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.

• West Virginia Homesteads a Legacy of the New Deal

  • December 10, 2019
  • Carol Denney

  The river winds from its Appalachian headwaters down the Tygart Valley in West Virginia, where a road known as the Seneca Trail takes snowboarders and hikers to and from Snowshoe's year-round resort. Nearby, nestled in the crook of the valley's elbow, are three New Deal homestead towns—Dailey, East Dailey, and read more
• 2020 New Deal Legacy calendar

  • November 29, 2019
  • Living New Deal

  By Evan Kalish The 2020 New Deal Legacy calendar highlights another dozen fantastic projects undertaken by various agencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. This year's collection takes us all across the country, from the Caribbean (U.S. Virgin Islands) to the Northwest—and everywhere in-between. It includes magnificent artwork and gorgeous Art Deco read more
• Travels with the American Guide Series: Friendship, Maine and Seabrook, New Hampshire, A Study in Contrasts

  • October 9, 2019
  • Living New Deal

  The American Guide Series, produced by the Federal Writers’ Project, is one of the most well-known WPA projects. Written as a collection of travel guides, the series included recommended tour routes as well as essays on the history and culture of each U.S. state and territory. This post, following a suggested read more
• Living New Deal Mentioned in Smithsonian Magazine Story about George Washington

  • September 25, 2019
  • Living New Deal

  Photo: Jim Wilson / The New York Times / Redux Smithsonian Magazine published a story by David Preston about young George Washington and his role in the French Indian War. Preston also briefly reports on the struggle to save the Arnautoff mural at the George Washington High School. “The city’s board of education read more
• New Book: Wisconsin Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.

  • September 22, 2019
  • Living New Deal

  David W. Gates Jr., author of the Wisconsin Post Office Murals, has published a book focused on the murals created by New Deal artists for post offices across Wisconsin. Titled, Wisconsin Post Office Murals, the book includes: 130 full-color images of the murals70 images of buildings and cornerstonesFull-color map with the location of each read more
• Creation Story - George Washington Murals Video

  • September 3, 2019
  • Living New Deal

  Written and produced by Kate B. Littleboy for the Digital  Story Center in Berkeley, CA. https://livingnewdeal.org/creation-story_-george-washington-murals-sf-ca/ read more
• Volunteers “Pitch in” to Save WPA Sculpture at Golden Gate Park

  • September 3, 2019
  • Rob Bakewell

  A thousand acres of shifting sand with clusters of old-growth live oak were the raw materials for San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. By the 1870s the dunes had been transformed into a Victorian-era commons for the burgeoning city. San Francisco’s elite mingled with the town’s hoi polloi at the ornate Victorian read more
• Discovering the New Deal at the NYC Municipal Archives and Library

  • September 3, 2019
  • Kenneth Cobb

  Located in one of the City’s most beautiful Beaux-Arts buildings, the landmark Surrogate’s Court at 31 Chambers Street in Manhattan’s Civic Center, are the Municipal Archives and Municipal Library. Here the City preserves and makes available to the public the historical and contemporary records of New York City's municipal government.  To the read more
• The “Life of Washington” Murals Explained

  • September 3, 2019
  • Robert Cherny

  Click on the images below to enlarge.   Arnautoff at work at GW High School, Courtesy of the History Center, San Francisco Public Library Victor Arnautoff was one of the most prolific artists of the New Deal. Born in Russia in 1896, he served as a Calvary officer in WWI, and later in read more
• The George Washington High School Mural 360° Panorama

  • August 16, 2019
  • Living New Deal

  The San Francisco Chronicle published a 360° panorama of Victor Arnautoff's mural at the George Washington High School. See the panorama here and here. read more