Free wireless internet is almost ubiquitous now, but Bryant Park made headlines in 2002 when we partnered with NYCwireless and became the first park in New York City to provide the service. Since then, we’ve made regular, incremental improvements to the network. We’re now proud to announce our latest change, a complete system overhaul with experts from Sky-Packets and hardware from Meraki.
With access points in each corner of the park, plus a few more for good measure, we’ve got the place covered. The next time you’re in the park, give it a shot. Make sure you’re connected to our official network with the SSID (network name) BryantPark.org. Then just open your browser, accept our Terms and Conditions, and browse to your heart’s content. If you’re in the park and having difficulties using the wireless, the helpful folks at Sky-Packets are available via phone and email:
For more information about the deployment, read the press release from Meraki. As usual, we’d love to hear feedback about your experiences in the park.
Every Tuesday, Le Carrousel hosts macaws, eclectuses, parrotlets and more, as part of Meet the Birds. The tropical birds are there for fun; feel free to hold them, take pictures, or marvel at their colors. The birds are residents of the educational program at Arcadia Bird Sanctuary, a non-profit organization that rescues birds who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. Birds can live to be well over 50 years old, with some even making it to 100 years old. This is a long time for a pet, and many outlive their owners. Arcadia provides an essential resource to the community, giving birds a permanent home.
Upon a recent visit to the park, Arcadia Director Terri Jones took some time to tell us about her organization's mission and her love of birds.
To learn more about Arcadia Bird Sanctuary, or to donate, please visit their website. Or feel free to simply enjoy the birds in the park, who will visit every Tuesday through the end of September. Stop by any time between 11:30am and 2pm.
We've tapped some very special guest bloggers to help us celebrate this summer's Word for Word Poetry series at Bryant Park. They'll attend each Poetry event, and provide a first-hand account of the talented poets' readings. Take their word for it, or experience Word for Word Poetry yourself every Tuesday through September 6, from 7pm to 8:30pm, at the Bryant Park Reading Room.
Justin Petropoulos on Word for Word Poetry, June 21, 2011 Featuring the poets from Blue Flower Arts
It was a balmy evening in Bryant Park. The movie screen on the lawn, half drawn, like horizontal Venetian blinds, sun as if shot through smoke, settling between the buildings. The persistent rumble of jackhammers and people on their way to or from. Chess players flocked around the tables just behind the statue of William Earl Dodge. Paul Romero made a few quick announcements and introduced Ofer Ziv, the Senior Speakers Representative, from Blue Flower Arts, an organization that represents writers of all genres and is committed to fostering U.S. and International authors. Ofer introduced Blue Flower Arts to the audience and then introduced all three readers in order of their appearance.
Sophie Cabot Black opened the evenings proceeding, situating herself on the stool behind the podium. She matched the microphone to her posture, her silver and turquoise rings spooling the threads of sun fraying though the leaves. Sophie began by talking about the poems from her latest collection, The Exchange, which contains cycles of poems dedicated to love poems, war and the economic downturn, but she started with a cycle documenting her struggle watching a close friend in the process of dying. These poems really stuck with me, which I will confess, is strange because economics is one of my favorite subjects. She read four pieces, which shepherded the audience from diagnosis, through treatment, to the struggle, both speaker and friend have accepting death and finally the longing that comes with surviving someone we love.
In 1941 New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther called tonight's film The Lady Eve a "fresh" and "ingenuous" comedy. Considering his glowing review, its hard to imagine that this witty romp would be any less entertaining to today's audiences. See Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda tonight on the big screen in the park, and see for yourself if this Preston Sturges's film stands the test of time.
Hard-of-hearing park visitors, please scroll to the bottom of the post for instructions on accessing titles for tonight's film.
Now there's no question about it: Preston Sturges is definitely and distinctly the most refreshing new force to hit the American motion pictures in the past five years. The fact was thoroughly apparent—but almost too good to believe—when his rowdy comedy. "The Great McGinty," came along last Summer. Further corroboration was given it by his "Christmas in July." And now, with "The Lady Eve," which arrived yesterday at the Paramount, Mr. Sturges is indisputably established as one of the top one or two writers and directors of comedy working in Hollywood today. A more charming or distinguished gem of nonsense has not occurred since "It Happened One Night."
Superlatives like that are dangerous, but superlatives like "The Lady Eve" are much too rare for the careful weighing of words. And much too precious a boon in these grim and mirthless times. For this bubbling and frothy comedy-romance, which Mr. Sturges has whipped up for Paramount, possesses all the pristine bounce and humor, all the freshness and ingenuity, that seem to have been lacking from movies since away back—we don't know when. Suddenly the art of comedy-making is rediscovered in the most matter-of-fact place.
For actually Mr. Sturges has taken one of the stock stories off the movies' middle shelf—the old one about the man who falls in love with a lady of unsuspected sin—and has given it such humorous connotation and such a variety of comic invention that it sparkles and cracks like a pretty right out of a brand-new box. The lady, to be sure, is not a sinner with a great big capital S; she is just a delightful card-sharp who happens to be working the boat which picks up a wealthy young scientist fresh out of the Amazon jungle. And the way he falls for her—and eventually she for him—is a matter of magnificent consequence with Mr. Sturges directing it.
Of course, there is the inevitable unmasking, the forlorn and vindictive farewell; but the lady has her day—and recompense for her broken heart—when she returns to delude the young man as an English noble miss. "The Lady Eve," in other words. And the screaming honeymoon sequence which Mr. Sturges has devised for the two in a flower-decked Pullman compartment is one of the most deliciously funny scenes ever put into a motion picture. Now you guess how it ends.
The secret of Mr. Sturges's distinctive style is yet to be analyzed, but mainly it is composed of exceedingly well-turned dialogue, a perfect sense for the ridiculous in the most mundane and simple encounters, and generous but always precise touches of downright slapstick. No less than six flat falls are taken by the hero in this piece. And the manner in which action is telescoped and commented upon by fast and hilarious glimpses is cinema at its very best. You'll not see anything better than the suggestion of a whirlwind courtship which wins the Lady Eve.
Likewise, Mr. Sturges has a genius for picking his casts. No one could possibly have suspected the dry and somewhat ponderous comic talent which is exhibited by Henry Fonda as the rich young man. And Barbara Stanwyck as the lady in the case is a composite of beauty, grace, romantic charm and a thoroughly feminine touch of viciousness. Other beautiful performances are contributed by Charles Coburn as a wry and lovable card sharper, William Demarest as hard-boiled bodyguard and gentleman's man, Eugene Pallette as a much-abused tycoon and Eric Blore as a confidence worker.
As a service to our hard-of-hearing park visitors, we are conducting a small pilot during tonight’s film to allow titles to be displayed on smartphones and laptops. If you would like to participate in this test, please follow these instructions:
Connect to our official wireless network, BryantPark.org.
Depending on the device you’re using, you will either automatically see our Terms and Conditions page, or you can open a web browser and attempt to browse in order to display the Terms and Conditions page. Read and accept the Terms and Conditions.
You will be redirected to our splash page. At around 5pm, a link will appear in the “Today in the Park” section of that page directing you to the movie titles site. Click the link to access the titles.
Your web browser will automatically refresh itself to display the dialogue from the current scene of the film. This system has been tested using the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
This system is currently in the testing phase, and the slides are advanced manually by a live operator. If you experience technical difficulties, please contact a Bryant Park staff member. The title operator will be located under the Bryant Park umbrella near the projection trailer, on the Upper Terrace. We appreciate your patience during this pilot. At the end of the night, we welcome your feedback on the experience. Please email us at bpweb@urbanmgt.com.
Spend your next two Friday evenings in the park for a taste of culture with free modern dance performances. The park will host these events on the stage overlooking the lawn.
Booking Dance Festival in Bryant Park 2010
First up this week is the Booking Dance Festival Edinburgh, back again for their second annual performance en route to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. The performance in the park will feature eight distinct modern dance companies: DAMAGEDANCE, Gehring Dancetheatre, Clyde Forth Visual Theatre, Sasha Spielvogel/Labyrinth Dance Theater, Michael Mao Dance, Freespace Dance, Rebecca Stenn Company, and Ballroom Dancing for Tough Guys.
Booking Dance Festival in Bryant Park 2010
The following week, New York City based dance company Ballets with a Twist presents Happy Hour. This clever work, inspired by classic cocktails like Martinis and Margaritas, is perfectly timed for an after work viewing. If our prediction is correct, you will be inspired by choreographer Marilyn Klaus' work to seek out a few cocktails of your own. May we suggest 'wichcraft at the Southwest Porch or the Bryant Park Cafe.
In this post, BPC's archivist, Anne Kumer, shares some history. This post also appears on NYC Circa, a history blog about New York City and its public spaces.
A few months ago the Landmarks Preservation Commission added the Engineers' Club building, now known as co-op residence Bryant Park Place, at 32 West 40th Street, to their list of New York City landmarks. In very good company, this Beaux-Arts clubhouse is flanked on either side by the Radiator Building and the Scientific American Building, built in 1924 and 1925, respectively.
West 40th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, 1935
The Engineers' Club was formed in 1888 to unify a profession growing in significance and numbers throughout the city. By the early 1900s, the club outgrew it's former location at Fifth Avenue and 35th Street, and club member Andrew Carnegie made an initial donation of $1 million to erect a new building.
Engineers' Club on West 35th Street and Fifth Avenue, 1897
Shortly after, he raised the amount to $1.5 million, to facilitate the construction of the Engineering Societies' Building, one block over on West 39th Street. The two buildings would connect on the ground floor, and have entrances on both 39th and 40th Streets.
Six well-known architects were invited to submit plans, and were each paid $1,000 for their submissions, whether they won or not. The small firm Whitfield & King beat out a few much larger firms, among them Carrère & Hastings, and won the contest to design and build the Engineers' Clubhouse on 40th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Another firm, Hale & Rogers, was chosen to design and build the Engineers' Societies Building on 39th Street. (Incidentally, Cargenie's wife, Louise Whitfield Carnegie was the sister of winning architect.) The firm also built the Carnegie building in Troy, NY.
The Engineers' Club, now, Bryant Park Place, at 32 West 40th Street, 1905
This 12-story Renaissance Revival clubhouse was completed in 1907, and was thought to be one of the most luxurious buildings of it's kind. Notable club members included Nikola Tesla (In 1917, a dinner was held in the adjoining building at 33 West 39th Street, in his honor after receiving the Edison Medal), Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, and H.H. Westinghouse. The building featured public and social spaces, as well as 66 sleeping rooms. Tesla was very fond of pigeons, and often fed them in adjacent Bryant Park on a favorite bench near the corner of Sixth Avenue and 40th Street.
Dining room at the Engineers' Club, 1910
The Engineer's Club sold the building to developer David Eshagin in 1979, and it was converted into a co-op in 1983. Both buildings were added to the National Registrar of Historic Places on August 30, 2007.
** All photos are from the MCNY digital collection.
Primary sources cited:
Landmark's Preservation Commission document, March 22, 2011
Landmark's Preservation Commission press release. March 22, 2011 NYT Streetscapes column, 1995
You can now enjoy Bryant Park even later into the evening with our new extended summer hours. Due to the ever increasing popularity of the park, we decided that 11pm was too early to ask people to leave. The park will now stay open an additional hour, until midnight Mondays through Saturdays for the remainder of the summer and early fall seasons. Enjoy the extra time outdoors with a game of ping pong (bring your own equipment), drinks at the Bryant Park Cafe, a visit to the clean public facilities at the Bryant Park Restroom, or a simple stroll through the park to soak up the summer air.
Bryant Park Summer Hours
Monday-Saturday: 7:00 am to Midnight
Sunday: 7:00am to 11pm
Today's classic review comes from Variety Magazine, published on June 20, 1967. Reviewer A.D. Murphy saw In the Heat of the Night on June 9, 1967 at Gruaman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Mr. Murphy was not 100% sold on the merits of the film. Nevertheless, In the Heat of the Night went on to be one of the most successful films of the year, receiving critical acclaim and five Academy Awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture. This timely film portrayed bigotry in a way that hit home for many Americans, as the film was released at the crux of the Civil Rights Movement. See this award winning drama tonight in the park. The lawn opens at 5pm, and the film starts just after sunset.
An excellent Sidney Poitier performance, and an outstanding one by Rod Steiger, overcome some noteworthy flaws to make "In The Heat of the Night" an absorbing contemporary murder drama, set in the deep, red-necked South. Most production elements are well coordinated by producer Walter Mirisch, and enhanced by an excellent cast. Norman Jewison directed, sometimes in pretentious fashion, an uneven script. Nevertheless, hot b.o. prospects are likely from United Artists release in general situations.
Novelist John Ball has written three books about a Negro gumshoe named Virgil Tibbs, "Heat"' being the first. Stirling Silliphant has adapted it into an erratic screenplay which indulges in heavy-handed, sometimes needless plot diversion, uncertain character development, and a rapid fire denouement. As a matter of fact, suddenness of climax suggests that the creative team went dry. Pic clearly is a triumph over some of its basic parts.
Intriguing plot basis has Poitier as the detective, accidentally on a visit to his Mississippi hometown where a prominent industrialist is found murdered. Arrested initially -- and ironically -- on the assumption that a Negro, out late at night must have done the deed, Poitier later is thrust, by his boss in Philadelphia, his own conscience, and a temporary anti-white emotional outburst, into uneasy collaboration with local sheriff Steiger.
Steiger's transformation from a diehard Dixie bigot to a man who learns to respect Poitier stands out in smooth comparison to the wandering solution of the murder. En route, assorted characters include policeman Warren Oates, sexpot Quentin Dean and her brother, James Peterson, Lee Grant, as the murdered man's widow, unreconstructed manor lord Larry Gates, glib mayor William Schallert, town abolitionist Beah Richards, sleazy greasy-spoon clerk Anthony James, and petty criminal Scott Wilson.
Script emphasis on in early reels telegraphs something, and indeed that occurs. But the explanation of the murder takes only several seconds and many audiences will have to discuss the matter before reaching agreement; even a fast synopsis reading leaves some questions. Jewison's direction of his cast is excellent, particularly the relationship between the two above-title stars, although some dialect is obscure.
Miss Dean, Patterson, Wilson and James are "introduced" herein, and each has a distinct potential. Oates and Miss Grant, top-featured, are just right, and rest of cast supports in solid fashion.
Jewison's presumed influence on final editing is not up to his dramatic direction. In an early scene, for example, Wilson is pursued by hounds to a large bridge, over which lies another state -- and freedom. What could have been a compelling and ironic frustration becomes a tedious intercutting of a long zoom, then Steiger sitting in a patrol car, waiting for his prey, Steiger driving at speeds which process work indicates must be about 80 m.p.h., then Wilson shuffling along with the car behind, and finally a long-shot which ends it all. Scene does not play; it fizzles out completely.
Then, too, the subjective camera, used several times, gets a little old. Wilson's flight through underbush is overemphasized by dizzying shots; frames, not feet, of film can convey the desired impression. Also a peeping-tom view of some hoods getting into a car for the climactic confrontation is needlessly obscured by foliage -- and the obscured characters only confuse who's who.
On the peeping tom bit, Oates' voyeuristic o.o. of Miss Dean, a nubile, fullbreasted nifty to be sure, is followed by a long-held shot for audience voyeurs; again, too much of a good thing - cinematically, that is. Perhaps there is no door-screen, or convenient strut in the foreign version.
Haskell Wexler's DeLuxe lensing captures the desired drabness of the locale for mood-enhancement, but in several scenes it intrudes. Must auto departures so regularly start from a tail light? Only a nearby tire thief would see it that way. Difference, for its own sake, is pretension.
An excellent score has been provided by Quincy Jones whose title tune is sung by Ray Charles to good effect. Hal Ashby, also billed as assistant to the producer, executed editing to 109 minutes, overall very good with exceptions as noted. Sound recording is excellent, as are other production credits. Out-of-focus title effects are credited to Murray Naidich, who did a firstrate job; UA might include an alerting note to boothmen however, to ensure a smooth opening.
Jewison had, after switch from TV, directed five programmers before The Mirisch Corp. sponsored his "The Russians are Coming the Russings Are Coming," which landed him firmly on the film map, and extended his ties with Mirisch for five more pix, including "Heat."
J. Courtney Sullivan and Katie Lee will visit the Reading Room next Wednesday to discuss their books which deal with family, gossip, and two very different beach towns. Before Ms. Sullivan is here next week, she takes a moment to share a few personal tidbits with us in our Blog Q&A. We're starting to notice some similarities in our authors. Few read their work after it is published, and many would be teachers.
What was your inspiration for this book?
I wanted to explore how certain things—like alcoholism, religion, resentments, and secrets—move from one generation to the next. The mother-daughter dynamic is powerful and often fraught, and I wanted to really dig into that as well. A secluded family beach house seemed like the perfect place to let all this percolate.
Where do you do your best writing?
I write at the Brooklyn Writer’s Space in Park Slope. It’s my saving grace. You pay a monthly fee, and can go any time—24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is blissfully silent and devoid of distractions. I think if I tried to write at home, I’d end up watching daytime TV in my pajamas most of the time. Having a destination for writing helps keep me focused.
Did you have an “a-ha!” moment that made you want to be a writer?
I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since I was a little girl. It started with a love of reading. I was particularly obsessed with anything by Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, or Lucy Maud Montgomery. I started writing short stories and poems when I was six or seven. I also wrote plays, which all the neighborhood kids would put on.
Who reads your first draft?
My best friend from high school is usually the first to read my fiction. (In the book, the Kellehers’ beautiful oceanfront house in Maine is actually based on her family’s home. It was there on the beach a few summers back that I first conceived of this novel.)
Another friend, who was my editor at a magazine years ago, has read lousy first drafts of both my novels and given me the most incredible, detailed edits. And my agent reads all my early drafts, too.
Do you read your books after they’ve been published?
Absolutely not! I’m never satisfied—even if I read a single page, I can find two or three things I could have done better. Once they’re published, I like to leave them alone.
Do you prefer writing on a computer or longhand?
In high school and college, I wrote everything out by hand and then entered it into the computer. But sometime in my early twenties, I trained myself to write on the computer. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I only type with one finger. It sounds insane, but it’s worked for me this long!
What word or punctuation mark are you most guilty of overusing?
Probably the dash. I love the dash. I went to a Montessori school with a lot of emphasis on creativity and not so much on grammar. So I’m never totally sure that I’m using, say, a semi-colon correctly. But you really can’t go wrong with a dash.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
I’ve always dreamed of being a kindergarten teacher.
The park is famous for its lush lawn and stately London plane trees, but we also take great pride in our gardens. There are about 30,000 square feet of planting beds in the park. And that's not even counting the vast ivy beds, numerous hanging baskets, and floral planters dotted about the park. To keep park visitors informed, we publish a Garden Notes Brochure three times each year.
Our horticulture team changes the garden design more than you might imagine, and each brochure features a new seasonal focus and botanical illustration. The Summer 2011 edition can be found in the park's brochure racks now, or you can view and download a pdf on our website.
As the 'Green Matters' section of Garden Notes explains, green spaces and flowers, like those found in Bryant Park, are important to the health of an area. Besides the obvious beauty that flowers add to the park, studies have shown that gardens have a direct impact on the safety and value of a neighborhood. Some studies even suggest that gardens positively impact human stress levels and self esteem.
Pick up Garden Notes to read more about this season's collection of geraniums, begonias, and Browallia americana, or to learn something about the positive influence of flowers on the Midtown area and its residents.
He read the Encyclopedia Britannica in its entirety, spent a year following every rule in the Bible, and then turned his life into a self improvement experiment. Take a peak into the mind of Esquire's Editor at Large A.J. Jacobs before he visits the Reading Room this afternoon. Judging from his hysterical answers, A.J.'s Word for Word chat with Ben Mezrich should be quite entertaining.
What was your inspiration for this book?
For My Life as an Experiment? It was a way to learn about the most fascinating topics in the world by immersing myself in them.
Where do you do your best writing?
I’m writing my current book on my treadmill. It’s about health.
Did you have an “a-ha!” moment that made you want to be a writer?
Not really. I did have an a-ha moment that made me nervous about my career choice. When I read the Encyclopedia Britannica for my first book (The Know-It-All), I was stunned by the number of writers who committed suicide. I knew about Hemingway, Plath and Woolf. But there are dozens, even hundreds, of others. It’s not a profession filled with happy-go-lucky types.
Which author do you wish had been your 7th grade English teacher?
My seventh grade self would probably want Cheryl Tiegs, author of non-fiction classic The Way to Natural Beauty. But my current self would opt for Bill Bryson.
What is your favorite book?
Probably the Encyclopedia Britannica. If I had to choose one volume of the Britannica? Probably the A volume. They frontload a lot of the good stuff.
Who reads your first draft?
My wife Julie.
Do you read your books after they’ve been published?
Not so much.
Do you prefer writing on a computer or longhand?
On a computer. Though I’m old school and have to print out the manuscript to read it.
What book are you currently reading? The Ask by Sam Lipsyte. He’s a brilliant novelist – and also a parent at the same school my kid goes to. I couldn’t resist that combination.
What word or punctuation mark are you most guilty of overusing?
I’m trying to restore honor and respect to the exclamation point! It shouldn’t be dismissed!
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
A teacher.
Word for Word Author
Wednesdays, 12:30pm – 1:45pm
May 25 – August 24
Reading Room
In this post, BPC's archivist, Anne Kumer, shares some park history. This post also appears on NYC Circa, a history blog about New York City and its public spaces.
With the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War upon us, I've been searching for a direct connection between the American Civil War and Bryant Park. The park, then known as Reservoir Square, was most likely used as an encampment for Union soldiers during the war, but I think that was true of most parks and public spaces in the city. That, and this little bit below, are about all I have for now. I'm not a Civil War historian, which is probably my first hindrance to success. That said, I will be attending all of the Reading Room's Word for Word Non-Fiction discussions highlighting the Civil War, co-sponsored by the New-York Historical Society and Oxford University Press.
At the east end of the reading room stands a monument to William Earle Dodge, founding member of the American chapter of the Y.M.C.A., New York 8th District Congressman from 1866-1867, and Native American rights activist.
Photo: BPC
He was also the father of one of the youngest Brigadier Generals in the Union Army, Charles Cleveland Dodge, who aside from his commitment to public service, shares his father's stance.
Though Dodge left the service in June1863, he returned to volunteer with the U.S. Army to restore order in the city during the Draft Riots under Major General John Z. Wool. Transcripts of Wool's reports are available online. The Draft Riots, still considered one of the largest (and by day three) heinous acts of civil disobedience in the country, waged on for four days throughout the city from July 13 - July 16, 1863.
This week's Word for Word discussion features renowned Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer who will discuss his book The New York Times Complete Civil War 1861-1865.
Word for Word Nonfiction
Wednesdays, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
July 6 - August 10
Bryant Park Reading Room
Just in time for the summer heat, 'wichcraft opens their fifth outpost in Bryant Park serving up sweet treats year round. They've got 10 different flavors of ice cream, which you can get scooped, topped with cookie crumbs, or mixed into a rootbeer float. The new kiosk also offers a delicious upgrade to the classic 'wichcraft cream'wich with the new cool and creamy ice cream fillings. Choose from vanilla ice cream on a peanut butter cookie, banana ice cream on a peanut butter cookie, or vanilla ice cream on an oatmeal cookie.
The Ice Cream Kiosk is located just west of Le Carrousel on the South side of the park.
Join the jugglers on the lawn every Friday through Labor Day to learn a new kind of coordination. You've probably seen the group of regular jugglers around the park. Lucky for you, we've convinced them to share their talents by giving free lessons. Find them in the Southeast Corner of the Lawn, or on the adjacent gravel pathway if the Lawn is closed. Don't be shy, just ask Alex or Seth for a tutorial. They promise that anyone can learn to juggle!
Bryant Park Juggling
Fridays, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
July 8 – September 2
SE Corner of the Lawn
We told you why the lawn work was taking a little longer than usual, and we told you why we walled off a section on the 40th Street side of the park, but you're probably still wondering what all the work crews are doing in the park. Pathway closings like the one pictured below have become a familiar sight this summer.
Conduit and a utility box installation near The Tables.
To improve this, our capital projects team has devised a new electrical grid for the park, as part of a complete overhaul of the power system. The contractors have been working in isolated areas of pathway, in constantly moving sections, to lay conduit for this new grid piece-by-piece. In each section, they lift the bluestone pavers, dig a hole, and install the conduit. Pathway closings have become a necessary step to facilitate this process.
Laying conduit on the South side of the Lawn, and working around existing water lines.
In the coming weeks, the contractors will continue to work laying conduit on the south side of the park, as well as begin to wire the newly laid conduit. You can spot the tedious wiring work in progress, wherever you see large spools of wire.
As the summer progresses, additional work will be done to upgrade and add lights to the park's stone balustrades and monuments. The digging has already been completed for these projects, so disruptions for this project should be mild.
Locations for balustrade lights have already been prepared.
Broadway fans and history buffs delight... two exciting series are set to start this week.
We're commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War with a series of Word for Word Non-Fiction discussions in the Reading Room. In partnership with the New-York Historical Society and Oxford University Press, we'll host distinguished Civil War scholars like Harold Holzer and James McPherson, who will discuss their recent books in light of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.
Broadway in Bryant Park is back for the 13th summer in the park. This is your chance to see the musical numbers from some of the biggest shows on and off Broadway for free. Think of it as a Broadway sampling. Why see one show when you could see four? This Thursday enjoy a taste of Stomp, Baby It's You, Sister Act, and Zarkana, presented by 106.7 Lite FM.
In preparation for tonight's HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, presented by Bank of America, we take you back to 1969 with the original trailer for Easy Rider, and the original New York Times review by Vincent Canby. Notice how the review came out the day after the film was released. Was this what is was like in the days before critics received screeners? Read Canby's opinion, skip the fireworks tonight, and come watch Easy Rider on the lawn. Film starts after sunset.
"EASY RIDER," which opened yesterday at the Beekman, is a motorcycle drama with decidedly superior airs about it. How else are we to approach a movie that advertises itself: "A man went looking for America. And couldn't find it anywhere"? Right away you know that something superior is up, that somebody is making a statement, and you can bet your boots (cowboy, black leather) that it's going to put down the whole rotten scene. What scene? Whose? Why? Man, I can't tell you if you don't know. What I mean to say is, if you don't groove, you don't groove. You might as well split.
I felt this way during the first half-hour of "Easy Rider," and then, almost reluctantly, fell into the rhythm of the determinedly inarticu-late piece. Two not-so-young cyclists, Wyatt (Peter Fonda) who affects soft leather breeches and a Capt. America jacket, and Billy (Dennis Hopper), who looks like a perpetually stoned Buffalo Bill, are heading east from California toward New Orleans.
They don't communicate with us, or each other, but after a while, it doesn't seem to matter. They simply exist—they are bizarre comic strip characters with occasional balloons over their heads reading: "Like you're doing your thing," or some such. We accept them in their moving isolation, against the magnificent Southwestern landscapes of beige and green and pale blue.
They roll down macadam highways that look like black velvet ribbons, under skies of incredible purity, and the soundtrack rocks with oddly counterpointed emotions of Steppenwolf, the Byrds, the Electric Prunes — dark and smoky cries for liberation. Periodically, like a group taking a break, the cyclists stop (and so does the music) for quiet encounters—with a toothless rancher and his huge, happy family or with a commune of thin hippies, whose idyll seems ringed with unacknowledged desperation.
Suddenly, however, a strange thing happens. There comes on the scene a very real character and everything that has been accepted earlier as a sort of lyrical sense impression suddenly looks flat and foolish.
Wyatt and Billy are in a small Southern town—in jail for having disturbed the peace of a local parade—when they meet fellow-in-mate George Hanson (Jack Nicholson), a handsome, alcoholic young lawyer of good family and genially bad habits, a man whose only defense against life is a cheerful but not abject acceptance of it. As played by Nicholson, George Hanson is a marvelously realized character, who talks in a high, squeaky Southern accent and uses a phrase like "Lord have mercy!" the way another man might use a four-letter word.
Hanson gets the cyclists sprung from jail and then promptly joins them. He looks decidedly foolish, sitting on the back of Wyatt's bike, wearing a seersucker jacket and his old football helmet, but he is completely happy and, ironically, the only person in the movie who seems to have a sense of what liberation and freedom are. There is joy and humor and sweetness when he smokes grass for the first time and expounds an elaborate theory as to how the Venutians have already conquered the world.
Nicholson is so good, in fact, that "Easy Rider" never quite recovers from his loss, even though he has had the rather thankless job of spelling out what I take to be the film's statement (upper case). This has to do with the threat that people like the nonconforming Wyatt and Billy represent to the ordinary, self-righteous, inhibited folk that are the Real America. Wyatt and Billy, says the lawyer, represent freedom; ergo, says the film, they must be destroyed.
If there is any irony in this supposition, I was unable to detect it in the screenplay written by Fonda, Hopper and Terry Southern. Wyatt and Billy don't seem particularly free, not if the only way they can face the world is through a grass curtain. As written and played, they are lumps of gentle clay, vacuous, romantic symbols, dressed in cycle drag.
"Easy Rider," the first film to be directed by Dennis Hopper, won a special prize at this year's Cannes festival as the best picture by a new director (there was only one other picture competing in that category).
With the exception of Nicholson, its good things are familiar things — the rock score, the lovely, sometimes impressionistic photography by Laszlo Kovacs, the faces of small-town America. These things not only are continually compelling but occasionally they dazzle the senses, if not the mind. Hopper, Fonda and their friends went out into America looking for a movie and found instead a small, pious statement (upper case) about our society (upper case), which is sick (upper case). It's pretty but lower case cinema.
EASY RIDER, written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hooper and Terry Southern; directed by Mr. Hopper; produced by Mr. Fonda; presented by the Pando Company in association with Raybert Productions; released by Columbia Pictures. At the Beckman Theater, 65th Street at Second Avenue. Running time: 94 minutes. (The Motion Picture Association of America's Production Code and Rating Administration classifies this film: "R—Restricted—persons under 16 not admitted, unless accompanied by parent or adult guardian")
Wyatt . . . . . Peter Fonda
Billy . . . . . Dennis Hopper
George Hanson . . . . . Jack Nicholson
Rancher . . . . . Warren Finnerty
Stranger on Highway . . . . . Luke Askew
Lisa . . . . . Luana Anders
Karen . . . . . Karen Black
Alex Prud'homme, Irena Salina, and Scott Dodd will visit the park next week for a discussion on the politics of fresh water. Mr. Prud'homme just published a new book The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-first Century, and Ms. Salina is an editor and documentarian of Flow. Mr. Dodd, the editor of onEarth, will host this talk, which is perfect for conservationists, activists, and anyone who enjoys drinking fresh water.
Before they join us in the Reading Room on Wednesday, Mr. Prud'homme and Mr. Dodd talk books and secret talents.
Alex Prud'homme
What was your inspiration for this book?
I have always been drawn to water, so I was predisposed to pay attention to the subject. But The Ripple Effect was inspired by a conversation I had with Julia Child about how the French and Americans view botttled water in different ways: in France, mineral water is considered a healthy “digestive,” while we Americans like our water stripped of all minerals and taste, and view it as a healthy “beverage.” I thought that might make an interesting article. That evening, Bob Moran, a hydrologist married to Julia’s niece, explained that water is an “axis” resource that underlies all other resources, and will be increasingly important this century. I realized that the subject was so big, important, and interesting that it should be my next book.
Where do you do your best writing?
Writing is difficult even if you do it every day. At times I feel inspired, and it hardly matters where I am physically. But more often it requires long hours in front of the computer in my little office in Tribeca to get down what I mean to say in the way I mean to say it.
Did you have an “a-ha!” moment that made you want to be a writer?
No, it didn’t happen in a flash. I love to read, but thought I might be an architect or a lawyer. After college I took a trip to Asia: it was supposed to last three months, but I had so much fun I kept going. Almost two years later I returned to the US, having traveled around the world. I had all sorts of adventures, and kept diaries as I went – 13 books in total, filled with observations large and small. When I returned home I realized that it was writing that really rings my bell.
Which author do you wish had been your 7th grade English teacher?
Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain – writers that fuse humor with pathos, story-telling, character development, adventure, detail, and compelling situations.
What is your secret talent?
Flipping crepes
What is your favorite book?
Almost impossible to answer … but if forced: Moby Dick
Who reads your first draft?
My wife, Sarah; my agent, Tina Bennett; my editor, Nan Graham
Do you read your books after they’ve been published?
I read parts of them, but have never re-read one of my books all the way through.
Do you prefer writing on a computer or longhand?
I used to write a lot in longhand, but now mostly on computer – its just more efficient, though when I have difficulty working-out an idea I’ll sometimes revert to scribbling.
What book are you currently reading? (Old school or e-Reader?) Food Rules, by Michael Pollan. I’m old school, and prefer the tactile quality of paper to a screen.
What word or punctuation mark are you most guilty of overusing?
Word = Indeed
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
Architect, Oceanographer
Scott Dodd
What book are you currently reading? (Old school or e-Reader?) Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks (old school, for a review in the upcoming issue of OnEarth)
Which author do you wish had been your 7th grade English teacher?
Robert Sullivan (author of Rats, A Whale Hunt, The Meadowlands, The Thoreau You Don’t Know) and I wish the class had been composed of nothing but field trips.
What is your secret talent?
Making the bed.
What is your favorite book? A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson
