Washington D.C. Sites

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) completed improvements at theBurroughs Playground in Washington DC, between 1934 and 1935. The work consisted of the following improvements: “Resurfaced two tennis courts.” The playground is on the school grounds of the John Burroughs Elementary School and is used as a school grounds and community playground.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) records in the National Archives report that in 1937 WPA workers were used to "Remodel, renovate, and paint buildings located at 460-476 C Street NW, together with other small supplementary buildings." The work included, "installation of plumbing and electrical facilities… demolishing and removing partitions, structures, equipment, etc., salvaging usable materials...". The purpose of the work was to render the buildings usable as offices and storage space by various departments of the District government. Exact location of the buildings in question was not given, but they have almost surely been demolished for subsequent federal office buildings, court houses and...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) improved a segment of C Street NW, from Second Street to John Marshall Place. This section of road was part of a PWA-funded project to widen, realign, repave, and install sidewalks along streets, to accommodate the new Municipal Center building (also a PWA-funded project).

The former Camp Simms in the city's southeastern quadrant housed the DC National Guard rifle range prior to World War II.  In 1936, Work: A Journal of Progress reported extensive Works Progress Administration (WPA) improvements to Camp Simms: "Transformation of the National Guard Rifle Range at Camp Sims, from an ill-equipped, obsolete military adjunct into a model rifle range, is one of the many accomplishments of relief labor under the Works Progress Administration in the District of Columbia. One of the first tasks undertaken by WPA labor at Camp Sims was that of raising the level of practically the whole site. Coincident...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved a segment of Canal Road, from Chain Bridge Road to Reservoir Road. This was a WPA “roadside beautification” project that likely included the planting of shrubs; and “This project necessitated major side drainage in back of the curbing, the sloping of the banks and the construction of two walls, all within the limits of public space.”

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the Federal Works Agency (FWA) funded the construction of the Canal Street Houses in Washington, DC in 1943. This development of 20 living units was built for white national defense workers (Washington, DC was highly segregated at the time). It is unknown to the Living New Deal if any of the structures still exist, but it is not likely since these homes were classified as “demountable,” i.e., intended to be taken down and salvaged sometime after the war. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced...

The Carnegie Library building in Washington DC was the District's Central Library from 1902 to 1970. It was one of many libraries built with funding from the businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.  From 1935 to 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) refurbished the entire exterior of the building for the Library. As reported by the DC Government in 1938: "The W.P.A. project for cleaning, cutting out, and repointing mortar joints of exterior marble and granite stone on the central building was started in December 1935 and completed at a cost of $27,717.50 and closed out on March 20, 1938. The entire exterior...

The Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) and the United States Housing Authority (USHA) funded the construction of the Carrollsburg Dwellings in Washington, DC between 1940 and 1941. Carrollsburg Dwellings continue as public housing today, but it appears that only a few of the original structures still exist. The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It replaced unsafe alley dwellings in Washington, DC with more modern and affordable houses and apartments. The ADA existed from 1934-1943 as a federally controlled special authority. It then slowly evolved into today’s DC Housing Authority, an independent agency of...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved a segment of Cathedral Avenue NW, from Idaho Avenue to New Mexico Avenue. The WPA graded this road, and also prepared it for paving with a foundation of salvaged material: “The old material is obtained from old roadways which have deteriorated due to the strain of heavy later-day traffic and were replaced by new standard type pavements.” Also, “There was a considerable amount of fill material placed on the north side of this roadway in order to widen it. After the fill had been completed a temporary curb and sidewalk was constructed.”

Camp NA-1 was located in the National Arboretum, Washington, DC, and was home to Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1360, an all African-American unit. Many of the enrollees in Company 1360 were young men from the city itself. Company 1360 formed on June 7, 1933 at Fort George Meade, Maryland and, after initial work assignments in Chester, Virginia (Camp P-61) and Williamsburg, Virginia (Camp SP-9), the men settled into Camp NA-1 in November 1934. From then until 1941 these young African American men made the earliest significant developments to the National Arboretum – a project of the Bureau of Plant Industry...

Description from General Services Administration Web site: "The Central Heating Plant in Washington, D.C. was designed by the architect Paul Philippe Cret for the Procurement Division of the U.S. Treasury Department. The project was managed by James A. Wetmore, Acting Supervising Architect and Louis Simon, architect, both of the Procurement Divison. The cornerstone was laid in 1933, construction was completed and the plant commenced operation in 1934. The work of an important American architect whose aesthetic philosophies significantly affected Federal design, and as a carefully conceived and well-executed example of the Art Deco style, the Central Heating Plant is a significant...

The Massachusetts Avenue bridge was built in 1940-1941 by the Army Corps of Engineers with federal funds provided by Congress to the District of Columbia Commissioners.  It was a final step in the completion of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in the New Deal era.  The new bridge replace a low earth-fill causeway over the creek, built in 1901, and a tunnel under the causeway that impeded traffic on the new Rock Creek parkway.  Congress appropriated $360,000 for the bridge under the District of Columbia act of 1939.  Additional funding was added in 1941 to dynamite the old bridge and...

In 1935-36, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) repaved a segment of Chesapeake Street NW, from Nebraska Avenue to Fort Drive.   The work was part of the $949,496 WPA allotment for DC roadwork for fiscal year 1936.   The work is likely still extant, but invisible and paved over.        

In 1936, the Washington Post reported that improvement work was going forward at several city playgrounds, the Chevy Chase Recreation Center playground among them. This would have been part of a major New Deal park renovation effort across the district.  The work was likely done by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which had undertaken a nearly $1 million program of park and playground improvements in 1935-36.

The William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building was originally built as the headquarters of the Post Office Department. It was then known as the New Post Office because an older Post Office headquarters stood across 12th Street (now a private hotel). The foundation of the new Post Office building was poured in 1931, President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone in 1932, and construction was completed in 1934 (the exact dates are uncertain). Hence, it is only partly a New Deal building. The Clinton complex is part of the Federal Triangle development north of the Mall, between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenue, first envisaged...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts: 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions). Alexander Brook painted two murals, "Writing the Family Letter" and "Reading the Letter".  The letter is from the family of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) recruit to the young man in his camp and is meant to show  "the mail's role in helping to alleviate the loneliness and homesickness...

Alexander Stirling Calder was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Continental Post Rider, 1775-1789.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Calder was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

Gaetano Cecere was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Rural Free Delivery Mail Carrier.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Cecere was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts: 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions). Alfred D. Crimi painted two large (7' x 13.5') frescoes for the Post Office building in 1937: "Transportation of Mail" and "Post Office Work Room".  They are located on the 4th floor of the south wing of the building. Sarah Gordon notes that: "Crimi, an experienced fresco painter who trained in...

Gleb Derujinksy was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create eight sculptures of previous Postmasters General. The sculptures were made out of wood, and Derujinsky was paid $2,800 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the newly-created...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. Karl Free painted two large (7' x 13.5') murals for the former Post Office Building: "French Hugenots in Florida" and "Arrival of Mail in New Amsterdam".  Painted in 1938, they are located on the 7th floor of the south wing of the building. The building...

Chaim Gross was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Alaska Snowshoe Mail Carrier.” It is made out of an aluminum alloy, and Gross was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. George Harding painted two large (6.5' x 13.5') murals for the former Post Office Building:  "Post Dispatch Rider" and "Ben Franklin, Colonial Postmaster" (1938). Gordon comments that, "George Matthews Harding was born, raised, and educated in Philadelphia and developed an early interest in the founding fathers,...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. Rockwell Kent painted two large (7' x 13.5') murals for the Post Office building:  "Mail Service in the Tropics" and "Mail Service in the Arctic"  (1937).   At the time, Alaska and Puerto Rico represented the northernmost and southernmost territories serviced by the U.S. Post Office...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. In 1940, Vahe Kirishjian painted 8 ceiling panels for the Law Library in the Post Office Department, four large (13 x 21') and four smaller, called "The Four Seasons and Signs of the Zodiac." The Kirishjian murals cover the ceiling of the Law Library. The Clinton...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts: 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions). Most are on postal themes. Doris Lee painted two large (6' x 13.5') murals for the Post Office Department on the theme of "The Development of the Post in the Country." The two were painted in 1938 and titled, "Country Post" and "General Store."   They hang in the...

Arthur Lee was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Pony Express Mail Carrier, 1860-1861.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Lee was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. Ward Lockwood painted two large (6' x 13.5') murals for the former Post Office Building: "Opening of the Southwest" and "Consolidation of the West" (1937).  These reflect conventional American thinking in the 1930s about the conquest of the west as a peaceful process of...

Oronzio Maldarelli was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Airmail Pilot.” It is made out of an aluminum alloy, and Maldarelli was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the newly-created Public...

Berta Margoulies was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Colonial Foot Postman, 1691-1775.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Margoulies was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. Reginald Marsh painted two large (6'7" x 12'6") murals for the Post Office building:  "Sorting the Mail" and "Unloading the Mail" (1936).   The Marsh murals hang in the 4th floor of the north wing of the Clinton building. The building is presently occupied by the Environmental...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. In 1937, Frank Mechau painted two large (7 x 13') oil-on-canvas murals for the former Post Office Department Building: "Dangers of the Mail" and "Pony Express."  They are notable both for their stylistic daring and their controversial subject matter, and they have evoked praise...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. William C. Palmer painted two large (7' x 13.5') murals for the Post Office Building: "Covered Wagon Attacked by Indians" and "Mail Coach Attacked by Bandits" (1937). It must be said that Palmer's idea of the Wild West was standard popular mythology and the...

Attilio Piccirilli was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Contemporary Postman.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Piccirilli was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the newly-created...

The William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building, originally the US Post Office Department, was begun under the Hoover Administration and completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It is richly decorated with New Deal artworks paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. There are 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements: 12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, and 8 carved wood medallions. The building serves today as the headquarters for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  It includes a local branch post office, called Benjamin Franklin Station, on Pennsylvania Avenue, that is open to the public; but entry to the rest of the building...

The Clinton Federal Building (north) was originally the US Post Office Department headquarters, completed under the New Deal in 1934.  It contains a wealth of New Deal artworks commissioned and paid for by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts – 25 murals and 22 sculptural elements (12 bas-reliefs, 2 statues, 8 wood medallions) – featuring postal themes. Eugene Francis Savage painted two large (7 x 13.5') murals for the Post Office Department building:  "Carrier of News and Knowledge" and "Messenger of Sympathy and Love".  The works were painted in 1937. Sarah Gordon says of these murals: "As the culmination of the U.S. Post...

Concetta Maria Scaravaglione was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Railway Mail Carrier, 1862.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Scaravaglione was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

Carl Ludwig Schmitz was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “City Delivery Carrier, 1863.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Schmitz was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

Heinz Warneke was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Express Mail Carrier.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Warneke was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the...

Sidney Biehler Waugh was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “U.S. Post Stage Driver, 1789-1836.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Waugh was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the...