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New Deal public works - schools, roads, dams, waterworks, hospitals and more - continued to function for decades and tens of thousands still exist today. Yet, there is no national record of what the New Deal built, only bits and pieces found in local and national archives, published sources, and on occasional plaques and markers. This represents an enormous gap in the historic record and a collective failure of memory. The Living New Deal's goal is to uncover every New Deal public works site in all fifty states and build a public archive of photographs, documents, films, and stories from this pivotal period. As of early 2023, the project is nearing 18,000 documented New Deal sites.
373:
colleges, universities, and government buildings—most of what was created remains unmarked. Moreover, in the post-war years, a concerted effort by the New Deal's critics to erase its memory destroyed many identifying markers on New Deal-era buildings and removed public artwork commissioned by the FAP and
Treasury Department. In recent years, supporters of the New Deal have actively campaigned to place new signage on buildings to report their New Deal origins. The Living New Deal's New York City chapter worked for several years with the NYC Parks Department and succeeded in getting new signage on New Deal-funded pools.
278:
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207:
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20:
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people back to work and put much-needed funds into the hands of impoverished families and straitened communities. These were much more than "make work" programs, as they are often portrayed; New Deal public works dramatically overhauled the nation's infrastructure, refashioned the
American landscape, and modernized cities, towns, and rural areas across the country.
286:
industry and agriculture, increasing relief efforts, and employing millions of desperate workers. The economy began a rapid revival from 1933 to 1942, marred by a sharp recession in 1937. National output recovered to pre-Depression levels just before the outbreak of World War II, which absorbed the last of the mass unemployment of the era.
198:
documents, news articles, and commentary to the Living New Deal's website, for example, the site submission page or via an iOS app. The information is verified by research assistants before being published. The Living New Deal is a crowdsourced project that invites anyone to volunteer and sign up as a research associate.
274:. The stock market crash of 1929 led the implosion and the downturn continued for over three years as thousands of banks and businesses failed and millions of people lost their life savings, farms, and homes. At its worst, one-quarter of the U.S. workforce was unemployed and national output had fallen by one-third.
158:
country, restoring faith in government and renewing a sense of national purpose. In a time when so many people and places are hurting for good jobs and economic renewal, and the infrastructure of the country is crumbling, the New Deal can serve as a model for good government policy in the present day.
197:
The Living New Deal relies on a network of national associates and other volunteers, including historians, teachers, students, artists, history buffs, librarians, journalists, and photographers to document New Deal sites throughout the U.S. They upload their discoveries, such as photographs, historic
234:
The Living New Deal has undertaken many new projects over the years. It published the first print map and guide to a major city in 2014 (San
Francisco), followed by New York City (2017) and Washington, D.C. (2021); a major effort to map New Deal Los Angeles began in 2022. A New York City chapter was
368:
In less than ten years, the New Deal public works programs built and expanded a modern infrastructure that
Americans still depend on, but that few are aware of. Every day people use roads, schools, auditoriums, parks, sewers, tunnels, sidewalks, forests, trails, and more without realizing these are
226:
In 2010, the project moved to the
Department of Geography at UC Berkeley and became national in scope. In 2012, the Living New Deal hired its first project manager and began to assemble a part-time staff to complement its volunteers. Over time, the staff has grown, adding a communications director,
59:
The New Deal was a constellation of economic stimulus policies and social programs enacted to lift
America out of the Great Depression, and it touched every state, county, and city, as well as thousands of small towns and reached deep into rural areas with its conservation works. What is more, most
415:
The Living New Deal does not currently document the tens of thousands of public service projects sponsored by the WPA (and other New Deal programs), such as sewing rooms, archaeological digs and work on library catalogs, because of their uncertain locations and / or absence of surviving
372:
Because of the swiftness with which the New Deal sprang into action and the huge scale and scope of its efforts, a great many of its accomplishments went unrecorded. Although the New Deal public works agencies built tens of thousands of public buildings—post offices, airports, hospitals, museums,
218:
The Living New Deal began as an idea for a book by Gray
Brechin in 2002, but the concept quickly proved too ambitious for a single researcher. A research project directed by Richard Walker was launched as the California Living New Deal in 2007, sponsored by the Institute for Research on Labor and
289:
The New Deal transformed
American government and reformed American society in several important respects, such as reining in Wall Street, supporting home ownership, and introducing Social Security. But the visible hallmark of the New Deal was its vast array of public works, which put millions of
157:
The ultimate aim of the Living New Deal is to educate the general public, civic leaders and politicians about the New Deal and to show that it provides a proven model for reviving the economy in hard times, dealing with unemployment (especially among youth), rebuilding communities all across the
285:
To address the economic collapse and resulting human suffering, President
Roosevelt declared a "new deal for the American people". Within days of his inauguration, he had launched the New Deal, an innovative constellation of federal programs aimed at restoring financial stability, stabilizing
63:
This online catalog identifies thousands of New Deal sites and pinpoints them on an interactive map. Sites can be searched by name, city, state, category, and agency. The website and its growing database show the vast imprint the New Deal had across the nation. The Living New Deal website was
178:. The Living New Deal is directed by UCB Professor Emeritus Richard Walker. Its founder and project scholar is Gray Brechin. The core operation is run by a team of a dozen people across the country. Its national advisory and research boards are made up of scholars such as New Deal historians
369:
the result of an all-out-effort by the
Federal government, in alliance with state and local governments, to put people to work during hard times. Some historians have argued that these public works were the foundation for the health and prosperity of the nation for generations afterward.
230:
The year 2011 was also a turning point for the online presentation of the Living New Deal, with a permanent webmaster added to the staff by 2013. The number of New Deal sites mapped expanded rapidly over the next decade, from 5,000 in 2013 to 17,000 in 2022.
227:
project historian, development director, and assistant director, as well as a New York City chapter director. The number of national associates increased as well, reaching 55 by 2022, with the help of a volunteer coordinator added to staff in 2019.
238:
The Living New Deal website topped a million annual visits by 2018, two million by 2020 and three million by 2022. The volume of traffic and material included in the website led to a complete overhaul of the website, which went public in 2023.
46:
The centerpiece of the Living New Deal is a website that catalogs and maps the location of public works projects and artworks created from 1933 to 1943 under the aegis of the federal government during the administration of
34:
on American lives and the national landscape. The project focuses on public works programs, which put millions of unemployed to work, saved families from destitution, and renovated the infrastructure of the United States.
250:
297:
Millions of women were employed in New Deal work programs, in jobs related to historic preservation, museum services, healthcare, sewing, performing arts, food services, music, libraries, and more.
101:
Navajo Indians in the Civilian Conservation Corps, Indian Wells, Arizona, 1941. 85,000 American Indians served in the CCC, working on roads, forestry, soil and water conservation, and more.
235:
launched in 2018 and a teaching project in DC schools in 2022, which led to the a national teaching project in 2023. A project on preserving New Deal art also commenced in 2023.
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Portion of Coit Tower mural (San Francisco), by Lucian Labaudt, featuring Eleanor Roosevelt. Created in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, 1934.
507:
350:
174:
The Living New Deal is a California non-profit corporation based in the San Francisco Bay Area and affiliated with the Department of Geography at the
322:
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365:(BPA). With the Living New Deal's open-source database and map, the cumulative impact of these public works can be displayed for the first time.
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636:
667:
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342:
132:
Creating teaching aids about the New Deal and its legacy, including the public television-produced app 'Lets Get Lost' on New Deal Murals
175:
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Workers in the National Youth Administration, building a Student Union Building at Compton Junior College, Los Angeles, ca. 1939.
557:
362:
267:
48:
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346:
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306:
220:
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214:, Oakland, California. The garden was completed by the New Deal's Federal Emergency Relief Administration in 1934-1935.
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A new school in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, constructed by the New Deal's Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, ca. 1938.
390:
338:
314:
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965:"Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, July 2, 1932."
211:
23:
A picture of the Living New Deal's interactive map, highlighting New Deal sites, structures, and works of art.
141:
Publishing pocket maps of New Deal sites in key cities, such as San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C.
84:
334:
277:
644:
105:
In addition to the online archive, the Living New Deal works to highlight the legacy of the New Deal by:
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321:(FAP) within the WPA. But the administration also made huge investments in older agencies, such as the
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PWA-financed Chemistry Building, Howard University, historically-Black college, Washington, D.C., 1936.
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97:
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The Civil Works Administration, 1933–1934: The Business of Emergency Employment in the New Deal
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532:
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The most famous of the so-called "alphabet soup" of New Deal public works agencies were the
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Envisioning a national New Deal museum to record and celebrate the achievements of the era
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Engaging the public to protect New Deal public works sites from neglect and destruction.
30:
is a research project and online public archive documenting the scope and impact of the
183:
66:
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242:
A full narrative history of the Living New Deal project can be found on the website.
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1106:
Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan
1023:
Bold Relief: Institutional Politics and the Origins of Modern American Social Policy
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845:
586:
187:
166:
135:
Compiling bibliographies and web links to sources of information about the New Deal
90:
72:
19:
427:
1091:, Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press; Smith, Jason Scott. 2006.
144:
Sponsoring New Deal tours, lectures, conferences, film series, and other events
611:"Mill Valley man, grandson of Franklin Delano Roosevelt talks about New Deal"
147:
Writing summaries of New Deal programs and biographies of leading New Dealers
967:
The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, retrieved March 10, 2023.
1038:
There are histories of almost every agency, e.g.: Lilienthal, David. 1953.
936:
1027:
A Consumers' Republic: The Politics Of Mass Consumption In Postwar America
42:
The WPA built this Community Club House in Cottonwood, Arizona, 1938-1939.
1149:"Digital database documents vital infrastructure created by the New Deal"
582:"Digital database documents vital infrastructure created by the New Deal"
31:
1108:, New York: W.W. Norton; Fraser, Steven and Gerstle, Gary (eds), 1989.
120:
Gathering stories of families whose lives were touched by the New Deal
1122:"New Signage for New York City's Eleven 1936 WPA Swimming Complexes."
1093:
New Deal Liberalism: The Political Economy of Public Works, 1933–1956
483:"Five More Digital Archives and Historical Exhibits We Loved in 2014"
1025:, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; Cohen, Lizabeth, 2003,
1050:, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; Radford, Gail. 1996.
1021:, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; Amenta, Edwin. 2000,
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249:
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165:
107:
96:
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1124:
The New Deal in New York City 1933-1943, retrieved June 18, 2023.
1046:, Durham, NC: Duke University Press; Schwartz, Bonnie Fox. 1984.
1044:
The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933–1942: A New Deal Case Study
1006:
A Great Leap Forward: The 1930s Depression and US Economic Growth
1089:
Long Run Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal
1052:
Modern Housing for America: Policy Struggles in the New Deal Era
64:
selected as one of the 10 best new sites on the web for 2014 by
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219:
Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, and the
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1000:
Romer, Christina. 1992. "What Ended the Great Depression?"
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WPA bridge project, Prince George's County, Maryland, 1936.
750:"Take a Self-Guided Tour of the New Deal in San Francisco"
1143:
951:. New York: Harper and Row; Kindleberger, Charles. 1973.
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took office in 1933, America was in the depths of the
1019:
The New Deal and the States: Federalism in Transition
724:"New guide aims to help keep New Deal's legacy alive"
989:
Put to Work: Relief Programs in the Great Depression
983:, New York: Harper Torchbooks; Conkin, Paul. 1975.
533:"See every New Deal project in America, in one map"
117:Acting as a clearinghouse for news and discussion
981:Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–40
914:Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
223:, with support from the Columbia Foundation.
190:and former Council of Economic Advisors Chair
153:Sharing images and information on social media
1004:. 52, no. 4: 757–84; Field, Alexander. 2011.
8:
668:"Berkeley's Artwork Loss Is a Museum's Gain"
558:"Chasing Bay Area artifacts of the New Deal"
88:, and other news outlets. In November 2022,
955:. Berkeley: University of California Press.
780:"New Deal Washington, D.C. – Map and Guide"
1144:National New Deal Preservation Association
337:. Other significant agencies included the
1042:, New York: Harper; Salmond, John. 1967.
355:Resettlement/Farm Security Administration
351:Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
94:featured a story on the Living New Deal.
1112:, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
987:, New York: Crowell; Rose, Nancy. 1994.
949:America's Greatest Depression, 1929–1941
1110:The Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order
1095:, New York: Cambridge University Press.
1054:, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
382:
194:, and members of the Roosevelt family.
138:Creating a New Deal online film archive
937:History of the Living New Deal project
804:. Department of Geography, UC Berkeley
767:. The Living New Deal. 9 February 2022
531:Yglesias, Matthew (October 28, 2014).
391:"California's Living New Deal project"
245:
848:. The Living New Deal. 17 August 2023
802:"Professor Emeritus Richard A Walker"
7:
925:support from the Columbia Foundation
752:. The Living New Deal. 26 April 2021
508:"When public buildings were revered"
343:Rural Electrification Administration
1157:, November 14, 2022 (YouTube, 6:05)
1008:, New Haven: Yale University Press.
782:. The Living New Deal. 9 March 2021
666:Pogash, Carol (February 20, 2012).
635:Bouchard, Kelley (March 11, 2010).
609:Hansen, Megan (December 16, 2013).
1176:University of California, Berkeley
176:University of California, Berkeley
14:
826:. Gray Brechin's official website
506:Loth, Renée (November 28, 2014).
455:"New Deal: An example for today?"
246:New Deal's legacy of public works
694:"Go on an Adventure with KQED's
556:King, John (September 1, 2008).
70:, and has been mentioned in the
692:Odcikin, Evren (26 July 2013).
453:Sward, Susan (April 27, 2014).
363:Bonneville Power Administration
268:President Franklin D. Roosevelt
49:President Franklin D. Roosevelt
991:, New York: Cornerstone Books.
722:Bergman, Barry (12 May 2015).
1:
1181:Archives in the United States
895:. App Store. 11 December 2021
765:"New York City Map and Guide"
481:Onion, Rebecca (2014-12-30).
347:National Youth Administration
327:Treasury Section of Fine Arts
307:Works Progress Administration
221:California Historical Society
868:"Researching New Deal Sites"
212:Morcom Amphitheater of Roses
1087:Leighninger, Robert. 2007.
1040:TVA: Democracy on the March
1029:, New York Alfred A. Knopf.
1002:Journal of Economic History
311:Civilian Conservation Corps
303:Public Works Administration
1202:
1104:Phillips-Fine, Kim. 2009.
339:Civil Works Administration
315:Tennessee Valley Authority
615:Marin Independent Journal
359:Soil Conservation Service
186:, former Labor Secretary
126:Publishing a newsletter,
1017:Patterson, James. 1969,
947:Chandler, Lester. 1970,
85:San Francisco Chronicle
16:Digital history project
335:Bureau of Public Roads
325:(Post Offices and the
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977:Leuchtenburg, William
953:A World in Depression
893:"The Living New Deal"
641:Portland Press Herald
637:"Touched by New Deal"
331:Bureau of Reclamation
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22:
1186:Open-access archives
180:William Leuchtenburg
1138:The Living New Deal
1065:"New Deal Programs"
590:. November 14, 2022
428:"Works in Progress"
426:LeCompte, Celeste.
323:Treasury Department
319:Federal Art Project
28:The Living New Deal
1140:— official website
672:The New York Times
460:The Sacramento Bee
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1165:Categories
1074:2023-01-16
567:2023-05-31
542:2023-05-31
517:2023-05-31
492:2023-01-16
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1171:New Deal
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846:"Boards"
620:March 9,
594:March 9,
466:March 9,
416:results.
401:21 April
353:(PRRA),
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562:SFGate
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