[photo credit: Pasadena Heritage]
Within a month, California enacted the Field Act, mandating revolutionary seismic safety standards for school construction.
New Deal programs followed, pouring millions into rebuilding safer schools and creating parks, murals, and cultural infrastructure defining communities like in Pasadena, in South Pasadena, and in Altadena today.
“It was a very big political event and a very big event in terms of the development of California seismology. The 1933 quake, which occurred on the 46-mile-long Newport–Inglewood fault, was estimated at magnitude 6.4, far weaker than the estimated 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated San Francisco in 1906,” said Lucy Jones, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist.
The WPA Federal Art Project employed more than 5,000 artists in 1936, producing 2,566 murals, more than 100,000 easel paintings, and about 17,700 sculptures nationwide.
These legacies will be explored in a Pasadena Heritage presentation Thursday, September 11 at 6:00 p.m.
“This presentation will highlight the enduring impact of New Deal investments in Pasadena, in South Pasadena, and in Altadena—from rebuilding public schools after the 1933 earthquake to creating iconic parks, murals, and cultural programs that still shape civic life today,” according to presenter Lauren Davies.
“New Deal Legacies in the San Gabriel Valley” will run on Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 6:00 PM 8:30 PM Pasadena Heritage, 177 S. Arroyo Blvd., in Pasadena. For more call (626) 441-6333 or visit https://www.pasadenaheritage.org/events-tours/new-deal-legacies-in-the-san-gabriel-valley-schools-parks-and-public-art-in-a-time-of-crisis. Tickets: General admission $35, member $28. Membership will be verified.
