This WPA land reclamation project (a process by which new land is created from sea or riverbeds) appears to have taken place where 28th street runs into the San Diego coastline near East Harbor Drive. Note the ships and masts… read more
In 1937 the federal Works Progress Administration rebuilt San Diego’s Adobe Chapel of the Immaculate Conception “close to its original site.”
Originally built in 1915 as the New Mexico building, but redesigned, with WPA money, for the 1935-6 California Pacific International Exposition.
Frederick Schweigardt (1885 – 1948) was a student of the Stuttgart and Munich art academies in Germany, Schweigardt also studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris, where he received first prize at the Paris Exposition of 1913. Schweigardt was named the… read more
These two oil on canvas murals, entitled “Farm Landscape” and “Point Loma,” were painted by Charles Reiffel on a commission from the WPA Federal Art Project in 1937. They were originally installed at Memorial Junior High School. Each mural measures… read more
Belle Baranceanu was painted two oil on canvas murals at Balboa Park in 1935, paid for with federal funding: “Progress of Man” and “Education and Culture”. She rushed to complete the later for the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition and… read more
SERA crews built this small fire station in Balboa Park in conjunction with the California Pacific International Exhibition – the first structure built. It is unclear if it survives, and if so where it is located.
Originally built in 1915 as the Foreign Arts Building for the Panama-California Exposition, it was renovated and expanded in 1935, with WPA money for the California-Pacific International Exposition. Rose Hanks created an incised relief doorway depicting Junipero Serra for the… read more
This 4′ high Indiana limestone sculpture and fountain by Donal Hord is titled “Woman of Tehuantepec” and is located in the courtyard of the House of Hospitality at San Diego’s Balboa Park.
Named for the numerous Pepper Trees that provide shade to the picnic area, the popular Pepper Grove offers picnic grounds with 15 tables and an extensive playground for children.
The WPA built an adobe wall around Calvary Cemetery in Mission Hills. This cemetery is the oldest civilian cemetery in San Diego
“In December 1926, the [San Diego] Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring ‘the necessity for the erection of a public building’ for both the City and the County. As a result, three countywide votes were taken to approve the… read more
The Del Mar Fairgrounds project is unique in that it is the only WPA incorporated and built race-track. It was meant to be an economic stimulant for the county. The racetrack was also built with the expectation of providing fairgrounds… read more
Archibald Garner won the Treasury funded competition for ornamentation of the San Diego Post Office and produced these nine glazed, terra-cotta relief panels illustrating the theme “Transportation of the Mail.”
The old Main Post Office for San Diego, now the Downtown Station post office, was constructed with Treasury Department funds and houses Archibald Garner’s 1937 sculpture, “Transportation of the Mail,” produced under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.
The New Deal built this humane society building in Escondido (near San Diego).
The New Deal constructed this band shell in an Escondido city park.
NPS.gov: “A project funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) brought the “southern half” of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery to near completion by March 1938. The New Deal labor program, begun in 1935, primarily completed small-scale new construction, rehabilitation, and/or… read more
“San Diego Harbor” was painted by an unknown artist in 1935 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. Medium: oil on canvas
“San Diego Mural” was painted by Belle Baranceanu in 1934 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. Medium: oil on canvas
“Gateway to the Desert” was painted by Esther Barney in 1934 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. Medium: oil on canvas
A coed high school in Julian CA, a former gold rush mining town. Surviving New Deal projects are two rubble wall pillars with bronze plaques at the entrance to the campus, a long rubble wall facing the street, a rubble… read more
The WPA built San Diego Fire Station No. 13 in 1937 to replace an older station. The building is still standing but the fire station moved to a new location in 1976. The WPA site is now occupied by the… read more
“Lane Field is a former baseball stadium located in San Diego, California. The ballpark was home to the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League from 1936 through 1957. The ballpark was located in downtown San Diego, at the… read more
The Loma Portal school was established in 1914. The WPA made ground improvements in the 1930s.
The WPA built the ramp pictured below running from the street to the beach in Oceanside.
Point Loma High School opened in 1925. The WPA improved the school grounds in the 1930s.
The WPA paved roads, built rock gutters, built paths, constructed a lookout on the west wall (where the bastion was previously located). Additionally, the WPA put in a flagstaff, sprinkling system, drainage, did much of the landscaping, stuccoed the interior… read more
“The Grand March” petrachrome mural was created in 1940 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. The artist is currently unknown to the Living New Deal.
This chapel was originally a house, built in 1850, and converted into a chapel in 1858. In 1937, San Diego's streets were realigned and the chapel was bulldozed. The WPA rebuilt the chapel that same year on an adjacent site,… read more
These three murals in the San Diego County Administration Center were produced under the WPA by Jean Goodwin and Arthur Ames (who later married). Each mural stands about 18′ high and is painted in egg tempera on muslin over a… read more
The “Guardian of Water” is a granite sculpture, with a mosaic and frieze around the base. It was created by Donal Hord in 1939, with support from the WPA. The sculpture is a 23′ high figure of a woman holding… read more
