The February 1934 issue of California Highway and Public Works describes federal funding for extensive road work from Oakland to Richmond. When the Key System replaced portions of their lightrail trolley with bus service, federal funds helped with track removal… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the mile-long Berkeley Aquatic Park on the bay front south of University Avenue in 1935-37. It was created as a water park for water skiing, canoeing, sculling and model yacht racing, and is still used for… read more
The entrance to Berkeley Community Theater on the interior courtyard of Berkeley High School is adorned by two cast stone bas-relief sculptures by Lulu Braghetta. On is female, with “Drama, Dance, Music” inscribed in relief, and the other is male,… read more
The G Building of Berkeley High School sports a large group of cast stone bas-relief sculptures on the exterior. The artist was Lulu Braghetta, who worked under the auspices of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration…. read more
The Berkeley Community Theater, part of Berkeley High School, was started with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1941. The foundation was laid and the street framework erected when World War II interrupted further work in 1942…. read more
The G and H buildings were New Deal added to Berkeley High School in the 1930s, almost surely funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The origin and amount of funds need to be confirmed, as do the years of… read more
Berkeley High School’s Community Theater is adorned with cast stone bas-relief sculptures by Robert Howard, son of architect John Galen Howard. The sculptures are on the exterior side of the building, along Allston Way and facing the Berkeley Civic Center… read more
Jacques Schnier created the impressive bas-relief sculpture, “St. George and the Dragon”, that fills a huge space on the west (exterior) side of Berkeley High School’s building H (a former Science and Industrial Arts Building), which faces Martin Luther King… read more
“The actual Berkeley Marina, used by many people who sail on the Bay, was constructed as the Berkeley Yacht Harbor in the late 1930s by the Works Progress Administration in conjunction with its nearby work developing Aquatic Park.” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Marina… read more
The Berkeley Rose Garden lies on the west side of Euclid Avenue in the Berkeley Hills. It was constructed in the little valley of Codornices Creek, which emerges in a viewing pool at the bottom of the garden. The rose… read more
The National Youth Administration (NYA) constructed the boat house of the Berkeley Yacht Club in 1939.
This reservoir was built just south of Cordonices Park in Berkeley by Henry Berryman in 1877. It was still open to the air when the WPA worked on it in the 1930s, but was later enlarged and covered over with… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established Camp SP-10 in Strawberry Canyon in the hills behind the main campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Camp SP-10 was home to CCC Company 751 from October 5, 1933 to May 31, 1934…. read more
This organ screen was originally built for the California School for the Blind. It is a wood carving with gold leaf and polychrome. It remains in the same location, but the building has since become part of the UC Berkeley… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) built tennis and handball courts at Codornices Park – most of which lies on the east side of Euclid Road and is accessed via a pedestrian tunnel from the ball courts, which are on the west… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) set up five camps in the East Bay hills, starting in 1933-34 and carrying on until 1942. From those camps, the “CCC boys” set out into the newly-created East Bay regional parks to do a… read more
New Deal work relief and conservation crews cleared hundreds of acres of trees and brush and planted hundreds of thousands of trees and shrubs in three of the original units of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD): Tilden, Temescal,… read more
The East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) was formed in 1934 and acquired land for parks from the East Bay Municipal Water District in 1936. The first parks were Tilden, Sibley, Temescal and Redwood in the East Bay Hills behind… read more
The East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) was formed in 1934 and acquired land for parks from the East Bay Municipal Water District in 1936. The first parks were Tilden, Sibley, Temescal and Redwood in the East Bay Hills behind… read more
The East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) was formed in 1934 and acquired land for parks from the East Bay Municipal Water District. The first parks were Tilden, Sibley, Temescal and Redwood in the East Bay Hills behind Berkeley and… read more
The first East Shore highway along the Berkeley waterfront was built by the New Deal in 1933-34, with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) and relief labor from the Civil Works Administration (CWA). The PWA had financed the Bay… read more
The WPA spread a new loam surface, painted bleachers, and installed playground lights, in addition to improving other playground conditions.
The WPA graded and surfaced the volleyball courts, graded and spread a new loam surface at the playground, painted bleachers, the Community House and outside fences, and re-landscaped.
Outdoor theater, seating capacity of 350. "The theater was built by the Civil Works Administration (Project Number 5) and was dedicated on 22 April 1934. That same year, the park commission reported that the 'CWA funds not only provided much… read more
The WPA repaired the walks with gravel and oil, improved the sprinkling system, and re-landscaped as part of the WPA parks project in Berkeley.
This 3’6″ x 4’6″ bas relief of limestone located on the outside of the Berkeley Main Post Office titled “Post Office Activities” was created by David Slivka under the auspices of the Treasury Relief Art Project. Man at center is… read more
This tempera and oil on canvas mural “Incidents in California History” by Suzanne Scheuer was painted in 1936-37 with funding from the Treasury Relief Art Project. Located in the Berkeley Main Post Office. This mural depicts the earliest inhabitants of… read more
Then known as the Lincoln School, this school was improved by the WPA in 1937-1938. In his book on Berkeley and the New Deal, Harvey Smith reports that “Research has not yet revealed what improvements were made, but earthquake safety… read more
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Building was originally constructed for the federal Farm Credit Administration, an agency created by the early New Deal to provide credit to farmers in difficulty and to stimulate investment in the farm sector. It… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided assistance in the landscaping and improvements at Berkeley’s Civic Center Park, c 1940-41. “… the land acquisition and most of the construction costs were covered by a local bond issue of $125,000… Research… read more
From the City Landmark sign pictured below: “Well sited in a triangular park, the building offers a harmonious gateway to the surrounding Northbrae neighborhood. It was designed in the Spanish Revival style with a low-pitched red tile roof, central tower,… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) planted 10,000 street trees around Berkeley CA in 1933-34 and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) followed with 5,000 more, c. 1938-39. (Gazette, 3/11/39) According to the city manager of Berkeley, 15,000 flowering fruit trees had been… read more
The Tilden Park Botanical Garden for California native plants was built by the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) with the aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1940-42. The garden was the brainchild of Professor Howard McMinn of… read more
The Brazilian Room in Tilden Park began as the Brazil Pavilion at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay in 1939. The interior wood was used to reconstruct a new building in Tilden Park, using… read more
The Tilden Park golf course was constructed by the the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) with aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief labor in 1936-37. WPA workers first uprooted 20,000 eucalyptus from former plantations of the… read more
The Public Works Administration (PWA) financed the construction of Lake Anza in Tilden Park. The lake is formed by a dam on Wildcat Creek which flows through the park (apparently, the lake drowned a lovely 9-foot waterfall on Wildcat Creek)…. read more
