Walt Disney contributed drawings for WPA murals at the former Benton Grammar School (the school he attended as a boy, later renamed D.A. Holmes Elementary). The murals were completed by WPA artists and delighted children for decades. The school was… read more
Blenheim Park was founded in 1922. In the late 1930s, Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers made improvements to the park.
Pictured is some of the remaining original paving installed by the WPA along Brush Creek as a flood control project in 1935. The project has a controversial history due to its relation to political machine boss Tom Pendergast’s Concrete Company…. read more
“Kansas City has a well-studied plan for its civic center and the city hall block in area and consists of a rectangular base six stories high from which a tower rises to a height of 429 feet above the basement… read more
Artist Carl Paul Jennewein created a series of fountains flanking the walkway to the PWA city hall entrance, descending to the south away from the city hall with a winged horse followed by shells and fantastical creatures. C. Paul Jennewein,… read more
This covered market was completed with WPA assistance in 1940. An on-scene information sign describes the market’s history: “January 1940 saw a totally new City Market. As compensation for teh deterioration this area had suffered since the First World War,… read more
"This school is for crippled children and for children who are deficient in sight or hearing or who are cardiac cases. A partial basement provides a manual training department, a playroom, and three unfinished rooms. The first floor has four… read more
The Works Progress Administration built the Delbert J Haff Circle Fountain in Kansas City MO, in 1940.
“On June 9, 1933, the Jackson County Court awarded a $2,073,609 contract to the Swenson Construction Company for construction of the Jackson County Courthouse. The opulent Art Deco-style 300-foot tall building would reside alongside Kansas City’s skyscrapers and provide much-needed… read more
This PWA courthouse is decorated by several exterior bas-reliefs and a bronze statue of Andrew Jackson, all created by artist Charles Keck. “Bas-relief friezes are located at about the 6th floor level on the north (front of the courthouse), east… read more
Now known as the National WWI Museum and Memorial, what was then the Liberty Memorial was the recipient of efforts on the part of multiple New Deal agencies. National Register of Historic Places nomination form: Numerous small-scale features are located throughout… read more
When built by the PWA in 1936, Lincoln was the only high school available for black students in this segregated school system. It was built on a hill overlooking the vibrant 18th and Vine entertainment district that boasted some of… read more
The Kansas City Municipal Auditorium was built by the PWA in 1934-35. “Municipal Auditorium is a large, multi-purpose facility in Kansas City, Missouri with three halls: The Arena, Music Hall, and Little Theatre. It opened in 1936 and features Streamline… read more
The Kansas City Municipal Auditorium facade is decorated with three bas relief carved medallions depicting classic themes. The medallions were created by Albert Stewart in 1934 as part of the PWA construction project. Albert Stewart was born in Kensington, England,… read more
Edward Buk Ulreich painted two murals for the Columbia, Missouri, post office in 1937: “Indians Watching Stagecoach in the Distance” and “Pony Express.” He was paid $1,580 for his murals, commissioned by the Department of the Treasury’s Section of Painting… read more
R. J. Delano High School was completed in 1939 with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA), after a design by the architectural firm of Keen & Simpson. It is dominated by a tall tower with rock or concrete… read more
This stately brick and stone high school was constructed by the PWA in 1937.
This addition to the Switzer School was to the north of the building constructed in 1899 and replaced the original Switzer School which was built in 1882. The addition was completed in 1939 with funds provided by the Public Works… read more
Swope Park Swimming Pool was built with Works Progress Administration funds in 1941. It is located north of The Lagoon and west of Blue River in Swope Park.
“The swimming pool was built in 1941-1942 as a project of the Work Progress Administration using WPA labor, sponsored by the City of Kansas City. James D. Marshall and M. Dwight Brown, architects and engineers, developed the plans for the… read more
Now an apartment building, the old Art Modern United States Courthouse and Post Office in Kansas City housed the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri until 1998. The GSA lists significant events in the building’s development: 1935:… read more
The original parts of this school were constructed in 1915 with a cut rock base, brick and cut rock accents. The north side of the school, which faces the paved playground/parking area, is the main entry to the school. In… read more