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Diamond Teague Park
In 1936 Work: A Journal of Progress reported that in 1933-34 the Civil Works Administration (CWA) relief workers constructed 245 feet of seawall at the Sewer Division property yard and a cable shed at the garage. The exact site was not specified, but the Water and Sewer Authority (then known as the Sewer Division) has a waterside property just southeast of the National Mall that would be a likely place for such a seawall.
This is further confirmed by a later report in Work: A Journal of Progress that the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was soon to complete a seawall at First and O Streets SE. This is at the same Water and Sewer Authority property. The WPA workers were either completing or extending the previous seawall.
Today, the Diamond Teague Park occupies the waterfront at First and O Streets.
Edmonston Pumping Station
The Edmonston Storm Water Pump Station is located in the town of Edmonston, Md., in Prince George’s County. For years, the existing pump station had been unable to keep up with high-intensity storm flows reaching the station’s retention pond and transfer them to the Anacostia River. As a result, nearby homes and properties had been subjected to flooding caused by pond overflow.
Following severe flooding in 2004, the Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPW&T) commenced the Edmonston Storm Water Pump Station improvements project. The station upgrade included three new Archimedes screw pumps, each 46 ft long and 10 ft in diameter and capable of pumping 133 cu ft of water per second.
https://www.estormwater.com/sites/sws/files/pumpitup.pdf
Brunch at Purple Patch
Yummy Filipino food to celebrate @surfertude’s bday!
Purple Patch also featured recently in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/global-breakfast-dishes/2021/02/16/d625e058-6b09-11eb-ba56-d7e2c8defa31_story.html
Washington Monument Restoration
The Washington Monument, one of the best-known and most-loved memorials in the country, was renovated with the aid of a 1934 grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The monument is built of granite with an exterior cladding of white marble. No repair work had been done since the monument was finished in 1884 and the exterior had cracked and spalled, resulting in leaching of mortar and leaking through the walls.
In 1934, a tubular steel scaffold was erected, which completely covered the shaft of the monument. Workers repointed, repaired and cleaned the entire shaft from top to bottom. The work was completed in February 1935. The cleaning, pointing, and repair work cost $19,042, the scaffolding cost $67,333, for a total project cost of $86,375.
The Washington Monument was designed by Robert Mills as an Egyptian obelisk, a style much in vogue in the first half of the 19th century. Construction began in 1848, with funds provided by popular subscription. It had reached a height of 150 feet by 1854, when the money ran out. After the Civil War, Congress appropriated funds for its completion and work was resumed in 1878 under the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers. The Monument was finally completed in 1884.
Howard University Founders Library
Founders Library, the centerpiece of Howard University campus, was built 1937-1938 with the aid of the Public Works Administration (PWA). The official opening came in mid-1939. The library stands on the site of the 19th century Old Main building, which housed most of the functions of the university.
The Georgian-style edifice, designed by African-American architect Albert Cassell, recalls Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The walls are red brick and the trim is limestone. The roof is slate. The clock tower soars 167 feet high and is topped by a golden spire.
Congress appropriated the money to build the library in 1929 and Cassell prepared designs for nine buildings, but those plans ran into the Great Depression. So, in the mid-1930s the PWA gave $800,000, or 4/5ths of the required funding, to carry out the plans for the new library.
The Howard University website says this:
“Built at a cost of $1,106,000, this was one of the most important academic structures of the period. It was the largest and most complete library among the historically black colleges and universities. It was considered one of the most modern and sophisticated facilities of its type in the nation. Intended to house 200,000 volumes with future capacity reaching 500,000 volumes, it was a marvel.
Founders Library made use of the current technological advancements such air conditioning and mechanical elevators for moving books. Its high ceilings, long hallways and vast reading rooms were the rival of those of the Ivy League. Its Georgian facade, oak paneled rooms and stately entrance way beckoned students and faculty into the tranquil realm of intellectual life.
Harold Ickes, U.S. Secretary of the Interior and advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt, spoke at the May 25, 1939 dedication ceremony. Newspaper accounts often described Mr. Ickes as the Ex Officio Patron of Howard University. His role in providing Federal funding through he Public Works Administration was crucial to the project.” (http://www.howard.edu)
In his dedication speech, Ickes said:
“A library is more than a building, it is more than the volumes that rest upon its shelves… Let us hope that the library, by ever remaining an inexhaustible well of human wisdon and experience, shall help one of the genuinely creative sectors of our population to achieve the more abundant life.”
The library currently has a grant from DOI for Handicap Accessibility Renovations.
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)²
The Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)² is a public charter school committed to academic excellence, focusing on mathematics and science for grades 6 – 8. (MS)² is a high-performing charter school, created in partnership with Howard University, designed to deliver programs to help students reach their goals and develop the skills needed to succeed beyond the classroom.
At Howard University in front of Blackburn Center
A Bridge Across and Beyond by Richard Hunt is unveiled on April 27, 1979.
bronze abstract sculpture which sits, surrounded by fountains, within a large reflecting pool. The sculpture consists of two massive pyramid-like structures that bend towards each other, symbolizing both Africa and the descendants of Africans in America; the “bridge” is formed by abstract African symbols reaching across from each pyramid to the other.
The Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building at UMCP
Jeong H. Kim received the first Ph.D. in reliability engineering from the University of Maryland in 1991, and is now a professor of practice in the Clark School of Engineering. Kim has been widely recognized for his achievements. In 2005, shortly after being appointed president of Lucent’s Bell Labs unit, he was named one of the Top 10 Most Influential Asian Americans in Business. He has been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering and sits on a number of corporate, university, and non-profit boards. An entrepreneur as well as an engineer, Kim founded Yurie Systems, where he pioneered the development of a revolutionary asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch for wireless applications. The ATM switch became a pivotal key in the modernization of telecommunications systems for today’s digital market. In 2004, he was inducted into the Clark School’s Innovation Hall of Fame.
This is the side entrance, the front of the building is more impressive, but it was blocked off for construction.
