Built for the People

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is the centerpiece of the New Deal, creating most of the jobs. Although its programs end in 1943, it leaves a national legacy still serving millions of Americans, every day.

WPA built the big dams that still power the rural electricity grid. But it's also responsible for a staggering array of construction projects everywhere, including, airports, golf courses, playgrounds and even swimming pools.

Almost every city, however small, contains buildings, parks and amenities that might never have been built without New-Deal funding. They didn't arise spontaneously out of America's natural abundance.
WPA's lasting legacy

  Still With Us Today
This page celebrates the results of WPA vision that remain with us today, making America a more interesting and pleasant place than it would otherwise be, left to corporate enterprise alone.

WPA airports and stadiums

  Thanks, WPA
Airports weren't built because companies thought airplanes needed a place to land. Like many community sporting venues, they were the deliberate act of government planners, creating a path forward while helping families eat.


WPA schools and libraries

  If it's Old and Brick, it's Probably WPA
We often assume that our schools, libraries and playgrounds were built using local tax dollars. But where facilities are more than 80 years old, the funding was likely provided by New-Deal programs.