2-945-281 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

John Henry, Los Angeles, 1936. 'Mayan Theatre..."John Henry" - Federal Theatre Project...Div. of W.P.A.'. Play based on the African-American folk hero, said to have worked as a 'steel-driving man', tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel. The Federal Theatre Project, created by the U.S. Works Progress Administration in 1935, was designed to conserve and develop the skills of theater workers, re-employ them on public relief, and to bring theater to thousands in the United States who had never before seen live theatrical performances.