What was the WPA?

Murals painted by Jackson Pollack, the America Guide series of state travel handbooks, plays directed by Orson Welles, and Woody Guthrie’s “Grand Coulee Dam” were all products of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the largest and most active of the New Deal agencies. This complex system also supplied stimulus funds for highway construction, reforestation, rural rehabilitation, and building projects. Created through a 1935 executive order as part of the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act, the WPA functioned through regional, state, and local offices, providing even small villages such as Cooperstown with the resources to undertake large-scale projects.The WPA stipulated that projects must enjoy popular support from, and make real and lasting contributions to, the local community. Recreation ventures naturally attracted funding. The number of recreation workers in America increased from 2,500 in 1930 to more than 46,000 in 1937. The majority of the new workers were WPA laborers. Over the eight years the WPA operated, more than 8,500,000 workers received employment on 1,410,000 projects.

Project #52808: The WPA Builds up Doubleday

Visit any community in America today and you are likely to use a park, cross a bridge, or drive along a highway constructed by the WPA. In the Village of Cooperstown, WPA Project #52808 constructed the brick grandstand, restrooms, bleachers, and new fences of Doubleday Field.
The community’s strong support and the attention the project attracted as the centennial of baseball approached made Doubleday Field an appealing improvement project to the WPA, and they granted the funds to employ 34 skilled laborers. The Village of Cooperstown paid for supplies and equipment while F. Ambrose Clark donated the grandstand bleachers from the Otsego County Fairgrounds. Reusing the bleachers saved money during the hard times of the Depression. The modernization of Doubleday Field enabled the Village to accommodate the residents and tourists who flooded Cooperstown during the 1939 season. Participants celebrated the survival of baseball, America’s game for 100 years, and the survival of America itself.

Look closely at the view from the perspective of the hardworking
laborers at Doubleday Field and you can see a WPA poster hanging on a tree.
The poster reminded laborers of the importance of their work.
Image from the Collection of the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Workers install a post in front of Doubleday Field
Image from the Collection of the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, N.Y.

This wintry view from a nearby rooftop shows the skeletal grandstand under
construction. WPA Projects such as the Doubleday Field improvements brought
hope to people weathering the bleak economy. Winter 1938-1939.
Image from the Collection of the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, N.Y.

From high and low, laborers made sure that Doubleday Field would open on time. 1939.
Image from the Collection of the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, N.Y.

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