99% Invisible

99% Invisible

Model City

August 13, 20191 hr 2 min

0:001:01:30

About this episode

During the depths of the Depression in the late 1930s, 300 craftspeople came together for two years to build an enormous scale model of the City of San Francisco. This Works Progress Administration (WPA) project was conceived as a way of putting artists to work while also creating a planning tool for the city to imagine its future. The massive work was meant to remain on public view for all to see, but World War II broke out and the 6,000 piece, hand-carved and painted wooden model was put into

Comments

No comments yet.

About the show

99% Invisible

Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped noticing. A weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture.

All episodes

More from this show