Happy Sunday, one and all. Well, it looks like I'm still in the "more stuff" category this week. While the nearest city to my temporary home - San Angelo - has a whole bunch of New Deal projects, the park itself (three guesses which park) was not built by the CCC. But there is so much in the area, I couldn't pass it up. Besides, this is my second time at this park. The last time was pretty miserable (long story one), and I wanted to give it a chance at redemption. And it did so in spades (long story two, I'll get to those in another post.)
Let's get started with San Angelo. The city is the home of one of my top five New Deal projects, Civic League Park. And although the WPA did a lot of work there, and most of it is still around, what really makes the park stand out is it's Waterlily collection.
Wait, what? A waterlily collection in West Texas? Yep, the International Waterlily Collection at Civic League park is world renowned and houses specimens from all over, including several Texas varieties. The park has tanks set up in such a way that visitors can walk around the collection and really see all the flowers. It's truly a spectacular sight.
And yea, the WPA did a few things here, also. There are a couple of bridges, some walkways on the river, a stone lined creekway, some walls and a few small buildings scattered around. All in all a great place to spend a warm afternoon. And the locals were out in force, enjoying a sunny day.
Civic League Park isn't the only thing that the New Deal did for San Angelo. Dust storms weren't the only destructive weather events in the 1930's. I've seen more that once notes about floods destroying structures and facilities. San Angelo was hit by a massive flood in 1936 that destroyed, among other things, the municipal swimming pool. Times being what they were, there was no money to build a new one, and the voters struck down a bond vote to get cash.
Enter the WPA. They agreed to assist with the project, and a second bond election passed. Work began in March of 1938, and thirteen months later the new pool opened. It is still in operation today and is a striking example of WPA craftsmanship.
Other WPA projects in San Angelo include the Nature Center and a bridge over the Concho River.
Side note time: San Angelo is the home of the Bordello I visited a couple of years back. Get out of the gutter, people, it's a museum now! Check out my visit here.
Elsewhere in the area is Ballinger. I spent some time here as a child with family, but hadn't really been back in many, many years. The city park still has a few WPA remnants such as walls, a small building and some picnic tables. And the old post office is still in operation. A small bridge is probably overlooked by the residents that pass over it daily (that's it in the pic up top), and the Sheriff's office still looks the same.
In Sterling City, the County Courthouse still shows the work of the WPA.
That's it for now. Next time is a real treat. I'm back in a CCC park that has a LOT of work to show off, not to mention hiking, mountain climbing, amazing views and even spelunking opportunities. Until then,
Later, Folks.