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
Built by the WPA in 1940. The library flooded during Katrina, but has since reopened.
As part of a massive $12-million project to improve New Orleans’s City Park, the WPA built nine concrete vehicular bridges between 1936 and 1939 throughout the expanded grounds. Spanning Bayou Metairie near the southwest corner, the Anseman Avenue Bridge replaced… read more
“The Audubon Zoo is a zoo located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Audubon Nature Institute which also manages the Aquarium of the Americas. The zoo covers 58 acres (23 ha) and is home to 2,000 animals. It… read more
“Perhaps the highest return on investment ever earned on a few thousand federal dollars came in the form of a pile of dirt in a rather forlorn park at the depth of the Depression. The agency behind it was the… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed sidewalks in New Orleans, including along Banks Street in Mid-City. WPA workers often marked their work with “sidewalk stamps” pressed into the fresh concrete — a common practice by private contractors in the early… read more
“WPA workmen improved 15 miles of gravel roads, 25 miles of dirt roads, cleared 15 miles of bayous and drainage canals, rehabilitated 43 wooden bridges which cross bayous and drainage canals on the reservation.” (NARA)
“In the early 20th century, commercial use of the Bayou declined, and the Carondelet Canal was filled in. A number of New Orleanians started living in houseboats on the Bayou. Complaints from people in nearby neighborhoods and sanitation concerns led… read more
According to the Beauregard Tourist Commission, “This project in a stump littered field provided employment for about 400 men, who worked to clear what had once been a densely wooded region. They constructed two earthen runways on 160 acres of… read more
The Booker T. Washington Courts was one of two rural public housing projects constructed in Lake Charles in 1939-1941. Architects G. Lewis Dunn and Gustave G. Quinn designed the complex initially as barracks-type housing, which was rejected for one-story duplexes…. read more
Braithwaite Park is “a 32-acre WPA-built recreation area containing picnic grounds, a bathing beach, tennis courts, a baseball diamond, and a dance pavilion.” The park, with different amenities, is still in use today.
The Burr’s Ferry Bridge is built over the Sabine River where Texas State Highway 63 and Louisiana State Highway 8 meet. The bridge consists of three Parker though truss spans and 34 concrete girder spans. At the time the bridge… read more
The Cabildo has a long and notorious history. It was constructed in 1795-99 as the seat of the Spanish municipal government in New Orleans. The name of the governing body who met there was the “Illustrious Cabildo” or city council. It… read more
This parish courthouse was undertaken during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The two story jail courthouse, “…modern structure to be constructed of concrete, brick, and hollow tile, with stone trimmings”… read more
The Calliope projects were constructed as the fourth of six housing projects developed for New Orleans, 1939-1941. The original boundaries were South Dorgenois Street, Erato Street, Calliope Street (now Earhart Boulevard), and South Prieur Street. The George A. Fuller Company… read more
The historic Cameron County Courthouse in Cameron, Louisiana was constructed with the aid of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. “Further testimony to the structures’ solidity can be found in Cameron Parish, where its courthouse was one of the few buildings… read more
An exceptional mural, “History of Printing,” was painted by Edward Schoenberger for the Canal Street Branch Library in New Orleans. The library building was a pre-existing structure from the early 1900s, in a quirky Caribbean style of uncertain origins. The mural… read more
Charity Hospital was constructed between 1936 and 1940 in central New Orleans, about a mile north of the downtown by today’s Interstate 10. Charity Hospital was one of two teaching hospitals which were part of the Medical Center of… read more
“The park’s history is tied to Camp Morehouse, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp that was located nearby, and a company of young men who began construction of the park in the 1930s. The Morehouse Enterprise reports June 8, 1933 that… read more
“One of the older Louisiana parks, the park was added to the Louisiana State Park system in 1939. Under the direction of the National Park Service, the Civilian Conservation Corps significantly developed the area.” (Wikipedia)
This building was constructed by the WPA in 1936-1937 as the Winnfield City Hall. It still houses the City Clerk’s Office.
This stunning art deco building replaced and modernized an older city hall building. It was constructed by the PWA in 1939. The building is now the Centre International de Lafayette.
The Wikipedia entry on City Park provides a good summary of park history, including the role of the WPA in making improvements to the park: “City Park, a 1,300 acre (5.3 km²) public park in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the 6th-largest… read more
The Concordia Parish Courthouse was undertaken in Vidalia, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The “Greco-Deco” courthouse in Vidalia was erected due to the need to relocate the town… read more
The historic Delta Music Museum, located at the southeast corner of Louisiana and S. 3rd St. in Ferriday, Louisiana, was originally constructed as the post office. The building was constructed with U.S. Treasury Department funds ca. 1938.
The “Southern Pattern” was painted by Stuart Purser in 1941. It is located in the lobby of the town’s post office, which presently houses the Delta Music Museum.
Constructed by the WPA in 1939-1940. It was used as the city hall until the 1980s. The building was restored and rededicated in 2008 and now serves as a tourism office.
The courthouse was undertaken in Lake Providence, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The building was erected for a cost of $100, 589 (Leighninger, 2007).
This parish training school for African American students was undertaken in Lake Providence, Louisiana during the Great Depression with the assistance of funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The funding was allocated as part of a joint project… read more
The F. Edward Hebert Federal Building was built from 1935 to 1939 and is still in use. At the time it was built, the Treasury Department was responsible for all federal buildings. Formerly home to the New Orleans Main Post… read more
This limestone sculpture “Flood Control” by Karl Lang was created for the F. Edward Herbert Federal Building with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds. It still graces the southeastern corner of the building.
This marble eagle statue — one of four at the entrances to the F. Edward Herbert Federal Building — was produced with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds by Gifford Proctor.
This limestone sculpture “Harvesting Sugar Cane” by Armin Scheler was created for the F. Edward Hebert Federal Building and paid for with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds. It still graces the northeastern flank of the building.
“Construction of a three-mile long farm-to-market road in St. Tammany parish was completed this week by the Works Progress Administration. Sponsored by the St. Tammany Parish Police Jury, employing approximately 22 men and costing $15,300, the project included the moving… read more
Bartlett, Texas’s Tribune and News in mid-1939 noted an “unusual” PWA-financed project under construction in Avoca, Louisiana: a ferry boat.
Constructed in 1939-40, the former New Orleans Fire Department Station Number 2 is one of three firehouses built by the WPA in the Crescent City in the late 1930s. Located in the Lakeview neighborhood, south of Lake Pontchartrain, it consists… read more
“On the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain, this 2800-acre park encompasses the remains of a nineteenth-century plantation, Fontainebleau, named after the Parisian forest… The plantation was converted to a park beginning in 1938, one of Louisiana’s first state parks. Originally… read more
WPA photos and captions from the 1930s show that the WPA helped restore the historic Fort Pike site in the 1930s. The 1938 WPA guide to the city of New Orleans describes the site: “Fort Pike, 36.1 m., occupies the… read more
One of the results of the 1936 Works Progress Administration (WPA) airport beautification project was the Four Winds fountain and bas-reliefs by sculptor Enrique Alférez. The airport, originally Shushan Airport, was renamed New Orleans Municipal Airport, and then Lakefront Airport… read more
