April 8, 1935
In the midst of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized almost $5 million to implement work-relief programs. Authorized by Congress under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, it remains the largest system of public-assistance relief programs in the nation’s history. One of the most notable federal agencies FDR created with the act was the Works Progress Administration. From 1935 through 1943, the WPA put more than 8 million people to work, chiefly at improvements to the nation’s infrastructure. Among the WPA projects that brought jobs to San Antonio are the River Walk, Mission San José restoration, a bridge and outdoor furniture in Brackenridge Park, the Texas history murals in the former main post office and Alamo Stadium. An arts-and-crafts workshop trained previously unskilled workers to produce benches and drinking fountains for city parks and wrought-iron railings for the River Walk.
