Ilya Bolotowsky’s oil painting study for the Hall of Sciences mural at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York is today housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. It is all that remains of Bolotowsky’s mural commissioned… read more
Avalon Park was one of the last projects of the WPA that was approved by Harry Hopkins and Controller General J.R. McCarl in 1935 and was an example during the Great Depression of how the government was interested in giving… read more
This 7’11” x 11’6″ mural “Characters from Children’s Literature” was painted by Roberta Elvis with WPA Federal Art Project funds.
The Belding School contains a WPA mural “Children’s Activities” by Roberta Elvis. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 15′ x 5’4″
The Bennett School contains this WPA mural “History of Books” by Gustaf Dahlstrom, a 4’6″ x 70′ oil on canvas frieze in 15 sections. The frieze was restored in 2000.
The Bennett School contains a mural “Children’s Subjects” by Grace Spongberg, depicting four subjects: 1) Art, 2) History, 3) Science, 4) Music Medium: oil on canvas Size: 4 panels, each 11′ x 6′ Restoration Info: Restored 2001
Andrene Kauffman painted two murals for the Burbank School under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project. “Circus,” composed of two 10′ x 10′ panels, is located in the school auditorium. “Incidents in the Life of Luther Burbank,” composed… read more
“The 31st Street Beach is located in Burnham Park, a green space first envisioned by renowned architect Daniel Burnham in his seminal 1909 Plan of Chicago…Burnham Park served as the site for Chicago’s second World’s Fair, A Century of Progress,… read more
Before Midway Airport was called Midway it was known as the Municipal Airport. However, in the 1930s, under the watchful eye of the WPA (Works Progress Association), the airport went under construction to expand and add new runways for safer… read more
Florian Durzynski painted two murals, “Stephen Foster” and “Frederic Chopin,” for the Chopin School in 1940 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.
The school contains three WPA murals by Arthur Lidov depicting “Characters from Children’s Literature.” Medium: tempera on plaster on presswood Size: 3 semi-circular panels each about 3’2″ r Restoration Info: Restored 1999
This 10′ x 27′ fresco “The Blessings of Water” was painted by Edward Millman in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. It was restored in 1994.
In 1936, when Edward Millman was the state director of mural projects for the FAP, he was commissioned to convert a blank 400 square-foot wall in the City Hall offices of the former Bureau of Water (current Service Center) into… read more
Four WPA murals by Jefferson League show historical stages in the history of the neighborhood; the fifth is a map of the community at the turn of the century. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 5 murals; 4 11′ x 6’2″, 1… read more
The school contains a WPA mural “Winter and Spring” by Mary C. Hague. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 2 panels, each 12′ x 10′
“In 1928, Clarence Hatzfeld, a member of the park board and architect of many northwest side recreational, commercial, and residential buildings, designed a Tudor Revival-style fieldhouse for the park. A stone grotto and fountain originally graced the front of the… read more
This 11’5″ x 11’2″ mural “Landscape With Children” was painted by Florian Durzynski under the auspices of the WPA’s Federal Art Project.
Julius Moessel worked under the Federal Art Project, and the WPA Federal Project Number One. He created an astonishing eighteen murals. The 7′ x 9′ panels were created for the Chicago Field Museum’s “Plants of the World Exhibit”, specifically for… read more
“In 1934, the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the city’s 22 individual park commissions. The newly-formed Chicago Park District improved Foster Park’s landscape and constructed a small recreation building there.”
The Gary School contains a WPA mural by Roberta Elvis depicting fairy tale characters. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 5′ h x 21′ w Restoration Info: Restored 2001
“Using federal funding through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the park district soon began rehabilitating the southern portion of the park, constructing tennis courts, a footbridge over the river, a dam and spillway for the lower lagoon.”
This 12′ x 9’11” mural “Harvesting of Grain: Spring and Fall” in Chicago’s John Harvard school was painted by Florian Durzynski with WPA Federal Art Project funds in 1939 and restored in 2002. The “Fall” part of this mural set… read more
The three panels of this mural “The Life of Horace Mann” depicting scenes from the life of Horace Mann was painted by Ralf Henricksen in 1937 with funds from the WPA Federal Art Project.
The school auditorium contains a WPA mural “Landscape” by Florian Durzynski. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 10″ h x 20′ w
The Federal Arts Project section of the New Deal Program employed men and women with different artistic talents for depictions of American life that would be on display in federal buildings and newly built buildings. Although the Independence Park field… read more
A Public Works Administration grant helped fund the construction of an addition to O’Keeffe Elementary School at 70th Street and South Merrill Avenue in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. The two-story, nearly 10,000-square-foot addition was designed by Board of Education architect… read more
In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) pursued a variety of improvements at Chicago’s historic Jackson Park. “The WPA [went] to town in the park,” the Jackson Park Advisory Council opines. WPA work crews built “comfort stations at the… read more
“In 2006, a cross-section of Chicagoans came together to preserve and transform the only remaining building of the historic Jane Addams Homes on the Near West Side. The three-story brick building at 1322-24 West Taylor opened in 1938 as the… read more
“In 1934, the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the city’s 22 independent park agencies into the Chicago Park District. Using federal relief funds, the newly-created park district soon began work on Jensen Park. Site improvements included a wading pool,… read more
The Julia C. Lathrop Homes was one of the first federally funded public housing projects in Chicago, providing inexpensive housing to those who otherwise could not afford it. The project was an immediate success, as evident by the overwhelming amount… read more
Chicago’s Kedzie-Grace Post Office (also known as the Daniel J. Doffyn Station) was constructed by the Treasury in 1936.
This aluminum bas relief titled “Mercury” was created by Peter Paul Ott with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.
These two mural panels of “Covered Wagon and Indians,” each 8′ x 28′, were completed by an unknown artist in 1939 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.
“In 1934, the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the city’s 22 independent park agencies into the Chicago Park District. Using federal relief funds, the newly-created park district soon began work to complete Kolmar Park. The park district improved the… read more
Three lunettes and three borders now located at the Kozminski Community Academy in Chicago were produced with the help of New Deal funds in 1942.
The New Deal helped with the progress of Lake Shore Drive, both the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration providing funding. These administrations’ assistance led to the completion of Lake Shore Drive from Foster Avenue to Jackson Park… read more
The Lakeview Station post office was constructed by the Treasury sometime between 1933-1937. The date on the cornerstone is too worn to read, but Henry Morgenthau, Jr. (whose name does appear on the cornerstone )was appointed Secretary of the Treasury… read more
