The local legacy of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) will be showcased on the Art For the Millions bike tour this Saturday. The ride is being organized by Know Your City, a Portland-based non-profit that “connects people to place.” The group’s Executive Director Marc Moscato got in touch with us to share more about the ride:
During the height of the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided economic relief to millions of idle workers by employing them in the creation of public works projects and arts education programs. Although highly controversial in its time for its leftist political leanings, the WPA is cited as a major factor for the re-stabilization of the American economy leading up to WWII. Join Know Your City for a repeat of our first-ever tour, as we take a leisurely bicycle field trip/tour of WPA-sponsored projects in Portland and hear from leading authorities on the subject.
There will be two rides, one this Saturday (6/15) and next Saturday (6/22). The rides are being held in conjunction with the Portland Art Museum’s Cyclepedia exhibition and the tour includes a stop at the museum to browse their 400-piece WPA photo collection. Other stops include the Skidmore Fountain, paintings inside the Multnomah County Library, a mural inside the East Portland Post Office, and the Woody Guthrie Circle Monument at the Bonneville Power Administration headquarters building in the Lloyd District. Expert historians will speak at each stop and tickets to the three hour bike tour ($10 for members, $20 for others) include admission to the Portland Art Museum and a free book about the WPA.
For more about the ride, check out this promo video which features Bonnie Laing-Malcomson, the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art for the Portland Art Museum:
Learn more and get tickets at KnowYourCity.org.