Erie Sites

According to the website of the General Services Administration "Young American Man and Young American Woman act as sentinels to the main courtrooms of the 1937 Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Erie, Pennsylvania. These two sculptures express the admirable qualities possessed by the young men and women of depression-era America. Kreis communicated the upstanding nature of the figures through his use of monumental, simple forms, and by leaving out any unessential or frivolous details. Further evidence of their moral rectitude is cleverly expressed by the inclusion of the man's faithful dog, which regards his human companion with complete devotion....

Originally known as "Port Erie Airport," what is now Erie International Airport was developed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the 1930s. "Besides the privately-owned airport at Fairview, a modern airport, Port Erie, was completed in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration and the city. Air mail service was inaugurated on May 19, 1938." (WPA Guide) "On January 15, 1936 the mayor, Charles R. Barber announced that the City of Erie planned to sponsor under the Work Projects Administration, ... In March of 1936 it was announced that engineers of the Federal Government were to make a survey of the field...

"The Art Gallery, also on the second floor" of the main branch of the Erie Public Library housed, among other works, "Two interesting paintings by Harry Klopp, done under the WPA Federal Art Project, are Robin Hood and The Pied Piper of Hamlin." The library has since relocated, and the current status of the paintings is unknown to Living New Deal.

The historic federal courthouse in Erie, Pennsylvania is part of a complex of buildings that serve as a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and other federal functions. According to the website of the General Services Administration, "A U.S. courthouse constructed at this location in 1888 was demolished to make way for the existing 1938 courthouse designed by Rudolph Stanley-Brown, a Cleveland architect who was the grandson of President James Garfield. Built during the Great Depression with funds from New Deal programs, its construction provided local jobs. The building was listed in the...

"During 1935 and 1936 the Federal Government spent $100,000 in WPA  funds for permanent improvements" at the Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Erie.