During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration was the greatest and most ambitious agency to come out of FDR’s New Deal that employed mostly the unskilled. One sector of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the Federal Art Project… read more
A 43′ x 20′ oil mural was painted on the steel fire curtain in the auditorium at Lane Tech High School by artist John Edwin Walley. It was installed in 1936 with funding from the WPA’s Federal Art Project and… read more
Among several other New Deal artworks at the Lane Tech High School are these carved mahogany bas-reliefs in the school library. These 15′ x 6′ reliefs were carved by sculptor Peter Paul Ott, with assistance from wood workers Conzelman, Meuzenmeier,… read more
Among the many Federal Art Project (FAP) funded artworks at Lane Tech High school is a four-panel fresco in the auditorium, “Teaching of the Arts,” painted by Mitchell Siporin in 1938. Each panel is 15′ x 3’6.” From A Guide… read more
Among the New Deal artworks at Lane Tech High School are several frescoes in the school lunchroom, each depicting a different period of “Epochs in the History of Man.” These large (12′ x 14′) frescoes were painted by Edgar Britton… read more
Two 14-foot figures titled “Boys Rising From the Sea” were created by Charles Umlauf under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project. These sculptures are placed in front of the school. They are part of a group of New Deal… read more
Chicago, Illinois’s old Laramie Viaduct, which carried South Laramie Ave. over the railroad line just south of I-290, was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1939. The bridge was demolished ca. 2010.
Richard Babcock’s 11′ x 18′ painting “Father Marquette’s Winter in Chicago” in the Legler Library was created in 1934 with the help of FAP funds.
Lincoln Park, one of Chicago’s largest and oldest parks, is a prime example of the city’s commitment to conserving and protecting this valuable lakefront property for public use. The park currently stretches from the Ohio Street Beach in Streeterville, just… read more
"This is one of the largest branch post offices in Chicago. It was constructed to provide for a 10-year growth in post office requirements, and the depth of the property makes possible a future enlargement of the building. The workroom… read more
The lily pool is located in Chicago’s north side in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, just one block from Lake Michigan. It was dilapidated before 1936 when Chicago Park District employee Alfred Caldwell was asked to redesign it. With funds provided… read more
“In 1934, the Lincoln Park Commission became part of the newly consolidated Chicago Park District and the new agency received substantial funding through President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. The completion of North Avenue Beach was one of many projects… read more
This 6′ x 30′ mural titled “The Life of Carl Von Linne” was painted by Ethel Spears in 1939 with the help of the WPA’s Federal Art Project.
This historic Logan Square Station post office in Chicago, Illinois was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1933. The building is still in service.
Hildreth Meiere’s sculpture titled “The Post” was executed and completed in 1937. It can be found in the Logan Square Station Post Office. The piece is made primarily out of metal and is heavily influenced by art deco styles. This… read more
“The Great Indian Council 1833” is a mural painted by Gustaf Dalstrom, who was a Swedish-American artist that attended the Art Institute of Chicago and at one point was the President of the Chicago Society of Arts. Dalstrom painted many… read more
This fresco “Women’s Contribution to American Progress” by Edward Millman was painted with WPA Federal Art Project funds. It depicts Lucy Flower, Grace Abbott, Frances Perkins, Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Clara Barton. There… read more
These three murals by Gustaf Dahlstrom – “Fall,” “Winter” and “Summer,” each about 12’7″ h x 9’8″w – were found in 1996 during a lead abatement program. Restored in 2002, they had been painted over three times.
“Using federal relief funds, the park district soon converted the golf shelter into a more substantial fieldhouse, and built comfort stations, and a series of footbridges leading to the islands.”
The mural “Spring and Fall” was painted by Grace Spongberg in 1939 with support from the WPA Federal Art Project.
This mural was originally a four-panel screen. Its three remaining panels, each 8′ x 4′, were restored in 2001.
On March 8, 1936, The Chicago Daily Tribune announced the arrival of The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) at two major theaters in Chicago: the Great Northern and the Blackstone. Over the life of the FTP, the Blackstone Theater was used… read more
In February 1939, bids were collected by the city subway department to begin construction for the first section of the Milwaukee-Dearborn street subway system that would create a 3,322 foot section of the tunnel between Chicago and Haddon avenues (“Dearborn… read more
“With extensive funding available through Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the park district began many park improvements, including the Montrose to Foster landfill extension. The plan for the extension included several buildings, and all of them were designed by E.V…. read more
The historic Morgan Park post office in Chicago, Illinois was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1936. The building is still in service.
The two 2’6″ x 30′ panels of this mural “Children’s Activities” by Lucile Ward were completed with the help of WPA Federal Art Project funds in 1938 and restored in 2001.
A Public Works Administration grant helped fund the construction of Mount Greenwood Elementary School at 108th Street and South Homan Avenue in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood. The new school was designed by Board of Education architect John Charles Christensen. The… read more
This 10′ x 15′ mural “Michelangelo in the Medici Gardens, 1490” was painted by Helen Finch in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.
“Characters From Children’s Literature,” consisting of two 6′ x 20′ panels, was painted by Charles Freeman in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.
This 6′ x 20′ mural “Mozart at the Court of Maria Theresa, 1762” was painted by Elizabeth Gibson in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.
The two panels of this mural titled “History of Transportation” are part of a 31′ long panorama originally installed at Lawson School. The mural was painted by Gustaf Dahlstrom with support from the WPA’s Federal Art Project.
"This abstract mural by Rudolph Weisenborn, made in 1939, is a treasured New Deal artifact located in Nettlehorst Elementary School in Chicago." (Flynn and Polese) The mural is entitled "Contemporary Chicago." "Rudolph Weisenborns mural at Nettelhorst Elementary shows his interest… read more
The 3’2″ x 8’6″ mural “Horses in Literature,” which hangs in Chicago, Illinois’s Nettlehorst School, was painted by Ethel Spears during the Great Depression with Federal Art Project funds.
Prior to being a sun-bathing destination, the area now known as the North Avenue Beach was a final resting place for thousands of Chicagoans. In 1835, Chicago authorities set aside land for two cemeteries, one on the south and north… read more
This ceramic relief “Physical Education” by Louise Pain was created with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.
The O’Toole School contains a WPA mural entitled “Characters from Children’s Literatur” by Alex Topp (Topchevsky). “Alex Topp was born in Chicago, where he studied at the Hull House under his older brother Morris and earned his MFA from the Art… read more
The two 9′ x 34′ panels of the mural “The Children’s World” were painted by Francis Coan with WPA Federal Art Project funds. They were moved from the Hild Library and restored in 1998.
“The Outer Drive Bridge, also known as the Link Bridge was started in 1929 and completed in 1937 as one of the Public Works Administration’s public projects in Chicago…While the completion of the Outer Drive was considered one of the… read more
“Palmer Park became part of the Chicago Park District in 1934, when the city’s 22 independent park commissions were consolidated into a new unified system. Later that year, park district art director James Edward McBurney created three murals for Palmer… read more
This large five-part mural “History of the New World” by Ralf Henricksen was completed with the help of WPA Federal Art Project funds in 1938.