Paving the Park, Bridging the Future: the New Deal in Roger Williams Park

Join a lecture by architectural conservator and design historian Lauren Drapala on the Works Progress Administration’s construction of the roads, bridges and sidewalks of Roger Williams Park. FREE and open to the public but registration is required; click here to register.

This event is presented in partnership with the Providence Preservation Society as part of their 2018 Spring Lecture Series, focusing on Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects in Providence. Click here for other events in the series.

WPA activity, which peaked 80 years ago, touched nearly every community in the United States. A wide variety of public works projects created jobs for the unemployed in the aftermath of the Great Depression. This May during Preservation Month, the Providence Preservation Society will host a lecture series focusing on WPA projects in the city, from architecture and infrastructure to the arts. Learn. about the WPA legacy in Providence that is often “hidden in plain sight.”