Ilya Bolotowsky’s oil painting study for the Hall of Sciences mural at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York is today housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. It is all that remains of Bolotowsky’s mural commissioned… read more
Ivan Albright’s 1934 self-portrait is his first ever known painted self-portrait (of many to be created throughout his life.) It was made as part of the PWAP’s easel painting project. He personally requested it be presented to his alma mater,… read more
Charles Story: “From the beginning, WPA involvement would play a significant role in the creation of Alpine Park (Park). While there is no record of the WPA or any outside agency providing money for the purchase of the park or… read more
“In 1938, the Alton Cemetery Association made an initial offer to donate land for a national cemetery with a proviso that the government build a rostrum or permanent speaker’s stand for use on Memorial Day. Once the offer was accepted,… 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
The historic Rock Island Armory was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds between 1936 and 1937. The PWA supplied a $147,272 grant for the project, whose total cost was $359,626. The structure was demolished in… 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
This 7’11” x 11’6″ mural “Characters from Children’s Literature” was painted by Roberta Elvis with WPA Federal Art Project funds.
The Belding School contains a WPA mural “Children’s Activities” by Roberta Elvis. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 15′ x 5’4″
The Bennett School contains this WPA mural “History of Books” by Gustaf Dahlstrom, a 4’6″ x 70′ oil on canvas frieze in 15 sections. The frieze was restored in 2000.
The Bennett School contains a mural “Children’s Subjects” by Grace Spongberg, depicting four subjects: 1) Art, 2) History, 3) Science, 4) Music Medium: oil on canvas Size: 4 panels, each 11′ x 6′ Restoration Info: Restored 2001
The Berwyn Municipal Building was completed in 1939 as a non-federal Public Works Administration project. The architects Hubert Burnham and Charles Herrick Hammond were chosen by the city of Berwyn. It was built in the Moderne style and the main… read more
The Black Hawk State Historic Site, at the intersection of the Rock and Mississippi rivers, was an important site for Native American of the Sauk and Mesquakie tribes long before European settlers forced them off the land. In the late… read more
The CCC lodge at the Black Hawk State Historic Site contains “two murals painted in 1936 by Works Progress Administration (WPA) artist Otto Hake. The murals depict the seasonal activities of the Sauk and Mesquakie Indian people.” (www.blackhawkpark.org)
“Occupational Studies and Their Application” This fresco of six 9′ x 4’6″ panels was painted with the help of New Deal funds.
Boneyard Creek runs through the cities of Urbana and Champaign. In 1934 “Civil Works Administration (CWA) workers completed some maintenance work on the Boneyard Creek in Urbana and Champaign. Work consisted of clearing obstructions to the flow, cleaning channel banks,… read more
Andrene Kauffman painted two murals for the Burbank School under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project. “Circus,” composed of two 10′ x 10′ panels, is located in the school auditorium. “Incidents in the Life of Luther Burbank,” composed… read more
"The new courthouse is 114 by 109 feet in plan. It encloses and makes use of the walls of the old courthouse which was 56 by 92 feet and provided space for the courtroom ad accessory quarters. The new building… read more
“The 31st Street Beach is located in Burnham Park, a green space first envisioned by renowned architect Daniel Burnham in his seminal 1909 Plan of Chicago…Burnham Park served as the site for Chicago’s second World’s Fair, A Century of Progress,… read more
Construction of Rockford’s Burpee Museum of Natural History was undertaken as a federal Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) project.
Illinois’s old Camp Butler was improved as part of Federal Project F-87 by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) ca. 1933-4. “The general scope of the project covered improvements to buildings and grounds, landscaping, drainage and minor construction.”
Illinois’s old Camp Grant was improved as part of Federal Project F-88 by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) ca. 1933-4. The work involved “the rehabilitation of the target range, repairs to the road leading to the target range and general… read more
The stone sculpture at this site, entitled “Alice in Wonderland,” was likely made by Emmanuel Viviano with WPA Federal Art Project funding. Based on this post from 2009 0n the MIR Appraisal Services blog, the sculpture may have been relocated:… read more
Naperville’s Centennial Park beach received a bathhouse during the New Deal, which is still standing today: “In 1934, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed the bathhouse, built from limestone taken from the quarry at the facility’s western edge. The completed… read more
Before Midway Airport was called Midway it was known as the Municipal Airport. However, in the 1930s, under the watchful eye of the WPA (Works Progress Association), the airport went under construction to expand and add new runways for safer… read more
Florian Durzynski painted two murals, “Stephen Foster” and “Frederic Chopin,” for the Chopin School in 1940 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.
The school contains three WPA murals by Arthur Lidov depicting “Characters from Children’s Literature.” Medium: tempera on plaster on presswood Size: 3 semi-circular panels each about 3’2″ r Restoration Info: Restored 1999
Champaign’s historic City Building was constructed in part with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building replaced a two-story red brick building that had been on site. The New Deal structure bears a 1935 cornerstone and opened in 1937…. read more
This 10′ x 27′ fresco “The Blessings of Water” was painted by Edward Millman in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. It was restored in 1994.
In 1936, when Edward Millman was the state director of mural projects for the FAP, he was commissioned to convert a blank 400 square-foot wall in the City Hall offices of the former Bureau of Water (current Service Center) into… read more
Four WPA murals by Jefferson League show historical stages in the history of the neighborhood; the fifth is a map of the community at the turn of the century. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 5 murals; 4 11′ x 6’2″, 1… read more
Chatham Community Center was constructed in 1935-6 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. provided a $30,800 loan and $10,588 grant for the project, whose total cost was $41,395. PWA Docket No. IL 9083
This federal courthouse and post office was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1942. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts also provided a mural by Wendell Jones for the new building. However, Cairo residents refused to accept it. The mural… read more
The school contains a WPA mural “Winter and Spring” by Mary C. Hague. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 2 panels, each 12′ x 10′
Effingham, Illinois’s historic junior high school building was originally constructed as the city’s high school in 1939. Sometimes attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the building was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building bears a… read more
“In 1928, Clarence Hatzfeld, a member of the park board and architect of many northwest side recreational, commercial, and residential buildings, designed a Tudor Revival-style fieldhouse for the park. A stone grotto and fountain originally graced the front of the… read more
