• Post Office - South Pasadena CA
    This New Deal post office was built by the Treasury in 1935.
  • Post Office Mural - South Pasadena CA
    This oil on canvas mural "The Stage Coach" by John Law Walker depicts a Concord mail coach. It was funded by the Treasury Relief Art Project.
  • South Pasadena High School - South Pasadena CA
    In the aftermath of the devastating 1933 Long Beach Earthquake, the Public Works Administration (PWA) helped rebuild this high school. PWA work included the science building and the auditorium. "The size of the stage enables the production of major plays. Covered passageways connect the auditorium with the other buildings of the school plant. The inside is finished with acoustical plaster. An organ is installed by the stage. The project was completed in April 1937 at a construction cost of $113,528 and a project cost of $126,378."
  • South Pasadena High School: Gage Bas Relief – South Pasadena CA
    Sculptor Merrell Gage created a three-panel bas relief above the entrance to the South Pasadena High School Auditorium in South Pasadena, CA, likely with Federal Arts Project (FAP) funding. Gage, an instructor at the University of Southern California and at the Chouinard Art Institute, served as judge for the FAP. His own New Deal–funded works in the region include a frieze and free-standing pylon at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, CA.
  • South Pasadena High School: Herron Sculpture – South Pasadena CA
    Artist Jason Herron sculpted "Erda" (1936) for South Pasadena High School in South Pasadena, CA, with Federal Arts Project (FAP) funds. The sculpture was painted terracotta. Los Angeles Public Library lists the sculpture as missing. According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "Jason Herron is a young lady whose art study has included work under Merrill Gage at USC, Chamberlain in Pasadena, and one year of study at various places in Europe" (Wells, p. 25). Herron's extant New Deal–funded works in Los Angeles, CA, include the Power of Water Fountain (1935) at Lafayette Park and a sculpture at...
  • South Pasadena Middle School Bas-Relief - South Pasadena CA
    This WPA bas-relief "CCC Workers" was carved for the school by Donal Hord in 1933. It shows CCC workers engaged in a variety of activities. The relief adorns the south entrance of the school auditorium. It has recently been restored with a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. South Pasadena Middle School students created this video about the relief.
  • South Pasadena Middle School Mural – South Pasadena CA
    In 1937, P. G. Napolitano completed a mural at South Pasadena Junior High School (today's South Pasadena Middle School) in South Pasadena, CA. Located in the school's music room, the mural received funding from the Federal Art Project (FAP). “Mr. Napolitano’s main interest has always been in murals, which he executes in tempra (egg white), in frescoes, and in Sgraffito which he introduced here in creative work. Much of his work is marked by the omission of pretty detail and mere decorativeness until only the essential stand out; economy of line, rhythm, and strength are the three uppermost qualities” (Wells,...