SA Series 4633 AV

              SA Series 4633 AV
Works Progress Administration
Page 1
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
State Archives Record Series
SA 4633 AV
Works Progress Administration
Film negatives, glass plate negatives and photographs of views of architecture
and nature scenes in Ohio
OVERVIEW OF THE SERIES
Series Number: SA 4633 AV
Series Title: Film negatives, glass plate negatives and photographs of
views of architecture and nature scenes in Ohio
Creating Agency: Works Progress Administration
Dates of Series: 1936-1938
Record Group Number: 2000
Media: Film negatives, glass plate negatives, black and white
photographs
Quantity: 1.5 cubic feet
Location: The Ohio Historical Center
AGENCY HISTORY
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began on May 6, 1935, as an independent
agency funded directly by Congress. It was created to replace earlier attempts to bring
the Depression under control with the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA),
the Public Works Administration (PWA), and the Civil Works Administration (CWA).
Sometimes called a “make work” program, the WPA eventually employed approximately
one-third of the nation’s 10 million unemployed, paying them about $50.00 a month.
The WPA focused on construction projects as well as employing artists, writers, and
other workers whose talents were not utilized by the other federal work programs. Many
of these projects fell under “Federal One.” Federal Project No. 1 of the WPA was
developed to give artistic and professional work to the unemployed that qualified. It
consisted of the Federal Art Project (FAP), Federal Music Project (FMP), Federal
Theatre Project (FTP), the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), and the Historical Records
Survey (HRS).
The Reorganization Act of 1939 curtailed the WPA projects and renamed it the Work
Projects Administration. The WPA was made a part of the Federal Works Agency. It
was no longer funded separately by Congress but became a part of overall government
operations. Construction once again became the major focus and the surviving Federal
One projects were required to find sponsorship outside the Federal Government in order
to continue their programs.