Joint Legislative Committee to investigate the affairs of the City of New York. [Transcript], 1932
Title: James J. Walker Collection
Dates: 1926-1948
Extent: 1 linear ft.
Location: University Archives & Special Collections - Lehman 201
ID: ASC0005
Abstract: The bulk of the collection consists of photo albums and scrapbooks documenting the trip of New York City Mayor, James J. Walker, and his wife to Europe during 1926-1927, and the reception held at their arrival.
Language of Material: English
James John Walker, byname Jimmy Walker (born June 19, 1881, New York City—died Nov. 18, 1946, New York City), flamboyant mayor of New York City (1925–32), a frequenter of Broadway theatre and the upper-class speakeasies, such as the Central Park Casino. His administration was marred by corruption.
The son of Irish Catholic immigrants who lived in New York’s Greenwich Village, Walker attended Saint Francis Xavier College and graduated from New York Law School in 1904. After graduation, however, he began frequenting Broadway’s theatres and vaudeville, writing popular songs and eventually marrying (in 1912) a musical comedy singer. In that same year he was admitted to the New York State bar.
Already gravitating toward politics, he became a district captain and a member of the Assembly (1909) and, under the tutelage of Alfred E. Smith, was elected to the State Senate (1914). With the backing of the Tammany organization and Governor Smith, Walker was nominated in 1925 as the Democratic mayoralty candidate in the primary elections. He served as mayor of New York City for two terms. During his first term he created the Department of Sanitation, brought about unification of the city’s public hospitals, and made considerable improvements in the playgrounds and park systems; and, under his guidance, the Board of Transportation approved contracts for the construction of an elaborate subway system.
Reelected to office in 1929, he came under critical fire from several sources. In 1931 the New York legislature formed a committee to investigate the affairs of New York City. As a result of this investigation, extensive corruption was revealed and 15 charges were leveled against Walker. Accused, among other things, of being actuated by improper and illegal considerations and of being unable to explain satisfactorily the large sums of money deposited in his bank account, he resigned on Sept. 1, 1932.
He then went to Europe with his showgirl-mistress and did not return to the United States until 1935. He was named chairman of the National Cloak and Suit Industry in 1940; he later became the president of the Majestic Records Company.
Source: "James J. Walker." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/634599/James-J-Walker>.
Box Title
1 [Transcript]. Joint Legislative Committee to investigate the affairs of the City of New York, 1932
1 Photographs: Hamburg, 20 Oktober, 1926
1 Photographs: Hon. James J. Walker, Mayor of New York, [1926-1927]?
1 Photographs, Launching Municipal Ferryboat “American legion” Wednesday, September 29, 1926
1 Photographs: [Welcome from Paris, 1927]
2 Scrapbook, 1927-1928
2 Scrapbook: Memory Book, 1926?-1927
2 Scrapbook: Reminiscences of the trip abroad, Aug.-Sep. 1927
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research
Processed by: Ximena Valdivia, 2011
Preferred Citation: James J. Walker Collection, Barry University Archives and Special Collections, Miami Shores, Florida
