Photograph of a Worker in the Turbine Power House of the Pennsylvania Railroad
1924
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This photo comes from a series of prints from the National Research Project. The National Research Project on Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes on Industrial Techniques was organized in December 1935 as part of the National Research Program of the Works Progress Administration. Its purpose was to inquire, with the cooperation of industry, labor, and government and private agencies, into the extent of recent changes in industrial techniques and to evaluate the effects of these changes on the volume of employment and unemployment. Between 1937 and 1941 the National Research Project published more than seventy reports dealing with a broad range of agricultural, manufacturing and mining activities. The National Research Project also acquired photographs of agricultural, manufacturing, and mining activities and used some of them to illustrate its reports. About 200 photos were taken by the National Research Project's chief photographer, Lewis W. Hine, before he joined the National Research Project. Dating from 1909 through 1935, they show agricultural and industrial workers on the job, mainly in the middle Atlantic states and New England. Included are steel, textile, railroad, and construction workers, cigar makers, machinists, farmers, unemployed laborers, and others. Another 123 prints--largely of workers in mills and factories--were taken by Lewis Hine specifically for The National Research Project.
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During the 1920s and early 1930s, photographer Lewis Hine made a series of “Work Portraits” that emphasized the human contribution to modern industry. The skilled workers in these photographs were pictured as active and creative craftsmen whose satisfying labor contributed to the advancement of society.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Work Projects Administration.
National Archives Identifier: 1633561
Full Citation: Photograph of a Worker in the Turbine Power House of the Pennsylvania Railroad; 1924; General Print File of the National Research Project, 1936–1940; Records of the Work Projects Administration, Record Group 69; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/photograph-of-a-worker-in-the-turbine-power-house-of-the-pennsylvania-railroad, February 18, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.