Tyler Sites

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 city renovated the amphitheater in 2017 with a new stage and seating arrangement.

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 $125,000 cost of Tyler City Hall was financed in part by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The city dedicated the Art Deco styled building on August 3, 1939. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 2007.

The Civil Works Administration completed the Agriculture Building at the "East Texas fair grounds" in 1934. The location and status of this structure is currently unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the National Youth Administration (NYA) completed work for the Fair Park in Tyler TX. This is the location where the East Texas State Fair is held. In 1940 many old buildings were demolished and replaced by WPA workmen, including the headquarters building. Ornamental fence set around the pavilion and ornamental spiral staircases was made by NYA shops in Marshall.

The historic federal courthouse and former post office in Tyler was built with Treasury Department funds in 1933. The building, located at the northeast corner of W. Ferguson St. and N. Bois D'Arc Ave. has since been expanded to the east.

The school is a brick building erected in 1924. There is a rubble rock retaining wall on two sides and a rubble rock stairway. An article entitled "Smith County WPA Projects Get Approval" from Tyler (Texas) Daily Courier Times dated 8/5/1935. "One project of considerable interest to Tyler provides for the landscaping and improvements of the Gary school ground on South Chilton, at approximate cost of $10,000 to $12,000. The plans provide for making the grounds one of the most beautiful in Texas, according to Superintendent J.M. Hodges. They call for a retaining wall around sections washed away, shrubbery around the...

The Carnegie Public Library in Tyler opened October 3, 1904. Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie provided a $15,000 donation to construct the building. With two large rooms on the first floor and an auditorium called Carnegie Hall on the second, the library was designed to hold 12,000 books and be operated by one librarian. An expansion in 1936 doubled its size, courtesy of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. The addition carefully reproduced the elements of construction on both the exterior and interior. This was made possible by a $25, 000 WPA grant. At the same time, modern lighting and Venetian blinds...

The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at Tyler, Texas's Oakwood Cemetery during the 1930s.

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...

The Tyler Little Theater opened on May 16, 1939. It was built with funds from private donations, the City of Tyler and the Works Progress Administration. Designed by in the late Art Deco style by architect Shirley Simmons and constructed by R.L. Clanahan, the brick building featured two auditoriums. When World War II began, there were no longer enough men to continue performances and the theater shut down. The building is currently used as a church.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden in Tyler TX. A historical marker at the site reads: "The property that is now home to the Tyler Rose Garden was first purchased by the City of Tyler in 1912 for the construction of a park and fairgrounds. After many years and at the urging of the former American Rose Society President Dr. Horace McFarland, an application to the Works Project Administration (WPA) was made in 1938 to fund the construction of a municipal rose garden. The $181,255 federal grant was thought to be the largest municipal park and rose garden...

Tyler State Park was developed by CCC Company 2888 from 1935-1941: "Set into the Piney Woods of East Texas, Tyler State Park reflects two major park development efforts. The first, directed by landscape architect Ben K. Chambers, involved extensive forest reclamation and land rehabilitation that included tree planting, development of a road system, and construction of a dam and lake. Architect Joe C. Lair oversaw the other effort, which focused on the development of essential park buildings. Particularly noteworthy, the architect’s designs represent a clear break from the National Park Service rustic style so often used at CCC parks, including many...