Practice Without Theory? The Wonder of Bethpage Black
研究大萧条时期贝斯佩奇黑球场在资源匮乏下如何通过实践而非理论设计形成行政能力，揭示四个机制，对当代公共管理者应对不确定挑战有启发。
ABSTRACT Bethpage State Park's Black Course offers a rare historical case of administrative capacity emerging under conditions of uncertainty, fiscal constraint, and urgent public purpose during the Great Depression. Built with relief labor and without the benefit of fully developed public administration or budgeting doctrines, the project required administrators to invent workable practices as construction unfolded. Drawing on extensive archival records, this article reconstructs Bethpage as a historical case of administrative capacity emerging through practice rather than formal design. The analysis identifies four interrelated mechanisms through which capacity developed: alignment of ambition and necessity, coordination through routine budgeting and reporting, discipline embedded in oversight, and endurance through institutional memory. Together, these mechanisms show how effective governance can arise from improvisation, constraint, and learning under pressure. The case demonstrates that administrative discipline and creativity need not be opposites and offers practical insights for contemporary public managers facing complex, uncertain, and time‐sensitive challenges.