“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 (W.P.A.) developed Mackinac Island’s airport, originally a “simple grass runway.”
“Cooperating with the PWA which provided 45 percent of the cost … construction work was started on additions to the Ann J. Kellogg school …,” in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Barnes Hall on the campus of Central Michigan University was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $119,250 grant. Construction occurred between October 1938 and 1939. “Barnes Hall started… read more
“Reconstructed, 1968, but appears to have retained its original appearance. Tom Haapoja provided information about this bridge. His father worked on its construction: ‘Built in 1938-39. They had a sawmill on site from which they took ‘select’ lumber for the… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was responsible for construction of the Board of Water and Light Dye Conditioning Plant in Lansing, Michigan. “The Dye Conditioning Plant at 148 South Cedar Street was designed by Lansing architects Lee and Kenneth Black… read more
The Board of Water and Light Dye Conditioning Plant in Lansing, Michigan contains multiple examples of New Deal artwork, including a ceramic fountain in the building’s main lobby. “The grand two-story lobby of the Board of Water and Light houses a… read more
The Board of Water and Light Dye Conditioning Plant in Lansing, Michigan contains multiple examples of New Deal artwork, including: “Aquarius,” a limestone relief created in 1938-39 by Samuel Cashwan. The massive work is located above the building’s front entrance.
The Board of Water and Light Dye Conditioning Plant in Lansing, Michigan contains multiple examples of New Deal artwork, including: “Water As Destructive Element” and ” Beneficial Force of Water,” two murals created in 1940 by Frank Cassara. “The upper lobby features… read more
The Board of Water and Light Dye Conditioning Plant in Lansing, Michigan contains multiple examples of New Deal artwork, including: “Water as Hydro-Electric Power,” a 1941 mural by Charles Pollock. “Charles Pollock’s 1941 mural in the center shows man’s control over nature and… read more
The Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects (officially named the Frederick Douglass Homes, and alternately named Frederick Douglass Projects, Frederick Douglass Apartments, Brewster-Douglass Homes, and Brewster-Douglass Projects) were the largest residential housing project owned by the city of Detroit. It was one of… read more
“Brockway Mountain Drive is a 8.883-mile (14.296 km) scenic highway just west of Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. Drivers can access the road from state highway M-26 on either end near Eagle Harbor to… read more
North Higgins Lake State Park near Roscommon MI is built on what was once the world’s largest seedling nursery, established by the Michigan State Forester in 1903. December 5, 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established a camp at… read more
This two story brick high school building was constructed with funding from the PWA in 1936. It was designed by architects Knecht, McCarty, and Thebaud, Inc. of Grand Rapids, and Ralph L. Bauer, Architect of Traverse City. It now houses Central… read more
The City Hall for Clare, Michigan, was begun in 1933 under the auspices of the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and led by architect R. V. Gay. Details of the project’s origins can be found in the 1933 document, General Construction Specifications.
Gladstone, Michigan’s historic City Hall was constructed in 1936. The building features six stone reliefs above its main entrance. A local source states that construction involved work relief labor, implying Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) involvement.
“This city hall occupies the site of a former building which was destroyed by fire on April 9, 1933. It is approximately 120 by 140 feet over-all in plan and is two stories and a basement in height. As it… read more
Battle Creek, Michigan’s city hall received a new electric elevator as part of a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied a $5,535 grant for the project, whose total cost was $12,441. Construction occurred between Nov. 1938 and Mar. 1939…. read more
There are four large (about 20′ tall), vertically-oriented murals in the auditorium of the Clare Middle School, originally the Clare High School, on the north wall of the auditorium. The outer murals are dominated by a woman on the left,… read more
Sculpted by Samuel Cashwan in 1938 for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), “Pioneer Mother” is a deco modern-style sculpture on the south side of the Clare High School, now the Clare Middle School. It has the appearance of a madonna… read more
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) was developed and improved during the Great Depression with New Deal work relief funds and labor. The groundbreaking for Wayne County Airport occurred April 1929. On September 4, 1930, Wayne County Airport opens at… read more
“The new armory opened in 1930, and was used as both a training facility and civic event site. The indoor drill floor was used for dances, USO mixers, auto shows, and political and sporting events.[3] In 1932, future heavyweight champion… read more
New Deal agencies undertook a variety of improvements at the Detroit Zoological Park in Royal Oak, Michigan. Between 1933 and 1937, the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and… read more
New Deal agencies undertook a variety of improvements at the Detroit Zoological Park in Royal Oak, Michigan. Between 1933 and 1937, the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and… read more
Battle Creek, Michigan received a water disposal facility as part of a large Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied a $368,000 loan and $144,832 grant for the project, whose total cost was $517,726. Construction occurred between 1934 and 1936. The… read more
Gladstone, Michigan received a water disposal facility as part of a large Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied a $35,170 grant for the project, whose total cost was $78,420. Construction occurred in 1936. The exact location and status of the… read more
Michigan Technological University’s Douglass Houghton Hall was constructed during the Great Depression with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant money (PWA Docket No. [X]1732). The PWA supplied a grant of $178,601; the total cost of the project was… read more
The University of Michigan’s East Quadrangle was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. “Professor Lewis M. Gram, Director of Physical Plant Extension, submitted a communication to the Regents on August 22,… read more
“The Ann Arbor Farmers Market began in 1919 in front of the old courthouse and moved to its current site (formerly a lumber yard) in 1931. Permanent sheds were designed and built by the WPA between 1938 and 1940. Today… read more
Constructed by the Treasury Department as a federal post office and courthouse in 1938-39. The building is still a functioning courthouse.
A combined fire and police station in Niles, Michigan was constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied an $40,050 grant for the project, whose total cost was $94,463. Construction occurred in 1938-9. Sources suggest the building has since… read more
The fire station in Munising, Michigan was constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied an $11,124 grant for the project, whose total cost was $24,920. Construction occurred in 1938-9. The building also housed the Department of Public Works. Firefighting… read more
The Paris Fish Hatchery was the second Michigan fish hatchery. Opened in 1881, it supplied salmon and brown trout fingerlings to the state. It was expanded and renovated by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the mid-193o’s and operated until… read more
“The Huron-Manistee National Forests are two national forests combined in 1945 for administration purposes and which comprise 978,906 acres (3,960 km2) [2] of public lands, including 5,786 acres (23 km2) of wetlands, extending across the northern lower peninsula of Michigan.” (wikipedia.org) “There… read more
The WPA conducted extensive restoration work on this site. According to Frank Straus: “The second cycle began in the summer of 1936, when the Works Progress Administration rebuilt Fort Holmes, using an 1817 engineer’s detailed drawing and elevation of the… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) restored “several historic buildings in Fort Mackinac.”
The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) landscaped the Fort Mackinac Post Cemetery on Mackinac Island.
The W.P.A. conducted restoration and preservation work at Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan.
Established in 1844 to protect the government’s interests in the region’s “Copper Boom,” Fort Wilkinson was permanently abandoned by the U.S. Army in 1870 and became a state park in 1923. Beginning in 1938, renovation of the park began under the Works… read more
Kalamazoo Business and Professional Women’s Club held a competition, awarding the first place $250 prize to Marcelline Gougler, University of Illinois art instructor who had studied under well-known sculptor Alfonso Iannelli, designer of Pavilions at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair… read more