PWA Rebuilds the Nation.
Cartographer:
Purdy, Earl
Date of Creation:
1939
“Cartographic monument to the New Deal” (Hornsby)
Nearly one hundred projects commissioned by the PWA are illustrated in and spread evenly over the map. The border, which includes more than forty vignettes depicting men at work and the monuments they have created, reflects the new artistic styles of the American Scene and Social Realism. The centre of the compass rose (“one of the most creative on any pictorial map” Hornsby) depicts a bare-chested ‘everyman’ single-handedly turning a large cog that supports the tools of labor and technology which form the compass points.
“Serving the People. In picture and in legend, this map indicates how the Federal Public Works Administration has aided local communities to rebuild the United States. Thousands of PWA improvements and structures of which only a selected number of typical examples appear here, have modernized out cities - conserved and developed our resources - refurbished our school system - improved public health - advanced our recreational facilities - and helped to create stronger, better-equipped nation for all the people. These useful PWA projects, in nearly every county in the United States, have stimulated industry and employment. As permanent national assets they are dedicated to the service of the American public” (legend lower left).