Above: The description for this WPA photograph--taken in Bivalve, Maryland, May 2, 1937--reads: "Construction of wharf and breakwater. Placing whalers on piles." Photo from the University of Maryland College Park Archives.
Above: WPA workers constructing Pier 8 in Baltimore, Maryland, May 1936. Photo from the University of Maryland College Park Archives.
Above: A new yacht harbor for Berkeley, California, ca. 1938. The editors of The Oakland Post Enquirer wrote: "The Berkeley yacht harbor and marine playground is an example of constructive WPA achievement. Recently in the bay area we have seen the opening of the new Aquatic Casino in San Francisco [today known as the Maritime Museum, part of the Aquatic Park Historic District], very beautiful, with its broad terraces overlooking the bay and the Golden Gate, its fine sandy beach and outdoor grandstands for aquatic sports, its luminous murals - one of the most modern and splendid public play centers in the United States. It was a WPA project. This development and the Berkeley yacht harbor project, are examples of what can and should be done in making better use of the recreational assets of our bay... Our attitude toward the bay has been that it is a utility for waterborne commerce and a place into which we can dump our sewage. Fortunately, this attitude is changing, under the impact of such examples as the Berkeley Yacht Harbor and the Aquatic Casino..." (March 29, 1939). Photo from the National Archives.
Above: "Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 21, and Coit Tower," a watercolor on paper, by Dong Kingman (1911-2000), created while he was in the WPA, between 1935 and 1943. San Francisco's Maritime Museum (the "Aquatic Casino" mentioned in the previous caption) is the white building to the right, on the shore). Image from the General Services Administration and the Harn Museum of Art.
Above: A WPA-built "fishermans' wharf," Currituck, North Carolina, 1936. Photo from the National Archives.
Above: The description for this photograph, taken around 1937, reads: "[A] section of the harbor which was deepened and developed by the WPA at Atlantic [a town in North Carolina]. Not only do commercial fishermen take advantage of this facility, but it is now one of the most popular points of embarkation for pleasure fishermen going after channel bass, blue fish, mackerel and other fine fish which are caught off the North Carolina coast." Photo from: Works Progress Administration, North Carolina WPA, Its Story: Recreation, Vol. 2, No. 5 (First Quarter, 1937).
Above: The seabase above was dedicated at Beulah, Michigan, on or about October 4, 1939. "In 1939, NYA youth started to build a transcontinental chain of seaplane bases extending from Maine to Key West, and along the Gulf of Mexico to Louisiana. Other networks of bases were established up the Pacific coast, in the Mississippi Valley, and in the Great Lakes region. These bases usually consisted of docks and pontoons" (NYA's final report, p. 139, emphasis added). The photo above appeared in the Midland Daily News (Midland, Michigan, October 4, 1939, p. 7. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.
Above: WPA workers "Driving sheet piling in construction of Timber Jetty at Queen's Creek," Mathews County, Virginia, between 1935 and 1943. Photo from the National Archives.
Above: The description for this photograph--taken in Rockland, Maine, October 1937--reads: "The Rockland Seawall and Yacht Basin. This basin has received much favorable comment from yachtmen using its facilities. The site is a former dump." Photo from the National Archives.
Above: Between 1933 and 1942, the New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funds for massive dock, pier, and harbor improvement projects, such as these piers in New York City. Photo from the National Archives.
Above: "Aerial view of new docks and warehouses of the port of Oakland, California, constructed with the aid of PWA funds." How important were projects like this--carried out all across the nation by the New Deal--to America's development into an economic powerhouse? Photo from the National Archives.
Above: "San Francisco Wharf," a lithograph on wove paper, by David P. Chun (1899-1989), created while he was in the WPA, between 1935 and 1943. Image from the General Services Administration and the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
Above: New docks and warehouses for Brownsville, Texas, courtesy of the New Deal / PWA. Photo from the National Archives.
Above: A postcard showing a public yacht harbor created on the Great Salt Lake, Utah, by the WPA, 1936. Photo and post card from L. Clyde Anderson, the Deseret Book Company, and Curteich-Chicago; scanned from a personal copy and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.
Above: A description of the yacht harbor, on the back of the postcard (see previous image). Also see, "Great Salt Lake Yacht Harbor Will Be Tourist Mecca; Nations Speed Boat Races In Prospect," The Transcript-Bulletin (Tooele, Utah), March 6, 1936.
New Deal Shoreline Structures
Here are some New Deal statistics:
WPA: 364 projects to build new docks, wharves, and piers, and another 364 projects to improve existing docks, wharves, and piers. (WPA workers also constructed 193 miles of jetties and breakwaters, and improved another 7 miles.) (WPA final report, p. 132).
NYA: 269 projects to build, expand, reconstruct, or improve seaplane landing locations and facilities (NYA final report, p. 140). Recall from the seaplane photo and caption above that "These bases usually consisted of docks and pontoons."
PWA: 115 projects involving docks, wharves, and piers (Public Works Administration, America Builds: The Record of PWA, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1939, pp. 289 and 291).
CCC: 532 new landing docks and piers, and 18 existing structures maintained (CCC final report by Director James McEntee, p. 104).
Other New Deal agencies, especially CWA and FERA, also carried out this type of work but statistical totals are not readily available. However, just using the four agencies listed above, we see that the New Deal had well over 1,600 projects to build or improve docks, wharves, piers, and similar shoreline structures and facilities. This New Deal work had a significant impact on America's commerce, recreation, and defense.
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