Robert Moses

Robert Moses is the most significant non-elected public servant in the history of New York and—barring some jurists, a handful of cabinet members, and a few founders—perhaps the entire United States. He did more in his time to reshape and re-imagine the physical landscape of his city and state than all other public officials put together, realizing his aggressive vision for New York with an unprecedented understanding and deft manipulation of municipal, state, and federal legislation, as well as an indefatigable work ethic and a brusqueness in manner and tactics.

Moses was born in 1888 in New Haven, Connecticut, where he was raised until his family moved to New York City in 1897. He returned to New Haven in 1905 to attend Yale University, where he graduated in 1909. He subsequently studied at Oxford and received a Ph.D in political science from Columbia University in 1914. After leaving Colombia he began his lengthy career in civil service.

He initially stumbled, attempting and failing to introduce efficiency and to root out patronage in New York City’s machine-driven political scene. But he soon allied himself with Governor Al Smith, with whom he maintained a strong relationship until Smith’s death in 1944. It was under Smith’s aegis that Moses began his political ascent, beginning with his role as Commissioner of Parks for the state of New York in 1924, a position he held until 1963. It was a position he was able to leverage into several others: Chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (1934-1981); New York City Construction Coordinator (1942-1960); New York City Planning Commissioner (1946-1960); Chairman of the New York State Power Authority (1954-1962); president of New York World's Fair (1960-1966); and many, many more.

During his run as commissioner, chairman, or boardmember of his many departments and public authorities he was directly responsible for the creation of Jones Beach, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Shea Stadium, the Central Park Zoo, the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, The Palisades Interstate Parkway, and the 1964 World’s Fair, among dozens more of New York’s most prominent public works. Always a contentious figure, his reputation took a significant hit with the publication of Robert Caro’s highly critical and highly acclaimed biography of Moses, The Power Broker, in 1974. He was twice married and had two daughters. He died in 1981.

The Robert Moses Municipal Archives Collection of WNYC recordings comprises audio retrieved from transcription disc and open-reel tape. The collection spans decades - reaching from the 1940s to the mid60s, with bulk dates spanning from the early 1950s to the early60s. The collection includes openings of public works - highways, monuments, and parks - as well as meetings and luncheons, both in his honor and in honor of others, and attempts to plead publicly the case for many of his controversial projects.