Description: Original description reads: "Federal Music Project. Negro Dance Orchestra performing on the terrace in front of Union Station, Cincinnati, Ohio." The Federal Music Project (FMP), part of the Federal government of the United States New Deal program Federal Project No. 1, employed musicians, conductors and composers during the Great Depression. People in the music world had been particularly hard-hit by the era's economic downturn. In addition to performing thousands of concerts, offering music classes, organizing the Composers Forum Laboratory, hosting music festivals and creating 34 new orchestras, employees of the FMP researched American traditional music and folk songs, a practice now called ethnomusicology. In the latter domain the Federal Music Project did notable studies on cowboy, Creole and "Negro" music. The FMP's director—for the majority of its brief life—was Nikolai Sokoloff. During the Great Depression, many people visited these symphonies to forget about the economic hardship of the time. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B03F11_003_1
Subjects: Music--Performance; African Americans--Music; Dance orchestras; Federal Music Project (U.S.); Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: The information attached to the reverse of the photo is unclear, but it seems to read: "Children's Home,Dayton,Ohio,April 25,1936 Group of [?] in their costumes made by the WPA Sewing Project at the Children's home, for a performance of folk songs and folk dances to be given first at Brown School, April 28, '36. The costumes represent those of some 16 nationalities." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F08_009_001
Subjects: Folk dance music; Dancers; Dance--Folk and national dances; ' Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project; Costumes;
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Baby Band, Harmony School, Georges Run, Ohio. Miller and Am, 436 Market St., Steubenville Ohio." This is a photograph of the Baby Band at Harmony School in Georges Run, Ohio. More information needed. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F10_005_001
Subjects: Bands; Children's music; Music and dance; Music--Performance; Jefferson County (Ohio)--History; Children; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Steubenville (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)
 

Description: Taken in 1936 in Cincinnati, Ohio, this photograph shows members of an African-American dance team. The Federal Theater Project was one of five projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. This project was designed to help fund theater productions, live artistic performances and employ actors, writers, and producers. 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_B10F08_032_001
Subjects: African American women--Ohio; Dancers; Recreation; Performers; Music and dance; Dance--1930-1950; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: A photograph of a couple enjoying a dance. More information needed. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F03_015_01
Subjects: Dancing; Ball room dancing; Dancers; Recreation; Music and dance; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Reverse reads: "School lunch and Matron Service, Toledo, Ohio. (Party held at Marshall School with W.P.A. Recreation entertainers.)" This is a photograph of Works Progress Administration recreation entertainers performing a hula dance for the School Lunch and Matron Service in Toledo, Ohio. There were many dance classes and group performances taught through the W.P.A. Recreation Project, part of the Works Progress Administration. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F11_019_001
Subjects: Recreation; Music and dance; Dance--1930-1950; Hula (Dance); Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project.
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated August 28, 1940, this photograph shows children performing in a Briar Rose Pageant at Walbridge Park in Toledo, Ohio. Walbridge Park opened in the late 1800s and was located on Broadway Street in downtown Toledo. It was largely destroyed by a fire in 1938. The city bought the land in 1874 and created Riverside Park, which included a midway, restaurants, rides, a dance hall and boat and canoe rentals. 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_B13F11_020_001
Subjects: Theater; Theaters--Stage setting and scenery; Music and dance; Children; Ohio--History--Pictorial works
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Group from Pageant give at U. of D. Stadium." This is a photograph of a pageant group posing at the University of Dayton stadium in Dayton, Ohio. The University of Dayton was founded in 1850, by the Society of Mary, an Order within the Roman Catholic Church. It is currently the largest private university in the state of Ohio, and has a reputation as one of the best Catholic universities in the nation. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F08_013_1
Subjects: Recreation; Music and dance; Children; University of Dayton; Dance--Performance; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Dancers; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "ACROBATIC DANCER FROM NEWBURY SCHOOL AT GIRLS PLAY DAY - OTTAWA PARK. People at work + play." A Newbury School student performs acrobatics in Ottawa Park in Toledo, Ohio. More information needed. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F11_014_001
Subjects: Acrobatics--Photographs; Acrobatic--History; Recreation; Arts; Girls--Pictorial works; Music and dance; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: The caption reads: "MAY FESTIVAL AT ST. XAVIER STADIUM. The Shoo Fly song, some 3,000 school children participated. Photo by W.P.A Photographer, Federal Project No. 1. (Writers') Cincinnati, Ohio. District # 16. 5-15-36." This is a photograph of over 3,000 children performing the "Shoo Fly Song" as part of the May Day festivities at St. Xavier stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. May Day, celebrated on May 1, is a traditional spring holiday for many cultures around the world. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F04_027_001
Subjects: May Day--United States--History; Universities and colleges; Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio); College campuses; Music and dance; Children--Ohio; Festivals and holidays; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: The caption reads: "MAY FESTIVAL AT ST. XAVIER STADIUM America, the Beautiful. Sung by all the participants and audience. Photo by W.P.A Photographer, Federal Project No. 1. (Writers') Cincinnati, Ohio. District # 16. 5-15-36." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F04_028_001
Subjects: May Day--United States--History; Universities and colleges; Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio); College campuses; Music and dance; Children--Ohio; Festivals and holidays; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "The May festival, a W.P.A. recreational program for school children, Norwood, Ohio 1936." On April 8, 1935, the United States Congress passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act. The Emergency Relief Appropriation Act was part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Roosevelt hoped that his New Deal would allow Americans to cope with the Great Depression, would help end the current economic downturn, and would help prevent another depression from occurring in the future. The most important accomplishment of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act was the creation of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This government office hired unemployed Americans to work on various government projects. Many of these projects were similar to ones sponsored by the Public Works Administration. During its existence, the WPA constructed more than 600,000 miles of roads and built or repaired more than 124,000 bridges, 125,000 public buildings, 8,000 parks, and 850 airport runways. In addition to hiring people from traditionally working-class backgrounds, the WPA also created programs for academics, actors, and artists. Among these programs was the Federal Arts Project, which paid artists to paint murals in public buildings, to teach art classes, and to catalog pieces of art. The Federal Writers' Project hired people to compile histories of communities across the United States. The Federal Theater Project employed actors and directors to bring live theater productions to towns and cities throughout the United States. In the first six months that the WPA existed, more than 173,000 Ohioans, including both men and women, found employment through this program. More than 1,500 unemployed teachers in Ohio found work through the WPA teaching illiterate adults how to read. In twelve separate counties, primarily in southeastern Ohio, more than twenty-five percent of families had at least one member working for the WPA during the late 1930s. By the end of 1938, these various workers had built or improved 12,300 miles of roads and streets and constructed 636 public buildings, several hundred bridges, hundreds of athletic fields, and five fish hatcheries. WPA employees made improvements to thousands of more buildings, roads, and parks within Ohio. WPA artists also painted a number of murals in Ohio post offices. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B03F11_006_1
Subjects: Festivals; Recreation; Music and Dance; Schools--Ohio; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)