In 1932, the city government began grading work and site preparations on the grounds of the Ala Moana park with the help of territorial relief funds. But it was the advent of federal assistance in 1933 that expanded the scope of… read more
This shore-side park was constructed with CWA and FERA funds. From a Department of Land and Natural Resources calendar: “The moderne style, FERA funded Ala Moana Park East Entry Gateway (1934), designed by Harry Sims Bent, was officially named the… read more
Part of the Ala Moana Park complex, the Lawn Bowling Green was designed by architect Harry Sims Bent and built with the help of federal funds and FERA and CWA labor. “Constructed in 1939, the lawn bowling green was the last of… read more
Part of the Ala Moana Park complex, the Sports Pavilion and Banyan Court were designed by architect Harry Sims Bent and built with the help of federal funds and FERA and CWA labor. “The simple concrete exterior walls of the… read more
The Central Fire Station at 104 Beretania Street, in Honolulu, Hawaii. This firehouse was built with the assistance of funds from the New Deal’s Public Works Administration (PWA), 1934-1935. P.W.A. Docket No. T. H. 2633-7
The bridge carrying Date Street across the Manoa-Palolo Canal (itself a W.P.A. project) was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) in 1937. Two imprinted stamps identify the bridge as W.P.A.
A Public Works Administration grant of $310,909 funded new construction and improvement work on flood control in the Kapalama neighborhood of Honolulu. Docket No. TH-1004-DS.
Several lava rock terraces at the Hawaii Nature Center (formerly the Department of Forestry’s Nursery) were built by FERA in 1934.
According to the book Hawai’i Chronicles II: Contemporary Island History from the Pages of Honolulu Magazine, Juliette May Fraser “was one of four Island artists commissioned to work on WPA art projects for public places. It was during this time… read more
According to the Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture & the Arts, “The bas relief is executed on a series of green steatite stone blocks which depict mythical and human Hawaiian figures, flora, and animals in the upper portions flanking either… read more
A Public Works Administration (PWA) grant of $92,224 funded new construction and improvement work on a harbor fuel oil line system for the Honolulu Harbor, under the direction of the Board of Harbor Commissioners of the Territory of Hawaii. The… read more
The Army Corps of Engineers, the Public Works Administration, and the National Industrial Recovery Administration funded and conducted improvement operations in the Honolulu Harbor between 1934 and 1935. The work consisted of the enlargement of the “entrance channel to 40 feet… read more
Between 1935 and 1937, the WPA contributed $38,000 to extending the runways of John Rodgers Airport (now Honolulu International Airport). Today, the airport serves well over 18 million passengers per year and provides a landing area for 370,000 tons of… read more
Completed in 1934, the historic United States Immigration Office facility in Honolulu was constructed with Treasury Department funds. The complex, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, [ as per the NRHP nomination form] “consists of/five buildings:… read more
Constructed by the PWA in 1933. Confirmation needed on whether or not this is the original building.
This maintenance access portal for the Honolulu waterworks system was built with Public Works Administration funds in 1936.
“The lava rock terracing at Kawananakoa School (1934), as well as the fountain featuring bas reliefs by Margarite Blasingame, resulted from the continuation of a number of the CWA’s projects by FERA.” Blasingame was an American sculptor born in Honolulu… read more
Living New Deal believes this bridge, which carries North Kuakini Street over the Nu’uanu Stream, was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds—in conjunction to a nearby bridge over Waiolani Stream—in 1934.
The bridge carrying North Kuakini Street over the Waiolani Stream was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1934.
The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded new construction or improvement work for the Leahi Home in Honolulu. The PWA grant amounted to $112,500, and the work was carried out in 1938. Listed as Docket No. TH-1085-F, the project was part… read more
Marguerite Louis Blasingame completed this “pair of low-relief marble tablets of a Hawaiian couple set into a wall” (source note 1) in 1935 for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Entitled, “Hawaiian Couple,” it is located in the Banyan Court gardens… read more
This “Floor mosaic of twelve figures engaged in traditional Hawaiian athletic activities, done in polished black basalt set into a flagstone floor” (source note 1), was completed by Marguerite Louis Blasingame in 1935 for the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
“One of a pair of murals at the Lester McCoy Pavilion at Ala Mona Regional Park. A Works Progress Administration art project, done in the Art Deco style. It depicts various aspects of makahiki (harvest festival), imagined as taking place… read more
From a Department of Land and Natural Resources calendar: “The Makiki-Manoa Pumping Station (1935), designed by architect Hart Wood and the landscape architecture firm of Thompson & Thompson, was one of a number of Honolulu Board of Water Supply improvements… read more
“The Manoa-Palolo Canal was built thanks to the use of Works Progress Administratio moneys. Its rock lined walls channeled several meandering streams in the area into a straight run to the Ala Wai Canal, allowing the wetlands between Kapahulu and… read more
“The brick comfort station with its sweeping pergolas serves as a focal point at Mother Waldron Playground in Kaka’ako (1937), a WPA project. Nationally renown planner Lewis Mumford applauded architect Harry Sims Bent’s moderne design, and recommended that the site’s… read more
Mother Waldron Playground is an urban playground that is bounded by Halekauwila, Cooke, Pohukaina, and Coral streets. It was constructed in 1937 on a 1.76 acre (77,000 square feet) site in the Kakaako district of Honolulu, Hawaii. Built elements within… read more
“The lava rock walls that lined Nu’uanu Stream were part of a WPA funded flood control project (1937). Flood control assumed a high priority in Honolulu after a February 27, 1935 storm dumped 14.23 inches of rain in Nu’uanu Dowsett… read more
In 1935, a contract was awarded for the construction of additional facilities at the Oahu Prison. “A unit for incorrigibles, and additions to the mess building at Oahu Prison for the sum of $104,389, of which $28,500 was Federal grant.” Today the… read more
The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded new construction or improvement work for the Extension of Piikoi Street in Honolulu. The PWA grant amounted to $38,700. The work was carried out in 1938. The project, listed as Docket No. TH-1050-F, was… read more
“Among the major projects on which work still was in progress at the end of the fiscal year is the Punchbowl-Makiki-Nuuanu shortcut now nearing completion, which provides another cross-town main artery for residents of Honolulu and will greatly relieve traffic… read more
What is now Sand Island consists of mostly reclaimed land. During the early 20th century it was known as Quarantine Island. Substantially enlarged during the F.D.R. era prior to World Was II, on it was the federally managed U.S. Quarantine Station, which was likewise expanded… read more
Honolulu’s Roosevelt High School was constructed in 1935 with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. P.W.A. Docket No. 2633 T. H.
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration funded the construction of the Roosevelt High School athletic facilities: “Another major operation concluded during the year consisted of the completion of a concrete stadium and the Roosevelt High School athletic field with facilities for… read more
“The Works Progress Administration (WPA)–financed Senior Core Building, constructed in 1939, sits off the corner of the quadrangle. Designed by [Vladimir] Ossipoff, it presents a more modern and Island-oriented interpretation of Spanish forms, which complements the original school core. Its… read more
A Public Works Administration grant of $97,795 funded new construction work on the Tax Office building in Honolulu. The work was underway in 1938. Listed as Docket No. TH-1035-DS, the project was part of the PWA’s non-federal projects expenditure for… read more
“The lava rock Andrews Amphitheatre at the University of Hawai’I (1935) was designed by architect Ralph Fishbourne with Professor Arthur R. Keller serving as the consulting engineer. The University covered the $5,213 cost for materials while the FERA paid for… read more
Crawford Hall, also known as the social sciences building, was constructed with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds in 1938.
“The original Gilmore Hall was constructed in 1935 and was funded, in part, by the federal Public Works Administration. Gilmore, the agricultural building, was built on the edge of campus, at an angle to face both Hawaiʻi Hall and Farrington… read more