valentine's day The Brooklyn Bridge Turns 125: The Musical Legacy

valentine's day Today marks the beginning of a five-day celebration commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge. According to the Associated Press, thousands of people are expected to gather for the bridge's birthday blowout later today, with festivities including a performance by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, a fireworks display, a Navy flyover, the unveiling of a colorful new lighting scheme and even the debut of a tribute song written in the structure's honor.

The party continues throughout Memorial Day weekend with a staggeringly diverse array of activities, events and performances scheduled to honor the bridge. Like what? Well, for example, on Saturday you can head to the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park and play a round of mini-golf at a course specially designed for this occasion that features little replicas of some of Brooklyn's most famous sites, including the bridge (of course), Grand Army Plaza, and Keyspan Park. The recession can't be too bad if we're building impromptu mini-golf tribute courses, right?

There are also a variety of dance and musical performances lined up throughout the weekend, check out the full schedule HERE.

Now, given the celebratory vibe of the weekend - and seeing that the bridge is getting its very own tribute song - it's only fitting to briefly highlight the Brooklyn Bridge's musical legacy as well (after the jump)...

Of course, there's Frank Sinatra's classic 1947 musical It Happened in Brooklyn in which the bridge features prominently (as the film's most famous song "The Brooklyn Bridge" suggests). And who can forget the Rolling Stones' press conference and kickoff for their massive 1997 Bridges To Babylon tour held under the Brooklyn Bridge? Certainly not U2, who staged a similar spectacle in 2004 and recorded a live EP for iTunes in the process, Live From Under the Brooklyn Bridge.

And if we're really to nitpick, couldn't we even make the argument that the Brooklyn Bridge was the very catalyst for opening up Brooklyn and making it more accessible for future generations to live, work, and create the amazing music scene that dominates the borough today? As the AP piece states:

Historians note its role in shaping the city: It linked Manhattan with what was then a largely rural Brooklyn, helping spur a Brooklyn growth spurt, Schweiger said. Brooklyn's population grew by 42 percent between 1880 and 1890, while Manhattan's grew by about 26 percent, census figures show.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn Bridge, here's hoping Dave Sitek gets to produce your new tribute song when you decide to record it.