New Deal Site -- Old Town Fairfax

New Deal Site -- Old Town Fairfax

New Deal infrastructure

This site is a sewer built between 1936-1937 as part of the New Deal project, with help from the Public Works Administration, which assisted with funding. The purpose was to improve sanitation within the city of Fairfax.

https://livingnewdeal.org/map/

University of California

January 1936 - January 1937

Evan Kalish

The New Deal Project map abides by the terms of Fair Use policy. More information can be found at http://creativecommons.org/

Physical site

Site

October 15, 2019

Two photographs (jpeg), an audio recording (mp4), and a text file detailing my impressions of the site.

This site does not lend itself to the passing on of a historical narrative in the way that one might expect. Yet, I feel that it is important to acknowledge its importance. The Fairfax City Sewer project in the late 1930’s was a very expensive endeavor, and provided work for many whom otherwise may have been left destitute. The sewer itself was built to improve sanitation and quality of life for everyone in Fairfax City, and furthermore allows for us to maintain the certain comforts of life that are often taken utterly for granted. I think that because of that effect, even something as base and unglamorous as the building of a sewer network can still be seen as significant, especially for those who live or work in Fairfax today. I used my iPhone 8 to document the site, using photography and sound recording. I think that this method is very similar, albeit far easier to manage, to the methods used in documentation in the 1930’s. While they would set out their phonographs and start recording audio, and snapping photos in black and white, modern technology allows me to do the very same on a device no larger than my hand. This ease of technology is incredible by comparison, and yet accomplishes the very same goals as those which preceded it.