Robert Moses and the Modern City: Remaking the Metropolis focuses on the extensive physical transformation of New York City guided by Robert Moses from 1934 to 1968. Believing that “the city must be saved,” Moses built a network of roads and bridges, including the Triborough Bridge, to bring people to the city, initiated attractions such as Lincoln Center, and revitalized city parks, including Central Park. At the same time, his projects disrupted neighborhoods and increased the city’s dependence on the automobile. The exhibition explores the controversial vision of this important force in planning and development and considers his legacy in the context of the urban issues of his time. Documents, photographs, publicity brochures, and never before exhibited three dimensional models of Moses’ projects – both realized and failed – trace the complicated history of this complicated figure.

The exhibition is complemented by concurrent exhibitions: Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Road to Recreation at the Queens Museum of Art and Robert Moses and the Modern City: Slum Clearance and the Superblock Solution at the Wallach Gallery of Columbia University. A related book co-edited by curator Hilary Ballon and Kenneth T. Jackson is published by W.W. Norton (2007).

Admission to all three concurrent Robert Moses exhibitions (Robert Moses and the Modern City at the Museum of the City of New York, Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Road to Recreation at the Queens Museum of Art, and Slum Clearance and the Superblock Solution at the Wallach Gallery of Columbia University) is included when you purchase a ticket at either the Museum of the City of New York, or the Queens Museum of Art.

Please ask for the “Robert Moses Exhibition Pass” at the admissions desk.

Support for Robert Moses and the Modern City: Remaking the Metropolis is provided by Susan and Roger Hertog, the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Studley, Inc., David Rockefeller, The Durst Organization, Deban and Tom Flexner, David Rockefeller, the General Contractors Association of New York Inc., the Richard Ravitch Foundation, the New York Building Congress, the 42nd Street Development Corporation/The 42nd Street Fund, and the New York Council for the Humanities.

The New York Council for the Humanities is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This program is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

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