A Brooklyn Bride

So where does a girl and a guy who were born in Brooklyn, New York, go to have wedding portraits taken? Of course they go under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn Bridge Park! My daughter and son-in-law wanted to have this iconic landmark as part of their wedding shots, even though they now call the state of Colorado home.

Their professional husband and wife photography team went to great lengths to get their shots, and we were so happy the weather cooperated with us.

I had brought along my point and shoot camera and was able to take these photos while we waited. In this shot my daughter is waving to people cheering their congratulations from a Circle Line Sightseeing cruise passing by in the East River.

Because we were in Brooklyn Bridge Park on a beautiful day, we were sharing our photo opportunity with quite a few park goers. On the other side of the park were picnickers and Jane's Carousel in full use. I've blogged about this wonderful new addition to the park on this post.

The bride and groom -- my hope is that the construction fence in the background isn't seen in the professional shots!

 I captured the bridesmaids having a good time as they waited.....

...and one of the groomsmen took this photo of me with my son and husband.

Just look at this spectacular view only surpassed in beauty by the gorgeous line of young women standing in front of it!

At one point I caught my son and daughter-in-law smooching--I'm sure they were thinking about their own wedding day almost eight years prior!

The photographers moved us all into the historic ruins of the Civil war-era Tobacco Warehouse in the park.  It is a another popular place for photos, as you can see by my daughter glancing at another bride and groom having their photos taken.

Our photographers had the bride and groom stand still while the bridal party had to run, jump and leap behind them.  I'm sure these will be fun shots to see!

 Of course I could not take my eyes off my darling daughter and handsome son-in-law.

I also took the opportunity to take some more candid shots of my son and husband and daughter-in-law.

Finally, always being in a blogger mode, I couldn't resist taking this artsy shot of the Manhattan Bridge through the window frame of the warehouse.

I'll be back soon to show the wedding reception in my next post. To see the marriage ceremony click here.  Thank you all for your wonderful comment and best wishes -- my family has been reading and appreciating each and every one!  It has been a busy few weeks, and it has just about slowed down to a normal routine around here...bring on summer!

I'm linking this post to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday --the letter this week is "B,"  Seasonal Sunday on the Tablescaper blog, "Sunday Bridges on the San Francisco Daily Photo Blog.

Jane's Carousel, Brooklyn Bridge Park

I recently blogged about the beautiful new Brooklyn Bridge Park, in Brooklyn, New York, which you can read at this link. A brand new edition to the park that opened last week on September 16, 2011, is a wonderful vintage carousel, called Jane's Carousel. If you look closely at the photo above, nestled on the end of a peninsular portion of the park, in front of the Brooklyn Bridge from this perspective, is the acrylic building that houses the carousel. Let's walk closer....

Now you can see how the carousel is situated in the park between the Brooklyn Bridge to the left....

....and the Manhattan Bridge to the right.

The charming Jane's Carousel is housed in a spectacular Pavilion designed by Pritzker Prize winning French architect Jean Nouvel.  According to the website: "Jane's Carousel is a completely restored historic Carousel made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC #61) in 1922. It is a classic 3-row machine with 48 exquisitely carved horses, and 2 superb chariots. The wood carvings, often attributed to John Zalar and Frank Carretta, are among the finest of their kind. In addition, the scenery panels, rounding boards, crests, center pole and platform are all original to the Carousel. It was the first Carousel to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places."

"In 1983, as the designated developer of Empire Fulton Ferry State Park, David Walentas had commissioned a Master Plan for the park that called for an historic carousel to be installed. Jane and David Walentas purchased the Carousel at auction on October 21, 1984.

When purchased, the Carousel was in poor condition. Jane Walentas began its restoration at her studio here in Dumbo in 1984. Her initial tasks included making necessary carpentry repairs and hand-scraping away 62 years of "Park Paint" with an X-acto knife to reveal the original 1922 carvings, color palette, and designs. The discoveries were carefully recorded with photographs, color matches, and detailed drawings that guided the repainting of the Carousel. The horses were rendered in faithful detail. The highly decorative carved trappings were newly painted and re-leafed. Missing embellishments such as faceted jewels, small beveled mirrors on the bridles, and delicate pinstriping were restored."

"The Carousel's rounding boards, scenery panels and structural pieces were also repainted, stenciled, and re-leafed. Blackened varnish was removed from original paintings to reveal their true colors. Dozens of old beveled mirrors were reglazed. Mechanical systems were updated with new gears, motor and an electronic controller. Totally rewired, the Carousel now dazzles with 1200 brilliant lights."

The entire story of Jane's Carousel is inscribed on this mirrored monument at the site. The Carousel and the Nouvel commissioned Pavilion are a gift from the Walentas family to the people of the City of New York. It was truly a labor of love by Jane Walentas, and now, after years of restoration and storage, the carousel is finally a wonderful reality!

The day I was there to see it there were lines of happy children waiting to take a ride for a modest price of $2.   I think the children's parents were just as excited to see and ride the carousel.

Who wouldn't love to be a child again, even it is for just a few minutes of a carousel ride?  I know I enjoyed my ride!

You can watch a minute of the carousel ride on my video above or at this link.

You can watch a minute of the ride on my video above or at this link.

The carousel is open everyday except Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. More information about hours and directions can be seen at this link.


I'm linking this post to the following blog events:
Whistlestop Cafe Cooking's "Traveling Tuesday"
"Outdoor Wednesday"
"Alphabe Thursday" -- the letter this week is "W" and I can't think of many more things more Wonderful than a carousel
"Pink Saturday" for all the color pink in the painted horses

Click on the links to go to the events -- many thanks to all the blog hosts!

The Brooklyn Bridge Park

In the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, along the waterfront of the East River, the once busy Brooklyn waterfront consisted of six piers and defunct bulk cargo shipping and storage complexes, built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the 1950s but rendered obsolete by the rise of container shipping in the 1980's. Left abandoned, the piers and buildings were an eyesore until neighborhood advocacy and government funding allowed the vision of turning this prime waterfront property into a park a reality for all to enjoy.
 (All photos in my blog will enlarge if clicked on once, and then again when they re-open on a new page.)

Still under construction, the new Brooklyn Bridge Park is 85 acres of green space and recreational facilities, designed by landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, and will soon span 1.3 miles of post-industrial waterfront between north of the Manhattan Bridge and Atlantic Avenue.

This sign shows the areas of the park that has been completed colored in light blue, and the areas still under construction in the dark blue.

A bicycle rentals stand in the park.

The park encourages visitors "to stroll, bike, boat, learn and play amid the stunning views of the bridge, harbor and skyline."

You can have a picnic, using the tables provided...

...or by sitting on an expanse of lawn.

You can sit and admire the Manhattan skyline and watch the boat traffic go by in the East River....

....or walk along a series of paths on the waterfront that has an ever changing view to enjoy.

You can see views of New York Harbor...

...with the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

There are plenty of paths at different levels in the park...

....that are lined with trees and pocket gardens filled with native flowers and shrubs.

This collage shows some of the flowers I found along the park paths--Black eyed Susan daisies, wild pink roses, day lilies and even wild raspberries!

source

There are two innovative children's playgrounds located in the park.

This playground was smaller for young toddlers.

There are even free "Movies With A View" nights being held in the park thsi summer!

I had to include this photo of the eastern part of the park, as the building you see under construction in the background, with the cranes on top, is the new World Trade Center building. You can watch a video about the progress of the building and the 9-11 memorial waterfalls pools at this link.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park is still under construction, and it is projected that approximately two-thirds of the park will be completed by 2013. It will tie in with the existing Empire--Fulton Ferry Park, which is undergoing improvements including a Jean Nouvel-designed pavilion to house a restored 1922 carousel, which you can see in the sign above.

This aerial shot from the Buildipedia web site shows an artist interpretation of how the park will look when fully completed. It will include several floating pathways, boardwalks and beaches, fishing piers, and safe water for paddling in kayaks and canoes.  There will also be 40 acres of recreational space including tennis, handball, basketball, and volleyball courts; playing fields for soccer, softball, and lacrosse; hockey and ice skating rinks; plenty of playgrounds; a bike path; and a year-round indoor recreational facility.  You can see a diagram of how the entire park will look at this link, and you can read the park's blog at this link.


Brooklyn Bridge Park _ Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates from stephen knifton on Vimeo.

You can watch the video above that shows some views of how this area looked before the park was built and also gives very interesting information about how the park was built using almost all reclaimed and recycled material.  You can also watch the video on this web link.

I hope that I've encouraged you to consider visiting the wonderful borough of  Brooklyn in New York City. There's a lot to see in Brooklyn, and now another beautiful park to enjoy!

I'm linking to "Outdoor Wednesday" event on Susan's blog "A Southern Daydreamer," and for the first time, Watery Wednesday and "Pink Saturday" at Beverly's How Sweet The Sound blog. Please visit all these wonderful blogs and join in all the fun!