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Art Garfunkel's bridge and a lunatic asylum.
My thanks to the New York City chapter of the American Institute of Architects for enabling me to screen this rare film. 'Panorama of Blackwell's Island' has an inaccurate title; I define 'panorama' to mean a 360-degree view, all the way round something: what we see here is quite interesting, but it's less than one-half of the coastline of its subject.
For those of you not familiar with New York City: Blackwell's Island is now cried Roosevelt Island. In recent years, it has served as an elite residential enclave within New York City: an islet between Manhattan and the borough of Queens, which enjoys all the benefits of urban life without the high crime and influx of homeless people. The island is now accessible via bridge, Metro and tramway ... although (at the time that I write this) the tramway's service was recently suspended, and it may soon be decommissioned altogether.
When this film was made in 1903, Blackwell's Island served largely to house various municipal institutions which were necessary but not desirable, such as a penitentiary, a workhouse and a charity hospital: the sort of institutions which now prompt cries of 'Not in my back yard.'
The print which I viewed is only a couple of minutes long; there is one break in the action (and shift of perspective) which appears to be an intentional cut, as we now define the term. Another gap in the surviving print's action is much briefer ... and is clearly caused by an actual break in the film, with the loss of a couple of frames.
'Panorama of Blackwell's Island' is historically significant for early use of a moving camera ... although the effect is achieved by placing a static camera aboard a moving vehicle. Edwin S Porter's camera is on the deck of a riverboat heading south along the eastern shore of Blackwell's Island. At the island's northern tip, we see the lighthouse designed by James Renwick, Jnr. Proceeding southward, we encounter in this order the New York City lunatic asylum, the workhouse, the almshouse, quays for the Queensborough Bridge, Blackwell's House, the penitentiary and the charity hospital. The film ends before we reach the southern tip of the island ... so, we've seen less than one-half of the shoreline. But what we glimpse here is fascinating.
The Queensborough Bridge links Manhattan and Queens, but its central caissons are located in this island. The bridge's Manhattan terminus is near 59th Street: yes, this is the bridge mentioned in the title of Simon & Garfunkel's popular '59th Street Bridge Song' ... though I'm damned if I know why, since the bridge is never mentioned in the song's lyric.
Viewers who are interested in New York City's history (or old-time architecture in general) will be fascinated by this brief film, which lasts only a couple of minutes. Unfortunately, none of the architectural works can be seen in sharp detail. For its historical value, I'll rate this movie 7 out of 10.
For those of you not familiar with New York City: Blackwell's Island is now cried Roosevelt Island. In recent years, it has served as an elite residential enclave within New York City: an islet between Manhattan and the borough of Queens, which enjoys all the benefits of urban life without the high crime and influx of homeless people. The island is now accessible via bridge, Metro and tramway ... although (at the time that I write this) the tramway's service was recently suspended, and it may soon be decommissioned altogether.
When this film was made in 1903, Blackwell's Island served largely to house various municipal institutions which were necessary but not desirable, such as a penitentiary, a workhouse and a charity hospital: the sort of institutions which now prompt cries of 'Not in my back yard.'
The print which I viewed is only a couple of minutes long; there is one break in the action (and shift of perspective) which appears to be an intentional cut, as we now define the term. Another gap in the surviving print's action is much briefer ... and is clearly caused by an actual break in the film, with the loss of a couple of frames.
'Panorama of Blackwell's Island' is historically significant for early use of a moving camera ... although the effect is achieved by placing a static camera aboard a moving vehicle. Edwin S Porter's camera is on the deck of a riverboat heading south along the eastern shore of Blackwell's Island. At the island's northern tip, we see the lighthouse designed by James Renwick, Jnr. Proceeding southward, we encounter in this order the New York City lunatic asylum, the workhouse, the almshouse, quays for the Queensborough Bridge, Blackwell's House, the penitentiary and the charity hospital. The film ends before we reach the southern tip of the island ... so, we've seen less than one-half of the shoreline. But what we glimpse here is fascinating.
The Queensborough Bridge links Manhattan and Queens, but its central caissons are located in this island. The bridge's Manhattan terminus is near 59th Street: yes, this is the bridge mentioned in the title of Simon & Garfunkel's popular '59th Street Bridge Song' ... though I'm damned if I know why, since the bridge is never mentioned in the song's lyric.
Viewers who are interested in New York City's history (or old-time architecture in general) will be fascinated by this brief film, which lasts only a couple of minutes. Unfortunately, none of the architectural works can be seen in sharp detail. For its historical value, I'll rate this movie 7 out of 10.
helpful•41
- F Gwynplaine MacIntyre
- Jun 8, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Roosevelt Island, New York City, New York, USA(Blackwell's Island c. 1903. Blackwell Family were the former owners of the island.)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime2 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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