Works Progress Administration Project Records, 1935-1942

Summary

Extent:
0.22 Cubic Feet 1 box
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Works Progress Administration Project Records. [box #,folder #]. Local History and Genealogy Division, Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County N.Y.

Background

Scope and content:

The Works Progress Administration was a federal project of the 1930s, part of the "alphabet soup" of Great Depression public relief projects. It primarily supported public works projects. The materials in this collection cover various topics relating to W.P.A. projects for Monroe County, New York. They include correspondence, geodetic info, resolutions, road costs, the Rush Town Hall, and the Rush Rifle Range. The materials date from 1935 to 1942.

Biographical / historical:

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the largest and most diverse of all the New Deal projects. Created on May 6, 1935 by Executive Order No. 7034, the WPA was administered by Harry Hopkins from July 1935 to December 1938. Infrastructure and public works projects were the largest part of the WPA's output. However, the Federal Project Number One program supported music, theater, dance and the arts; while other projects supported historic preservation, library development and social science research. Projects were locally initiated, before moving through state and national offices for approval; the locality had to provide 12 to 25 percent of the cost as seed funding. Over 8.5 million people found work through the WPA. After being rolled into the Federal Works Agency as the "Works Projects Administration" in 1939, the WPA would be closed down with the coming of war in 1941. Official termination of the WPA came on June 30, 1943.

In the Rochester, New York area, the WPA carried out numerous projects. Most extensive was the paving of numerous streets, urban and rural. A number of local parks, including Hamlin Beach, were improved as well. Other WPA projects of note included the construction of the Rundel Memorial Building, the Rush Town Hall, and a series of rifle ranges for National Guard units, along with funding the Indian Arts Project for the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences.

Acquisition information:
The provenance of this collection is unknown.
Arrangement:

This collection consists of 1 box.

Physical description:
Good
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Places:
Monroe County (N.Y.)

Access and use

Restrictions:

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the collection.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use in any current or future manifestations must be obtained in writing from the Rochester Public Library Local History and Genealogy Division.

Preferred citation:

Works Progress Administration Project Records. [box #,folder #]. Local History and Genealogy Division, Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County N.Y.

Location of this collection:
Rundel Memorial Building
115 South Avenue
Rochester, NY 14604, United States
Link to repository site
Contact:
585-428-8370
lochist@libraryweb.org