New Deal Today: Policy & Politics

News items that speak to the resurgence of interest in the New Deal as a touchstone for public policy and political action today.

• Coit Tower Murals Due for Restoration

  • January 13, 2012
  • Richard A Walker

  The New Deal's first public murals, in San Francisco's famous Coit Tower, are much in need of attention after 75 years of wear and tear.  Efforts are just getting underway to do the necessary restoration work. A full account appeared in the Los Angeles Times on January 3d, 2012, followed by a read more
• New Deal's Legacy in Danger of Being Ruined

  • October 13, 2011
  • Lisa Thompson

  Many of those who worked for the New Deal believed that they were building a civilization. They left us thousands of schools, colleges, bridges, dams, murals, parks and aqueducts, now falling into ruin, as did those of ancient Rome. To recover their vision, we must relearn an ethical language now read more
• The Fading Genius of the US Post Office

  • August 5, 2011
  • Shaina

  Gray Brechin | Tuesday 2 August 2011 13.30 BST The superb post offices of the New Deal era are a monument to America's democratic ethos. Now we're selling off FDR's legacy On 9 June, the General Services Administration threw Modesto's downtown post office onto the auction block. Like so many other read more
• Needles Fire Lookout Tower Burns

  • July 30, 2011
  • Shaina

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: July 28, 2011 NEEDLES FIRE LOOKOUT TOWER BURNS SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST The Needles Fire Lookout Tower, located on the Western Divide Ranger District within the Giant Sequoia National Monument on the Sequoia National Forest was destroyed in a structure fire today. “This is a tragic loss to the read more
• W. Va. Museum is Tribute to New Deal Program

  • July 30, 2011
  • Shaina

  QUIET DELL (AP) - From 1933 to 1942, a civilian army of 55,000 young men poured into 67 encampments spread across West Virginia. In the darkest days of the Great Depression, they built roads, bridges, swimming pools, ponds, fire towers, cabins, picnic shelters and lodges - when they weren't planting trees, read more
• Hidden Wilson Mural, Other New Deal Works Displayed

  • July 30, 2011
  • Shaina

  Hidden in the Wilson High School auditorium is a gem of local history and art. This gem is a stage-sized fire curtain colorfully painted with a mural that depicts students studying, socializing and walking in graduation gowns towards a horizon. Because this fire curtain is often rolled up and out of read more
• Tribute to WPA concert, October 3

  • October 1, 2010
  • Gray Brechin

  In conjunction with the major exhibition of WPA art at Walnut Creek's Bedford Gallery, the California Symphony will be presenting a concert that includes Federal Music Project compositions by Aaron Copland and Ernst Bacon (as well as Ludwig von Beethoven, who was not on the WPA.) Go to https://www.californiasymphony.org/events/oct for read more
• Major WPA Art Exhibition in Walnut Creek

  • September 30, 2010
  • Gray Brechin

  National New Deal Preservation Association president and California's Living New Deal collaborator Harvey Smith has, with gallery curator Carrie J. Lederer, culled collections in California and beyond for a major show of New Deal art at the Lesher Center for the Arts Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek. The American Scene: read more