Sunday, August 05, 2012

Beautiful Makework

The WPA project in Excelsior Springs, MO sits empty today but for the offices of the local tap-water utility. You can look this lovely building up but the best photos I have found are on a blog: Life at 55 mph: Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, though these images are a nice look at the place, too.

Grampa's tax dollars at work. Could there be a lesson for the modern age in there?

7 comments:

Bob said...

Yah. How many WPA and CCC projects would have been built with current environmental regulations in place?

Roberta X said...

One does have to wonder!

rickn8or said...

"Built for $1 million in 1937 as a WPA boondoggle..."

Makes you wonder which Congresscritter's vote was needed for what in 1936 or so.

Panamared said...

At least FDR's alphabet soup projects produced visible results.
Given that, most economists today say that the expenditure of Federal dollars delayed the recovery from the great depression. Sound familiar?

Rob K said...

Beautiful temples for the worship of government.

Crucis said...

Originally, these were "health" springs once popular around the country---hence the name Excelsior Springs. The "waters" were privately owned until FDR took'em via Emminent Domain, so says the locals. Early in the 20th Century, it was THE place to go for the elite of Kansas City to unwind...and perhaps tipple a few.

Scout26 said...

Given that it was FDR's spending, that was probably some of our tax dollars.