The Bay Agenda: New Deal Lessons for the Bay

During the Great Depression, the New Deal put millions of Americans to work building parks, schools, bridges, housing, murals, and civic spaces that continue to serve the public nearly a century later. KALW and Living New Deal invite you to an evening exploring the lasting imprints of this ambitious era here in the Bay Area. Through film screenings and a community conversation led by Sheryl Kaskowitz, creator of The Public Works, we’ll explore what these local stories can teach us about the public good and shared purpose today.

Featured Films:

• Your Rose Garden — A musical short film celebrating the Berkeley Rose Garden, built by the WPA in the 1930s and a living community space to this day.
• A Palace for the People — Over eighty years ago, San Franciscans, with the help of the federal WPA, realized a decades-old dream: building a palace for the people on the City’s northern waterfront. Experience the story of this iconic Art Moderne building.

Sheryl Kaskowitz is the creator of the audio series “The Public Works,” which is supported by the Living New Deal and airs on KALW’s news and culture show Crosscurrents. Her book, A Chance to Harmonize: How FDR’s Hidden Music Unit Sought to Save America from the Great Depression—One Song at a Time will be available at the event. She is a proud member of KALW’s Audio Academy class of 2024.

Alexis Harte, co-founder of New Deal Spotlights, is a Peabody and Annie Awards-winning singer-songwriter, composer, and film producer. In addition to sharing stages with the likes of Taj Mahal, Dar Williams, Cat Power and many others, Harte has placed countless tracks in television shows and films, including the Oscar-nominated “Pearl.” In a parallel and oft-intertwined career, Harte has led diverse environmental efforts from urban/community forestry to climate change education.

John Rogers brings the Aquatic Park Bathhouse Building to life through extensive new footage of the restored artworks and architecture, interviews with historians, oral histories, archival photography and more. In addition to directing a documentary on the Rova Saxophone Quartet’s reimagining of John Coltrane‘s free jazz recording “Ascension,” Rogers was the director of photography for three documentaries made by Emmy-winning producer Paul Buckhorst — one on the architecture of Bernard Maybeck; another on Maybeck’s masterpiece, the Berkeley Christian Science Church; and the third on Arts and Crafts architecture in Northern California.

There is a $10 – $20 sliding scale suggested donation for this event. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

Please become a KALW member today and receive your first drink on us at all 220 Montgomery events.

220 Montgomery St., San Francisco, 2 blocks from BART/MUNI

Reception doors open at 6:00

️ Program begins at 7:00

🆓 The event is free with an RSVP — and you are welcome to donate what you want

Please note:

• The event space is just to the left of the main entrance to the Mills Building at 220 Montgomery Street
• We recommend taking BART/MUNI, exiting at Montgomery, and walking two blocks north
• Ride-shares can drop off and pick up directly in front of the venue
• If you drive, there are several garages within two blocks of the event location; free street parking is available across from the venue at 7:00 pm