WPA Poster: The Sun Rises In The West Written And Produced By Southwest Theatre Unit

We are currently facing circumstances that approach the Great Depression. In May 1935, just a few days and 85 years ago, the government enacted the Works Progress Administration.

“The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency, employing millions of job-seekers (mostly unskilled men) to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It was established on May 6, 1935, by Executive Order 7034. The WPA's initial appropriation in 1935 was for $4.9 billion (about 6.7 percent of the 1935 GDP). Headed by Harry Hopkins, the WPA provided jobs and income to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States, while developing infrastructure to support the current and future society. “

The rest you can read on WIkipedia. One of the projects of the WPA was to create art posters celebrating different projects of the program. The Library of Congress has roughly 1,000 of these posters. We will be presenting them here over time as snapshots of the past.

• The sun rises in the west written and produced by Southwest Theatre Unit

• 1936

• Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress).

• Theatrical productions--California--1930-1950. Depressions--United States--1920-1940.

• Abandoned farms--United States--1920-1940. Internal migration--United States--1920-1940.

• Federal Theatre Project (U.S.) sponsor. 1 print (poster) : silkscreen color.

  POS - WPA - CA .01 .S775 no. 1 (B size) [P&P]

• Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington D.C. 20540 USA

• (color film copy slide)