Happy Birthday To The Brooklyn Bridge

One of my favorite structures in the world & a movie star, my best Brooklyn Bridge moments in cinema history would include Diane Keaton & Woody Allen under the tower in Manhattan & the ancient Italian grandfather leading his pack of dogs to howl at the full moon in Moonstruck. The bridge offered inspiration for major artists such as Walt Whitman, Frank Lloyd Wright, Hart Crane & Georgia O’Keefe.

“The work which is most likely to become our most durable monument, & to convey some knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, not a palace, but a bridge."

Harper's Weekly (1883)

Plans for a crossing between the city of Brooklyn & lower Manhattan dated back to the early 1800's. When the East River crossing was planned, Brooklyn, with about 400,000 residents, was still more rural than urban. NYC, which at the time consisted only of Manhattan, had twice as many residents, & the bridge was seen as a solution to overcrowding in Manhattan while spurring development in Brooklyn. The bridge would enable people & goods to cross the turbulent East River quickly, regardless of weather conditions.

In 1855, John Roebling, a famous bridge designer, proposed a suspension bridge over the East River after becoming impatient with the Fulton Street Ferry. Roebling worked out every detail of the bridge, from its massive granite towers to the 4 steel cables. He thought his design entitled the bridge "to be ranked as a national monument a great work of art."

The bridge took 13 years to build. 27 workers lost their lives trying to complete it. Roebling himself died from a tetanus infection after his foot was crushed in an accident & his son Washington Roebling also suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of decompression sickness from working in the channels below the river. His wife- Emily Warren Roebling provided the critical written link between her husband & the engineers on site. Under her husband's guidance, she studied higher mathematics, the calculations of catenary curves, the strengths of materials, bridge specifications, & the intricacies of cable construction. She spent the next 11 years assisting Washington Roebling helping to supervise the bridge's construction.

On this day in 1883, the opening ceremony was attended by 5000 people. President Chester Arthur & the Mayor of NYC crossed the bridge to celebratory cannon cacophony & were greeted by the Mayor of Brooklyn when they reached the Brooklyn side. Arthur shook hands with Washington Roebling at the latter's home, after the ceremony. Roebling was unable to attend the ceremony, & never visited the bridge again. He held a party at his house on the day of the bridge opening.

On that first day, 1800 vehicles & 150,300 people crossed what was then the only land passage between Manhattan & Brooklyn. Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge. She carried a chicken.

The bridge's main span over the East River is 1,595 feet high. The bridge cost $15.5 million to build.

One week after the opening, a rumor that the Bridge was going to collapse caused a stampede, which crushed & killed 12 people.

When I was living in NYC in the mid-1970s, Dan Rodill, an aspiring playwright, climbed up the Manhattanside tower to draw attention to his unemployment. When the police tried to talk him down, Rodill handed them a press release.

I walked across the bridge on foot on a spring day in 1977. It was thrilling & I enjoyed a monumental view of the Manhattan skyline. I kicked around Brooklyn Heights, when Brooklyn was not the center of hipster cool.

On September 11, 2001, tens of thousands of people fled by foot across the bridge to escape the destruction at the World Trade Center.

The Brooklyn Bridge had become a symbol of not only of the greatness of NYC, but also of American ingenuity. I continue to find the bridge a wondrous thing to behold, a construction of beauty in the best of all American cities. It remains one of my most favorite structures in the world.

Men I Love- Anthony Weiner... I Will Have The Weiner, Lots Of Relish & Hold The Bun!

Why do I follow NY politics? Well, NYC is my favorite place on the planet. I love New Yorkers, I love Jews, & I love a guy that tells it like it is, with a great big pinch of piping hot devastating, dead on humor.

Brooklyn born, Anthony Weiner has been the the US Representative for Southern Brooklyn & a big swatch of Queens, since 1998. He has won every election since that time, never receiving less than 59% of the vote. Weiner graduated from SUNY-Plattsburg, where his roommate was Jon Stewart. At 27 years old, he was the youngest person elected to the NYC Council. His marriage to Huma M. Abedin, an aide to Hillary Clinton, was officiated by Bill Clinton. He is buddies with Ben Affleck. Can he really be any cooler? Mayor of NYC... please! POTUS in 2016? Did I mention that I love him?

With The Bride Of Weiner

"Nancy Pelosi was my House Leader & we worked well together. We agree on most issues... we both believe in Mandatory Gay Marriage."

Born On This Day- September 23rd... American Artist Louise Nevelson

Nevelson by Avedon

I have a keen interest in American 20th century art, but I know more than even a dilettante like me should about Louise Nevelson. I had a good friend in the 1980s, who wrote a one woman show about Louise Nevelson, & I was present for most of her research & preparation.



Nevelson is known for her abstract expressionist “crates” grouped together to form a new creation. She used found objects or everyday discarded things in her assemblages, one of which was 3 stories high: "When you put together things that other people have thrown out, you’re really bringing them to life – a spiritual life that surpasses the life for which they were originally created."




She was born Leah Berliawsky in Kiev in 1899, & was raised in Rockland, Maine From early childhood Nevelson wanted to be a sculptor, with wood as her medium. It took her more than 6+ decades to make her mark in the art world. Nevelson had one unhappy marriage when she was 18 years old. The union with business man-Charles Nevelson lasted for a decade, & produced one child, a son-Myron. Nevelson left her marriage in 1931 & devoted herself to her art. She would go an entire decade before her 1st exhibit, which was failure. Nevelson had a 2nd show in 1943 & sold nothing. She took the entire show back to her studio & destroyed every piece. After changing direction, & after years of creating small scale pieces, Nevelson's breakthrough large works in wood were critically hailed in the late 1950s. She infused abstract art with her personal story: the epic Jewish migration to the United States between the 1880s & the 1920s, her life as a woman artist, & her involvement in American modernism functioned as the source for her vast body of work.

Nevelson was the entrée for the USA at the Venice Biennale in 1963, but was still not able to make a living from the sale of her work Around this time she met the young artist-Diana MacKown. They soon moved in together. A new period of success & a more concentrated, engaged work followed. Most biographies & Nevelson’s NY Time obituary fail to mention their 26 year relationship. Nevelson’s son & heir had a metal door installed at the apartment the women shared above their studios. He had been estranged from his mother most of his life, but Nevelson had made no provisions for MacKown in her will. MacKown was supported by Jasper Johns, Edward Able, John Cage, & Merce Cunningham when she filed a lawsuit.


I met her once, at her opening of an exhibit at the Pace Gallery. She was there in her trademark scarf & gypsy garb. I was there with a contingency of friends of the actor- Michael Higgins with whom Nevelson was acquainted. She sat in the back room, & received selected visitors who came to pay her court. Tammy Grimes was next in line to pay her respects. Nevelson looked at her blankly. Grimes seemed to have blushed: “I’m Tammy Grimes, I am an actress.” Louise still looked puzzled, but she was polite. “How nice to see you” she answered regally.

“You see, I think that we have measurements in our bodies. Measurements in our eyes. Look, dear, we walk on 2 feet. So we're vertical. That doesn't mean the work has to be vertical, but it means there is a weight within ourselves, or this flight. All these things are within the being: weight, measure & color. If the work is good work, it is built on these laws & principles that we have within ourselves. So when you use a vertical line or a horizontal line, or a texture or the way the shadow falls or a thinner piece or a heavier piece, it all kind of satisfies something in the soul - or, I don't like the word soul, satisfies something within the deed.You add or subtract until you feel. . . the form, the principle, that something that makes the house stand, that makes you stand."

The Chrysler Building Turns 80 Years Old Today

I am zany about architecture & design, & certain buildings & structures really grab my attention & move me, among them (these are structures that I have actually visted): the Woolworth's Building (NYC), the Duomo in Sienna, the Space Needle, the Hollywood Sign, the Boston Public Library, the Brooklyn Bridge, Chateau de Versailles, Church of San Spirito (Florence) The Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, The Flatiron Building, Freeway Park (Seattle), The Golden Gate Bridge, the Customs House (Portland), Leaning Tower of Pisa, Lovejoy Fountain Plaza (Portland), Lovell House (L.A.), Mount Vernon (Virginia), MOMA (NYC), Paris Metro Entrances, Piazza del Campo(Sienna), Piazza of San Marco (Venice), Rockefeller Center, Santa Maria Novella (Florence), San Simeon (California), San Stefano (Venice), Sears Tower (Chicago), Seattle Public Library, Seagram Building (NYC), Saint Mark’s (Venice), Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, the Louvre, the White House, Transamerica Pyramid (SF), the Custom House (Venice,), Washington Monument, Watts Towers (L.A.), Capitol Records Building (Hollywood), Shaker Barns, Covered Brudges, Tuscan Farmhouses, Yurts, Fairie Structures at Collin’s Beach- Sauvie Isalnd, & St. Johns Bridge (Portland).

My favorite man-made structure in the world is The Chrysler Buliding in NYC. At the beginning of the 20th century, the race for the tallest building in the world was on & the Chrysler Building was the first building to top the then tallest structure, the Eiffel Tower.

The Chrysler Building was in a race with the Bank of Manhattan (40 Wall Street) for the distinction of being tallest building in the world. It seemed certain that the Bank of Manhattan would win the race, with an expected height of 927ft against 755ft for the Chrysler building, but the spire of the Chrysler building was constructed in secret inside the tower.

Just a week after the Bank of Manhattan had reached its top, the spire of the Chrysler Building was put in place, making it 318 meter (1045ft) high, thus beating the Bank of Manhattan as the tallest building in the world. It would not keep this title for long, a year later the Empire State Building was erected.

The Art Deco Chrysler Building features gargoyles that depict Chrysler car ornaments & the spire is modeled on a radiator grille. The building's Art Deco interior is even more magnificent than its exterior. The marble floors & the Art Deco patterns on the stylish elevator doors make the Chrysler Building one of New York's most beautiful towers.

Annie Leibovitz attempting to get that perfect shot

When I lived in Manhattan in the mid-1970s, I never grew tired of looking up & I never was less then thrilled when I caught a glimse of this stunning tower. Like most of the structures on my list, viewing them was made more special by watching the Husband’s reaction to expereincing these wonders of design.

Alvy Singer: "That Sex Was The Most Fun I've Ever had Without Laughing."

Alvy Singer: "A relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies... & I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark."





I lived in NYC in the mid-1970s. NYC then is not the NYC now. I lived in Manhattan during the time that the city was bankrupt, with the garbage strike, a major power blackout & Son Of Sam. Still, I was living in the center of culture & I loved it, & I never took it for granted. Everyday I would say- “wow, I live in New York City!”


I lived with my former college boyfriend- WCK3 (who was attending Julliard) on the Upper West Side (87th between Columbus & Amsterdam), which in that era was the frontier. Brooklyn, except for Brooklyn Heights, was no-wheres-ville. I once went to a party in Prospect Heights & I was scared for my life. If someone had told me that in the next century, Brooklyn would be source of all things hip & that citizens would choose to live in Hoboken, I would have thought them daft.


I was in NYC to study acting at HB Studios with a very inspirational teacher- Austin Pendelton. I had what I think was my favorite job ever, working at ASCAP as a music monitor. I had a cubicle with a window that looked directly on to Lincoln Center. It had a a bird's eye view of the fountains & the Chagall tapestries at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The American Society of Composers Authors is is a membership association of more than 370,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, & music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing & distributing royalties for the public performances of their copyrighted works.  ASCAP makes giving & obtaining permission to perform music simple for both creators & users of music. I was given reel to reel tapes with 6 hours from random radio broadcasts. I would have to listen & list all the pieces of music, even bridges & cues. Anything beyond 6 hours would bring me a bonus. ASCAP chose staff with different musical expertise, mine being the Great American Songbook- popular & theatre music from the 20th century. If you had a tape with music that you were not familiar with, I could patch through to the expert in that genre, & have them listen & help you out. I was always delighted when I had a tape from some rural station doing the Farm Report, with so little music I could breeze right through a 4 hour tape, but I would need some help identifying the hillbilly tunes. I don't know my Flatts & Scruggs.


To make ends meet, I worked part time in the box office at the Metroplitan Opera House. Danny Kaye had a series of concerts for children to introduce them to classical music & opera. At one point in the performance, Danny Kaye would speak about how many people it took to present an opera. The curtain would rise on all the staff, crew, & performers that could be spared from their work & rehearsals would be standing there- 200+ bodies. For years I presented my acting resume with a credit for appearing in the Danny Kaye Concerts for Children at the Met. I would have my sack lunch sitting in the house of this gorgeous theatre & watch rehearsals for American Ballet Theatre (in the Met that season) & for The Dialogues of the Carmelites  & Einstein On The Beach. ABT had a new, hot & very interesting new dancer who had just defected from Russia- Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov. He looked yummy in his rehearsal gear.


We met "cute" in the stationary store at ground level of the ASCAP building. I eyed him, he glanced at me, we managed to be in the same aisle looking at the same notebook. This is how  cruising was done before the internet. He was Bronx born, Jewish, neurotic, seeing a shrink, smart, & funny. He was a former rabbinical student, now setting out to be writer. He was also a Stephen. He was very handsome (he looked like a young Frank Langella) &  quite cosmopolitan. We kissed, but didn't have sex until the 5th date.  I was impressed. Any kind of restraint was new to me. Our relationship was right of Annie Hall, a film we saw together at the Carnegie Hall Cinema. I was, of course, playing the Diane Keaton role- west coast & wasp. He showed me a New York I wouldn't have known about on my own. He took me on a tour of the homes & haunts of famous writers: Walt Whitman, Edith Wharton, Dylan Thomas, Truman Capote, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, Dorothy Parker, Chaim Potok, Lillian Hellman, Arthur Miller, Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mel Brooks, Herman Melville & more. We made visits to the Plaza Hotel, Algonquin Hotel, The White Horse Inn, the Chelsea Hotel & Washington Sqaure. We made frequent stops for martinis.

On a beautiful spring day, Stephen & I walked from The Cloisters to The Battery- 11.5 miles of Manhattan history. We started drinking about mid-town, stopping about once an hour to "refresh". Then we went back to his floor- through, pre-war 2 bedroom, book filled apartment across from The Bronx Zoo, where we smoked joints & watched the Academy Awards. Rocky won Best Film over Network & Taxi Driver. I could only be consoled with 3 hours of making love... New York Style. Stephen was "gifted."


Stephen & I broke over geography & because we had a dead shark on our hands. He had no need to leave the 5 boroughs of NYC, & I was exhausted from having 2 jobs just to barely get by in this, the toughest of cities, &  I moved back to my beloved West Coast. We did not stay in touch. I soon met & fell in love with the man who would become my Husband & lived happily ever after... but I still think about Stephen & our year of living Annie Hall. Maybe he will read this.

WOW!

I came across the plans for the new MoMA Tower in NYC. The plans are slowly going through the City's land-use review process & there is some real controversy, as one would suspect. It is designed by Jean Nouvel for the New York City based Axis Mundi Design firm. I am crazy about it. What say you?