Works Progress Administration

• Source: The Detroit Historical Society collection

Artist Frank Cassara's 1937 work, entitled "Modern Warfare."

Wednesday, Feb. 10

The Detroit Historical Society continues its popular Author Series with Elizabeth Clemens, author of "The Works Progress Administration in Detroit," published by Arcadia Publishing, on Wednesday, February 10 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Detroit Historical Museum.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a federal program designed to provide jobs for the unemployed.  It was created during the Great Depression as a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.  For the people of Detroit, the WPA built schools and libraries, provided clothing and shelter, and created literacy, health and educational programs.  Through groundbreaking cultural programs it brought art, theatre and music to the masses.  It also helped create the infrastructure necessary to develop Detroit into the nation's "Arsenal of Democracy."

Clemens is an audiovisual archivist at the Walter P. Reuther Library.  This book incorporates photographs taken by WPA photographers and drawing from the rich collections of the Walter P. Reuther Library, the Archives of American Art, the Detroit Historical Museum and the National Archives.

The cost of the event is free for Detroit Historical Society members and $10 for the public. For more information or to register for the event, please call (313) 833-1801 or visit www.detroithistorical.org.

The Detroit Historical Museum is located at 5401 Woodward Ave. (NW corner of Kirby) in Detroit's Cultural Center area, is open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the Museum is not open to the public but available for group tours by calling (313) 833-7979.

Adult admission is $6. Seniors (60+), college students with valid college ID, and youth ages 5-18 pay $4. Admission for children ages four and under is free. Parking in the Museum's lot is $4 at all times. Permanent exhibits include the famous Streets of Old Detroit; Frontiers to Factories; The Motor City; and The Glancy Trains.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Their mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America's people and places.