Past Exhibits October 2003 to Present

Beauty Suspended:
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Turns Forty
Exhibition Dates November 19, 2004–March 20, 2005

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge under construction - Collection of BHS

The Brooklyn Historical Society and MTA Bridges and Tunnels partnered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge with a new exhibit “Beauty Suspended: The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Turns Forty,” opened November 19th at the Brooklyn Historical society and ran through March 20, 2005. The exhibit told the story of the building of what was then the longest suspension span in the world, connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island.

The exhibit explored the many political and engineering hurdles that had to be overcome for the bridge to be built. Features of the exhibit include the stories of two giants of twentieth-century bridge-building: master builder Robert Moses and master bridge engineer Othmar Hermann Ammann, as well as the thousands of workers who actually built the bridge. The exhibit included photographs, paintings and memorabilia from the Brooklyn Historical Society’s permanent collection as well as the contributions of Bay Ridge residents who were impacted by the bridge’s construction. The oral history section of the exhibit included two films featuring the personal stories of the workers who built the bridge and members of the communities affected by its construction. Additional exhibit highlights included photographs, original drawings and watercolors, historic reports, prints, models, a section of bridge cable, and memorabilia from Opening Day, November 21, 1964, drawn from the collection of the MTA Bridges and Tunnels Special Archive. This selection of artifacts illustrated the design, planning, and construction of the bridge.

Curators: Ann Meyerson, Ph.D., Curator of Exhibitions, Brooklyn Historical Society - Laura Rosen, Administrator of the Special Archive, MTA Bridges and Tunnels

Major support for this exhibition was provided by MTA Bridges and Tunnels.

Additional support for the exhibition and its educational programs was provided by NY State Assemblywoman Adele Cohen, 46 th District; Ammann & Whitney; Astoria Federal Savings; New York Council for the Humanities, a local affiliate for the National Endowment for the Humanities; NY City Council Member Vincent Gentile, 43rd District; Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT); and New York Water Taxi. All programs are made possible by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency; and members of the Brooklyn Historical Society.

BACK TO TOP