Reviving the Corps When FDR first took office in 1933, nearly a quarter of the American workforce was unemployed. In one of his first acts as president, FDR issued an executive order establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps. Within three months,… read more
As development marched toward the Berkeley hills in the 1920s, the ravine carved by Cordonices Creek was considered too steep for houses. With panoramic westward views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate, the 3.6-acre canyon captured the imagination… read more
A Riverside GreenwayCharleston, West Virginia Several times a week I walk alongside a beautiful stretch of the Kanawha River in downtown Charleston, West Virginia. Kanawha Boulevard was a narrow, traffic-clogged street when, in late 1930s, the city and the Public… read more
Capturing the Past On June 19, 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation establishing a “National Archives of the United States Government.” It was the culmination of decades of congressional debate on the issue of national records preservation.The new agency began… read more
Living New Deal founder Dr. Gray Brechin’s provocative 1999 bestseller, Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin, (University of California Press) is now available as an audio book narrated by the author. A website that accompanies the audio book’s release… read more
A revamped Fine Arts Collection website recently unveiled by the US General Services Administration (GSA) is a bonanza for anyone interested in public art and especially those who love the art of the New Deal. While still a work in… read more
Gray Brechin’s provocative and best-selling book, Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin, first published by the University of California Press in 1999 is now available as an audio book read by Gray Brechin. The book is now more relevant… read more
The Lahaina Banyan Tree has survived the Maui Fire and stands as a symbol of resilience as Lahaina mourns the many lives lost this week. The Banyan Tree is a beloved landmark and an essential part of Maui’s cultural and… read more
Soon after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established in March 1933, the U. S. Forest Service supervised CCC enrollees in their development of a new campground at Eagle Creek as well as the expansion of Oregon’s original Eagle Creek… read more
Rewriting America The New Deal’s Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), begun in 1935, employed more than 10,000 out-of work writers, editors, art critics, researchers and historians. Women made up forty percent of the workforce, including as state directors. It hired now-renowned… read more