Beginning in 1935, Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a large program of improvements to public buildings in Brooklyn, New York. The project involved the “Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices” at more than 30 locations, including the old 5th District… read more
A WPA sidewalk imprint stamp marks the sidewalk on the west side South 5th Street, one half block up from Cedar St., across from the south end of the school campus Gymnasium building.
In 1934 the Federal Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funds to build a million-gallon water storage tank in Newport News, Virginia to replace the old water tank. The caption for the photo above reads “A million-gallon water-storage tank erected at… read more
The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches… read more
The 65th St. transverse cuts across Central Park. This WPA photo shows WPA workers developing the sewer system along the transverse.
“The overpass on 6th Street was a project funded by the state and Works Progress Administration (WPA). The overpass allowed cars and trucks to go over the railroad tracks. Centralia was an important logging and coal-mining town. The bridge improved… read more
The WPA completed work on this rural school outside Branson in 1937. From the website History Colorado: The 7-D School, constructed in 1936 to 1937 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) is significant for its association with President Franklin Roosevelt’s… read more
The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches… read more
The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) provided fundings for the elimination of a grade crossing involving 79th Street along the west side of Manhattan, with the tracks then serving the New York Central railway. The funding was allocated as part of a… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built curbs and sidewalks in portions of Knights Landing, CA in 1940. The attached photos show the WPA imprints that were placed in the concrete at the time of construction.
The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches… read more
This culvert was completed in 1939 by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). It runs north-south and crosses Denver on the east side of N. 8th. The tunnel is constructed using large cut block, and the opening is approximately 3… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a sizable public building improvement project in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1935. The project involved the “Improvement of Public Buildings and Offices” at more than 30 locations, including the old 8th District… read more
The Works Progress Administration built a culvert at the intersection of 8th Street and Maud Linnie Avenue in Gotebo, OK. Contributor note: “This culvert is located in a residential area and crosses 8th Street east to west. The culvert is concrete… read more
The Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed this culvert in 1939. It appears to handle water running through a two-block, man-made drainage ditch, just west of the WPA athletic stadium. The culvert runs east-west and is approximately 3 ft. high… read more
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor conducted improvements at the former A.A. Low School in Salem, Massachusetts. The facility was located at the northwest corner of Nichols St. and Butler St. WPA Bulletin: A new plumbing, heating and ventilation system has… read more
“A. H. Stephens Historic Park contains tent and trailer sites, picnic sites, and fishing ponds, as well as a nature trail and rustic cabins, and was mostly built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, beginning in 1933.” (wikipedia) The park “is… read more
The Jersey City Independent reported in 2009 that the A. Harry Moore School was “one of the first public schools in the country built for students with disabilities.” While the school was constructed between 1930 and 1931, the New Deal… read more
This mural “The Harvest” was originally painted for the what was then the Abbeville post office by Louis Raynaud in 1939. Presently, it hangs in the Abbeville Museum downtown. “The Harvest shows men and women harvesting cotton, sugarcane, and muskrat… read more
The bridge carrying Abbott Cross Road over Prairie Creek in Dayton Township ENE of Huntington, Arkansas was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1943.
This small playground on Houston St. between Essex and Norfolk was constructed by the Department of Parks in 1934 as a playground for small children. According to the press release announcing its opening, it originally contained “a shelter house, basketball… read more
Formerly known as Norman City Park, this site was established in the late 1890s and considerably improved during the New Deal: “Between 1935 and 1937, under the New Deal programs, several items were constructed in the southwest portion of the… read more
Originally named Newport News Homesteads, “Aberdeen Gardens was a New Deal planned community initiated by Hampton Institue (now Hampton University), designed specifically for the resettlement of African-American workers in Newport News and Hampton. In 1934, the Hampton Institute secured a $245,000 federal grant to… read more
“This P.W.A. allotment made it possible for the Quartermaster Corps of the Army to erect 12 field officers’ quarters of the type illustrated on this page. Each building provides heater, fuel, and storerooms, and a laundry in the basement; a… read more
Winchester.us: “During the 1930s the channel upstream of the Aberjona Pond was rechanneled, section by section, as ERA and WPA projects. The projects were based on recommendations by Herbert Kellaway, published in 1928. In the Kellaway plan, three ponds for… read more
Abilene Stadium, part of Eisenhower Park, was constructed by the Works Progress Administation (WPA). WPA Project 4711.
“The Civilian Conservation Corps, Roosevelt’s first New Deal recovery program, built the original parts of Abilene State Park, including picnic areas and swimming pool complex. In 1934, the 507 acres were dedicated as a state park. According to the Taylor… read more
The Abingdon Plantation Historic Site is the birthplace of Nellie Custis (1779-1852), granddaughter of Martha Washington and step-granddaughter of George Washington. Following the death of her father (John Parke Custis) in 1781, Nelly and her brother, George Washington Parke Custis,… read more
The former Abner Gap school in Bee, Dickenson County, Virginia, was constructed as a New Deal project. Known to be off State Highway 80, satellite views suggest the building is still extant. In 1940, W.E. French, who directed the Federal… read more
One of many campgrounds the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed in Maine, this one is located in Baxter State Park. “Set in a northern hardwood forest near the base of Abol Slide, Abol is the closest campground to Togue Pond Gate… read more
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals” work at the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School (now J. Antonio Jarvis School) on St. Thomas.
The school was originally opened in 1878, but was extensively damaged in the 1933 earthquake. During the 30s and early 40s, the school was rebuilt by the WPA. “Architect Albert C. Martin provided the Moderne design for the Lincoln High… read more
Academic unit; shop unit, 2 gyms, auditorium to be added later. 1 new building. The October 3, 1938 edition of the Daily Pacific Builder reported that $750,000 in PWA funds had been allotted for the first unit of the construction… read more
On April 23, 1941, the Department of Parks announced the opening “of a new playground and athletic field adjacent to the Abraham Lincoln High School” to be used jointly by the Park Department and the Board of Education. The new… read more
Artist Seymour Fogel painted two murals, entitled “African Music and European Music” and “Religious and Modern Music”, in the Music Room (Room 327) of the Abraham Lincoln High School in 1936-37. The New York Schools website shows only a portion… read more
The New Deal carried out reconstruction and ground improvements.
The WPA allocated funds for construction of a new school building in Absarokee, Montana in 1938. The location and current status of the structure in question is unknown to Living New Deal.
Designed by Hal Lynch and J. Carl Jourdan and completed in 1939, this Art Deco style arena has been upgraded and well-maintained through the years. The stage is original.
“Across the country, natural resources were being lost to poor conservation, heavy use, and severe drought. In Maine, one of the newer national parks was struggling. Even though Acadia National Park had been created 17 years earlier, it was still… read more
The historic former Acadia School in Madawaska, Maine was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building “began as a high school and after several years it was an elementary school. At one time it… read more
A WPA stamp laid in front of the school identifies the school as being built in 1941. The stamp, originally in the sidewalk, has since been cut out of the ground and is now on display inside one of the… read more
Ackerman High School is a 2-story Art Moderne building dating to 1941. Currently closed, the school was PWA Project Miss. 1156.
Ackerman Island was an island in the middle of the Arkansas River. In the early 1900s the land had been developed as an amusement park, but by the late 1920s it had fallen into disuse. Works Progress Administration workers widened… read more
[The newspaper] Big Timber Pioneer reported: “Joseph Parker, state WPA administrator, has approved construction of the Ackley lake project on the Judith river west of Hobson in Judith Basin county. This irrigation undertaking will cost $113,003. It will employ 328… read more
The WPA created the Ackley Park baseball field and stadium in 1939, along with a boy scout hut in the park “The occasional use of dark stones created a unique pattern at the baseball field in Ackley Park in Elk… read more
The former Acton High School building was greatly improved with federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) funds and labor in 1933. School Committee Report, 1933: “The school system has functioned fairly normally during the past year. The pared appropriation hindered somewhat,… read more
“Built in 1938-39, the Ada County Courthouse was constructed as part of the Depression-era Public Works Administration (PWA). Building the courthouse provided jobs not only for construction workers and craftsmen, but also for the artists that embellished it. The Art… read more
“The Ada Covered Bridge is a 125-foot (38 m) span Brown truss covered bridge erected in 1867 in Ada, Michigan, United States. Carrying Bronson Street across the Thornapple River, it is located just south of where the Thornapple enters the Grand… read more
The Works Progress Administration completed improvements on Adams Avenue in Fairmont, Marion County. The work consisted of “Widening Adams avenue and installing new traffic lights.”
The Adams Avenue Overpass is a 285 foot long steel stringer bridge that takes West Adams Avenue over multiple tracks of the former Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF Railway) in Temple, Texas. The bridge, which replaced an… read more