WPA in the Pacific Northwest
A Guide to Archival Records
Table of Contents

Oregon State University
94 Kerr Administration Building
Corvallis OR 97331-2103
(541) 737-2165
E-mail: Archives@orst.edu
http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives/

Oregon State University (OSU) received WPA funding for a number of art and construction projects, many of which are documented in collections of textual records and photographs at the OSU Archives.  The following is a list of collections that contain documentation of WPA projects on the OSU campus as well as elsewhere in the region.

 

Institutional Records

Series Title:     President’s Office Record Group (RG 13)
Description:    Records on microfilm relating to the funding and construction of wrought-iron  gates on lower campus.

 

Series Title:     Library Record Group (RG 9)
Description:    Microfilmed correspondence pertaining to WPA project funding for temporary, part-time assistance for clerical, light custodial and book preservation work in the Library.

 

Series Title:     Landscape Architecture Record Group (RG 89)
Description:    Microfilmed budgetary records, correspondence, and project outlines regarding various WPA-funded landscape and construction projects on campus.

 

Photograph Collections

Series Title:     Harriet’s Collection (Organized and named for the first Archivist at OSU)
Volume:           0.03 cubic foot
Description:    Contains images of various WPA projects undertaken at OSU including the construction of the campus gates (#1477), wood marquetry murals in Bexell Hall (#1511), the erection of Plageman Hall (#79), and building exterior artwork, such as the wood plaques originally installed in Kedder Hall (#604).

 

Series Title:     Buildings Photograph Collection ( P16)
Volume:           0.01 cubic foot
Description:    Contains seventeen images of the construction of Gilbert Hall, which was financed by the WPA.

 

Series Title:     Extension Bulletin Illustrations (P 20)
Volume:           0.01 cubic foot
Description:    Nine images of regional WPA projects; including the collection of scrap metal in local rural communities, Beaver Creek re-channeling, and the completion of Rock Creek Dam.

 

Series Title:     Industrial Engineering and Industrial Arts Department (P 189)
Volume:           0.01 cubic foot
Description:       One image of a WPA project of an iron railing installed alongside the Memorial Union Building.

 

Manuscript Collections

Series Title:     Marian Field Collection
Volume:           2.75 cubic feet
Description:    This collection contains 193 pen and ink drawings of twigs of Oregon woody plants in the spring and summer by Art Department Instructor Marian Field.  They were drawn as part of a WPA project between 1936 and 1941 for Frank Sipe, a botanist at the University of Oregon, who had hoped to publish a book using the drawings.

 

Memorabilia Collection
Volume:           0.05 cubic  foot
Description:    Records pertaining to various metal and wood craft projects at OSU funded by the WPA Federal Arts Project.  The three files describing these projects contain correspondence between artists and university administrators, as well as receipts for materials and other costs.  Of particular interest is documentation between artist Aimee Gorham and the university about her wood marquetry murals in Bexell Hall.  Another file on murals also contains information on WPA projects.

 
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