A native of New York City, Moran was 18 when, in 1875, he arrived penniless in Seattle, a frontier outpost in the Pacific Northwest, which had been settled in November 1851, and only incorporated between 1865 and 1869. After years of working on steamboats he earned enough money to send for his family and, by 1882, he and his brothers started a marine repair business at Yesler's wharf. The Moran Brothers Company prospered during the Klondike Gold Rush when, among other projects, they built a fleet of twelve paddlewheel riverboats, which were successfully delivered to the Yukon River. In 1888, 31-year-old Robert Moran was elected the Republican mayor of Seattle. In those early years, the town's mayors were elected in July for a one-year term. Near the end of his service, on June 6, 1889, the Great Seattle Fire destroyed most of the central business district. Moran's leadership in coordinating the recovery activities won him a second term in the following month's election. Through the period of his mayoralty, he was instrumental in the successful rebuilding of businesses, including Moran Bros., which was destroyed in the fire. His political connections were also very helpful in securing government contracts for his shipbuilding company. Among his administration's rebuilding efforts was the public overhaul of Seattle's water system and the establishment of a savings and loan association, which later became Washington Mutual. Following his mayoral service, Moran devoted all his efforts to his shipbuilding business and, in 1904, climaxed his career with his shipyard's launch of the USS Nebraska, Washington state's only battleship. He was told in 1905 that he had one year to live, and retreated to Orcas Island in Puget Sound's San Juans, where he built the Moran Mansion—surrounded at that time by of land—that is now the centerpiece of Rosario Resort. He sold the shipbuilding company for an undisclosed price between US$2.5 and 3.5 million in 1906. Moran spent the remainder of his life in retirement on Orcas Island. In 1916, he had a yacht built called the Sanwan, though it seems that ship saw little use. Influenced by chance encounters with conservationist John Muir, he donated of Rosario to the state of Washington for preservation, which became Moran State Park in 1921. Following the death of his wife in 1932, he put the estate up for sale, however when he did finally sell it years later, it was at a fraction of its cost. From there he moved into a smaller home on Orcas. He died in 1943 and was buried in the Moran family plot in Lake View Cemetery in Seattle.
