Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows Rudolf Library at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. The building was built between 1913 and 1915 to serve as the Rudolf Library. When the Blackmore Library was built in 1978, however, it became the Kerns Religious Life Center. It houses religion classrooms and faculty offices, and hosts worship services every Sunday morning and chapel services every Wednesday morning. Founded in 1830, Capital is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 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_B05F04_003_1
Subjects: Capital University; Evangelical Lutheran Church; Universities and colleges; Education; College campuses
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)