The Great Depression
A catastrophic economic downturn that began in the summer of 1929 resulted in the decade-long recession called The Great Depression. At its lowest point over 10 million Americans, Arizonans included, were unemployed. State and Federal projects employed thousands and produced some of the iconic public parks and programs still enjoyed today.
Scottsdale and the Great Depression
The graceful, even beautiful, lines of Scottsdale Grammar School #2 convey a sense of prosperity. Stability seems to be written right into the school’s symmetrical concrete façade. It is a testimony to the optimism of 1928, the year it was built—a year in which prosperity seemed so assured. As the…
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Building South Mountain
The CCC and the Landscape of the New Deal
In an effort to ease economic issues during the Great Depression, the federal government created the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) through the New Deal. The CCC was dedicated to employing young men for public improvement projects, such as constructing roads and public parks. Some of these projects were right constructed right here in Arizona.
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What Was the CCC?
Breadlines, street corner apple vendors, and families traveling cross-country in jalopies looking for employment are phenomena unknown to most alive today. As those who lived through the Great Depression continue to fall by the wayside, memories of that severe economic crisis become ever more…
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Joining the Civilian Conservation Corps
Among President Franklin Roosevelt's many "Alphabet Soup" New Deal programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was perhaps the most successful in reducing unemployment among America's youth. The highly regimented program brought benefit not only to young men seeking a…
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Fishing the Desert
Fish hatcheries are the last thing people probably think about when they think of Arizona. During the Great Depression, however, raising fish meant jobs.
The Hunt Bass Hatchery was initially commissioned in May of 1932 by Governor George W.P. Hunt as a means to “relieve [the] local situation…
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DBG's Webster Auditorium
The Sustainability of Adobe
Adobe has served as an inexpensive and reliable building material for cultures across the globe for several millennia. Although ancient in origin, the use of adobe boasts thoroughly modern advantages such as renewability and energy efficiency, making brown adobe walls very green indeed.
The 1939…
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