ABSTRACT
During the period from 1950 to 1975, New York tried to perpetuate its prominence despite significant economic shifts and cultural conflicts. On the one hand, the state continued its tradition of government-sponsored infrastructure development as exemplified by the Northway, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Empire State Plaza and the expanded State University. It seemed to be growing apace. On the other hand, the state confronted signs of aging in its industrial sector, as epitomized by Buffalo. It also faced the troubling legacy of industrial pollution, as represented by the Storm King controversy. The 1960s brought unrest in the form of riots and movements that expanded equality, but created cultural conflict. Dominated by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who served from 1958 to 1973, New York was at once aggressive and reflective, innovative and reactive. The state was under stress.
