Survival: Extant

The WPA spent $186,000 improving Plant Park in the 1930s.

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. William Gropper painted an enormous, 3-panel oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Construction of a Dam".  It was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts c 1936-37 and installed in 1940. The mural, which honors the work of the Bureau of Reclamation, hangs on the 2d floor across the south end of the main corridor.   Gropper was a left-leaning artist who celebrated the workers building the dam and in the rightmost panel...

The carving of the Swinomish Totem Pole was a WPA project on the Swinomish Indian Reservation from 1937-1938. Tribal member Charlie Edwards carved a 61’ log into a visual representation of traditional teachings and guiding spirits that had formerly been held privately by families on the reservation. He topped the pole with a likeness of F. D. R. in gratitude for Roosevelt's support of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, which allowed tribes to govern themselves after years of federal management. President Roosevelt and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt were invited for the dedication on August 20, 1938, but, unable to attend, were...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.  Two large bas-relief panels are mounted on either side of the stage of the auditorium, one by Heinz Warneke and one by Ralph Stackpole.  Warneke's was commissioned in 1937 by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and installed in 1939; Stockpole's was commissioned in 1938 and installed in 1940.   The panels are 10' high by 4' wide.  Warneke's is cast stone and Stockpole's is Indiana limestone.  Heinz Warneke treats...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time.  Millard Sheets produced a four-panel, oil-on-canvas mural, “The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”, featuring The Arts, Education, Science and Religion. This imposing set of murals was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1939 but not installed until 1948, owing to disagreements over the original subject matter. While Sheets was white, he sought to express "my high regard and feeling for the...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. Several Indian artists were invited to Washington in 1939-41 to study mural art and paint murals for the Interior Building. Kiowa artist Stephen Mopope painted "Ceremonial Dance (Indian Theme)" in 1939, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  It is a large (6' x 50') oil-on-plaster lunette on the east wall of the main cafeteria in the basement. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. Kiowa artist James Auchiah studied mural painting with Olle Nordmark in Oklahoma before coming to Washington.  Auchiah painted a large (8' x 50'), oil-on-rough-plaster lunette, "Harvest Dance", on the west wall of the main cafeteria in the basement. It was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.   "Auchiah's mural, 'Harvest Dance,' is an example of pure design and centers on a scene of Indians around a campfire with their tipis...

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time. In 1938, Nicolai Cikovsky painted four murals commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts: "Apples," "Gathering Dates," "Desert" and "Irrigation."   They can be found on the 2d floor in the main corridor, south of the Grand Staircase. The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.  For more information on the Interior building, its art and the artists, see Look and Perrault...

The Pawnee bathhouse was built by the WPA in 1939: "The Pawnee Bath House, a WPA (Work Projects Administration) project built of hand-cut native stone with terraced stairway and landscaping, including a three acre lake for swimming, was originally intended to not only bring needed jobs for the area, but to also provide recreation for Pawnee and the surrounding communities. The project was an immediate success with the Grand Opening featuring a water carnival and dignitary visitation to include the Governor of Oklahoma along with the US WPA project coordinator. The bath house and swimming hole was a popular spot for...

In 1935-36, the WPA built a pool and bathhouse at Highland Park. The pool has long since been replaced. The stone bathhouse remains, though it is now boarded up.