GUESTBOOK

Brooklyn Bridge Park takes shape

Sunset Psychedelic gives a taste of the Brooklyn waterfront

Kids dance on Pier 5

June 4 gave many Brooklyn residents a taste of what to expect when Brooklyn Bridge Park is finally open and ready for visitors.

The conservancy's Sunset Psychedelic fundraiser drew a large crowd to Pier 5 at the foot of Joralemon Street, with nearly all of NYC's politicians coming to honor outgoing President Marianna Koval.

With spectacular views, music and food, the fundraiser gave hundreds of children the unique opportunity to run on the concrete piers that have been inaccessible for all of their lives. The size suprised my daughter.

From the end of the pier, Governors Island seems just yards away and Manhattan looms a short distance across the water. As the sun went down and the city lights came up, the new vantage point provided a view up the East River, looking to the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, and a vast area that will all be parkland on the Brooklyn waterfront.That day appears to be closer than any of us imagined.

Construction is underway on Pier 6 with dirt covering much of its area. Pier 6 will be the first section of the park and is slated for completion in winter 2009.

Mayor Bloomberg at Sunset Psychedelic along with David Kramer (left)

Gustave Caillebotte: Impressionist Paintings from Paris to the Sea

Openining March 27th at the Brooklyn Museum

Known as an “Urban Impressionist," Gustave Caillebotte painted scenes of outdoor life in well-known Parisian cityscapes and away from the city on the coast of Normandy during the 1870s.

The approximately forty paintings included in this focused thematic exhibition reveal Caillebotte’s extraordinary passion for subjects in which water plays a central role—as an enigmatic, magical element reflecting its surroundings, as an essential atmospheric ingredient, and as a scene for sporting activities.

As a passionate rower and yachtsman, Caillebotte approached his motifs with the trained eyes and hand of an accomplished engineer and sportsman. The exhibit features many of his half-yacht working models as art along one wall of the exhibit.

When the artist died in 1894 at the early age of 45, his personal collection of art contained 68 impressionist paintings by his circle of friends. At the time of his death, impressionists were still largely condemned by the art establishment in France. Most of his collection was rejected by the government (much to its consternation in later years), and were purchased by Albert C. Barnes, and are now held by the Barnes Foundation.

During his lifetime he was known more as a patron of the arts then as an accomplished painter. Friends with Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Caillebotte's paintings were influenced by their impressionism but were of the realistic school, perhaps receiving more influence from early photography. His art was largely forgotten until the 1950s when his descendents began to sell the family collection. In 1964, The Art Institute of Chicago acquired Paris Street; Rainy Day, spurring American interest in the artist. By the 1970’s, his works were being exhibited again and critically reassessed.

The Brooklyn Museum presents the first major showing of the artist in New York in more than thirty years, and will be on view from March 27 through July 5, 2009.
Click Here to see more of the exhibit

Friends of the Brooklyn Bridge launches mybrooklynbridge.com

Order a copy of the Brooklyn Bridge's 125th Anniversary from SBN ©Mark D Phillips

In 2008, the Brooklyn Bridge celebrated its 125th anniversary, and this monumental occasion presented the Dumbo Improvement District the opportunity to unveil a new and improved pedestrian experience on the Brooklyn side of the Bridge.

Working with Emphas!s Design and artists Linnaea Tillett & Karin Tehve, the Dumbo Improvement District undertook this great project to provide a sense of direction and place to the one million tourists who cross over the Brooklyn Bridge each year. In the past when pedestrians reached the Brooklyn end of the Bridge, they frequently turned around and returned Manhattan when confronted with uninviting entrances, poor lighting and inadequate signage. Today, pedestrians are greeted with signage welcoming them to Brooklyn and a large map highlighting attractions within walking distance.

“This Way” serves as a grand entrance point to the fine borough of Brooklyn.

©Mark D Phillips, 2008

The Friends of the Brooklyn Bridge was formed by the Dumbo Improvement District to bring together the resources to maintain improvements made to the world's greatest bridge. The initiatives website, mybrooklynbridge.com, will be a major resource for the bridge. Share your memories of your favorite experience on the Brooklyn Bridge. Watch an 1899 movie by Thomas Edison Studios of a train travelling over the bridge, and read the history of the construction.

Contributions to Friends of the Brooklyn Bridge will be dedicated to the supplemental maintenance of this project. With donations of $150 or more, you will receive a framed image of your choice from our collection, including historical images of the bridge from our partner, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and new images by Mark D Phillips. They make great gifts.

For more details, visit mybrooklynbridge.com