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JX)CUMENTS
4- 2108
ROOM
FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY
~YORK PROJ ECTS ADMHTI STRATI ON
Fo r Release t o Afternoon newspapers ,
Thursda y , Ma r ch 21, 1 940 .
sc:1001 COFST:?..UC TIOU F~ATURES WPA PUBLIC BUILDING PROGRAM
Twenty-three t housand new pub lic bu ildings , includ ing
more than enough school buildings to su~pl y one to each o f the
3,070 counties in the United State s , a re among public imp rovements
the nation has received in exchF.!.nge f or its work r e lief p r ogram
duri ng t he las t f o11r and one- hal f ye ar s , Colonel F . C. Harri ngton,
Commissione r of Work Projects, re po rt ed to day .
Other im1ff ov emePts, t he Commissione r said, include
approximatel y 5 , 000 new J') l a~rgrounds and athletic fields and almost
1, 500 new wate r, so\-rage treatment and other pub licly- owned utility
pl ants .
As a pa rt of a compr ehensive i nv entory of WPA accomplishmen ts , th e J1resont r epo rt cove rs public buildings , publ ic utiJ. i ties,
sanitat i on and r ecreation f acilities , on which more than onefourth of all WPA \, orker s have boon employed .
1
The pe ri od covered
is fro m J uly , 1935, i,,rho n th e p rog ram be gan , t h r ough December , 1 939 .
I n tho four and one - half years , Colonel Harri ng to n s~id , virtually
e.vory comrnu ni ty in the United States has benefi tod through one or
mo2·c improvements of these typos.
In the ~0111:Jl ic building cat ego ry alone , he added , WPA has
cor1stru.c t od. more than 23 , 000 nev.J bui 7 dings and made imp rovements
and addi tions to 65 , 000 .
Schools , hospitals, town hal l s and
audit o riums are among t ho typ es included .
In addition to the nearly
5,000 now playgrounds ana. athletic fields, he said, imYJrovemonts mid
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enlargements had been made to 10 ,000 and 7 , 700 new tennis courts
and more th a n 600 new swimming pools had been built .
In the field
of sani te..tion and public heal th, he co 1" tinued , WPA co n structed
over 15, 0 00 miles of sewers ; built 1,750 , 000 san Hary privies for
homes without plumbing faciliti e s, and drained ov er 1, 800 , 0 00
ac r es of mo squito - breeding swa'llp s.
"~'.he unem-olo ye d who have b een
l)U
t to work by WPA have
made a g reat contribution to ou r national weal th,
stated.
11
Colonel Harring ton
"The re is no t a coun t y or city throughout the nation which
has n ot be e n enriched in some tang ible way -- a new or i m:proved
school , a ~1ater plant , new sewerage lines, a park or swi mrdng -po o l
t hr ough the l a 'b or of WPA workers .
"Thes e are imp rovements which would not hav e been made ha d
ther e not bee n a prog ram such as this to make workers a vn ilable ,
b earing nearl y all the labo r costs a nd defr~ in~ a p orti on of other
0
charg es .
"By g iving the une:nployed jobs on u s eful public proj e cts
we h a ve a l so ke p t them off local relief rolls a.'1d preserved - - in
many cas e s , imIJ roving -- th e ir skills in p r epara ti on for the time
when th ey coi:.ld a.gain find p rivat e emp loy,., e nt.
11
Public bui lding p ro j ect s co nstitut e one of t h e most imp ortan t
fi elds of acti v ity for WPA worke rs, Colo ne l riarri 11.g ton p oint ed out .
Of po.rticul e,r si gnificai~co, ho s ~ i d. , o.r e t ho 3 , 985 n ow scho ols which
r ange from small h , o-roo m stru ctur es i r,_ rurc1.l s oc ti ons to l a r ge city
hi g h schools ;:md c olle ge bu i 1 di ngs .
WPA a l so r ec on struct e d or
imp rov ed 27 1 6:.)4 s chool buildi ngs and built 1,480 add i tio!'ls.
' T
;• OW
libra.. r1· es munb o ring
· • 110 we r e built a nd 752 we re i mp roved .
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Of 6 , 435 ne w r e creationa l buildirv; s, 848 are gymnasium s
P.,:a.
31 8 a rc auditoriums , he said .
The r omai.nd or are miscelln.neous
st rnc t-·: rcs s 1 1.ch as field houses , pavilions , p icnic shcl t e r s , et c.
:,ow of fic o E'..nd ad ministra tive building s , ,,hi ch include town hnlls,
po lic e stations , cour t houses , e tc., tot,<>J. 1 , 063 , while i mp rovements
and acldi t ions to 3 , 710 a re reported .
On e hundred fifty-six no w hospitals vere built , many in
ar eas whe re n o adequat e facilities p rGviously existed .
WPA workers
a l so r e construct ed or imp r oved 1,436 hospit a l s a.'1d buiJ'.t additions
o f 66 other s .
Outdoor r e creation areas built o r imJ)r oved by WFA include
1 , 302 now parks agg r ogatin;
sligh tly more th nn 5 9 , 000 ac r es , impro ve-
ments to 34? , 000 ac r e s a n c. 10,rk additions totnlin g 2 , 471 acres.
}Tew
p l ay6 rounds t o tal 2 , 271 , t wo -th irds of which a r e on scho ol prope rty.
More than 10, 000 new t enn i s , handball and hors e shoe courts were built
and 295 miles of ski t r ails clee,rcd and 6 r aded .
to tr:u 629 , and "mding pools , 636 .
}Tew mvimming poo ls
~'.ore t h2.r: 12 , 000 a cres devo t e d to
fairg r ound and rodeo use we r e 1:;re:pared o r i mp rov e d .
The 1 , 470 new yru.b licly-owncd utility p lants c onstructed by
WPA i nclude el e ctri c plnn ts , i nc ine rators , wate r wo rks a."ld sewage
tr oatment pl ants .
A t.otc>.l of 9 , 6 46 miles of new water li nes were
lai d. and 23() , 0 00 co :r,.sumcr connoctions mado .
lJew sewer line s to t 2.l
1 5 ,1 91 miles a Ed 352 , 000 s e r vice connectio:,s were made.
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An important contribution to public health has been made
through the construction of more than 1 , 750,000 sanitary priv ies,
Colonel Harrington said.
These are built to serve f amilies who do
no t have mode rn plum:iing fac ilities , ::-,nd usually replace structures
which are a. menace to pvbl ic heal th .
The TJ . S. Public Heal th
Service has credited this prog ram with much of the r espo·n si bili ty
for the d6crease in typhoid and. othe r filth-borne diseases which have
been preval e nt in ce rt ain parts of the country , the Commissione r
po inted out .
Another valuable aid to public hc.?,l th , he said, has been
achieved thron 6h the drainage of l,8~52 , 000 acres of swamp , tho
constructi on of 1 2 , 327 miles of d r ainage ditches and t he applicati on
of ove r 2 , 000 , 000 gall ons of s p ray in mosquito control work .
. Earlier reports on the WPA i nventory of accomr,lishments
list ed. th e construction or imurovoment of mo r e than 450 , 000 miles of
highweys , roads and streets, the building of hundreds of airports
and landing fields and ex t ensive imp rov em0nts to other J)hases of the
n at ion's puoli c transpo rt ation system .
A th i rd and final report
will be completed in a few days , officials said , listing the
accomrjlishments of p:-o fessional and service p rojects and othe r types
of WPA operations .
(A statistical sum:J11ar y is attached.
Detd l s of WPA
operations, by States, mny be obtained from State WPA headquarters .)
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FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY
WORK PROJECTS ADi1HTISTP.ATION
REPORT OF ACCO}iu?LISHMENT ON P ROJE CTS OF THE DIVISIO N OF OPEHAT IO HS
Cumulative through De cember 3i, 1939
Un ited Stat es Surr@ary
(Part II)
(Preliminary - Sub ject to Revision)
Public Buildings , Excluding UtHi ty Plants ar..d Buildin~s at Airpo rts
Nunber or .A1.1ount
Unit
Uew Con- Reconstruction
Itera
of
Mea,suren ent struction or Inp rovenent Additions
Nunber
23,003
62,468
2,784
Nunber
4,095
28, 416
1,533
Libraries
Nun ber
110
752
53
Schoo ls
Nunber
3,985
27,664
1,480
Nunber
6,435
4,153
392
Auditoriuns
Nunber
318
316
92
Q:\JI111a s i ur.1s
Nunber
848
556
161
Other Recreational Buildings
Nunber
5,269
3 , 281
139
Offices and Adninistrative Buildings
Nu.7 b er
1,063
3,518
192
Hospitals
Nunb er
156
1, 436
66
Penal I ns titu ti ons
Nur.1ber
123
436
22
Firehouses
Nunb er
203
1, 891
48
Gar age s
Nunber
1,739
1,280
128
Storage Buildi ngs
N'\.mber
1,479
2,064
78
Armori es
Number
222
344
31
t}ther Public Buildings
Number
7,488
18,930
294
Public Buildings - Total
Educational Buildings - Total
Recreatio:.1 al Buildings - To t al
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Outdoor Recreational Facilities
Number er Amount
New Con- Reccnstructi on
l:Ieasurement struction er Irrrrr(\yemen t .Ad0..i tio:1S
Unit
l"lf
Itern
tad.iums , Grana_s tancls and FJ.eachers
1 , 640
588
80
2 , 742,069
2 , 458,125
218 , 564,
Humber
Seating
capacity
:i.irgrounds and. Rodeo Grounds
number
Ar 0a in acres
37
2 , 140
231
10 , 581
5
46
:i.rks
lJumbP-:rArea in acres
1 , 302
59 , 179
5 , 380
342 , 540
119
2 , 471
Humber
2 , 271
7 , 898
f:7
School FL,i.2r:;rounds
faunl),:ff
.1 , 383
6 , 737
56
Other Flaygrow1cl.s
Numoe1·
888
1 , 161
11
2,490
14,198
1 , 999
12 , 463
37
135
Ll)'gr ounds
Tot2,l
thletic Fi el els
lfomoer
Ar ea j.n acres
:mdball Cour ts
Nu.'Tlbe r
1 , 365
186
XXX
)rseshoe Cnurts
Number
1 , 751
144
y_xx
2nnis c ourts
Nunoe r
7 , 759
2,438
:~:x
:vimming Pools
Humber
629
281
xx~~
:i.ding P0ol s
Kumbe r
636
63
y_xx
{i Trails
Eiles
295
Ck,
~')
x:xx
d
l-J-u..111ber
56
11
XXX
:i.ndshe:)..ls
lfombcr
1 62
62
X)G(
.1tdoor Theatres
:i:hmbe r
105
23
XXX
Jlf Courses
u,_unber
207
2 , 237
14,901
288
3 , 792
28,607
,.AA
Jumti s
No . cf Holes
Ar ea in clCrAS
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PubJi c Ut il it i es 2,ncl Sanitati on
------------:----------------------Nurr,·oe r er Amo1J.nt
Un it
cf
~!ea surement
utility Fla:1ts
Nert Con-
str1.:,ction
Reco.' s t r ucti • YJ.
or I rrmrovf'rr.en t
--
Ad cli t i ons
Kum·be r
1 , 470
783
66
Humbe r
77
1 01
10
Incinen,.to r fla.:1ts
.immo
- er
74
42
Pum}"Ji n o':; St2. tions
i.fonber
646
219
9
Sewag e Treatment Plants
lhui;.oe r
5 ,;9
313
37
Water Tr ec.trn 8!:t IJ:2,nts
}:Jum-o8r
124
108
10
S , 6 46
2 , 737
xx
239
344
xx
15 , 1 91
3 , 050
xx
Total
'
Water MaL 1S , Ac~ueducts , ancl
Di st ri bution Litle s
Mil es
ViatPr Con sumer Co1:.11Act i ons
Thousanc1.s
St orm and Sru1i tar:r Sewers
Mi l es
3ewe r age Se~·vic e Connections
Thousands
352
33
xx
Manhrles c1,:,.1c1. Catcl1 Basins
Th0nsands
472
2 82
xx
Sanitary ?i·i vios
Th rrnsands
1 , 759
25
xx
Abandoned I.line Sealing
lTo . of o:r'min~s seal ed. 172 , 71 0
xx
xx
1 , 968
17 , 859
xx
xx
xx
xx
Thousands of
Acr e s draine d 1, 833
Hil es of ditch
a~d p i p e 12 , 327
Thoi.::.sands of
gal l ons of
s p ray used 2 , 0 6 ~
hfosqui to Control
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Public Utilities ru1d Sanitation (Cont'd)
Number or Amount
Unit
Item
Few Const :c1.c - Reco:!1.struction
of
. nc:..t~Ad=.a"'.-i=-t""'i""'o"-'n==-s
:; "--1:=.1t"--- - --L"-'li,: . :o:. :rc.0. 1_ _ _. . .:o::..:r::.__;I::.:.m::.,p~r:.. .:o"""v:....:e""'m""e"-'
~e""',a"'-'s""u"".r:.. .:o::.·il::c:1e
----=}:..:.:
i________________
Tele phone and Telegraph Lines
fviil es
2 , 6 99
1 , 536
XXX
Police , Fire Alarm and Traf :' ic
Si g nal Systems
l-dles of Line
1 , 010
987
XU
El ectric Powe r Li nes
Miles
2 , 096
831
XXX:
Ifo . lighted
Acr e s li g htecl
869
9 ,786
108
X"V
445
XX.'{
48?
93
XXX
Flood Lighting Athletic
Field. s , Pa rking Lots , Etc .
Gas , Oil and Steam Pipe Li nes
!viiJ. es
l 1t.- !1.
It ems Not Elsewhere Classi fi ed
lifi:unber or l',.rnount
Unit
Re construction
~Tew ConItem
of
_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ ..;r:..:.fo=-a=su::=r=-=t::m=e=--n="~t _s t _ruc t ion or Irnprov ernc n t Mo.i ti on s
~
730
8 , 028
677
XXX
77,990
XXX
646
60
V"
Xw\.A
Thousands of
3 , 412
Acres
Mil e s of ditch 3 , 697
Mles of pi yie 1 , 513
10 , 850
15,562
XX.'{
594
Y~CT
XXX
13,564
20 , 251
XXX
Landscaping and Beautificatio n , other
Acres
than Roadside and Parks
Ornamental P oo ls and Fountains
Drainage othe r than Roadside and
Mosquito Co nt r ol
Fe ncing
61
16
225
Nu.mbcr
Aro a in acre s
Cemeteries
Numbe r
Miles
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