New Deal astronomy, space exploration, and celestial adventure in Manhattan

Above: The cover of a 1945 booklet published by the American Museum of Natural History in  Manhattan. The Hayden Planetarium was built in 1934-1935 and was financed by a $157,000 gift from businessman Charles Hayden and a $650,000 loan from the New Deal-enhanced Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) (see the Living New Deal's summary of the RFC). It was demolished in 1997 (a little more on that below). Image scanned from a personal copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: A postcard showing the Hayden Planetarium. The back of the postcard is credited: "A 'Colourpicture' Publication, Boston 15, Mass., U.S.A., Published By Herbco Card Co., New York, N.Y." Image scanned from a personal copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: A cutaway of the Hayden Planetarium, from a 1937 brochure. The numbers you see correspond to descriptions of the building. For example, for number 8 we learn that the planetarium's dome "is a series of concentric hemispheres. Outermost is a shell of copper; next a shell of concrete; then one of sound-deadening cork; then one of wood; and, finally, the inside is lined with strips of perforated stainless steel." Image scanned from a personal copy and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: This is a black & white photo of a color mural, painted by Charles R. Knight, for the Hayden Planetarium, ca. 1934-1935. The mural was funded by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Charles R. Knight also created New Deal artwork at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Image from a 1937 Hayden Planetarium brochure, scanned from a personal copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: An accompanying mural panel, also by Charles Knight, depicting the Thunder Bird. Image from the 1945 Hayden Planetarium booklet (see the first photo and caption of this blog post), scanned from a personal copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Another mural panel by Knight. Image from the 1945 Hayden Planetarium booklet (see the first photo and caption of this blog post), scanned from a personal copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: A closer look at the figures from the previous image. 

Above: The description for this photograph reads, "Assistant Curator Marian Lockwood with group of children in the Copernican Planetarium, Hayden Planetarium, 1940." The Copernican Planetarium--also known as the Hall of the Sun--was one of several rooms in the Hayden Planetarium (it was not the main, domed planetarium room). Photo from the American Museum of Natural History digital collection (https://images.library.amnh.org/digital/index.php/items/show/45949), used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: The Hayden Planetarium's Zeiss Projector, a sophisticated instrument used to put on shows in the planetarium's main, domed viewing room. Image from the 1945 Hayden Planetarium booklet (see the first photo and caption of this blog post), scanned from a personal copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: "Adventure with Stars," an astronomy kit for children, with a star scope, star finder, sky map and more. This 1958 kit was a joint effort by Thomas D. Nicholson of the Hayden Planetarium, Alfred D. Beck of the New York City Board of Education, Capitol Publishing Co., Inc., and Simon & Schuster, Inc. And it makes one wonder... what influence did the New Deal & Charles Hayden-financed planetarium have on children? How many visited the planetarium, or received astronomy kits or publications from the planetarium, between 1935 and 1997, and were inspired to become astronomers, work at universities, observatories, or perhaps even NASA? Image above scanned from a personal copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: A closer view of a section of the astronomy kit box - classic mid-century graphics, making one yearn for the freedom and adventure of childhood!

Above: An audience at the Hayden Planetarium, ca. 1935-1937. Image from a 1937 Hayden Planetarium brochure, scanned from a personal copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: For over 60 years, the Charles Hayden and New Deal-financed Hayden Planetarium put on shows for throngs of visitors. Above is part of a 1988 Hayden Planetarium program, highlighting some of its presentations. Note the narration by "Star Trek's Mark Lenard" (Lenard played Spock's father) and James Earl Jones (the voice of Star Wars' Darth Vader). The original Hayden Planetarium was demolished in 1997 to make room for a new planetarium. Image scanned from personal copy, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Not only did the New Deal provide financing for the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium, it also provided WPA labor. From 1935 to 1941, about 250 WPA workers assisted the museum in a jaw-dropping array of work. For the Hayden Planetarium and Astronomy Department specifically, WPA workers created models of Mars and the Earth's moon (above); translated scientific material from other languages; helped manage the Junior Astronomy Club; helped improve planetarium equipment; provided research and clerical assistance; and much more (information from the museum's annual reports, 1937-1941). The photo above is from the article, "Bread and Circuses and Other Things: $9,000,000,000 in Work Relief," LIFE, February 28, 1938, p.45; photo used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: From the Burlington Daily News (Burlington, Vermont), November 7, 1940, p. 11. The WPA participated in the development of this Hayden Planetarium radio show, as well as its radio show, "Men Behind the Stars." Image courtesy of newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Part of a story from the Chicago Tribune, June 2, 1940, p. 32. There is an interesting biography of Maude Bennot at, "Meet Maude Bennot: The Woman Behind the Adler" (Adler Planetarium, March 29, 2019). In its 1938 annual report, the American Museum of Natural History describes the radio show in the article  above: "'Exploring Space,' a series of weekly programs on popular astronomy, in cooperation with the Planetarium and the W. P. A. radio organization... In November and December [of 1938] this program, as "Men Behind the Stars," was continued with the Columbia Broadcasting  System [CBS] Department of Education cooperating with the Planetarium, and with the help of various actors of the W. P. A. radio organization." Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: From The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana), January 6, 1939, p. 6. The WPA-assisted radio program "Men Behind the Stars" also featured women behind the stars, such as Carolina Lucretia Herschel (1750-1848), a scientist who discovered several comets. Image courtesy of newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Part of a story from the Burlington Daily News (Burlington, Vermont), May 9, 1940, p. 9, showing the WPA-assisted "Men Behind the Stars" receiving praise from the Radio Committee of the American Association of University Women. Image courtesy of newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: The shows "Exploring Space" and "Men Behind the Stars" seem to have run from 1937 to mid-1943. This is a partial radio program schedule for February 19, 1943 (from the February 13 edition of the Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York)), showing "Exploring Space" (column 3, row 5). You're likely to be familiar with, or at least heard of, some of the other programs listed, for example, "Ma Perkins," "Young Dr. Malone," "Pepper Young," and "Superman." Image courtesy of newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: The New Deal & Charles Hayden-financed Hayden Planetarium is a spectacular piece of science history. Among its many achievements: It created more opportunities for women scientists to shine.  According to her Wikipedia page, Astronomer and Anthropologist Dorothy A. Bennett (1909-1999) delivered over 1,000 lectures while assistant curator at the Hayden Planetarium, helped create the immensely popular (and still running) Little Golden Books publication, and in the 1950s/60s was the senior anthropologist at the Lowie Museum of Anthropology (now called the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology), University of California, Berkeley. Photo above from: The American Museum of Natural History, The Hayden Planetarium, New York: 1937. Scanned from a personal copy and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Meet the African American CCC company that created our National Arboretum in Washington, DC

 All photos below (unless otherwise noted) are from: Civilian Conservation Corps, District No. 3, Third Corps Area, Official Annual, 1937.

Above: Part of Company 1360, Camp NA-1, Washington, DC, ca. 1937. This camp was located at 28th and M Streets, NE (an intersection that no longer exists; more on that later). Company 1360 was originally formed at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, on June 7, 1933. The company performed its initial work at Camp P-61 (Chester, Virginia), then worked at Camp SP-9 (Williamsburg, Virginia) before settling into Camp NA-1 (originally "Camp NP-11") in the southern area of the National Arboretum, November 1934.

Above: A closer look at some of the enrollees of Company 1360 (from the previous photo). The 1937 CCC Annual reports: "This company has occupied [the National Arboretum] site since November 1, 1934. A person having seen the site prior to this time would not recognize it at present. Roads and walks have been built, tons and tons of top soil have been hauled in to cover the barren clay spots. Grass has been seeded, shrubbery planted. And now the place gives an appearance, in the spring and summer, of a beautiful flower garden."

Above: As can be seen from this partial list of members, most of the young men of Company 1360 came from Washington, D.C. In addition to their National Arboretum activities, Company 1360 also worked at other D.C sites - Fort Mahan, Brentwood Park, Fort Bunker Hill, the C & O Canal, and Rock Creek Park.

Above: Company 1360's band. The man in the trench coat is probably their commanding officer, Captain Alvin T. Wilson, U.S. Army. (Company 1360, like most CCC companies, had several commanding officers during its existence.)

Above: Company 1360 in formation.

Above: Men of Company 1360 - probably the boxing team. The CCC was a great place for young men to become physically fit with work, recreation, and good meals.

Above: Cooks and kitchen workers for Company 1360, vital to the health and strength of the enrollees.

Above: Medical care for two enrollees of Company 1360.

Above: Music, song, and dance were some of the many possible recreation opportunities for members of Company 1360. Other activities at Camp NA-1 included movies, plays, basketball, swimming, and ping pong.

Above: This is probably an arts and crafts room and/or display for Company 1360. Many of the young men who enrolled in the CCC brought skills with them - carpentry, farming knowledge, musicianship, baseball and other sports, drawing and painting, etc.

Above: Members of Company 1360 enjoying a game of pool.

Above: Relaxing with a game of cards. In addition to work and recreation, many enrollees in Company 1360 took classes in auto repair, cooking, carpentry, radio, heavy equipment operation, welding, and more. There were also lectures on topics such as engineering and economics.

Above: Photos indicate that Company 1360 was very musically inclined and talented.

Above: Where, exactly, was Company 1360's camp NA-1? Is there a wayside marker for it in the Arboretum? (I don't think so, but I'm not 100% sure). Recall that the camp was at 28th and M Streets NE. That intersection does not exist today. However, above is the National Arboretum section of a 1937 WPA map of DC, where I have drawn (on a copy) a line and arrow to the intersection of 28th and M Streets NE. Before you proceed to the next image, make a mental note of the lake (Kingman Lake), and its two upper islands, in relation to M Street.

Above: In this Google Earth aerial view, I have placed a marker (A) where M Street ends today. I have placed another marker (B) on the southern end of the uppermost island in Kingman Lake. Next, I've placed a yellow line where I think 28th Street used to run, north to south. I think Company 1360, Camp NA-1 was somewhere in the vicinity of the white dot you see at the mid-point of the yellow line. However, it could have been further north, for example, closer to the parking lot you see. In the 1937 Annual, we are told: "The camp site, a flat surface extending up to the wooded hills reminds one of a plateau in a mountain range. The tall hardwood trees and high hills to the south makes this a wonderful location for a camp, especially for the summer months." With this textual description, and the map images above, a site visit might lead to the exact location of the camp (again, assuming that the site is not already marked). Image above used for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Company 1360's development of the National Arboretum

In the November 16, 1941 edition of the Sunday Star (Washington, DC), journalist Harold Phillips wrote: "The setting of the stage for [the National Arboretum] has had the assistance of a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp which has been working there since 1934. What was once a rather forlorn area, mostly of scrubby and worn-out truck farmland, heavy underbrush and much deadwood, now is showing the effects of transformation by presenting a picture of truly sylvan beauty" ("Arboreal Paradise Soon Opens to Public Here," p. B-4).

A few days later, writing in the same paper's daily edition (the Evening Star), Frederic A. Delano, chairman of the Advisory Council of the United States National Arboretum (and FDR's uncle), noted: "These competent young men [of the CCC] have, among other things, built roads, laid out trees areas, built artificial lakes and, in fact, have helped put the soil in good condition for growing a tree crop" ("Mr. Delano Outlines Progress of Arboretum," Evening Star, November 19, 1941, p. A-10).

For more information about Company 1360's work and activities at the National Arboretum, see "National Arboretum - Washington DC" (Living New Deal) and "Civilian Conservation Corps Activities in the National Capital Region of the National Park Service" (National Park Service, Historic American Buildings Survey No. DC-858, pp. 33-39 and 135).

In addition to their work at the National Arboretum, African Americans in the CCC worked in many other parks, forests, wildlife refuges, private farms (demonstrating soil conservation methods), and other lands across the nation. Unfortunately, this history has largely been forgotten.

The Three "C"s of Capitola: Camp New Brighton

 All photos, information, and quotes below (unless otherwise noted) are from: Civilian Conservation Corps, Fresno District, Ninth Corps Area, Official Annual, 1938.

Above: Part of CCC Company 5447. This company formed in 1936 at Fort Benning, Georgia and all its enrollees hailed from Alabama. In May 1936, the company went to Washington, D.C., by train, for sightseeing. From there they went to Cambridge, Maryland and set up shop at Camp BF-1, or "Camp Blackwater." They spent six months improving Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and then moved to Camp Castle Rock to do work near Pembroke, Virginia. Next, on October 6, 1937, "Company 5447 boarded a third train, this time for a cross-country trek to the Ninth Corps Area - to 'sunny California'... after passing through nine states and seeing numerous points of interest during an enviable trip, the Company, seventy-one strong, arrived on October 11th at Camp New Brighton, SP-24, at Capitola, California" (pp. 94-95 and 102 of the annual).

Above: A closer view of some of the young men of Company 5447, from the previous photo. Their work at Capitola does not seem to be well-documented, at least not in easy-to-access sources. However, I did discover that they helped develop New Brighton State Beach and park area, and also spent the summer of 1938 working in General Grant National Park (see, e.g., "CCC 75th Anniversary Celebration Events," California Department of Parks and Recreation (accessed February 17, 2022) and "Capitola CCC Group Back For Winter," Santa Cruz Evening News, November 8, 1938, p. 5).    

Above: First Lieutenant Charles A. Chreitzberg, U.S. Army, commanding officer of CCC Company 5447. On March 19, 1938, the Santa Cruz Evening News reported, "Lieutenant Chreitzberg announced this week that the general public will be invited to drive to the Capitola grounds to inspect it and the work being done on the state beach parks" ("Capitola CCC To Have Open House April 5," p. 2).

Above: Second Lieutenant William E. Jones, U.S. Army, junior officer of CCC Company 5447.  

Above: First Lieutenant Oscar Auerbach, camp surgeon for Company 5447.

Above: Company 5447's basketball team, with (what looks to be) C.O. Chreitzberg.

Above: Company 5447's baseball team, with Junior Officer Jones.

Above: Company 5447's boxing team. All across the nation, the enrollees of the CCC quickly got into shape through their forestry work and sports recreation. A new CCC, and a revival of the recreation programs of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) would go a long way towards solving America's current obesity epidemic (ironically, the young men who came into the CCC often suffered from too little weight, and they muscled-up during their time in the Corps). Unfortunately, a lack of political will, an anemic cultural imagination, and endless sedentary entertainment will probably prevent a new CCC and WPA from ever happening. (See, e.g., "CDC report says over 30% of West Virginia adults are inactive," The Herald Dispatch (Huntington, West Virginia), January 25, 2022 (accessed February 17, 2022).

Above: The cooks and K.P.'s of Company 5447. Some CCC veterans, when recalling their time in the Corps, remembered the joy of having regular and nutritious meals - something they rarely had in their impoverished life before the Corps.

Above: An overview of Camp New Brighton, home of Company 5447 during its stay in California. Photo from the report, "Historic Context Statement For the City of Capitola," by Carolyn Swift, Capitola Museum Director and City Historian, 2004 (accessed February 17, 2022), credited to the Capitola Museum, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Company 5447 poses with their tools at Camp New Brighton.

Above: The CCC boys of Company 5447 board their trucks and prepare for a good, hard, and honest day's work.

Above: Company 5447 building a pier or dock of some sort.

Above: When not working or playing sports, the young men of the Three C's could go to Camp New Brighton's reading room, and relax with a good book, newspaper, or magazine. Many CCC veterans recalled their days in the CCC as the best in their lives - and it's no wonder, with such a great mix of work, recreation, education, and camaraderie.

The CCC boys of Yosemite ("Camp Cascades") and the Fresno District

All photos and information below (unless otherwise noted) are from: Civilian Conservation Corps, Fresno District, Ninth Corps Area, Official Annual, 1938. 

Above: Part of CCC Company 942, Camp YNP-6, "Camp Cascades," Yosemite National Park, California, ca. 1938. The Living New Deal has many web pages detailing the CCC's work at Yosemite National Park, for example, "Trail Improvement and Restoration - Yosemite National Park CA."

Above: A closer look at some of the enrollees (from the previous photo).

Above: Members of Camp Cascades enjoying music recreation.

Above: Camp Cascades' cooks and K.P.'s. "K.P." is an army term for Kitchen Police - essentially, the folks that ensure everything in the camp cafeteria is clean and running smoothly. K.P. assignment is often on a rotational basis, whereas cooking might have been a more permanent job, at least for those with culinary skill and interest.

Above: The Camp Cascades' canteen. Another term used by the military, a "canteen" was a camp's general store.

Above: Enrollees of Camp Cascades in their reading room.

Above: Camp Cascades in "retreat formation." This is a daily, end-of-day formation for the lowering of the flag.

Above: One of the commanding officers of Camp Cascades, First Lieutenant Axel Boldt of the U.S. Army. Boldt was born in Denmark in 1894, served in World War II, achieved the rank of major, and died in 1959 in Fresno County (see his Find a Grave web page here).

Above: One of Camp Cascades' junior officers, First Lieutenant Frank Clark, U.S. Army. Due to the common nature of his name, it was hard to find any additional information on Clark. I wonder what became of him.

Above: Major General George S. Simonds, commander of the Army and CCC Ninth Corps Area, where the Fresno District and Camp Cascades were located. Simonds died in San Francisco on November 1, 1938, not too long after the CCC Annual from which this photo was taken was published. (See Simonds Wikipedia entry here.)

Above: Robert Fechner, national director of the CCC. Over time, Fechner has acquired a reputation as a segregationist and racist, but the reality is probably more complicated and not quite as harsh. For example, the eventual segregation of CCC camps likely had less to do with his personal preference and more to do with other factors, such as racial complaints from nearby communities, U.S. army culture, and racial problems among some (but certainly not all) enrollees of integrated camps. Roy Wilkins, assistant secretary of the NAACP, said Fechner was "one of the fairest administrators of the New Deal. It was the experience of the NAACP that led to the belief that Mr. Fechner made as much effort as he could to have equality in the CCC. The trouble, however, was in the army control" ("See Advantage In FSA Control Over Two Youth Agencies," The Pittsburgh Courier, November 8, 1941, p. 24).

Above: The superintendent of Yosemite, 1937-1941. Merriam earned a degree in forestry in 1921, from the University of California (https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/guardians_of_the_yosemite/superintendents.html).

Above: An assistant superintendent of Yosemite during the CCC time period. According to Wosky's Wikipedia page, he "worked for the National Park Service from the 1920s through the 1950s and designed a number of works that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He was assigned to Yosemite National Park from 1928 to 1952, initially as the parks's resident architect, and later as its assistant superintendent. He later served as the superintendent at Crater Lake National Park and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park."

Above: The CCC warehouse for the Fresno District, in Fresno, California. Some of the food items you see here may have been sent to Camp Cascades.

Above: Trucks outside the Fresno warehouse. Perhaps one of these trucks was bound for Camp Cascades.

Above: A CCC boy from the Fresno District (not necessarily from Camp Cascades) pulling what appears to be a downed tree.

Above: Fresno District CCC boys relocating a tree (not necessarily at Camp Cascades).

Above: CCC enrollees of the Fresno District working on what appears to be a canal, or a stream improvement or water diversion project.

Above: More CCC work in the Fresno District.

Above: CCC boys in the Fresno District, uncovering what appears to be a cave or rock quarry, or perhaps victims of an avalanche, buried under several feet of snow.

Above: "Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite National Park," an oil painting by George Peter (1859-1950), created in 1940, possibly under the auspices of the WPA or as a commissioned work with the New Deal's Section of Fine Arts. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration.

Above: FDR was the driving force behind the creation of the CCC, and the CCC boys are often called Roosevelt's Tree Army or Roosevelt's Forest Army.

"The handling of our forests as a continuous, renewable resource means permanent employment and stability to our country life. The forests are also needed for mitigating extreme climatic fluctuations, holding the soil on the slopes, retaining the moisture in the ground, and controlling the equable flow of water in our streams. The forests are the 'lungs' of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. Truly, they make the country more livable."

--President Franklin Roosevelt, "Statement on being Awarded the Schlich Forestry Medal," January 29, 1935.