W.P.A. Construction in San Francisco (1935-1942) - Revision history

Ccarlsson: added link

2019-09-02T20:30:29Z

added link

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	'''<font face = Papyrus> <font color = maroon> <font size = 4>Historical Essay</font></font> </font>'''		'''<font face = Papyrus> <font color = maroon> <font size = 4>Historical Essay</font></font> </font>'''

	By Timothy Keegan		''By Timothy Keegan''

	Originally published in ''The Argonaut'' Vol. 14, No. 1, Spring 2003		''Originally published in ''The Argonaut'' Vol. 14, No. 1, Spring 2003''

	In his annual message to Congress on January 4, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made the following declaration:		In his annual message to Congress on January 4, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made the following declaration:
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	<font size=4>'''Zoological Gardens/Aquatic Park'''</font size>		<font size=4>'''Zoological Gardens/Aquatic Park'''</font size>

	San Francisco’s two most ambitious original W.P.A. undertakings book-end the city with almost perfect symmetry – Aquatic Park in the northeast corner, and the San Francisco Zoo in the southwest. They also supplied the city with the W.P.A. era’s most controversial moments in San Francisco.		San Francisco’s two most ambitious original W.P.A. undertakings book-end the city with almost perfect symmetry – [[Aquatic Park and Maritime Museum\|Aquatic Park]] in the northeast corner, and the San Francisco Zoo in the southwest. They also supplied the city with the W.P.A. era’s most controversial moments in San Francisco.

	[[Image:1938-building-of-Maritime-Museum.jpg]]		[[Image:1938-building-of-Maritime-Museum.jpg]]

Aiobrec13: Changed credits from Greg Garr to Private Collection

2014-06-16T21:21:10Z

Changed credits from Greg Garr to Private Collection

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	'''Relief workers excavating [[Bayview Hill\|Bayview Hill]], site of the future Bayshore Avenue.'''		'''Relief workers excavating [[Bayview Hill\|Bayview Hill]], site of the future Bayshore Avenue.'''

	''Photo: ~~Greg Gaar~~ Collection, San Francisco''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco''

	Sweeping in its scope (everything from road construction to mural and other public art commissions, building outhouses in rural areas, and instructing housewives in the domestic sciences was covered under the program), the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) was also remarkable in its simplicity. Cities and towns all over the country had two desperate desires: to get their citizens back to work, and to shore up the infrastructural needs of their communities that had languished since the onset of the Great Depression in 1929.		Sweeping in its scope (everything from road construction to mural and other public art commissions, building outhouses in rural areas, and instructing housewives in the domestic sciences was covered under the program), the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) was also remarkable in its simplicity. Cities and towns all over the country had two desperate desires: to get their citizens back to work, and to shore up the infrastructural needs of their communities that had languished since the onset of the Great Depression in 1929.
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	'''Federal relief workers exhuming former occupants of the Odd Fellows Cemetery in December 1933, [[Get Your Ashes Hauled\|Columbarium]] in background. This site would be converted to Rossi Playground by W.P.A. workers later in the decade.'''		'''Federal relief workers exhuming former occupants of the Odd Fellows Cemetery in December 1933, [[Get Your Ashes Hauled\|Columbarium]] in background. This site would be converted to Rossi Playground by W.P.A. workers later in the decade.'''

	''Photo: ~~Greg Gaar~~ Collection, San Francisco''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco''

	Understandably, the Parks and Recreation Department had a particularly rough time during the Depression. Time and time again throughout those years, like a modern mantra of hope, the Board of Park Commissioners’ Minutes of Meeting contain variations of the following entry: “Secretary instructed to reply that no funds were available for the purpose, but that the Works Progress Administration would be requested to undertake the improvements in question.”		Understandably, the Parks and Recreation Department had a particularly rough time during the Depression. Time and time again throughout those years, like a modern mantra of hope, the Board of Park Commissioners’ Minutes of Meeting contain variations of the following entry: “Secretary instructed to reply that no funds were available for the purpose, but that the Works Progress Administration would be requested to undertake the improvements in question.”
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	''' Relief workers constructing retaining walls at Stern Grove’s east entrance, January 8, 1934.'''		''' Relief workers constructing retaining walls at Stern Grove’s east entrance, January 8, 1934.'''

	''Photo: ~~Greg Gaar~~ Collection, San Francisco''		''Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco''

	Comprised of 318 acres, McLaren Park is San Francisco’s second largest park and was the city’s newest park at the time of W.P.A. activities in the city. Minutes of Meeting for the Board of Park Commissioners during the 1930s are peppered with references to the purchase and acquisition of the various plots of land that eventually comprised this parkland tribute to San Francisco’s most esteemed park superintendent.		Comprised of 318 acres, McLaren Park is San Francisco’s second largest park and was the city’s newest park at the time of W.P.A. activities in the city. Minutes of Meeting for the Board of Park Commissioners during the 1930s are peppered with references to the purchase and acquisition of the various plots of land that eventually comprised this parkland tribute to San Francisco’s most esteemed park superintendent.

Ccarlsson at 05:31, 28 May 2014

2014-05-28T05:31:45Z

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	<blockquote>The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit…Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers…We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destruction but also their self-respect, their self-reliance and courage and determination…The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief.</blockquote>		<blockquote>The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit…Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers…We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destruction but also their self-respect, their self-reliance and courage and determination…The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief.</blockquote>

	On May 6, 1935, with the placement of his signature on Executive Order No. 7034, President Roosevelt honored his promise by creating one of the most beneficial relief programs in the history of our country, the Works Progress Administration.		On May 6, 1935, with the placement of his signature on Executive Order No. 7034, President Roosevelt honored his promise by creating one of the most beneficial relief programs in the history of our country, the [[The WPA – The Stimulus Package of Its Day\|Works Progress Administration]].

	[[Image:Wpa-workers-excavating-bayview-hill.jpg]]		[[Image:Wpa-workers-excavating-bayview-hill.jpg]]

Ccarlsson at 20:13, 26 December 2012

2012-12-26T20:13:32Z

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	<font size=4>'''Streets'''</font size>		<font size=4>'''Streets'''</font size>

	It is fitting that one of San Francisco’s first W.P.A. projects would involve road improvement, as it was asserted in Inventory: An Appraisal of the Results of the Works Progress Administration (Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C., 1938) that 34% of all W.P.A. funds nationally were to be devoted to “roads, streets, bridges and related facilities.” In addition to the necessity for general grading and paving of streets throughout San Francisco, the recent completion of the Golden Gate and Bay bridges had brought about both increased traffic and changes in general traffic routes throughout the city that needed to be accommodated.		It is fitting that one of San Francisco’s first W.P.A. projects would involve road improvement, as it was asserted in Inventory: An Appraisal of the Results of the Works Progress Administration (Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C., 1938) that 34% of all W.P.A. funds nationally were to be devoted to “roads, streets, bridges and [[Peralta Street and Bernal Heights North Slope\|related facilities]].” In addition to the necessity for general grading and paving of streets throughout San Francisco, the recent completion of the Golden Gate and Bay bridges had brought about both increased traffic and changes in general traffic routes throughout the city that needed to be accommodated.

	The W.P.A.’s 1938 ''Report On Progress of the Works Program'' noted that “The need for street improvements such as widening and reconstruction had been keenly felt in the community. Since the advent of the W.P.A. three units embracing over 100,000 linear feet of widening and reconstruction have been completed. As a direct result of this work the city found it possible to extend the development of its street lighting program, which otherwise would not have been accomplished. It is conservatively estimated that due to the participation of the W.P.A. in the street improvement work this program was advanced by at least three years.”		The W.P.A.’s 1938 ''Report On Progress of the Works Program'' noted that “The need for street improvements such as widening and reconstruction had been keenly felt in the community. Since the advent of the W.P.A. three units embracing over 100,000 linear feet of widening and reconstruction have been completed. As a direct result of this work the city found it possible to extend the development of its street lighting program, which otherwise would not have been accomplished. It is conservatively estimated that due to the participation of the W.P.A. in the street improvement work this program was advanced by at least three years.”

Ccarlsson at 06:48, 31 December 2010

2010-12-31T06:48:17Z

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	The community seeking assistance supplied the labor and materials, and the federal government paid the majority of a project’s expenses (the difference was paid by the requesting community, or “sponsor”; in California’s case, the average split was approximately 67.2% / 32.8%). Once a project was complete, it was the sole possession and responsibility of the sponsor community. Honoring the separation of church and state, the W.P.A. was prohibited from constructing houses of worship. Funding was also to be used strictly for non-military purposes, but as the United States edged closer to World War II those lines were inevitably blurred.		The community seeking assistance supplied the labor and materials, and the federal government paid the majority of a project’s expenses (the difference was paid by the requesting community, or “sponsor”; in California’s case, the average split was approximately 67.2% / 32.8%). Once a project was complete, it was the sole possession and responsibility of the sponsor community. Honoring the separation of church and state, the W.P.A. was prohibited from constructing houses of worship. Funding was also to be used strictly for non-military purposes, but as the United States edged closer to World War II those lines were inevitably blurred.

	San Francisco, as battered by the Great Depression as any other American city, was anxious to participate in the President’s new relief program, and, thanks largely to the tireless efforts of Mayor Angelo J. Rossi, was among the first cities to receive funding for local projects. An October 25, 1935 article in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' announced “1000 To Get Jobs On WPA,” and went on to explain that the city’s first two projects would be “completion and grading of an underground drainage system and the surfacing of a road at [[Lake Merced\|Lake Merced]],” and “a road through [[McLaren Park\|McLaren Park]] at Persia and La Grande.”		San Francisco, as battered by the Great Depression as any other American city, was anxious to participate in the President’s new relief program, and, thanks largely to the tireless efforts of Mayor Angelo J. Rossi, was among the first cities to receive funding for local projects. An October 25, 1935 article in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' announced “1000 To Get Jobs On WPA,” and went on to explain that the city’s first two projects would be “completion and grading of an underground drainage system and the surfacing of a road at [[Lake Merced Wild Garden\|Lake Merced]],” and “a road through [[McLaren Park\|McLaren Park]] at Persia and La Grande.”

	<font size=4>'''Streets'''</font size>		<font size=4>'''Streets'''</font size>

Ccarlsson: added photos, captions, links, and new categories

2010-12-31T06:25:14Z

added photos, captions, links, and new categories

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Ccarlsson: added photos

2010-12-31T05:36:30Z

added photos

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Ccarlsson at 23:36, 24 December 2010

2010-12-24T23:36:44Z

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 '''ABOUT THE AUTHOR'''
 Timothy Keegan is a native of Spokane, Washington, but he has considered San Francisco his adopted home since his arrival here in 1976. His twenty-seven years in the city have been assiduously chronicled in his photographs; and his passionate love of San Francisco has been the subject of his freelance writing since 1998.
 [[category:1930s]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:parks]] [[category:The Argonaut]] [[category:Roads]]

Ccarlsson at 23:33, 24 December 2010

2010-12-24T23:33:11Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:33, 24 December 2010
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	'''Roads/Streets'''		'''Roads/Streets'''
	17th Street – Market to Harrison
	18th Street – 3rd Street to Missouri		17th Street – Market to Harrison<br>
	25th Avenue – Fulton to El Camino del Mar		18th Street – 3rd Street to Missouri<br>
	Aquatic Park – Van Ness to Municipal Pier		25th Avenue – Fulton to El Camino del Mar<br>
	Bay Street – Polk to Embarcadero		Aquatic Park – Van Ness to Municipal Pier<br>
	Bay Street – Polk to Fillmore		Bay Street – Polk to Embarcadero<br>
	Brannan Street – Embarcadero to 10th Street		Bay Street – Polk to Fillmore<br>
	Broadway – Davis to Mason		Brannan Street – Embarcadero to 10th Street<br>
	Bush Street – Fillmore to Presidio		Broadway – Davis to Mason<br>
	California Street(1) – Presidio to Lyon		Bush Street – Fillmore to Presidio<br>
	California Street(2) – Lyon to Fillmore		California Street(1) – Presidio to Lyon<br>
	Castro Street – 17th to 19th Street		California Street(2) – Lyon to Fillmore<br>
	Castro Street – 24th to 26th Streets		Castro Street – 17th to 19th Street<br>
	Columbus Avenue – Montgomery to Bay		Castro Street – 24th to 26th Streets<br>
	Duboce Street – Market to Mission		Columbus Avenue – Montgomery to Bay<br>
	Fell Street – Van Ness to Baker		Duboce Street – Market to Mission<br>
	Franklin Street – Market to Bay		Fell Street – Van Ness to Baker<br>
	Fulton Street – Franklin to Masonic		Franklin Street – Market to Bay<br>
	Golden Gate Avenue – Masonic to Parker		Fulton Street – Franklin to Masonic<br>
	Golden Gate Avenue – Van Ness to Masonic		Golden Gate Avenue – Masonic to Parker<br>
	Gough Street – Market to California		Golden Gate Avenue – Van Ness to Masonic<br>
	Grove Street – Gough to Market		Gough Street – Market to California<br>
	Guerrero Street – Market to 14th Street		Grove Street – Gough to Market<br>
	Harrison Street – 10th to 14th Street		Guerrero Street – Market to 14th Street<br>
	Lombard Street – Lyon to Broderick		Harrison Street – 10th to 14th Street<br>
	Market Street – Gough to Castro		Lombard Street – Lyon to Broderick<br>
	Oak Street – Franklin to Stanyan		Market Street – Gough to Castro<br>
	Otis Street – Duboce to 12th Street		Oak Street – Franklin to Stanyan<br>
	Palo Alto – Sutro Forest line to Twin Peaks		Otis Street – Duboce to 12th Street<br>
	Third Street – Bayshore Boulevard to Burke		Palo Alto – Sutro Forest line to Twin Peaks<br>
	Townsend Street – Embarcadero to 4th Street		Third Street – Bayshore Boulevard to Burke<br>
	Twin Peaks Boulevard – Clayton to Palo Alto		Townsend Street – Embarcadero to 4th Street<br>
	Valencia Street – Market to Mission		Twin Peaks Boulevard – Clayton to Palo Alto<br>
	Van Ness Avenue – Market to Beach		Valencia Street – Market to Mission<br>
	Wawona(1) – 19th to 24th Avenue		Van Ness Avenue – Market to Beach<br>
	Wawona(2) – 25th to 28th Avenue		Wawona(1) – 19th to 24th Avenue <br>
			Wawona(2) – 25th to 28th Avenue <br>

	'''Public Buildings'''		'''Public Buildings'''
	Academy of Sciences
	Coroner’s Office		Academy of Sciences<br>
	DeYoung Museum		Coroner’s Office<br>
	Laguna Honda Home		DeYoung Museum<br>
	Municipal Railway “L” line extension		Laguna Honda Home<br>
	Police Department pistol range		Municipal Railway “L” line extension<br>
	San Francisco Airport		Police Department pistol range<br>
	Visitacion Nursery School		San Francisco Airport<br>
			Visitacion Nursery School<br>

	'''Parks/Playgrounds/Recreation Centers'''		'''Parks/Playgrounds/Recreation Centers'''
	38th & Fulton Recreation Center
	Amazon Recreation Center		38th & Fulton Recreation Center<br>
	Aptos Playground		Amazon Recreation Center<br>
	Balboa Park		Aptos Playground<br>
	Bayview Park		Balboa Park<br>
	Chinese Playground		Bayview Park<br>
	Corona Heights Park		Chinese Playground<br>
	Crocker Amazon Recreation Center		Corona Heights Park<br>
	Dolores Park		Crocker Amazon Recreation Center<br>
	Excelsior Playground		Dolores Park<br>
	Funston Playground		Excelsior Playground<br>
	Gilman Playground		Funston Playground<br>
	Harding Park Clubhouse		Gilman Playground<br>
	Ingleside Recreation Center		Harding Park Clubhouse<br>
	Inspiration Park		Ingleside Recreation Center<br>
	Jackson Park		Inspiration Park<br>
	James Rolph Playground		Jackson Park<br>
	Julius Kahn Playground		James Rolph Playground<br>
	Lafayette Square		Julius Kahn Playground<br>
	Lincoln Park Clubhouse		Lafayette Square<br>
	Lombard Park		Lincoln Park Clubhouse<br>
	Mt. Davidson		Lombard Park<br>
	Mt. Lake Park		Mt. Davidson<br>
	Ocean View Playground		Mt. Lake Park<br>
	Portola Playground		Ocean View Playground<br>
	Potrero Hill Playground		Portola Playground<br>
	Sharp Park		Potrero Hill Playground<br>
	Sigmund Stern Playground		Sharp Park<br>
	St. Mary’s Playground		Sigmund Stern Playground<br>
	Sunset Park		St. Mary’s Playground<br>
	Sutro Heights Park		Sunset Park<br>
	Visitation Playground		Sutro Heights Park<br>
			Visitation Playground<br>


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	Timothy Keegan is a native of Spokane, Washington, but he has considered San Francisco his adopted home since his arrival here in 1976. His twenty-seven years in the city have been assiduously chronicled in his photographs; and his passionate love of San Francisco has been the subject of his freelance writing since 1998.		Timothy Keegan is a native of Spokane, Washington, but he has considered San Francisco his adopted home since his arrival here in 1976. His twenty-seven years in the city have been assiduously chronicled in his photographs; and his passionate love of San Francisco has been the subject of his freelance writing since 1998.

	[[category:1930s]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:parks]]		[[category:1930s]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:buildings]] [[category:parks]] [[category:The Argonaut]] [[category:Roads]]

Ccarlsson: Created page with '''' Historical Essay ''' By Timothy Keegan Originally published in ''The Argonaut'' Vol. 14, No. ...'

2010-12-24T23:30:01Z

Created page with '''' Historical Essay ''' By Timothy Keegan Originally published in ''The Argonaut'' Vol. 14, No. ...'

Show changes