PWA Moderne (or “P.W.A. Moderne”, PWA/WPA Moderne, Federal Moderne, Depression Moderne, Classical Moderne, Stripped Classicism) is an architectural style of many buildings in the United States completed between 1933 and 1944, during and shortly after the Great Depression as part of relief projects sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The style draws from traditional motifs such as Beaux-Arts classicism and Art Deco and is similar to Streamline Moderne, often with zigzag ornamentation added. The structures reflect a greater use of conservative and classical elements and have a monumental feel. They include post offices, train stations, public schools, libraries, civic centers, courthouses, museums, bridges, and dams across the country. Banks were also built in the style because such buildings radiated authority.

Elements of the style
Typical elements of PWA Moderne buildings include:

Classical balanced and symmetrical form
Windows arranged as vertical recessed panels
Surfaces sheathed in smooth, flat stone or stucco

Examples of PWA buildings
Examples of PWA buildings and structures include:

Arizona/Nevada
Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) – on the Colorado River in Arizona and Nevada.
Arizona State Fairgrounds Grandstand (1936–1937) – Phoenix, Arizona. The exterior of the grandstand has 23 bas-relief panels by David Carrick Swing and Florence Blakeslee, that were funded by the Federal Art Project.
WPA Administration Building (1938) – at 19th Avenue and McDowell Road on the Arizona State Fairgrounds, Phoenix, Arizona. It was headquarters for Works Progress Administration−WPA projects in Arizona.

Florida
Jacksonville
Ed Austin Building (former Federal Courthouse, current State Attorney’s Office), 1933, Marsh & Saxelbye

California
Greater Los Angeles

Venice Police Station, Los Angeles

Long Beach Main Post Office

Los Angeles Stock Exchange Building
Burbank: Burbank City Hall, Allen Lutzi
Culver City:
Helms Bakery, 1930, E. L. Bruner
MGM Studios, 1938–39, Claude Beelman, Beaux-Arts in the guise of PWA Moderne
El Segundo: El Segundo Elementary School, 1936
Hermosa Beach: North School, 1934 Samuel Lunden (Per File #19-45 of DSA Records); Pier Avenue School, 1939, March, Smith and Powell
Inglewood: Inglewood Memorial Park, buildings 1933 and 1940, Walter E. Erkes
Lancaster: Post Office (1940, Louis A. Simon and former School Building (c. 1937)
Lawndale: Leuzinger High School, T.C. Kistener & Cómo.; Kistner & Curtis; Eugene D. Birnbaum and Associates
Long Beach
Jefferson Junior High School Building, 1936
Long Beach Main Post Office, 1934, Louis A. Simon and James A. Wetmore
Municipal Utilities Building, 1932, Dedrick and Bobbe
Robert Louis Stevenson school, c. 1936
Veteran’s Memorial Building 1936–37, George Kahrs

Los Angeles:
Abraham Lincoln High School (Lincoln Heights), 1937–38, Albert C. Martin
Carpenter Community Charter School
Distribution Station #28, Department of Water and Power (West L.A.), 1945–46, G. E. Benker, engineer
Federal Building and Post Office (now U.S. Federal Courthouse), 1938–1940, Louis A. Simon
Hall of Administration, 1956–1961: A continuation of the PWA Moderne style in the 1950s
Hollywood Branch Post Office, 1937, Claude Beellman, Allison and Allison
Pacific Stock Exchange, 1929–30, Samuel E. Lunden
Police and Fire Station of Venice, c. 1930
San Pedro High School, 1935–1937, Gordon B. Kaufman
Sepulveda Dam, 1941, flood control dam on the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando Valley, 1939–1941, War Department
U.S. Customs House and Post Office (San Pedro), 1935
U.S. Naval and Marine Corps Armory, 1939–40, Stiles Clements
University of Southern California campus: Alan Hancock Foundation and Memorial Museum, 1940, Cram and Ferguson
Pasadena:
Armory Gallery (former California State Armory), 1932, Bennett and Haskell
Grover Cleveland Elementary School, 1934
San Gabriel: San Gabriel Union Church and School, 1936
Santa Monica:
Santa Monica City Hall, 1938–39, Donald B. Parkinson and J. M. Estep
Post Office, Robert Dennis Murray, Louis A. Simon
Torrance:
Auditorium (Torrance High School)
Torrance Public Library, 1936, Walker & Eisen
Whittier:
National Trust and Savings, c. 1935, William H. Harrison
Whittier Post Office, 1935, Louis A. Simon
Whittier-Union High School, 1939–40, William H. Harrison

Elsewhere in California
Bakersfield: Kern County Hall of Records, 1939 remodel, Chris Brewer
Fresno: County Hall of Records, 1937, Allied Architects of Fresno
Jackson: Amador County Courthouse, 1940 remodel, George Sellon
Oakland: Alameda County Courthouse, 1939
Salinas: Monterey County Courthouse, 1937, Robert Stanton & Charles Butner
San Diego: San Diego County Administration Center, 1938, Samuel Wood Hamill, William Templeton Johnson, Richard Requa, Louis John Gill
San Francisco: San Francisco Mint, 1937
San Luis Obispo: San Luis Obispo County Courthouse, 1940, Walker & Eisen
Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 1939
Visalia: Tulare County Courthouse (now Department of Public Social Services), 1935, Ernest Kump

District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)
Folger Shakespeare Library, 1932, Paul Philippe Cret
Library of Congress Annex (John Adams Building), 1939, Pierson & Wilson
Harry S Truman Building (particularly the War Department building) of the United States Department of State, 1939, Underwood & Foster

Iowa
Auditorium from the southwest
Sioux City Municipal Auditorium. The smooth brick walls, rounded corners, and deeply incised openings typify the Moderne style.
Animosa: Jones County Courthouse, 1937, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn
Audubon: Audubon County Court House, 1940, Keffer and Jones
Atlantic: Cass County Courthouse, 1934, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn
Burlington: Des Moines County Court House, 1940, Keffer and Jones
Charles City: Floyd County Court House, 1940, Hansen & Waggoner
Dakota City: Humboldt County Courthouse, 1939
Independence: Buchanan County Court House, 1940, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn
Indianola: Warren County Court House, 1939, Keffer and Jones
St. Olaf: St. Olaf Auditorium, 1939
Sioux City: Sioux City Municipal Auditorium, 1938–50, Knute E. Westerlind
Waukon: Allamakee County Court House, 1940, Charles Altfillisch
Waverly: Bremer County Court House, 1937, Mortimer Cleveland

Minnesota

Minneapolis Armory
Minneapolis: Minneapolis Armory, 1935–36, P.C. Bettenburg; Walter H. Wheeler

Mississippi
Mississippi: Amory National Guard Armory, 1937–38, Overstreet & Town

Nevada
Pioche: Lincoln County Courthouse, 1938, A. Lacy Worswick; L.F. Dow

Oregon
Salem: Oregon State Capitol, 1938, Trowbridge & Livingston

Tennessee
Nashville: Martin Luther King Magnet at Pearl High School

Texas
Austin: Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse 1930,1931, Page Brothers
Longview: Gregg County Courthouse 1932, Voelcker and Dixon

Utah
Orderville: Valley School
Provo: Superintendent’s Residence at the Utah State Hospital, 1934 (Colonial Revival/PWA Moderne)
Santaquin: Santaquin Junior High School

Washington
Seattle: William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse, 1940, Gilbert Stanley Underwood

Source From Wikipedia