Growth of Social Security

Henry Kreis’ The Growth of Social Security is an allegory for the founding of federal social services in America. Two men clasp hands in celebration of having planted a sapling, which represents the inherent promise of Social Security that shared labor and planning will provide for an uncertain future. Kreis’ corresponding panel, The Benefits of Social Security, shows the fulfillment of that promise as the tree bears fruit above the building’s Third Street entrance.

Henry Kreis was born in Germany and served in the German Army during World War I. He immigrated to America in 1922 and produced memorials, architectural ornamentations, medals, coin designs, and other sculptural objects over his nearly forty year career. The Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building was completed in 1941 and was intended to become the permanent headquarters of the Social Security Administration. The building’s corresponding decorative program was commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts to represent the purpose and merits of the agency. However, upon completion, the building was commandeered by the War Department for the duration of World War II. By war’s end, the Social Security Administration had outgrown the building and so never occupied it. Today, the building houses the Department of Health and Human Services, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and Voice of America.