PWA Moderne

Last updated
Hoover Dam, Arizona/Nevada Hooveri pais 2003.jpg
Hoover Dam, Arizona/Nevada
San Diego County Administration Center San Diego City and Administration Building.jpg
San Diego County Administration Center

PWA Moderne (or "P.W.A. Moderne", PWA/WPA Moderne, [1] Federal Moderne, [2] Depression Moderne, [1] Classical Moderne, [1] Stripped Classicism) is an architectural style of many buildings in the United States completed between 1933 and 1944, [2] during and shortly after the Great Depression as part of relief projects sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Contents

The style draws from traditional motifs such as Beaux-Arts classicism and Art Deco and is similar to Streamline Moderne, [2] [3] often with zigzag ornamentation added. The structures reflect a greater use of conservative and classical elements and have a monumental feel. They include post offices, train stations, public schools, libraries, civic centers, courthouses, [2] museums, bridges, and dams across the country. Banks were also built in the style because such buildings radiated authority. [1]

Elements of the style

Typical elements of PWA Moderne buildings include: [1]

Examples of PWA buildings

Examples of PWA buildings and structures include:

Arizona/Nevada

Florida

Ed Austin Building (Former Federal Courthouse, current Florida State Attorney's Office), Jacksonville, Florida EdAustin.jpeg
Ed Austin Building (Former Federal Courthouse, current Florida State Attorney's Office), Jacksonville, Florida

California

Greater Los Angeles

Venice Police Station, Los Angeles 2012-09-Venice-Police-Station.jpg
Venice Police Station, Los Angeles
Long Beach Main Post Office U.S. Post Office (Long Beach Main).jpg
Long Beach Main Post Office
Los Angeles Stock Exchange Building Los Angeles Stock Exchange Building.jpg
Los Angeles Stock Exchange Building

Elsewhere in California

San Diego County Administration Center sculpture by Donal Hord San Diego County Administration Center 3.jpg
San Diego County Administration Center sculpture by Donal Hord

District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)

Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. Folger Shakespeare Library DC.JPG
Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress Annex (John Adams Building), Washington, D.C. John Adams Building-LOC.jpg
Library of Congress Annex (John Adams Building), Washington, D.C.

Iowa

Sioux City Municipal Auditorium. The smooth brick walls, rounded corners, and deeply incised openings typify the Moderne style. Sioux City Municipal Auditorium from SW 4.jpg
Sioux City Municipal Auditorium. The smooth brick walls, rounded corners, and deeply incised openings typify the Moderne style.

Minnesota

Minneapolis Armory Minneapolis Armory.jpg
Minneapolis Armory
William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse, Seattle, WA Seattle - old Federal Court House 04.jpg
William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse, Seattle, WA

Mississippi

Nevada

Oregon

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Washington

See also

Related Research Articles

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Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression. It built large-scale public works such as dams, bridges, hospitals, and schools. Its goals were to spend $3.3 billion in the first year, and $6 billion in all, to provide employment, stabilize purchasing power, and help revive the economy. Most of the spending came in two waves in 1933–35, and again in 1938. Originally called the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, it was renamed the Public Works Administration in 1935 and shut down in 1944.

Works Progress Administration U.S. government program of the 1930s and 1940s

The Works Progress Administration was an American New Deal agency, employing millions of job-seekers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It was established on May 6, 1935, by presidential order, as a key part of the Second New Deal.

Federal Art Project New Deal relief program to fund the visual arts

The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the largest of the New Deal art projects. It was created not as a cultural activity, but as a relief measure to employ artists and artisans to create murals, easel paintings, sculpture, graphic art, posters, photography, theatre scenic design, and arts and crafts. The WPA Federal Art Project established more than 100 community art centers throughout the country, researched and documented American design, commissioned a significant body of public art without restriction to content or subject matter, and sustained some 10,000 artists and craft workers during the Great Depression.

Streamline Moderne Late type of the Art Deco architecture and design

Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. It was inspired by aerodynamic design. Streamline architecture emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design, it was used in railroad locomotives, telephones, toasters, buses, appliances, and other devices to give the impression of sleekness and modernity.

Detroit Naval Armory United States historic place

The Detroit Naval Armory is located at 7600 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It is also known as the R. Thornton Brodhead Armory. The armory was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1980 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

The Arizona State Fairgrounds is a permanent fairgrounds on McDowell Road, Encanto Village, within the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is currently used yearly to host the Arizona State Fair and the Maricopa County Fair, as well as for other events.

1938 Lincoln County Courthouse United States historic place

The 1938 Lincoln County Courthouse is an Art Moderne style building in Pioche, Nevada. The 1938 courthouse replaced the so-called "million-dollar courthouse" built in 1871, whose last payment on the approximately $800,000 it cost was coincidentally made in 1938.

Buchanan County Courthouse (Iowa) Historic building in Independence, Iowa, US

Buchanan County Court House in Independence, Iowa, United States was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The current structure is the third courthouse to house court functions and county administration.

Jones County Courthouse (Iowa) United States historic place

The Jones County Courthouse in Anamosa, Iowa, United States was built in 1937. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as the "Jones County Court House." It is a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission, and is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

Humboldt County Courthouse (Iowa) United States historic place

The Humboldt County Courthouse is located in Dakota City, Iowa, United States, and dates from 1939. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is the second building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

Des Moines County Court House United States historic place

The Des Moines County Court House located in Burlington, Iowa, United States, was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of Iowa Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is the fourth structure to house court functions and county administration.

Audubon County Court House United States historic place

The Audubon County Court House is located in the county seat of Audubon, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

Warren County Courthouse (Iowa)

The Warren County Courthouse is located in Indianola, Iowa, United States. The courthouse that was built in 1939 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. It was the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration. The building was demolished in the summer of 2019 and removed from the NRHP in September of the same year. A new courthouse and justice center is expected to be completed in 2021.

Allamakee County Court House United States historic place

The Allamakee County Court House in Waukon, Iowa, United States was built in 1940. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

Floyd County Courthouse (Iowa) United States historic place

The Floyd County Court House in Charles City, Iowa, United States was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. It is the only property in this group, however, that was built without funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The courthouse is the third structure to house court functions and county administration.

Superintendents Residence at the Utah State Hospital United States historic place

The Superintendent's Residence at the Utah State Hospital is a historic house located at the Utah State Hospital in east Provo, Utah, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

George Snow Hill (1898–1969) was a painter and sculptor in the United States known as a muralist. He lived in St. Petersburg, Florida until his death in 1969. He founded the Hill School of Art in St. Petersburg in 1946.

St. Olaf Auditorium United States historic place

St. Olaf Auditorium, also known as the St. Olaf Opera House and Auditorium, is a historic building located in St. Olaf, Iowa, United States. The city was able to complete the auditorium in 1939 with the assistance of the Public Works Administration (PWA) and labor provided under the aegis of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Both are New Deal programs that sought to relieve the economic effects of the Great Depression. The building is a two-story structure composed of native rubble limestone that follows the PWA Moderne style. It has served as a community center that has hosted a variety of social activities, including recreational, athletic, cultural, educational, and civic functions. The auditorium was used occasionally for vaudeville and minstrel shows. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Kaysville City Hall United States historic place

The Kaysville City Hall, also known as Old Kaysville City Hall and the Old Kaysville Library, at 44 N. Main St. in Kaysville, Utah, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September of 2019.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Fullerton Heritage site
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, Volume 1, Joan M. Marter, ed., p. 147
  3. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction
  4. Arizona.edu: "The New Deal in Arizona: Connections to Our Historic Landscape", University of Arizona, The New Deal in Arizona Chapter of the National New Deal Preservation Association.
  5. Arizona.edu: Photos of New Deal projects in Arizona
  6. KJZZ.org: "Did You Know: Arizona State Fairgrounds 110 Years Old", by Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez, 21 August 2015; with images of the WPA Grandstand and Administration Building.
  7. Living New Deal Blog: Arizona State Fairgrounds Stadium and Art
  8. Phoenix New Times: "Demolition of WPA Civic Building at Arizona State Fairgrounds on Temporary Hold", 18 July 2014.
  9. Youtube.com: "1938 WPA Administration Building in 1949 & 1969"
  10. "Azfamily.com: "$200,000 to go toward preserving State Fairgrounds WPA Administration Building"" . Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 "PWA Moderne", Los Angeles Conservancy website
  12. An Arch Guidebook to Los Angeles, Robert Winter, p. 322
  13. "Fresno County, US Courthouses" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  14. "Amador County, US Courthouses" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  15. "Alameda County, US Courthouses" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  16. "Monterey County, US Courthouses" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  17. "San Diego County, US Courthouses" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  18. "San Luis Obispo County, US Courthouses" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  19. "Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium - Santa Cruz CA - Living New Deal" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  20. "Tulare County, US Courthouses" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  21. "Tulare County Department of Public Social Services - Visalia CA - Living New Deal" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.
  22. "Harry S. Truman Federal Building, Washington, DC".
  23. "Gregg County Courthouse, Longview, Texas". www.texasescapes.com. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  24. "William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse - Seattle WA - Living New Deal" . Retrieved 11 Aug 2016.

Further reading