"The 125th anniversary celebrations of a New York City icon- Brooklyn Bridge.".
New York City is getting ready to throw a grand party to celebrate the 125th anniversary of its iconic landmark –The Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge which is located in lower Manhattan connects Manhattan to the borough of Brooklyn over the East River. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was completed in 1883. The bridge which is made of galvanized steel wire in cable was built entirely by hand and it took 14 years to complete.
The Brooklyn Bridge has an important place in the history of the city as well for it was across this bridge that thousands of office workers from Lower Manhattan fled in order to escape the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Bridge affords great views of the East River and Lower Manhattan and apart from commuters it is also popular with walkers and bikers who enjoy walking or biking along its length. The festivities to celebrate its 125th anniversary will kick off on the 22nd of May and will continue into Memorial Day on 26th of May 2008. The wide array of fun and family friendly cultural activities like concerts, lectures, dances, films and walking tours that have been organized to commemorate this iconic symbol of New York City will also serve to highlight the unique cultural diversity of the two boroughs that this bridge unites. The bridge will also be illuminated for the occasion with hundreds of colored lights from 9pm to 11pm for the entire duration of the festivities from the 22nd of May to the 26th of May.
Information booths will also be set up on both sides of the bridge in Manhattan and Brooklyn to aid the general public and also to inform the public about the history and cultural significance of the bridge.
The various planned festivities are as follows:-
Thursday, May 22
The Kick-Off Party
The Kick-Off party for the celebrations will take place at the beautiful Empire Fulton Ferry State Park at 7.45pm and will feature a performance by the Brooklyn Philharmonic and other guest performances. The concert will be followed by a rousing firework display by Grucci Fireworks. After which there will be a lighting ceremony to illuminate the bridge. This concert is free and open to all. Doors for the event will open at 6pm.
The Telectroscope: Your Window to the world
Artist Paul St George has created a public media project consisting of an optical device w which will enable a viewer in Brooklyn to see all the way through to London. The Telectroscope is installed at the Fulton Ferry Landing at Old Fulton Street and will be on display until June 15.
Friday May 23
The Film Event
This is another outdoor event which will be held at foot of the Brooklyn Bridge at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park. You will be entertained by DJ's who will spin popular tracks and this will be followed by a screening of a delightful Walt Disney movie from 2007 - Enchanted which was filmed all over Manhattan and uses the city as a backdrop for its modern day fairy–tale. Before the screening of this family pleaser there will be a screening of two historic films Panorama from the Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge (1903) and Manhatta (1921). This event is also a free event and includes complimentary popcorn.
An associated free event will be held at Tribeca Cinemas which will feature the screening of the movie Mo’ Better Blues from 1990 and rated R which was directed by Brooklyn native the acclaimed Hollywood director Spike Lee. You are advised to arrive at the theater located at 54 Varick Street at Laight Street early as seating is limited. The doors will open at 6.30 pm.
Brooklyn Bridge Guided Tours
The American Society of Civil Engineers and the Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology will be setting up information booths at both ends of the bridge in Brooklyn and Manhattan and will offer guided tours to highlight design, construction and maintenance of this marvel of civil engineering. These tours will be conducted between 10 am and 5pm and will be free for the public.
Saturday May 24th
The Brooklyn Bridge Film Series
This event is being presented by BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music) and it feature the screening of a Ken Burn's directed documentary from 1981 called Brooklyn Bridge The screening will commence at 4.30 pm while tickets for this free event will be available for free from 1.30 pm onwards.
There will be another film event at the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park on Saturday which will feature the screening of the musical It Happened in Brooklyn from 1947 which stars Frank Sinatra, who plays a Brooklynite returning home from the war in the movie. This film along with two historical shorts Panorama from the Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge (1903) and Manhatta (1921) will be screened in the evening while DJ's will entertain the crowds at the Park until the screenings by spinning popular tracks.
Lecture Series.
The Brooklyn Historical Society will also host a series of lectures and readings all weekend at its headquarters located at 128 Pierrepont Street at Clinton Street in Brooklyn. These lectures and readings will be held every hour between 1pm and 4pm and additional lectures will be held at Surrogates Court on Chambers Street in Manhattan. Admittance to these lectures and readings is free however seating is limited and is on a first come, first served basis.
Brooklyn Bridge Walking Tour.
In honor of the event Ron Schweiger, the official historian for Brooklyn will lead a guided walking tour of the historic bridge at 11 am. The walk will start off from the Manhattan side arch of the Brooklyn Bridge. On Sunday there will be an additional walking tour which will be conducted by Dave Fieder who is also known as the Bridge Man. This walking tour will take off from the Brooklyn side arch of the bridge and will be conducted between 1pm and 4pm. You are requested to call 718 802 3846 for more information about the walking tours.
Brooklyn Icons Mini Golf
This mini golf course will feature some of Brooklyn's most iconic landmarks including the Brooklyn Bridge,the Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Cyclones’ baseball stadium, KeySpan Park. The event will be held on both Saturday and Sunday between 1pm and 5pm at the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park. More information for this free event is available at the website of visit Brooklyn.
Sunday, May 25
Tour de Brooklyn
The celebrations would not be complete without a biking tour of Brooklyn Bridge as the bridge is extremely popular with the city's biking enthusiasts. The Tour de Brooklyn is an 18 mile biking tour that is conducted at a leisurely pace all over Brooklyn. The Tour has been in existence for the past four and it attracts more than 2000 cyclists each time.
Dance and Music Performances
There will be several dance and music performances to celebrate the spirit of the Bridge by various acts on Sunday the 25th at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. These performances will be held from 1-5pm. More details are available at the website of visit Brooklyn.
Images of Brooklyn Bridge originally posted on http://www.flickr.com by wallyg,jerold,Maria and Michal, and Harris J.
