The San Francisco Bay Area's art community was thriving until the Great
Depression strangled commerce in the 1930s. Pres. Franklin D.
Roosevelt's New Deal art programs brought relief to many talented but
financially strapped artists. Their legacy, and that of the New Deal,
adorns the walls and halls of many public spaces throughout the region.
Murals cover the lobbies of the Coit Memorial Tower, the Beach Chalet,
and the Aquatic Park Bathhouse (today's San Francisco Maritime Museum)
and decorate many public schools and post offices. Today, almost all of
this wonderful art can be viewed by the public, free of charge.