Critics of the Works Progress Administration saw it as nearly communist, but the agency, created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 as a Depression-era stimulus package, delivered a solid return on investment. The result: some 8 million jobs; thousands of roads, parks, and public facilities, such as San Antonio's Riverwalk and New York's LaGuardia Airport; and myriad works of writing and art created for the nation.

Here are some of the posters and ads created by WPA-funded artists.