Saturday marked the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, and to commemorate the occasion, the city threw a party last Thursday under the bridge's shadow with a concert, fireworks, and more than 5,000 people, plus a series of activities over the holiday weekend.
The free event brought Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park to its capacity of 4,500 (with many more waiting on the streets of Dumbo trying to catch a view), with a musical show by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, performance troupe Impact Repertory Theater, and Marvin Hamish. Roughly two hours of music kept the crowd’s attention, but everyone was there to see how the team at Production Glue illuminated the bridge. The crew spent almost a week setting up the lights, and the colorful finished product served as the focal point of the celebration.Just before 9 p.m., a massive cake shaped like the bridge rolled out onto the stage, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg led the crowd in a chorus of “Happy Birthday to You.” The color-shifting illumination of the bridge began a few moments later, and a 20-minute set of fireworks, courtesy of Fireworks by Grucci, capped off the show. The Grucci family's fireworks, a staple of Long Island summers since 1850, also provided the fireworks display for the bridge’s centennial back in 1983.
The illumination of the bridge lasted from 9 to 11 p.m. every night through Memorial Day, and the display made up just one component of the ongoing festivities. On Friday, the park held an outdoor screening of the film Enchanted (which features a scene filmed on the bridge), and the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology began their free guided tours of the bridge, which ran through Sunday. Saturday brought a mini-golf course of iconic Brooklyn architecture, and Sunday marked the fourth annual “Tour de Brooklyn,” an 18-mile bike ride with more than 2,000 cyclists.
A more curious installation, continuing through June 16, is "Telectroscope," artist Paul St. George’s public media project that jokingly claims to use mirrors connected through a nonexistent trans-Atlantic tunnel linking New York and London. (It's a live video feed, so think of it as a very large, Victorian Web cam.) Passersby at the Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn can peer in for free and write messages on dry-erase boards to onlookers in the U.K. On the other side of the pond, where a similar exhibit stands on the south bank of the Thames, the view costs one pound.
The free event brought Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park to its capacity of 4,500 (with many more waiting on the streets of Dumbo trying to catch a view), with a musical show by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, performance troupe Impact Repertory Theater, and Marvin Hamish. Roughly two hours of music kept the crowd’s attention, but everyone was there to see how the team at Production Glue illuminated the bridge. The crew spent almost a week setting up the lights, and the colorful finished product served as the focal point of the celebration.Just before 9 p.m., a massive cake shaped like the bridge rolled out onto the stage, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg led the crowd in a chorus of “Happy Birthday to You.” The color-shifting illumination of the bridge began a few moments later, and a 20-minute set of fireworks, courtesy of Fireworks by Grucci, capped off the show. The Grucci family's fireworks, a staple of Long Island summers since 1850, also provided the fireworks display for the bridge’s centennial back in 1983.
The illumination of the bridge lasted from 9 to 11 p.m. every night through Memorial Day, and the display made up just one component of the ongoing festivities. On Friday, the park held an outdoor screening of the film Enchanted (which features a scene filmed on the bridge), and the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology began their free guided tours of the bridge, which ran through Sunday. Saturday brought a mini-golf course of iconic Brooklyn architecture, and Sunday marked the fourth annual “Tour de Brooklyn,” an 18-mile bike ride with more than 2,000 cyclists.
A more curious installation, continuing through June 16, is "Telectroscope," artist Paul St. George’s public media project that jokingly claims to use mirrors connected through a nonexistent trans-Atlantic tunnel linking New York and London. (It's a live video feed, so think of it as a very large, Victorian Web cam.) Passersby at the Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn can peer in for free and write messages on dry-erase boards to onlookers in the U.K. On the other side of the pond, where a similar exhibit stands on the south bank of the Thames, the view costs one pound.
Grucci fireworks over the Brooklyn Bridge
Photo: Julienne Schaer
Fireworks were shot from barges on either side of the bridge at the end of the night.
Photo: Julienne Schaer
Visitors bounced between the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park and the Main Street sections of Brooklyn Bridge Park for different views.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
The crowd stared at the lights changing on the Brooklyn Bridge, while the Manhattan Bridge stood neglected behind them.
Photo: Tara Greenwald for BizBash
The celebration kicked off with a performance by the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Performers with the Impact Repertory Theater got the crowd worked up with their song and dance.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Mayor Michael Bloomberg led the crowd in a chorus of "Happy Birthday to You" while sparklers lit the bridge-shaped cake.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Cake Man Raven's signature red velvet made an appearance just before the bridge-lighting ceremony.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
The team at Cake Man Raven arrived on site for last-minute frosting and to help distribute the 4,000 slices.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
