Emergency Employment and Public Enjoyment: How the Early Years of the Great Depression Transformed Onondaga Lake

Grant Johnson, a Cultural Resources Analyst at EDR, is presenting an illustrated lecture entitled Emergency Employment and Public Enjoyment: How the Early Years of the Great Depression Transformed Onondaga Lake at the Onondaga Historical Association on Sunday (321 Montgomery Street in Syracuse, NY) on Sunday April 19, 2015  at 2:00 PM.  The presentation is based on Grant’s Master’s Thesis research in the Historic Preservation Planning program at Cornell University.  Additional information about the event can be found on the Onondaga Historical Association’s website.

Presentation Abstract:

Emergency Employment and Public Enjoyment: How the Early Years of the Great Depression Transformed Onondaga Lake

April 8, 2015 marks the 80th anniversary of the creation of the Works Progress Administration, better known as the WPA. The WPA was part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s series of New Deal programs to relieve the woes of the Great Depression. It was responsible for thousands of public improvements across the nation, especially notable in parks, historic sites and the arts.

Previous to the WPA, the Onondaga County Emergency Work Bureau was a pilot work relief effort during the early 1930s, supported by then New York Governor Roosevelt, which completely transformed the east shoreline of Onondaga Lake, giving birth to today’s Onondaga Lake Park as well as other park projects throughout the county.

The event is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!