US #5182
2017 Field Day – WPA Posters
- Pictures famous Workers Projects Administration (WPA) poster
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: WPA Posters
Value: 49¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: March 7, 2017
First Day City: Hyde Park, New York
Quantity Issued: 100,000,000... more
US #5182
2017 Field Day – WPA Posters
- Pictures famous Workers Projects Administration (WPA) poster
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: WPA Posters
Value: 49¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: March 7, 2017
First Day City: Hyde Park, New York
Quantity Issued: 100,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Double-Sided Booklets of 20
Tagging: Nonphosphored type III, overall
Why the stamp was issued: To commemorate the Workers Projects Administration (WPA) and its many accomplishments.
About the stamp design: Pictures the “Field Day” WPA poster from the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Designed by Maribel O. Gray in collaboration with art director Antonio Alcalá. The poster was created to support the ideas of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal programs.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.
About the WPA Posters set: Includes 10 different stamp designs picturing different WPA posters from the era of FDR’s New Deal. Issued to celebrate the Workers Projects Administration and its contributions to the economy and American culture.
History the stamps represent: To millions of unemployed Americans, President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration was a blessing. Not only did it provide them with jobs, but also the chance to improve their communities through extensive public works projects.
These projects were overseen by the Divisions of Engineering and Construction and Professional Service Projects. Though they received federal funding, the projects themselves were created, planned, and sponsored by states, counties, and cities.
Early on, these programs focused on traditional infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, schools, courthouses, hospitals, sidewalks, and post offices. But over time they were expanded to include a wide variety of community and recreation facilities.
Over the course of the program, American workers built 1,000 libraries, 805 pools, 1,101 ice-skating rinks, 254 golf courses, 138 outdoor theaters, 1,686 parks, and 10,070 tennis courts. They also built a host of other recreational facilities such as fairgrounds, handball courts, ski jumps, and more.
By the time the program ended, the WPA had employed some 8.5 million people. Their efforts live on through the thousands of recreational facilities, many of which are still in use today.
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