America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York examines the controversial tenure (1966-1973) and dramatic times of New York’s 103rd mayor. The exhibition presents John V. Lindsay’s efforts to lead a city that was undergoing radical changes and that was at the center of the upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s; it highlights Mayor Lindsay’s ambitious initiatives to redefine New York City’s government, economy, culture, and urban design. Through his outspoken championship of city life, commitment to civil rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War, Lindsay emerged as a national figure in a troubled and exhilarating era. The exhibition also explores the costs of his approach, including growing criticism from disaffected voters and an increasingly out of control city budget.

 

The exhibition, presented in cooperation with the Municipal Archives, is accompanied by a book of the same title edited by Sam Roberts of The New York Times and co-published by Columbia University Press and the Museum of the City of New York (May 2010), as well as a public television documentary, Fun City Revisited: The Lindsay Years presented by WNET.ORG.

 

Click here to visit the website New York's Mayors: John V. Lindsay, featuring photographs, videos, interactive features, and a chance for you to enter your memories of the Lindsay years.  

 

Click here to read excerpts from James Sanders's essay "Adventure Playground," from America's Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York on designobserver.com

 

 

The 2010 presentation of America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York at the Museum of the City of New York was made possible with lead funding by:

 

Margaret Lindsay and Michael Picotte          

Robert D. Lindsay                                       

Robert V. Lindsay                                        

Bloomberg                                                  

The David Berg Foundation                        

Jeffrey Katzenberg                                        

The George Lindsay Family                         

 

As well as the generous support of:

Sunny and Dick Aurelio                               

Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund 

Ed Hamilton                                               

Sandy and Linda Lindenbaum                      

The New York Community Trust               

Bob Price                                                     

The Howard Samuels Family                      

Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff                      

Pollock and Arthur Spiegel                          

The William S. Paley Foundation                

John Zuccotti                                              

                                                                        

And additional support from:

Anonymous                                                 

Carter Bales                                                 

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel               

Don Elliott                                                  

David L. Garth                                            

Roy Goodman                                             

James Kagen                                                

Eugene Keilin and Joanne Witty                  

Wynn Kramarsky                                         

Joan and Leonard Leiman                            

The Leonard Friedland Charitable Foundation/ Sid Davidoff and Robert J. Malito           

Norman and Tina Levy                               

Stephen McDonald                                      

Charles Moerdler

Fran and Fred Nathan

Victor Palmieri

Hal and Judy Prince

Norman Redlich

Jaque Robertson

Bob Sweet

Cynthia C. Wainwright

Robert Wilmers

Herb Sturz

Gina Sharpe

Herb Elish and Eloise Hirsh

Lyndsay Howard

Katharine L. Lake

Ken Patton

Martha Wallau

 

 

 

Featured image:

Lindsay with demonstrators at the groundbreaking for Flatlands Industrial Park, Canarsie, Brooklyn, July 19, 1966

Neal Boenzi/The New York Times