Depression Era Theater

Amphitheaters built by the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) programs in national, state and municipal parks for performance and educational programs. Designed mostly by National Park Service landscape architects, CCC theaters were constructed using local materials and melded into the existing topography. A few, including Denver’s Red Rocks Theater, were iconic, but still adjusted their form to existing site features. Numerous fan-shaped municipal and campus theaters were built to provide low cost space for the WPA’s theater program.