The Works Progress Administration built facilities for the Alabama Boys Industrial School in Roebuck, a neighborhood of Birmingham, Jefferson County. The facilities included a dining hall and a heating plant. The present condition of the structure is unknown to the… read more
The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Bankhead Lock and Dam (Lock 17) on the Black Warrior River in the vicinity of Birmingham. “Dam no. 17 on the Warrior River has improved the navigability of the river. This dam is… read more
The Works Progress Administration built a new National Guard Armory in Birmingham. According to BHAM Wiki: “The Graymont Armory was an Alabama National Guard armory located at 210 Graymont Avenue in McLendon Park near Legion Field in Birmingham’s Graymont neighborhood.”… read more
Established in 1931, the airport now known as Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport was the site of substantial work relief efforts on the part of multiple New Deal agencies: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA). A 1931 documents… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to complete Birmingham’s historic Municipal Auditorium, now known as Boutwell Memorial Auditorium.
The New Deal mural “Fairy Tale Scenes,” painted by Carrie Hill, was commissioned by the Federal Art Project. The work, which is installed in the children’s room at Birmingham’s East Lake Branch Library, was restored in 1993.
Originally the East Fire Department of Birmingham serving the Lakeview Community, Fire Company 8 was one of two stations build in response to the 1905 Tarriff assessment. Due to its proximity to Station 3 it was moved to the north… read more
The Civil Works Administration was involved in repairs to this former downtown fire station. 23 fire stations in the city were classed “A” projects 37-C-715 “needing general minor repairs, having sufficient sound value left in them to justify a thorough… read more
Birmingham Fire Station No. 11 (1910) was a station for the Birmingham Fire Department located at 1250 13th Street North, adjoining the alley between 12th and 13th Avenues to serve the Fountain Heights area. Construction of a station in the… read more
The former Station No. 12 was built in 1929 in Woodlawn at 1st Avenue North and 57th Street North. Designed by Turner & Slater Architects in a residentially-scaled Tudor Revival style, the station was pulled back from the street to… read more
This station was constructed in 1928 near Woodward Park. The two-story beige brick station house was designed by Bem Price and constructed for $13,800 by Charles W. Hall. Station No. 15 held one 750-gallon pumper truck in 1960. It later… read more
Before Pratt City was annexed into Birmingham, the independent municipality was protected by three volunteer firefighting companies, the first of which was organized by Mayor Ephraim Hudnall around 1900. After 1910 the Birmingham Fire Department took over the Pratt City… read more
“Birmingham Fire Station No. 19 serves the East Lake neighborhood. In 1960 Company No. 19 operated one 750-gallon Seagrave pumper truck from the station. in 2017 Station 19 ranked as the 68th busiest Engine Company in the Nation according to… read more
There is little info about this station beyond that it “was equipped with one 1939 Seagrave pumper truck with a 750-gallon capacity.” This station was fixed up under a CWA Birmingham Public Buildings 37-C-715 project. These were designated Class “A”,… read more
Birmingham Fire Station 4 is a retired fire station that served the “East End” and Terminal Station area from the 200 block of 24th Street North. It was one of several stations constructed in the mid-1920s by the city of… read more
The original station, constructed in 1905 at 1501 3rd Avenue North, is the oldest Birmingham fire station still standing. Designed as a 2-bay, 2-story station it has been center of much of the departments history with an original name of… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) built Fire Station No. 9 in Birmingham AL. There is little information about the history of this station. From Google Street View, it appears to have a mid century style of architecture indicating that it… read more
The Works Progress Administration built an annex for the Hillman Hospital in Birmingham. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an annex for the Hillman Hospital in Birmingham. Adjacent to the hospital stands a new clinic, also built by the WPA.
The Works Progress Administration carried out landscaping and beautification work on a street in the Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, circa 1936.
The 16-story Jefferson Hospital was completed in 1940 and opened in February 1941. Financed with a PWA grant and Reconstruction Finance Loans, the 575-bed hospital had 11 operating rooms, maternity section and all-electric kitchens. It was renamed Jefferson Tower in… read more
Birmingham’s Lane Park was the site of substantial work relief efforts on the part of multiple New Deal agencies: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Historical marker: “The land was also used for the Allen… read more
Then known as Municipal Stadium, Birmingham’s Legion Field was improved by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Lowery Field is a multi-use recreation field with 4 baseball diamonds, a football field, a basketball court and a playground. The state archives show a picture baseball field that was built by the Civil Works Administration or Alabama Relief Administration.
The Works Progress Administration built a National Guard Squadron facility at the Municipal Airport in Birmingham, in 1936.
The Works Progress Administration built a farm-to-market road connecting Croston with New Castle, in the vicinity of Birmingham. The road was “farm-to-market type with stone bridge, no cars.”
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at Oak Hill Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Civil Works Administration of Jefferson County employed women in a school clean up project 37-C-348-2. Excerpts from the Report on Civil Works Administration of Alabama Jefferson County Division: “The clean-up of Birmingham Public Schools and Public Buildings enabled the… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Slossfield Community Center. Constructed between 1936 and 1939, the complex consists of several buildings that included a health and maternity clinic, an education building, and a recreation center. The Art Deco structures were… read more
“Smithfield Court is a low-rental housing developmenterected in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, fully financed with P.W.A. funds. A site of 22 acres on which were located some of the city’s worst slum dwellings, was purchased at a cost of… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve Third Avenue South in Birmingham, Alabama, along stretches of the road co-designated as U.S. 78.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to “Improve US 11 on First Avenue from 85th Street to Cozy Corner” in Birmingham, Alabama.
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to “Grade, drain, and improve US 31 from North Birmingham to Lewisburg, 1936.”
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) widened and straightened Village Creek in Birmingham, Alabama.
“It was not until 1936 that the statue found a suitable home, thanks to the Works Progress Administration, which partially funded a new park in the city at the top of Red Mountain. A 126-foot pedestal was built of local… read more
The Works Progress Administration built a 60” pipe, water purification and supply system in Birmingham, in 1936. The exact location and current condition of this project is unknown to the Living New Deal.
The Works Progress Administration built facilities at the Willow Wood Community Center. The park is still in service today under the name Willow Wood Recreation Center.
This large WPA Federal Art Project mural by Richard Coe and Sidney Van Sheck was completed in 1936 and restored in 2009. The full inscription is “Gloried Be They Who Foresaking Unjust Riches Strive in Fulfillment of Humble Tasks for Peace… read more