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Projects in Seattle

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Montlake Boulevard Pedestrian Overcrossing – Seattle WA

montlake03

A Public Works Administration grant helped to fund construction of the Montlake Boulevard Pedestrian Overcrossing on the campus of the University of Washington. The bridge provided a safer pedestrian connection between the main part of the campus west of Montlake… read more

Project type: Sidewalks and Stairs, Infrastructure and Utilities
Agency:

Montlake Bridge Improvements – Seattle WA

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) supplied labor for the painting of Seattle’s historic Montlake Bridge in 1934.

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency: Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Montlake Playfield, Shelter House, and Community Club – Seattle WA

The Montlake Playfield and Shelter House were constructed partially on fill in former marshlands on the shores of Portage Bay between 1933 and 1936. In the 1910s and 1920s, houseboats moored there, and Dahlialand, a local garden store, utilized nearby… read more

Project type: Athletic Courts and Fields, Parks and Recreation
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Naval Reserve Armory – Seattle WA

From the National Register of Historic Places nomination file: “Built on the eve of World War II, on the southwest shore of Seattle’s Lake Union, the Naval Reserve Armory is a historically and architecturally significant structure closely associated with the… read more

Project type: Military and Public Safety
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

North Queen Anne Dr. Bridge – Seattle WA

A grant from the Public Works Administration helped fund the construction of a new bridge to carry North Queen Anne Drive across the Wolf Creek ravine in Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill district. Additional funding for the bridge, which cost $66,118,… read more

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

Northwest Fisheries Science Center Improvements – Seattle WA

“Twenty-five men from the WPA rolls will begin work Monday, November 8, on the final stages of the grading and landscaping at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries laboratory, 2725 Montlake Boulevard, near the Seattle Yacht Club, it was learned yesterday… read more

Project type: Civic Facilities
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Pioneer Square Totem Pole – Seattle WA

This totem pole stands in the middle of historic Pioneer Square, known as the “first neighborhood of Seattle”. The Pioneer Square Totem Pole stands tall but unobtrusive in the middle of this square. It is actually a replica of a… read more

Project type: Art Works, Sculpture and Bas Relief
Agency: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Railroad Avenue (former) Improvements – Seattle WA

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) worked to improve Seattle’s former Railroad Avenue ca. 1933-4. Railroad Avenue was later replaced by the Alaskan Way.

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency: Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Salmon Bay Bridge – Seattle WA

The Salmon Bay Bridge was constructed under the New Deal in 1934.

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency:

Schmitz Park Bridge – Seattle WA

The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds provided funding for the construction of the Art Deco-accented bridge carrying SW Admiral Way above Schmitz Park. Construction occurred between 1936 and 1937. The PWA provided a grant of $68,200; the total cost… read more

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency: Public Works Administration (PWA)

Schurman Rock, Camp Long – Seattle WA

“This major attraction at Camp Long was designed by Clark Schurman. His dream was to build a human-made mountain incorporating every potential rock climbing problem into its design. After taking a winter to make a clay model of the rock,… read more

Project type: Parks and Recreation
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Seattle Parks Construction – Seattle WA

As one of many WPA and PWA projects in Washington state: “$307,750 was allocated to build parks in rapidly developing areas in Seattle. The parks were constructed between August of 1938 and December of 1939.”

Project type: Parks and Recreation
Agency:

Seward Park Construction – Seattle WA

The Civil Works Administration (WPA) constructed a log cabin at Seward Park in 1934.

Project type: Parks and Recreation
Agency: Civil Works Administration (CWA)

South Seattle Playground Improvements – Seattle WA

In 1939 and 1940, WPA workers made several improvements to the South Seattle Playground, beginning with the demolition of the four-story former South Seattle School building, which had closed in 1932 but remained on the site. Much of the brick… read more

Project type: Parks and Recreation
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Spokane St. Bridge (former) Improvements – Seattle WA

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) worked to improve Seattle’s former Spokane Street Bridge ca. 1933-4. The bridge has since been replaced.

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, bridges, and tunnels
Agency: Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Terminal 91 Improvements – Seattle WA

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 announced: A project, “giving employment to 150 men, will operate in Seattle cleaning up Smith Cove Piers 40 and 41. It is designed to lead the way to the modernization of these two… read more

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Maritime: Harbors, Ports & Lighthouses
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

University of Washington Campus – Seattle WA

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 stated: “The finishing touches to the creation of what is said will be the most beautiful college campus in tho west will begin this week with the opening operations of a new Works… read more

Project type: Colleges and Universities, Education and Health
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

University Station Post Office – Seattle WA

Seattle’s historic University Station post office was constructed ca. 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses New Deal murals, is still in use today.

Project type: Civic Facilities, Federal Facilities, Post Offices
Agency: Treasury Department

University Station Post Office Murals – Seattle WA

Multiple Section of Fine Arts murals hang in Seattle’s University Station post office. The murals by Jacob Elshin were painted in 1939 and are entitled Historical Review of Education and Present Day Education and Present Day Education. The murals are… read more

Project type: Art Works, Murals
Agency: Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA)

Van Asselt School Playground – Seattle WA

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) worked to develop and improve the playground at Seattle’s Van Asselt School. A photo at the U of Washington shows a field of stumps and clearing efforts with the caption “State of Wash., E.R.A…. read more

Project type: Parks and Recreation, Playgrounds
Agency: Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Washington Park Arboretum – Seattle WA

The Washington Park Arboretum is a public park, run as a joint project between the University of Washington and the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. “In 1933, the Public Works Administration did some rough clearing in Washington Park, but… read more

Project type: Parks and Recreation
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Water System Improvements – Seattle WA

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 states: “Don G. Abel, State Director of the Works Progress Administration today announced approval of a $148,458 project to improve the water distribution system in the Kenwood district, in Seattle. More than 200… read more

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Water supply
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

West Prospect Street Sewers – Seattle WA

“A Seattle sewer project, at West Prospect [Street] and Van Buren [location unknown] was allotted $1,140” in WPA funds in late 1937.

Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Sanitation and water disposal
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

West Queen Anne Playfield Improvements – Seattle WA

WPA workers completed several improvement projects at West Queen Anne Playfield between 1936 and 1939. The largest of these projects was the construction of a combination shelter house, grandstand, and baseball backstop near the intersection of West Blaine Street and… read more

Project type: Parks and Recreation, Playgrounds
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse – Seattle WA

The Federal Works Agency and the Public Building Administration of the Treasury Department funded the construction of this federal courthouse, the first single-purpose federal courthouse on the west coast. From the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: “In 1936, the federal government… read more

Project type: Federal Courthouses, Federal Facilities
Agency: Federal Works Agency (FWA), Treasury Department

Woodland Park Zoo Improvements – Seattle WA

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funding and labor for numerous improvement projects at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo during the New Deal period. The initial projects were completed in 1933. In the following years,… read more

Project type: Zoos, Parks and Recreation
Agency: Works Progress Administration (WPA)
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