Works Progress Administration (WPA) Tampa Office records

Collection

Identifier: MS-1982-08

No requestable containers
Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains extensive documentation regarding the administration of the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Tampa Office, which was located in Ybor City, Tampa, FL at 1318 East 9th Avenue. The bulk of this collection consists of manuscripts and revised typescripts for the Florida edition of the American Guide series. Drafts and revisions pertain to Hillsborough County, particularly the city of Tampa, with a substantial number of essays on Ybor City and its immigration history. Also included is correspondence and research by Stetson Kennedy, one of the project's chief editors, in addition to correspondence and records of the daily activities of Carita Doggett Corse, who served as the director of the Florida Writer's Project in 1935. A significant number of newspaper clippings from the Tampa Tribune, dating between 1935 and 1943, are also present.

Dates

Created: 1917 - 1943
Other: Majority of material found within 1935 - 1943
Other: 1982

Creator

United States. Florida Works Progress Administration (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

None. The contents of this collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Biographical or Historical Information

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal program. The primary function of the WPA was to create jobs for the millions of unemployed Americans as a result of the Great Depression. Through a series of projects called Federal One, the WPA became the largest federal relief program, employing nearly one-third of the nation's jobless. WPA Projects included the Federal Arts Project, Federal Music Project, and the Federal Writers' Project. During World War II, the focus of the WPA shifted toward national defense and, eventually, into war preparation. WPA agencies were closed in 1943.

Extent

19.42 Linear Feet

41 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The bulk of this collection includes manuscripts and revised typescripts for the Florida edition of the American Guide series produced by the Works Progress Administration.

Arrangement Note

Series. Within series, arranged alphabetically by subject.

Source of Acquisition

Jay Dobkin; Avellanal Family

Method of Acquisition

Recovered by Jay Dobkin and Paul Camp during the renovation of the El Pasaje building in Ybor City, Tampa, FL.

Related Materials

Tampa WPA Office Papers, Digital Collections, University of South Florida Libraries, Tampa, Florida. http://digital.lib.usf.edu/?w27

Related Materials

Narratives of Formerly Enslaved Floridians, Digital Collections, USF Libraries, Tampa, FL. http://digital.lib.usf.edu/?u29.87-f37-ead

Federal Writers' Project collections, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, Tampa, FL.