Music

During the 1930's music was all over. Jazz was a major part of the music and was just about everywhere such as the famous cotton clubs. Jazz was started just before the 30's and was started by primarily African American artists. Some have considered it the first truly American music, blues combined with African polyrythms created this new sensation. starting in New Orleans, it was played in bars where both African Americans and whites could go to enjoy the music. big bands were also very popular, as well as what some may call the most popular song of that time period, "It Don't Mean a Thing (if it ain't got that swing)". Some of the other popular artist's of the time included: Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey.

During the 1930's America was still struggling with the great depression, and music took a hit because many people were not into the music industry, simply because it didn't pay very well. This left the music industry dry, so the government came up with a plan to get it back on track, it became known as the Federal Music Project. The government began hiring, training, and retraining musicians to get music back into daily life. The music projects goal was simply to bring back high standards of musicianship, as well as to teach the public how to appreciate musical culture.

Also during the 1930's many famous songs even today were released. In 1939 Kate Smith released a new song that would be heard for many generations all the way until today, "God Bless America". In 1931, the Star Spangled Banner was announced to be the United States National Anthem. With the Great Depression, many people did not have the money to get out, which was about the time when the radio reached its peak, by 1939 about 80% of every home in America had radio. After that, radios were primarily used for music but also served other purposes such as Franklin Roosevelt's famous "Fireside Chats".

Architecture

The 1930's was a great time for architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright was a great contributions to architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright introduced the Cathedral ceilings, built in furniture and lighting, casement windows, carports, massive fireplaces, and split-level ranches. Wright would also blend his architecture into the enviroment, didn't use posts or columns, and sometimes his architecture was too abstract to be useful. One Building that he built in the 1930's was Falling Water.

Before Falling Water was built another man, William Van Alen, built the Chrysler Building in New York, New York. It is owned by Abu Dhabi Investment Council. It is still used today for business. It was the world's largest building from 1930-1931.It was a popular example of an art deco.

The Golden Gate Bridge, made by Joesph Strauss, completed in 1937 it was a 35 million dollar project. It weighs 894,500 tons. It is 90 ft. wide and 1.7 miles long. Through October 30, 2002, the Golden Gate Bridge has been crossed 1.75 billion times.

The Empire State Building made by Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon. Began building in 1929 finished building it in 1931. It is 381 meters long and has 102 floors. It cost 40.9 million dollars to build. Was the tallest building in the world for 40 years from 1932-1972. Used alot of labor during the depression which gave alot of people jobs during this time. In 1945 a US B-25 Plane crashed into it.