Roosevelt Park Sculpture – Edison NJ

City:
Edison, NJ

Site Type:
Art Works, Sculptures

New Deal Agencies:
Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Started:
1937

Description

Roosevelt Park contains a WPA sculpture by Waylande Gregory entitled “Light Dispelling Darkness.”

“Most visitors to Roosevelt Park in Edison, New Jersey will pass by this empty fountain thinking not much of it, their attention focused on the globe perched high at the top. However, many fail to notice the evils dispelling from the center, which make the sculpture all the more interesting and relate a bit of creativity that its maker, artist Waylande Gregory envisioned when he designed it in 1937.

“Light Dispelling Darkness” was part of a New Jersey Federal Arts Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA was part of a federal program under the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration, designed to create jobs during the Great Depression. The fountain incorporates Gregory’s concept that light and knowledge dispels ignorance in society, and was sculpted in part from terra cotta. Terra cotta was a large industry in New Jersey and was produced locally in Woodbridge, Perth Amboy and Sayreville during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The sculpture also honors the achievements of Thomas Edison who triumphed over darkness with the electric light.

Its creator, 32-year-old Waylande Gregory, was also the director of the WPA-funded New Jersey Federal Arts Program.”   (www.thehistorygirl.com)

Source notes

www.thehistorygirl.com/2012/04/visit-to-light-dispelling-darkness-in.html https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/16870 https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/nyregion/long-island/19Rwpa.html

Location Info


Roosevelt Park
Edison, NJ 08837

Coordinates: 40.543909, -74.33968

At this Location:

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One comment on “Roosevelt Park Sculpture – Edison NJ

  1. Kiki Boucher

    Waylande Gregory lived in New York City but until 1938 also owned a home in Metuchen, NJ

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One comment on “Roosevelt Park Sculpture – Edison NJ

  1. Kiki Boucher

    Waylande Gregory lived in New York City but until 1938 also owned a home in Metuchen, NJ

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

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