Little Page Terrace Public Housing

Little Page Terrace Public Housing. New Deal Era Project. , The Littlepage Terrace Public Housing Project, constructed ca. 1939 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the New Deal Program, was built upon the remnants of the Littlepage farm owned by the prominent Charleston Littlepage family. The family's home and remaining approximately eight acres had been acquired in 1932 by the Charleston National Bank, which subsequently sold the parcel in 1938 to the Charleston Housing Authority for the housing project. Littlepage Terrace and its sister project Washington Manor of Clendenin Street were the first two low income public housing projects authorized in West Virginia under the WPA., Residents at Littlepage Terrace, which was originally for white residents only, were families who had to meet a minimum income level of about $900 to $1,000 per year to qualify for residency. There were maximum income limits also, based on family size. The monthly rents ranged from $20 for 3 1/2 rooms to $21.25 for 6 rooms and included steam heat, hot and cold water, electricity, and gas for cooking and refrigeration; the stove and refrigerator were also supplied. The grounds were landscaped with a variety of flowers, bushes and trees, had drying yards, and contained a playground with a water basin for summer use. Residents who qualified from poverty affected areas in and around Charleston and Kanawha, Putnam and Clay Counties were able to move into modern, clean, safe apartments with a variety of amenities, in sharp contrast to most low cost housing available in the area at that time., Littlepage Terrace had ten, multi-family buildings with a total of 170 units, and each building contained a mix of one, two, and three bedroom units with either private entrances or a shared hallway entrance. All buildings were three story, multi-colored blonde brick structures in the International Style. Regardless of size, each unit had a living room, one bathroom, and a combined kitchen/dining room or kitchen with separate dining room. Buildings had interior bicycle racks and perambulator storage, and those with basements contained central laundry facilities, playrooms, and incinerators., In 2010, as a result of the changed approach to high density housing projects, Littlepage Terrace was razed and rebuilt in smaller cluster style projects and more emphasis given to integrating housing through the community. The historic Little Page Stone Mansion was retained and remains much as it was when originally built in 1848. The house was listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.,

. WPA Public Housing Project No. W VA 1-2 , . Architect: H. Rus Warne, Charles A. Haviland, Julius M. Gardner Of Associated Architects, Charleston, WV , . Contractor: Algernon Blair, Charleston, WV; W.A. Christian, Richmond, VA , . Charleston Housing Authority Chairman: Leroy Allebach , . Cahrleston Housing Authority Executive Director: Philip Hill , . Charleston Mayor: Daniel Boone Dawson , . U.S. Housing Authority Administrator: Nathan Straus , . U.S. President: Franklin D. Roosevelt