Moses rejected monumental stodginess in favor of joyful beach architecture

Evidence

The bathhouses would have to be quite large, of course, but they were buildings for people to have a good time in; the architecture must encourage people to have fun. It must be airy and light, gay and pleasant. There must be a thousand little touches to make people feel happy and relaxed. And he didn’t want the bathhouses to spoil the panorama. Let them be designed to complement it, not dominate it. The panorama was long, low lines of sand and dunes and the sweep of the ocean. Let the lines of the bathhouses be long, low and sweeping, he said, horizontal rather than vertical. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 977

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with his parkway bridges and Jones Beach causeways—the near-contradiction in his design ethos between pleasure and power. — connects to: Moses built monumental stone bathhouses to serve the masses at public beaches — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 977; Moses rejected famous architects in favor of an unknown staffer’s designs — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 981; Moses personally dictated Jones Beach’s design, overriding famous hired architects — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 980

Broader Connections

• Moses personally dictated Jones Beach’s design, overriding famous hired architects #corroborates (0.88) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 980
• Moses rejected famous architects in favor of an unknown staffer’s designs #expands (0.78) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 981