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"
"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"
Cass Gilbert`s New York Custom House
"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
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