From Life magazine, about the WPA pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair:

Last week, as controversy continued to gather over the newly completed WPA building at the World’s Fair, the exhibit seemed destined to become the nation’s No. 1 “boondoggle.”  Designed primarily to acquaint Fair visitors with the scope and efficiency of the WPA, the exhibit has thus far created the opposite impression.  To build it, $250,000 was appropriated.  By the time the Fair opened the pavilion was incomplete and had already cost $544,000 according to its engineers.  Though characterized as a relief project, it was discovered thst on one day only 17.7% of the men engaged in building it were relief workers.