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Arts & Entertainment

Watch Robert Moses Talk About City Planning On This Old TV Show


By

Jen Carlson

Published Dec 18, 2012

Modified Dec 18, 2012


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By

Jen Carlson

Published Dec 18, 2012

Modified Dec 18, 2012


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The controversial urban planner and "master builder" Robert Moses was born on this day in 1888, and since we can't tell you anything that Robert Caro hasn't already, we thought we'd just look back at one of Moses's television appearances. Here he is on Longines Chronoscope, a 15-minute television program that aired in the first half of the 1950s, where he blames bad planning on the traffic congestion in Midtown Manhattan, and is asked why the roads keep falling apart.

When Moses died in 1981 at the age of 92, The NY Times credited him with playing "a larger role in shaping the physical environment of New York State than any other figure in the 20th century."

Tagged

flashback

happy birthday

history

robert moses


Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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