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 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
“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
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
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
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
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
“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
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