Iowa Sites

Painted in 1940 by artist Lee Allen, the mural on the U.S. Post Office in Emmetsburg, Iowa is called "Conservation of Wild Life," and was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

New Deal mural entitled "Evening on the Farm" painted by Orr C. Fisher in 1942.

William E. L. Bunn painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Peony Festival at Hamburg," in 1941 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. "The original mural was destroyed during renovations in the 70s. In 1999, Tony Rajer's art class at the University of Wisconsin painted a replica for the new post office." (newdealartregistry.org) It is viewable in the lobby.

Richard Gates painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "The Farmer Feeding Industry,"  in 1937 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

John Sharp painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Hunters," in 1942 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the Hawarden post office lobby. An Iowa native, Sharp was inspired by other local artists, like Grant Wood. "Hunters" was his third and last mural painted for the federal government during the Great Depression.

New deal mural entitled "Preparation for the First County Fair in Ida Grove--1872" painted by Andrene J. Kauffman in 1940.

Robert Tabor painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Postman in Storm," in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the post office library.  

New Deal mural entitled "The New Calf" painted by Tom Savage in 1938.

The historic post office in Knoxville, Iowa houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Pioneer Group at the Red Rock Line—1845." The work was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1941.

New Deal mural entitled "Rural Free Delivery" painted by A. Criss Glasell in 1938.

The Manchester, Iowa post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Iowa Farm Life," a mural painted by William E. Henning in 1938.

This Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Iowa Fair" was painted by Francis Robert White in 1938.

William C. Palmer painted a three panel mural entitled "Iowa Landscape" for the Monticello post office in 1939-1940. He was given this commission based on his entries in a big ($29,000) St. Louis competition. The postman's creed is in the left panel, the Iowa state motto in the center, and the state song of Iowa in the right.

New Deal mural entitled "The Corn Parade" painted by Orr C. Fisher in 1941.

New Deal mural entitled "Breaking the Colt" painted by Tom Savage in 1939 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The Section of Fine Arts sponsored a mural to be painted for the new Onawa, Iowa post office.  The work, entitled "Soil Erosion and Control," was painted by Lee Allen and installed in the post office in 1938.

New Deal mural entitled "Arrival of the First Train" painted in 1936 by Byron B. Boyd. Excerpt from Osceola post office mural, information sheet: "The excited citizens of Osceola are hailing the arrival of the first train, a dramatic moment in the history of the town. In the center foreground is a pile of logs for construction of a building we see partially built on the right. On the left in the background is a stage coach, symbol of the pioneer days soon to be supplanted by the railroad. Boyd was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1889. He graduated from Columbia University with...

This post office houses a New Deal mural, "Hollanders Settle in Pella," depicting Pella's founder, Dominie Scholte, leading his people to Pella from the Netherlands. The mural was painted by Byron B. Boyd in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

John Sharp painted this oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Summer," in 1941 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Sharp also called this mural, "Imaginary Farm."

New Deal mural "Indian Harvest" painted by Richard Olsen in 1940 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

"In the post office of Tipton, Iowa, high above the heads of those who come to weigh their packages and buy stamps, hangs a mural. Titled “Cattle,” and painted in 1940 by John V. Bloom, it’s a warm, bucolic scene, with a farmer tipping a bucket into a trough to feed his contented pigs. This is a gentle farm and harmonious barnyard, where tidy stacks of hay dot the field, black-and-white chickens gaze reverentially at their master, and cattle patiently wait for supper. Corncobs and stalks litter the yard, but the neatly painted red barn and fence make it clear...

Mildred Pelzer completed this oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Letter from Home in 1856," in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the lobby of the Waverly post office.

"The interior features several important murals in the lobby vestibule. The murals were funded with $2,000 of the original money allotted for construction of the building. Although a competition to select an artist was held, officials intended to select Grant Wood, the famous Iowa painter of "American Gothic," to complete the murals. When Wood did not enter the competition, William E.L. Bunn was selected. The selection was subsequently overturned in favor of a painter named Bertram Adams. As a compromise, both Bunn and Adams, who each studied and worked with Wood and were friends from the University of Iowa, were...

The post office contains three murals by Dorothea Tomlinson, completed with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funding in 1939. Each mural depicts a different aspect of Mount Pleasant in the forties.

Plans for the Quasqueton Dam were developed in May and June 1934, shortly after the CWA ended. Federal funding was initially provided by FERA. However, the construction took much longer than originally planned, so the completion of the dam was funded in the fall of 1935 by the WPA. As with other New Deal dams in Iowa, the material was supplied by the State Fish and Game Commission, and the labor by the federal government (FERA or WPA). Construction started in June 1934. The dam was 6½ feet high and 250 feet long. It was identified in newspapers more than...

Electric power plant built with the support of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). Today, the structure serves as a county historical society museum.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a road improvement project in Delaware, Iowa.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a road improvement project in Delhi, Iowa.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a road improvement project in Dundee, Iowa.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a road improvement project in Edgewood, Iowa.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a road improvement project in Hopkinton, Iowa.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a road improvement project in Masonville, Iowa.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a road improvement project in Ryan, Iowa.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted an improvement project at what was then the school in Colesburg, Iowa. The location and status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Redecoration of the Colesburg school is nearing completion. By availing themselves of CWA help, school officials have succeeded in redecorating 65,000 square feet of walls and ceiling and 4,000 square feet of floor space in an addition at an estimated cost to the district of $250. The older section of the school is receiving a partial redecoration. ... Two hundred gallons of paint will be used.

The W.P.A. conducted "storm water drain" development work in Clinton, Iowa.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did reforestation and development on the Shimek State Forest, located on abandoned farm land near Farmington, Iowa.

The W.P.A. constructed sidewalks in Sac City, Iowa.

"The Art Center Association of Sioux City was first incorporated in 1914 as the Sioux City Society of Fine Arts by John C. Kelly, John McHugh, W.P. Manley, T.A. Black, Alice K. Lawler and Cora E. Henderson. From its inception to the opening of the Sioux City Art Center in 1938, the Society sponsored art classes and exhibitions. Classes were held in various community buildings, as well as in Grandview Park during the summer months. Exhibitions were displayed at the Sioux City Public Library and the Woodbury County Court House. In 1937, the Art Center Association of Sioux City along with...

The South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge (originally the South Omaha Bridge) was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Demolished in 2010, construction occurred between 1934 and 1936. The PWA supplied a $1,325,000 loan and $405,293 grant for the project, whose total cost was $1,735,910. PWA Docket No. NE 22.

A 71 foot stone, wood and steel wire suspension footbridge over the Skunk River in South Park in Story City Iowa, constructed by the WPA in 1936.