Description: Dated 1936, this photograph shows Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers constructing Bethel Road in Bethel, Ohio, a village in Clermont County. A note on the photograph's reverse reads "W.P.A. Project Making Fill Bethel Ohio 1936." 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_B11F04_05_001
Subjects: Road construction; Road construction workers; Dump trucks; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Bethel (Ohio); Clermont County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the site of the future Ohio State Office Building, Columbus, Ohio, during its excavation, ca. 1929-1931. A power shovel and a dump truck sit side by side. At center right, two men are watching the excavation. Above the excavation site is a fenced-off sidewalk that provides a vantage point for observers and passersby. Visible in the far background is a building bearing the name "Volunteers of America." Groundbreaking for the Ohio State Office Building, 65 South Front Street, took place on November 19, 1929. Construction began in October 1930, and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. An explosion damaged the structure on April 14, 1932, but the building eventually opened on March 27, 1933. The 14-story building was designed by architect Harry Hake, Frank Bail, and Alfred Hahn. It later became the Ohio Judicial Center. In 2011 the state Supreme Court named the center in honor of the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who was the second-longest-serving chief justice in state history at the time of his death in April 2010. The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center is considered an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06924
Subjects: Construction workers; Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Design and construction; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Ohio Judicial Center (Columbus, Ohio); Construction industry--Ohio; Power shovels; Dump trucks
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the site of the future Ohio State Office Building, Columbus, Ohio, during the early stages of its construction, ca. 1930-1931. Excavation and foundation work are well underway. A crane, power shovel, and dump truck are visible, as are stacks of lumber and structural beams. South Front Street run diagonally from the center bottom of the photo to its upper left. The Scioto River and Town Street Bridge are seen in the upper right quadrant. Groundbreaking for the Ohio State Office Building, 65 South Front Street, took place on November 19, 1929. Construction began in October 1930, and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. An explosion damaged the structure on April 14, 1932, but the building eventually opened on March 27, 1933. The 14-story building was designed by architect Harry Hake, Frank Bail, and Alfred Hahn. The building later became the Ohio Judicial Center. In 2011 the state Supreme Court named the center in honor of the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who was the second-longest-serving chief justice in state history at the time of his death in April 2010. The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center is considered an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06925
Subjects: Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Design and construction; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Ohio Judicial Center (Columbus, Ohio); Construction industry--Ohio; Power shovels; Dump trucks; Cranes, derricks, etc.
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)