Description: Dated 1937, this photograph shows Beatty Park Swimming Pool on a busy day in Steubenville, Ohio. The first Beatty Park pool was built in the 1930s, most likely as a project by the Works Progress Administration. That pool was closed in later years and a second pool was built on an adjacent lot. The second pool at Beatty Park closed after several repairs and the area was filled in. The only remaining sign a pool existed at the site is a concrete retaining wall. The original Beatty Park entrance was located at 737 Lincoln Avenue. The park was comprised of 100 acres and afforded picnic sites and camps for auto trailers. A full-time worker had charge of the city's recreational program here, which included baseball, basketball, swimming, golf and other sports. Beatty Park was reopened for public use in September 2007 thanks to efforts by local individuals working with the Steubenville Parks and Recreation Department after many years of disrepair. A newly installed Disc Golf Course was the focus for the Park's reopening. Other activities for Beatty Park may include hiking trails, a dog park, and bird watching. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F01_034_001
Subjects: Swimming; Parks; Steubenville (Ohio); Swimming pools; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Steubenville (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)