “The Vereins-Kirche was also used as Fredericksburg's first school, established under Leyendecker in 1847, and also as a town hall, a fortress, a sanctuary, and, in 1896, a pavilion for Fredericksburg's fiftieth anniversary celebration. In 1897, however, having fallen into disuse and disrepair and regarded as an obstruction to traffic on Main Street, the Vereins-Kirche was torn down. When the Gillespie County Historical Society was formed in 1934, its first goal was the construction of...

The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) employed hundreds of men constructing what was known as "Veribest Road" in 1934-5. The road is likely Farm-to-Market Road 380.

San Antonio's Board of Commissioners created the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) on June 17, 1937. On September 1, 1937, President Roosevelt signed the United States Housing Act of 1937. This created the United States Housing Authority (USHA) and provided $500 million for subsidies to be paid from the U.S. government to local public housing agencies (LHAs) like SAHA to improve living conditions for low-income families. SAHA made applications to the USHA for funds and the USHA agreed to provide financing for five projects; Alazan Courts, Apache Courts, Lincoln Heights Courts, Wheatley Courts and Victoria Courts. San Antonio enforced segregation in...

Originally the Fine Arts Building, Texas Woman University's Visual Arts Building was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds in 1936.

W. C. Stripling Middle School was originally constructed as W. C. Stripling High School in 1927. In 1933-34, the grounds were landscaped by the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration FERA), and the Texas Relief Administration. The landscaping was designed by Hare & Hare of Kansas City, MO.   It created a raised and level area on the north side of the school, held in place by a ~5-foot buff sandstone retaining wall (and steps). There are tennis courts above the wall and a football field with running track below.  It is not certain if those were part of...

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 on the east and west ends of the original building, extending the main hallways which provided a long-awaited art room on the first floor as well as a chemistry lab and choir suite. On the east end were a biology lab, physics lab, woodshop, basement facilities for the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), and a football locker room, so that student...

In June 1933, using a design by architect Robert H. H. Hugman, workmen from the Civilian Conservation Corps, began building walkways and bridges along Walnut Branch, a small tributary of the Guadalupe River, and lining the slopes of the waterway with curving stone retaining walls. Dams crossed by stepping stones, low falls, and quiet pools were built along the natural course of the waterway that passes along the edge of the city's downtown. The park eventually fell into neglect during a severe drought in the 1950s, though the main spring never dried up. Fear that mosquitoes breeding in the small ponds...

Two construction projects for the Texas state highway department were undertaken in 1934 in Del Rio, Texas, with the assistance of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. P.W.A. Docket Nos. TX 4233 and 4506. Maps suggest that this is the property along the south side of East Gibbs St. at the intersection of Ave. E (west side). The status of the original facilities is currently unknown to Living New Deal, although a building of similar dimensions to the below-described office building still exists at that site, presuming it was expanded during the 1960s; it bears an internal plaque from 1969. Per the...

The Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works granted Warren school district $27,000 to build a new school and other facilities. The district built the Warren School in 1935. The firm of Steinman, Steinman & Golemon, better known for their Art Deco or Modern designs, chose a variation of the Italian Renaissance Revival style for the school. The school district used the building for classrooms until 1988, when it was converted to storage space. A plaque placed within the entry on the right lists building construction information, including the architects, contractor, and “Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works Project No. 2056.” Although...

The current Washington County Courthouse in Brenham, Texas is the fourth courthouse constructed for the county. Architect Travis Broesche designed the 3-1/2 story building in an Art Deco style with a limestone veneer over structural steel. The courthouse was built with Works Progress Administration assistance in 1939 by contractor C.L. Browning, Jr. There is minimal ornamentation except for light stands and cast aluminum eagles at the entries.

The small frontier town of Washington, Texas entered history on March 2, 1836 when representatives of the largest settlements in Texas met inside an unfinished building near the banks of the Brazos River to declare independence from Mexico. When independence was gained, some of those delegates lobbied to designate Washington as the permanent capital of the new Republic of Texas. However, that honor went to Austin, and by the end of the nineteenth century, Washington was little more than a ghost town. In the 1910s, community groups and influential citizens lobbied Texas legislators to make the state acquire sites related...

A waterworks construction project in Pecos, Texas was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $230,000 loan and $64,895 grant toward the $294,953 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between March and December 1935. (PWA Docket No. TX 5579)

A waterworks construction project in Rankin, Texas was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $22,000 loan and $18,000 grant toward the $39,527 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between Oct. 1938 and Nov. 1939. The depth of the work is unclear to Living New Deal though it is likely that it involved the construction of the water tower at the NW corner of Main St. and 12th Ave. (PWA Docket No. TX 1429)

A waterworks construction project was undertaken in Sonora, Texas with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $40,090 grant toward the project, whose total cost was $103,723. Work occurred between December 1937 and June 1938. (PWA Docket No. TX W1226)

The WPA began construction on a "new elevated water storage tank" for the town of Taylor, Texas in early 1936. Replaced in 2009 and dismantled soon after, the old water tower resided just south and west from its replacement on the north side of West 12th Street in Murphy Park. 2009 satellite imagery accessible through Google Earth shows both locations.

"The city’s first modern water works system included a redevelopment of the Town Well and a 60,000 gallon, 130 foot tall water storage tank. This project was completed in 1935 by the Public Works Administration. Both the well and the storage tank still exist but are no longer operational." (https://www.roundrocktexas.gov)

"With several WPA projects completed work has been started at Cisco on a $30000 water treatment plant, that city's most important public works undertaking. Forty-five men are employed on the project During construction the city Is using raw water from Lake Cisco." The location of this project is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

A waterworks construction project in Barstow, Texas was undertaken in 1938-9 with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. provided a $31,000 loan and $25,363 grant for the project, whose total cost was $55,967. It is likely that Barstow's current water tower, located on San Marcos Street between Mackey and Briggs, was constructed at this time. P.W.A. Docket No. TX 1641

In 1933 Linden, the county seat of Cass County, had no sanitary water or sewer systems. When fire broke out in the county courthouse in August of that year, the only way to try and extinguish it was by hand pumping water from local wells and citizens forming bucket brigades to get water to the site. In the same year, typhoid fever plagued the town. This was blamed on the water wells being shallow and ofte n located close to barns and outhouses. The city commissioners made a decision to build a city-wide water and sewer system, which was to include...