Utah Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Overlook shelter on Brian Head Peak in the Dixie National Forest in 1935.  The rustic stone shelter at 11,300 feet provides a panoramic view of the Cedar Breaks, which were declared a national monument by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933.  The CCC team also built the road up to the overlook. A CCC camp had been established at Zion National Park in 1933, and in 1934 the CCC set up a 'stub camp' (closed in the winter months) at Cedar Breaks. In 1935, work teams were sent into Dixie National Forest where they worked...

Several outhouses in Grouse Creek were erected by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939. The outhouses feature inscriptions in their cement foundations.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Panguitch High School in Panguitch, Garfield County School District. Docket # 1054-R (Utah).  

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive recreational improvements on Mt. Nebo, the highest and southern-most peak of the Wasatch Mountains.  The CCC teams worked out of three camps: F-9 at the south end of the Mt. Nebo Loop, F-3 at Hubble Canyon and F-40 near Provo, from 1933 to 1938 – and possibly to 1941 when the last camp closed. After building the Mt Nebo Loop Road (Scenic Byway), the CCC enrollees created campgrounds, picnic areas and trails. Not all this work can be identified precisely, but some can be verified from reliable sources. The CCC built an impressive rock retaining...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of a new high school in Payson, Utah, replacing the original school built in 1913.  That school building was, in turn, replaced by a new Payson High School in 1967.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive recreational improvements on Mt. Nebo, the highest and southern-most peak of the Wasatch Mountains.  The CCC teams worked out of three camps: F-9 at the south end of the Mt. Nebo Loop, F-3 at Hubble Canyon and F-40 near Provo, from 1933 to 1938 – and possibly to 1941 when the last camp closed. After building the Mt Nebo Loop Road (Scenic Byway), the CCC enrollees created campgrounds, picnic areas and trails. Not all this work can be identified precisely, but some can be verified from reliable sources. Payson Lakes Guard Station was built in...

The Pioneer Museum in Provo UT was built with substantial aid from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935-37.  It was started as a project of the Sons and Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, who ran out of funds by 1935.  The City Commission of Provo applied to the federal government and received a WPA grant of $11, 735.  The WPA provide the labor and the city the materials for the building, and the Sons & Daughters of the Pioneers raised money for the interior furnishings. The Pioneer Museum sits in the middle of North Park in Provo.  The building is...

The original structure (Circleville Elementary) dates to 1921 - 22 (Pope & Burton, architects). High school attendance in this very rural area grew dramatically during the 1920s due to a new state law requiring compulsory school attendance until age 18. Thus in 1926, high school students were moved to the Pope & Burton structure and it was renamed Piute High School. In 1946 a WPA-funded addition was built for high school industrial arts and home economics as well as the Circleville town board office. The addition was to the right of the Pope & Burton structure, and comparatively large. The doors...

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Plain City School gymnasium in Plain City, Weber School District. Docket # 1011-R (Utah). The architect of record was H. Piers and the contractor was Campion & Co. The condition of this structure is unknown to the Living New Deal.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Plymouth Grade School in Plymouth, Box Elder County. Docket # 1018-R (Utah). The architect of record was J. Nelson.

The historic post office in Beaver, Utah was constructed with Treasury Department funds in 1941. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

This New Deal post office was built in 1937. It remains in 'mint condition' to this day, with the interior looking exactly as it did in the 1930s (2017).  The building on is on the National Register of Historic Places (as part of the Helper Historic District) and marked with a cornerstone and a plaque. The plaque mistakenly attributes the building to the WPA, but all post offices were built by the Treasury Department at the time (as the cornerstone clearly states). It contains Jenn Magafan's 1941 mural, "Western Town," painted for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office in Tooele, Utah was constructed with Treasury Department funds ca. 1933-4. The building is still in service.

The historic post office in Beaver, Utah houses a fine example of New Deal artwork: "Life on the Plains," an oil-on-canvas mural by John W. Beauchamp. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The mural "Western Town" by Jenne Magafan was painted in 1941 under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and was a winner of the Treasury Section's 48-State Post Office mural competition. The mural is 25.5 x 43.5 feet and painted with oil-on-fiberboard.   It sits at the south end of the post office lobby and remains in pristine condition. 

The Provo River Project was initiated under the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of  1933 (almost surely as a Public Works Administration (PWA) funded project) and approved by President Roosevelt in late 1935.  The Salt Lake Aqueduct was approved in 1938.  Construction began in May 1938 and built by the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Most of the features were begun during the New Deal but completed after the Second World War. The key structure of the project, Deer Creek Dam, is located on the Provo River east of...

The PWA funded the construction of a pump house for the Syracuse water system. It is unclear whether the structure remains, but a 2014 City Council work session lists a tour of the Jensen Park Pump House on its agenda. It is possible this tour was historical in nature.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted work at Dinosaur National Monument at and near the Dinosaur Quarry at the western entrance to the monument, near Jensen, Utah.  WPA workers constructed a 535-foot drainage ditch, about 8 feet wide at bottom and 12 feet wide at top, faced with large, mortared sandstone blocks.   A bridge carries Quarry entrance road across the ditch. A verbal source on-site believes the bridge was also a New Deal construction project, but we have not been able to confirm that.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a recreation hall in Vernal, Utah during the Great Depression. The exact location and present status of the structure is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The Rich County courthouse replaced a 1888 courthouse that had been built for $2,479. Discussion began in May, 1940 when Raymond Ashton - at the county commisioners' request - presented a drawing for a new Rich County courthouse. He proposed a one story concrete building built with "W.P.A. labor, salvage material in the present building and by securing local timber" (Minutes, May 1940). Given the coming of winter and the unemployment situation, there was no disucussion and a unanimous vote. The county portion was estimated at $20,000 with the W.P.A. to pay all labor and $2550 towards materials for a...

The Works Progress Administration built the wall around the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Construction in the area was authorized in 1938 and the project was completed in 1941. Two plaques at the cemetery entrance mark the work of the WPA.  

WPA crews contributed to expanding Salt Lake City Municipal Airport, now Salt Lake City International. From the Salt Lake City International Airport history site: "At a cost of $52,000, Salt Lake City built an airport administration building that housed a passenger waiting room, mail room, airport manager's office, lunch room, weather observatory, radio control room and leased office space to airlines. A third runway was also added." It is unclear if the administration building survives today, but judging from the Salt Lake Tribune's 2015 photo retrospective, it appears to have been replaced with today's modern structure.

The Midvale Branch of the Salt Lake County library was constructed in 1940-41 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  The building housed a library in front and the County Library headquarters and book processing department in the back. An auditorium and stack addition was added in 1951. The cost was approximately $70,000, $45,000 of which was from the library budget and the remainder from the WPA.  The building design was single-story Streamline Moderne with a projecting central portion and a curved entrance.  The architects were Ashton and Evans of Salt Lake City, who were employed on several other New Deal projects in the...

Richard R. Lyman was a civil engineer and the vice-chairman of the Utah State Road Commission from 1908-1919. During the 1930s he was a member of an American Society of Civil Engineers commission that developed a grid system for street numbering to make it possible for any traveler to find an address in any city without the help of a map. In June 1936, Salt Lake County adopted the "Lyman System" of designating street names. Instead of the then-current system of designating a street with a name such as "Thirty-third South," the new signs bore the inscription "3300 S". The work...

Bonding ($36,000) for a new San Juan courthouse was put a successful vote in February 1920 after citizens realized that their neighboring county (Grand) was building a large new courthouse. Construction in Monticello began soon thereafter, and the courthouse was nearly ready for occupancy in late 1920 lacking only steam heat, plumbing (including toilet facilities, jail lavoratories, and hot water), and finished cement. And then it sat, partially completed for nearly 17 years: only four rooms were useable, and those without heat or modern plumbing. In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) approved $8000 to complete the courthouse. The county's portion was...

In early 1937, San Juan High School burned to the ground. With the insurance payment and a federal grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA), the county school district was able to erect a new school building. The large brick Moderne style school was completed in late 1938. Today, it is largely unchanged, both inside and out (a small porch roof hides the old High School name carved over the front door). The former high school now serves as the San Juan County School District administration building. (San Juan Record: 3/14/1937, 5/13/37, 1/20/1938, 7/21/38, 12/1/38)

A 160 foot wire and wood suspension bridge over the San Rafael river at Buckhorn Wash. The bridge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1937, and dedicated by then Utah Governor Henry H. Blood. The Swinging Bridge was the only bridge over the river until the early 1990′s when a new concrete bridge was built next to it. It is for pedestrian traffic only. The area is noted for dinosaur tracks and 2 - 6000 year old pictographs. Because of the remoteness of the location, it is only possible to visit with 4WD vehicles.

WPA crews completed the Sanpete County courthouse in Manti in 1937.  

"The Santaquin Junior High School, located at 75 W. 100 South in Santaquin, Utah, United States, was built in 1935 as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.  It is a two story brick school. Additions during c. 1950–60, while not compatible with PWA Moderne original section, are on the side and rear and do not detract greatly from the architectural appearance." (Wikipedia)

The WPA built this school from native stone in Modena. The town has withered to nearly nothing since; only five families remain. The school is on the Utah National Register of Historic Places (#85000806).

Magna, Utah received a new school as part of a New Deal project. We believe the agency involved to be the Works Progress Administration (WPA); however the exact location and present status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration funded the construction of an addition to a school building in Roosevelt, Duchesne County, Utah. (The town is named after T.R. not FDR) The school addition was designed by the architecture firm Scott & Welch and the contractor of record was Tolboe & Tolboe. The photograph from the National Archives does not specify the name of the school, but there may well have only been only one in Roosevelt at the time.  But, having viewed all the schools in Roosevelt UT in 2022, we are sure that this school building has since been...

"The Jordan School District Administration Building was built in 1935 as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. It was part of a $75,000 PWA project that also included rebuilding the fire-razed Highland Boy Elementary School at Bingham which included an auditorium." The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was also involved at this site. The current status of the historic building is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The gymnasium of the Spanish Fork school was paid for by the Public Works Administration  (PWA). The design is elegant Art Deco with exaggerated Neoclassical Moderne columns over red brick. Today, the building houses the Nebo School District offices.  It  was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The condition of the interior is unknown to us.

"Built in 1935, the Scipio Town Hall is one of over 480 public works buildings constructed in Utah under various New Deal programs during the Depression years of the 1930's and 40's. ... The Scipio Town Hall was intended for use as a town hall and as a meeting place for all civic and political functions in the community. Two Scipio men Will and Lew Critchley were the brick and stone masons on the building. Several years after construction, probably during the 1940's, the brick work on the front was added. ... The building was renovated in 1988 with funds...

The CCC operated camp F-6 on Soapstone Creek near Kamas. The site appears to have served as YMCA Camp Roger since 1948, though the extent to which CCC traces remain is unknown. Based on the link to the "Camp Roger, Then and Now" photograph, the YMCA appears to have occupied already extant cabins in 1948; if these were CCC structures it would suggest they are still in use.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of an addition to the South Cache High School in Hyrum, Cache County. The school was designed by the architecture firm K.C. Schaub of Logan, Utah. The contractor of record was Johnson & Mickelson of Logan, Utah.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the South Fork Ranger Station on the Alpine Loop Road (Highway 92), near the intersection of Highway 144, in 1933-34. The CCC enrollees who did the work were from Company 940 stationed in Camp F-5 at Granite Flat. The work was begun in the Summer of 1933 and a small CCC crew remained through the winter to finish work on the ranger station and the Timpanogos Cave trail and tunnel (Baldridge, p. 164). This is one of around three dozen ranger stations built by the CCC across Utah in the 1930s (Roper 2021).  South Fork Ranger...

Works Progress Administration (WPA) crews built the Salt Lake City Municipal Airport II, now known as South Valley Regional Airport, in 1942.

In 1935-37, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an art museum for the city of Springville UT.  The building was designed in the style of the Spanish Colonial Revival style by local architect Claud S. Ashworth. The Nebo School District donated the land, the town of Springville granted $29,000 in materials and tools, and the Mormon/LDS church offered another $20,000. The WPA contribution was $54,000, chiefly in labor costs. WPA workers also manufactured the decorative tile for the museum. The Springville Museum of Art is, in fact, the oldest museum in Utah for the visual fine arts. In 1964, a two story wing was...