“In Brown Deer Park the lagoon was enlarged during the WPA program, and a pavillion of English design utilizing stone and timber was constructed in the side of a hill overlooking the lagoon. A stone-faced arch bridge was built.” The… read more
“Constructing a brick and concrete field house containing toilet, assembly, checking and dressing rooms; erecting playground, apparatus, fencing around the outdoor theater at the Burbank Playground.”
“The bathhouse and original swimming pool were built in 1940 with the help of the WPA program. Under County jurisdiction the site was originally named Lapham Park. This name was used until the late 1950’s when it was changed to… read more
A wooden sign marks the site of former CCC Camp Bluemound, Company 2606, which operated in the vicinity from 1933-1942.
Milwaukee’s Cherry Street Bridge was constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project in 1940. “The Cherry Street Bridge is a bascule bridge that crosses the Milwaukee River just North of downtown. The 214-foot total length includes a 103-foot draw… read more
“While the seal [seal of Milwaukee] itself is in safekeeping with Milwaukee’s City Clerk, a permanent, more colorful version of it resides in the form of a stained glass window in the City Council chambers.” (www.milwaukeehistory.net) “The Arnold Gavin Stained… read more
“The most visible legacy of WPA projects in Milwaukee County was the parks system, which had more construction and landscaping during the WPA period than any other time in its history. WPA construction included six swimming pools, pavilions at Red… read more
The historic Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Station post office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was constructed in 1938 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building is still in service.
The Works Progress Administration built an entrance gate for the E. W. Luther Elementary School track. A plaque installed on the structure reads: “WPA 1036.” The gate marks the back entrance to the school’s athletic field.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built park facilities at the Enderis Playing Field in Milwaukee. One among many parks built and improved by the WPA in Milwaukee, the Enderis Playing field is still in use today. The land, which the… read more
Estabrook park was one of many parks in Milwaukee County to receive extensive improvements from the CCC or the WPA in the 1930s. Work by the CCC at Estabrook Park included the removal of “about 100,000 cubic yards of rock… read more
“Repairing and painting of buildings, including band shells, bathhouses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and playground buildings in the following parks…Gordon Park.”
“The temporary Grant Park bathhouse at the foot of Lake Michigan was replaced by the WPA with a permanent building of Colonial design, complete with open-air dressing yards that sat on a raised stone terrace overlooking the beach and lake…. read more
The Granville Town Board voted in 1940 to build a new Town Hall in Granville Center that would house the town offices, an auditorium, and the fire department. Work Projects Administration (WPA) labor built the project. Construction began Oct. 23,… read more
Hawthorn Glen is a park and nature and education center administered by the Milwaukee Public Schools recreation division. The twenty-three acre site includes a long curving bluff, ravines, and a deciduous forest, as well as a soccer field, several nature… read more
In 1934, the New Deal’s Public Works Administration (PWA) loaned the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company—popularly known as the “Milwaukee Road”—$8.6 million (about $194 million in 2022 dollars) for infrastructure improvements and new equipment. The latter included… read more
"The most visible legacy of WPA projects in Milwaukee County was the parks system, which had more construction and landscaping during the WPA period than any other time in its history. WPA construction included six swimming pools, pavilions at Red… read more
"The most visible legacy of WPA projects in Milwaukee County was the parks system, which had more construction and landscaping during the WPA period than any other time in its history. WPA construction included six swimming pools, pavilions at Red… read more
“Repairing and painting of buildings, including band shells, bathhouses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and playground buildings in the following parks…Kern Park.”
“One of the later WPA projects [in Milwaukee County] was the construction of the Kosciuszko pool and bathhouse. As one of the parks transferred from the city in 1937, the county set out to update the facilities. Plans for the… read more
“Repairing and painting of park board buildings, including band shells, bath houses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and play ground buildings in the following parks…Lake Park.”
Concrete arch bridge over Lincoln Creek on N. 35th Street in Milwaukee, built by the WPA in 1937.
In 1939, the Works Progress Administration built the Lincoln fieldhouse in Lincoln Field, Milwaukee WI.
Lincoln Memorial Drive was completely repaved by the WPA between 1935 and 1941.
“As described later by the Park Commission, ‘One of the largest projects, which involved the services of almost 2,000 men and many pieces of equipment was located at Lincoln Park. The Milwaukee River at this originally made a complete S-turn… read more
“The largest Public Works Administration (PWA) project in Wisconsin was construction of the City of Milwaukee Linwood water filtration plant, which employed 1,700 men for a year.” (www4.uwm.edu) “Due to increasing pollution of Lake Michigan the amount of chemicals required… read more
“The pool at Silver Spring Park (now McGovern Park) was built by the CWA. The WPA built the new bathhouse.”
The Milwaukee Public Library opened in 1898 in a building combining French and Italian Renaissance styles at a cost of $780,000 (mpl.org). In 1936, Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers assisted, according to museum director Samuel Barrett, in “completely overhauling the building,… read more
Myron Nutting painted murals for the Milwaukee Public Museum (a natural history museum) in the early 1930s.
"The CCC crews…excavated rock and dirt and built dams on the Milwaukee River to control flooding."
“The Milwaukee Theatre is home to nine murals by the WPA artist Thorsten Lindberg. He was an accomplished artistic craftsman, nationally recognized for his technical skill in watercolor. Much of Lindberg’s work dating from the 1930s and early ‘40s features… read more
“A retaining wall and fence were erected along the north boundary; The pool in the sunken garden of Mitchell Park was cleaned and repaired.”
"Parklawn, a 42-acre tract with the main entrance at W. Hope Ave. and N. Sherman Blvd., is a low-cost Government housing project. Two thousand men, women and children liver here at moderate rental fees. Built by the Public Works Administration,… read more
"The Parklawn Housing Project, Milwaukee, WI was built by the WPA. Part of the philosophy was to incorporate art with mixed income families. There are two sculptures entitled "Fishing" and "Music" still extant done by WPA artists in the central… read more
The PWA built this village hall in the incorporated community of River Hills.
