Design For Democracy :  200 Years of Drawings from the National Archives
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The early 20th century saw the work of Government designers and architects grow tremendously. For example, in 1899, the Office of the Supervising Architect in the Department of the Treasury was responsible for designing or managing 399 projects. By 1912, that number had grown to 1,126. Many of these projects were familiar ones: federal courthouses, post offices, memorials, and buildings for expositions. Although the drawings representing these structures tended toward the traditional, opulent renderings of the late 19th century, a few subtle shifts can be detected. After 1900, drawings used less color, contained fewer elaborate details and were increasingly line drawings that could be easily reproduced. Also evident was a trend toward standardization of design, a move necessary to accommodate the great surge in projects.

Three cataclysmic events especially altered the nature and scope of Federal design work: World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. During World War I, engineers, architects, and town planners mobilized their skills to meet the demands of "total war." Government spending and activism, the efforts by Franklin D. Roosevelt`s administration to alleviate the suffering caused by the Depression, also created a surge of fresh design opportunities. When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, art, design, and architecture were once again conscripted into a war effort. Federal designers created plans for the ships, tanks, guns, and aircraft needed to win the war, and also for housing projects, insignias, uniforms, and posters.

After the war, Government designs continued to proliferate, but fewer were immediately recognizable as uniquely "Federal" in their style.

1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition  
"Details of Building at Louisiana Purchase Exposition"
"Details of Building at Louisiana Purchase Exposition"
"Sketch of Proposed Decoration of the Golden Book of All Nations to be Placed at the Pedestal of the Columbian Statue in the U.S. Government Building in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition"

"Sketch of Proposed Decoration of the Golden Book of All Nations to be Placed at the Pedestal of the Columbian Statue in the U.S. Government Building in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition"

Monument to General George B. McClellan
 
"Proposed Monument to General George B. McClellan"

"Proposed Monument to General George B. McClellan"

Cass Gilbert`s New York Custom House
 
"Details of Collector`s Room, New York Custom House, New York, NY"

"Details of Collector's Room, New York Custom House, New York, NY"

U.S. Post Offices
 
Front and Side Elevations, U.S. Post Office, Muskegon, Michigan

Front and Side Elevations, U.S. Post Office, Muskegon, Michigan
"U.S. Post Office, Wichita Falls, Tex."

"U.S. Post Office, Wichita Falls, Tex."

Lincoln Memorial
 
"East Elevation of Lincoln Memorial"

"East Elevation of Lincoln Memorial"
Untitled Rendering of Statue, Lincoln Memorial

"East Elevation of Lincoln Memorial"

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Citations for left side images:
"Proposed Monument to General George B. McClellan"
Designed by Frederick MacMonnies, 1907
Ink, pencil, and wash on paper
39" x 25 1/2"
National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the National Park Service

"Aerial Perspective Arlington Office Building for War Department" [The Pentagon]
Architectural design by G. Edwin Bergstrom and David J. Witmer for the War Department
Drawn by T. Stathes, July 31, 1941
Colored pencil on tracing paper, mounted on board
20" x 26"
National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Public Buildings Service

Sketch for the Great Seal of the United States
By Francis Hopkinson, May 10, 1780
Pencil and ink on paper
7 3/8" x 6 3/8"
National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention

    Go to NARA Home: National Archives and Records Administration