The WPA helped in improvements at this pool that put 66 people to work in 1939. 53,300 man hours were used. $36,211 went toward labor and $3,129 to other expenses. As of Winter 2015, the facility was extant but being… read more
“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
A public swimming pool in Adel IA was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935. One of the earliest municipal pools constructed in Iowa, the facility was around for a good share of historical events – war, environmental disasters,… read more
The Works Progress Administration built a swimming pool for the former State Training School for Girls in Chalkville, Alabama, near Birmingham.
The Alice Keith Park Swimming Pool in Beaumont, TX was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938. A ten-acre municipal tract, Alice Keith Park was constructed in 1932 to help alleviate unemployment and provide a recreational space in… read more
Anacostia Park is one of Washington DC’s two largest parks and recreation areas, along with Rock Creek Park. It covers over 1200 acres along the Anacostia River from South Capitol Street SE to the Maryland boundary in NE. The New… read more
In 1936, the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided $69,036 for the construction of a swimming pool in Anacostia Park (about $1.3 million in 2020 dollars). The pool was built by the BZ Contracting Company of New York and completed in… read more
Referred to in the archives as Arcadia Recreation Center. “During World War I, this site was known as Ross Field, a U.S. balloon training school for more than 3,500 military personnel. WPA workers transformed the area into a park and… read more
The Arlington Heights Recreation Center, which was built between 1936 and 1939, was created through the Works Progress Administration. The idea for the project was first conceived in 1934, but financial support did not become available to start the building… read more
On May 31, 1938, the Department of Parks announced “that plans were being prepared for the renovation of nine public bath houses transferred to them from the jurisdiction of the Borough President of Manhattan.” The improvements were to be done… read more
Astoria Park pool opened on July 2, 1936. It was the largest of the eleven WPA pools built throughout the city that year. It was the site of the Olympic swimming and diving trials for the 1936 Olympics, just as Randall’s Island Stadium was… read more
Avalon Park was one of the last projects of the WPA that was approved by Harry Hopkins and Controller General J.R. McCarl in 1935 and was an example during the Great Depression of how the government was interested in giving… read more
“Babcock, one of the earliest state parks, covers 4,127 acres. It was opened on July 1, 1937, and built as a public works program during the Great Depression. The main facilities and trails were constructed between 1934 and 1937 by… read more
“The landscape was planned and supervised by Phillip Wyman, a landscape architect from Milwaukee in the 1930’s. This park holds an important geographical position in the visual landscape of the city. Badger Park is an 81/2 acre park, developed in… read more
In November 1935, the Works Progress Administration authorized $8243.00 for the construction and improvements at a new two acre playground, which would become Bailey Park. The improvements included two tennis courts, a baseball diamond, wading pool, light, water and sewer… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): 1856 CCC Camp SP-47-T operated in this corner of west Texas. The CCC developed Balmorhea State Park, and constructed its iconic pool, between 1935 and 1940. Texas.gov: CCC Company 1856 arrived here in July 1934…. read more
During the 1930s, Banneker Recreation Area was developed as part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program undertaken by the Public Works Administration (PWA), Civil Work Adminstration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Notably, the CWA was… read more
The Bartow Civic Recreation Center and pool were built ca. 1933-1935. Records suggest the project was started by workers in the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and completed by workers in the Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)…. read more
This beautiful park is nestled in the “Lost Pines” area of Texas. The park was built as a CCC project and opened to the public in 1937. In September 2011 96% of the park was burned by a devastating wildfire;… read more
The Electra city pool “was built in 1935-36 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the facility includes a stone building with native stone from the area.”
The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) developed a bathing pool at “Reed Park” in Rockland, Mass., in 1937. WPA Bulletin: “Under construction is a wading pool with a sandy bottom. Shrubbery is being planted. The pond shore has been cleared and… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Beachland Park pool and bathhouse in West Hartford CT in 1936.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) reforested “20,000 acres of drifting sand hills and expanded Bessey Forest Nursery producing 30 million saplings for reforestation.” The CCC also “constructed a public campground and picnic area, shelter house, bath houses, and a swimming pool… read more
In 1936 the Betsy Head Park in Brooklyn, New York, “was redesigned extensively and the Olympic-sized swimming pool was constructed. Architect John Matthews Hatton’s pool house exemplified the sleek Art Moderne style with liberal use of glass block and a… read more
Big Pool opened in Garden City KS in 1922. The Works Progress Administration added a bath house and a children’s wading pool.
Blanchette Park is a large park overlooking the Missouri River Valley in northern St. Charles which was the first Missouri State Capital. The WPA’s work in the park included a swimming pool, lake, walks and fences, and remodeling of Memorial… read more
The WPA constructed a city pool and pavilion for La Grange’s city park in 1935. It was closed in 2007. The whole park is now undergoing extensive renovations. The pool is no longer there, but the original pavilion is being… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed a “recreational area for swimming at Bragg Pond.”
“Waring Playground in Bronx Park, across Bronx Park East from the block between Waring Avenue and Thwaite Place, June 17, 2015. It opened on September 28, 1939, as part of the larger project of developing the land turned over by… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed Richmond’s Brook Field Park Swimming Pool in 1938. The pool was a segregated one, operating exclusively for the African American people of the city, as was normal practice in the Jim Crow era. … read more
This swimming pool, with a unique design (above ground, concrete), is in New Martinsville, West Virginia. It was operational until just a few years ago. I swam there often as a child. Unfortunately, though it is still in existence, the… read more
A New York City Parks Department press release from August 26, 1939 describes the WPA’s role in developing what is now known as Bufano Park: “The Department of Parks announces that the two acre playground bounded by Bradford, Edison, LaSalle… read more
A local newspaper reported that, “Sixty Morristown and ten Morris Township men went to work this morning on placing a rock bottom in Burnham Park swimming pool. This was one of two federal-aid projects approved for immediate start here in… read more
California Woods Nature Preserve was built in 1938 by Hubert M. Garriott and John W. Becker . The WPA hired local workers to built this modern 2 story pool house. Surrounded by woods and beautiful scenery, people got to enjoy… read more
In 1939, the Public Works Administration funded the construction of a swimming pool in Cameron, WV.
Originally known as Camp Berkeley, what is now Camp Herms contains a WPA swimming pool with dressing and shower rooms. The style was influenced by Mayan architecture. “The year 1938 marked the inauguration of a program of extensive improvements at… read more
Multiple New Deal agencies worked to construct a municipal pool for Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1934—1936. The prospect of a pool had been discussed for years, though no progress was made until assistance from New Deal work relief programs was made… read more
“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
The WPA and NYA worked to construct a large wading pool in what is now known as Carver Park, in 1936. The pool is no longer extant. Paterson, New Jersey’s Evening News wrote on May 8, 1936: Thirty Negro workers… read more
There is a three page history of the pool in the Castine Historical Society newsletter by Lynn Parsons (winter 2011) detailing the role of the New Deal in bringing about this fine example of public recreation. According to a Selectman’s… read more