The Reawakening of the National Parks System

Romanticism is a quality which can be found in architecture, art, music, and poetry. And although the climax of the romantic movement was during the 18th and 19th century there are re-occurrence of the movement's fervor and beauty in various aspects of modern culture. One prime example of this fervor is the centennial of the national park system.

In 2016 the national park system experienced its centennial, and they advertised it. Special programs took place at each of the parks and "limited addition" national park gear was available at most outdoor recreation stores. These forms of advertisement accounted for a large part of the revival of interest in both the national parks and nature in general. However, I believe the aspect of the centennial which had the greatest impact on the American public was the old WPA (Works Projects Administration) posters from the great depression era shown below.

The romantic movement is all about finding beauty in the simplicity of nature, which is exactly what the WPA posters accomplish. The posters are minimal, using only 3 or 4 colors, yet stunning as they depict some of the grandest vistas of North America. The fact that these posters were such a huge hit during the centennial of the NPS demonstrates how romantic modern society continues to be. Additionally from 2015 to 2016 the number of annual visitors increased by nearly 30,000 people, roughly twice the average growth rate for our national parks (www.nps.gov). This statistic further demonstrates how much a romantic movement, such as the reuse of WPA posters impacts individuals and encourages the American public to return to nature.