On the evening of Friday, December 18th, 1981, Ken Burns publicly premiered his documentary Brooklyn

On the evening of Friday, December 18th, 1981, Ken Burns publicly premiered his documentary Brooklyn Bridge at the Brooklyn Museum. Today, December 7th, 2017, Ken Burns will return to the Museum with his film. This historically significant event prompted me to search the Archives for records relating to that historic evening. The film was shown twice that night and each time short addresses were given by the Borough President, representatives from the Brooklyn Bridge Commission, and finally Burns himself introduced the film. Over 300 people attended the premiere, including descendants of the Roebling architects and the archivists who helped Burns during his multi-year research. The film had just won Best Documentary at the Chicago International Film Festival. Burns was only 28 at the time. Today we know Burns for his epic documentary series (The Civil War, Jazz, Prohibition, etc.) and for the Ken Burns effect.This screening was the kick-off event for a year and a half long celebration of the Brooklyn Bridge’s 100th birthday. To mark this occasion the Museum had veritable Brooklyn Bridge mania and curated two major exhibitions and three smaller exhibits: Brooklyn Before the Bridge; The Great East River Bridge, 1883-1983; Promenade: When the Bridge Was New; Brooklyn Over the Bridge: Photographs by Jim Kalett; and Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Artists.Posted by J.E. Molly Seegers -- source link

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