Rock Perimeter Walls of Brackenridge Park - San Antonio, TX USA - WPA Projects on Waymarking.com

The Works Project Administration was a nationally funded effort by the US Congress in the 1930s through early 1940s to assist the US citizens needing work during the national economic depression brought on by the collapse of farming during the time of the Dust Bowl years. Other factors played in as well, but President Franklin D Roosevelt spearheaded the organization of the Works Project Administration (WPA). Within the WPA were various departments, and one subset was the National Youth Project (NYP). During the '30s and '40s, many WPA and NYP world projects were approved and completed in Brackenridge Park. Many related to the San Antonio Zoo, the Japanese Tea Garden, the Outdoor Theater, and the minor but still important utilitarian improvements such as low water bridges across the San Antonio River running through this park, the stone work entrances and the stone work of the low, stone boundary walls that help separate the park's outer edges from the city streets. There are others as well, but this waymark is focused on the sections of stone walls built along Broadway to separate and protect the park land from the city roadways.

Here is the text quoted from the National Registration of Historical Places registration for Brackenridge Park in 2011 which identifies these sections of limestone stone perimeter walls as having been a WPA project from 1936-1937:

“A low limestone perimeter wall built in 1936–1937 separates Broadway and the adjacent sidewalk from the green space in front of the Witte and Pioneer Hall. The wall, which runs the length of the property, was built by Witte museum and WPA workers. Entry points through the wall connect to sidewalks leading to both the Witte and Pioneer Hall. A stone bench is built into the wall, presumably to provide seating for bus patrons. The wall culminates at Tuleta Drive on the south and on the north at the northeast corner of the park property. Curved wing walls and planting beds flank entrances at both the south and north ends of the wall.”

Although there is no metal plaque attributing the WPA mounted on any part of these perimeter walls, the historical documentation from the City of San Antonio and the records from the WPA to validate these are the authentic stone walls described.

The stretch of walls built by the WPA is anchored at the junction of the internal park road called Tuleta with the major city street called Broadway, and extends to the about three blocks until it reaches the end of the park's property line.

Project type: Park structure/building (other than lodge) Date built or created: 1936-1937 Location: Along the edge of Brackenridge Park between the boundary of the Park with the major street of Broadway. City: San Antonio, TX Condition: Good upkeep with a little wear and tear Website for additional information: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   03/19/2021 WayBetterFinder visited it