Robert Moses

I have a rather fun talk I give regularly on the Top Ten Shapers of the American Landscape. One of the Ten is Robert Moses, who is largely responsible for the New York City that we know today. He made many of the bridges, highways and landmarks that shape the city including the Throgs Neck, the the Henry Hudson, and Verrazano Narrows bridges as well as the BQE, the Staten Island Expressway, the Cross-Bronx, the Belt Parkway, Shea Stadium, 2 World's Fairs and the Lincoln Center. He also created parks and places like Jones Beach, but his projects often came with a lot of collateral damage. Many view him today as more of a wrecking ball than a builder. But, the way that he used NYC as a teaching tool to show other American cities how to destroy slums and build highways, whatever the cost, has shaped countless cities across this continent.

The New York Times is running a major feature on Moses this weekend as three different museum exhibits open, nearly simultaneously, re-examining his career and work. As part of their coverage the Times has included both a video on the exhibits and his legacy and slidehow on his work.

The exhibits, are going to be at the Museum of the City of New York, the Queens Museum of Art and Columbia University. We live in the shadow of the capital of the world, and opportunities like this are a major benefit of living here. As a student, here and now, you really should jump on that train and go.