10,600 WPA (Works Progress Administration) laborers were employed in the construction of America's three green suburbs between 1935 and 1940. Here we see a group of Greenbelt workers lined up for paychecks. The going rate was 15 cents per hour, with most workers earning at least $3 per week.
Photo from Library of Congress / Carl Mydans

Laying cinder block in Greenbelt, August 1936.
Photo from Library of Congress / Carl Mydans

A second Greenbelt construction image, this also from August 1936.
Photo from Library of Congress / Carl Mydans

Construction at the Greenhills site commenced in December 1935. By February 1937, much has been accomplished.
Photo from Library of Congress / Russell Lee

A laborer is seen laying hardwood floors in a Greenhills housing unit. 
Photo from Library of Congress / Russell Lee

Another February 1937 snapshot shows plumbers installing a boiler in the basement of a Greenhills housing unit. Various home models in Greenhills and Greenbelt had cellars. There were no basements built in Greendale. 
Photo from Library of Congress / Russell Lee   

Work got underway -in earnest- at the Greendale site in May 1936. A March 1937 photo shows a group of the city's prospective housing units.
Photo from Library of Congress / Russell Lee

In an aerial view from January 1938, we see the emerging downtown of Greenhills. The "commercial center" (a.k.a. GREENHILLS CENTER) is seen in the top of the photo.
Photo from Library of Congress