PWA Moderne

Hoover Dam, Arizona/Nevada

Long Beach, California Main Post Office

San Diego County Administration Center sculpture by Donal Hord

Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.

Library of Congress Annex (John Adams Building), Washington, D.C.

Minneapolis Armory

PWA Moderne (or "P.W.A. Moderne", PWA/WPA Moderne,^[1] Federal Moderne,^[2] Depression Moderne,^[1] Classical Moderne,^[1] Stripped Classicism) is an architectural style of many buildings in the United States completed between 1933 and 1944,^[2] during and shortly after the Great Depression as part of relief projects sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The style draws from traditional motifs such as Beaux-Arts classicism and Art Deco and is similar to Streamline Moderne,^[2][3] often with zigzag ornamentation added. The structures reflect a greater use of conservative and classical elements and have a monumental feel. They include post offices, train stations, public schools, libraries, civic centers, courthouses,^[2] museums, bridges, and dams across the country. Banks were also built in the style because such buildings radiated authority.^[1]

Elements of the style

Typical elements of PWA Moderne buildings include:^[1]

• Classical balanced and symmetrical form
• Windows arranged as vertical recessed panels
• Surfaces sheathed in smooth, flat stone or stucco

Examples of PWA buildings

Examples of PWA buildings and structures include:

Arizona/Nevada

• Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) — on the Colorado River in Arizona and Nevada.^[4][5]
• Arizona State Fairgrounds Grandstand (1936-1937) — Phoenix, Arizona. The exterior of the grandstand has 23 bas-relief panels by David Carrick Swing and Florence Blakeslee, that were funded by the Federal Art Project.^[6][7]
• WPA Administration Building (1938) — at 19th Avenue and McDowell Road on the Arizona State Fairgrounds, Phoenix, Arizona. It was headquarters for Works Progress Administration−WPA projects in Arizona.^[8][9][10]

Florida

Ed Austin Building (Former Federal Courthouse, current Florida State Attorney's Office), Jacksonville, Florida

• Jacksonville
  • Ed Austin Building (former Federal Courthouse, current State Attorney's Office), 1933, Marsh & Saxelbye

California

Venice Police Station, Los Angeles

• Oakland: Alameda County Courthouse, 1939 ^[11]
• Bakersfield: Kern County Hall of Records, 1939 remodel, Chris Brewer
• Burbank: Burbank City Hall, Allen Lutzi^[12]
• Culver City:
  • Helms Bakery, 1930, E. L. Bruner
  • MGM Studios, 1938-9, Claude Beelman, Beaux-Arts in the guise of PWA Moderne
• El Segundo: El Segundo Elementary School, 1936
• Fresno: County Hall of Records, 1937, Allied Architects of Fresno^[13]
• Hermosa Beach: North School, 1934 Samuel Lunden (Per File #19-45 of DSA Records); Pier Avenue School, 1939, March, Smith and Powell
• Inglewood: Inglewood Memorial Park, buildings 1933 and 1940, Walter E. Erkes
• Jackson: Amador County Courthouse, 1940 remodel, George Sellon ^[14]
• Lancaster: Post Office (1940, Louis A. Simon and former School Building (c. 1937)
• Lawndale: Leuzinger High School, T.C. Kistener & Cómo.; Kistner & Curtis; Eugene D. Birnbaum and Associates^[12]
• Long Beach
  • Jefferson Junior High School Building, 1936
  • Long Beach Main Post Office, 1934, Louis A. Simon and James A. Wetmore
  • Municipal Utilities Building, 1932, Dedrick and Bobbe
  • Robert Louis Stevenson school, c. 1936
  • Veteran's Memorial Building 1936-7, George Kahrs
• Los Angeles:
  • Abraham Lincoln High School (Lincoln Heights), 1937-8, Albert C. Martin
  • Carpenter Community Charter School
  • Distribution Station #28, Department of Water and Power (West L.A.), 1945-6, G. E. Benker, engineer
  • Federal Building and Post Office (now U.S. Federal Courthouse), 1938–40, Louis A. Simon
  • Hall of Administration, 1956-61: A continuation of the PWA Moderne style in the 1950s
  • Hollywood Branch Post Office, 1937, Claude Beellman, Allison and Allison
  • Pacific Stock Exchange, 1929–30, Samuel E. Lunden
  • Police and Fire Station of Venice, c. 1930
  • San Pedro High School, 1935–37, Gordon B. Kaufman
  • Sepulveda Dam, 1941, flood control dam on the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando Valley, 1939–41, War Department
  • U.S. Customs House and Post Office (San Pedro), 1935
  • U.S. Naval and Marine Corps Armory, 1939–40, Stiles Clements
  • University of Southern California campus: Alan Hancock Foundation and Memorial Museum, 1940, Cram and Ferguson
• Pasadena:
  • Armory Gallery (former California State Armory), 1932, Bennett and Haskell
  • Grover Cleveland Elementary School, 1934
• Salinas: Monterey County Courthouse, 1937, Robert Stanton & Charles Butner^[15]
• San Diego: San Diego County Administration Center, 1938, Samuel Wood Hamill, William Templeton Johnson, Richard Requa, Louis John Gill^[16]
• San Francisco: San Francisco Mint, 1937
• San Gabriel: San Gabriel Union Church and School, 1936
• San Luis Obispo: San Luis Obispo County Courthouse, 1940, Walker & Eisen^[17]
• Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 1939 ^[18]
• Santa Monica:
  • Santa Monica City Hall, 1938-9, Donald B. Parkinson and J. M. Estep
  • Post Office, Robert Dennis Murray, Louis A. Simon^[12]
• Torrance:
  • Auditorium (Torrance High School)
  • Torrance Public Library, 1936, Walker & Eisen
• Visalia: Tulare County Courthouse (now Department of Public Social Services), 1935, Ernest Kump^[19][20]
• Whittier:^[21]
  • National Trust and Savings, c. 1935, William H. Harrison
  • Whittier Post Office, 1935, Louis A. Simon
  • Whittier-Union High School, 1939–40, William H. Harrison

Washington, D.C.

• Folger Shakespeare Library, 1932, Paul Philippe Cret^[2]
• Library of Congress Annex (John Adams Building), 1939, Pierson & Wilson^[2]
• Harry S Truman Building (particularly the War Department building) of the United States Department of State, 1939, Underwood & Foster^[22]

Iowa

Sioux City Municipal Auditorium. The smooth brick walls, rounded corners, and deeply incised openings typify the Moderne style.

• Animosa: Jones County Courthouse, 1937, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn
• Audubon: Audubon County Court House, 1940, Keffer and Jones
• Atlantic: Cass County Courthouse, 1934, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn
• Burlington: Des Moines County Court House, 1940, Keffer and Jones
• Charles City: Floyd County Court House, 1940, Hansen & Waggoner
• Dakota City: Humboldt County Courthouse, 1939
• Independence: Buchanan County Court House, 1940, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn
• Indianola: Warren County Court House, 1939, Keffer and Jones
• St. Olaf: St. Olaf Auditorium, 1939
• Sioux City: Sioux City Municipal Auditorium, 1938–50, Knute E. Westerlind
• Waukon: Allamakee County Court House, 1940, Charles Altfillisch
• Waverly: Bremer County Court House, 1937, Mortimer Cleveland

Minnesota

• Minneapolis: Minneapolis Armory, 1935–36, P.C. Bettenburg; Walter H. Wheeler

Mississippi

• Mississippi: Amory National Guard Armory, 1937-38, Overstreet & Town

Nevada

• Pioche: Lincoln County Courthouse, 1938, A. Lacy Worswick; L.F. Dow

Oregon

• Salem: Oregon State Capitol, 1938, Trowbridge & Livingston 

Tennessee

• Nashville: Martin Luther King Magnet at Pearl High School

Utah

• Orderville: Valley School
• Provo: Superintendent's Residence at the Utah State Hospital, 1934 (Colonial Revival/PWA Moderne)
• Santaquin: Santaquin Junior High School

Washington

William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse, Seattle, WA

• Seattle: William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse, 1940, Gilbert Stanley Underwood^[23]

References

Further reading

• Greif, Martin. Depression Modern: The Thirties Style in America. New York: Universe Books, 1975.
• Prosser, Daniel. "The New Deal Builds: Government Architecture during the New Deal." Timeline vol. 9, no. 1 (1992): 40-54.
• United States. Public Works Administration. America Builds: The Record of PWA. Washington, D.C.: PWA, 1939.

See also

• Moderne architecture
• WPA Rustic architecture
• Streamline Moderne architecture