Film Screening and Discussion: The Bungalows of Rockaway

Written by on Apr 27, 2012

Monday, June 11, 6:30pm

Film Screening and Discussion: The Bungalows of Rockaway

Far Rockaway Beachside Bungalows, Queens

Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue at East 2nd Street, Manhattan

After a sold-out screening of the film’s excerpts in 2008, HDC brings back the popular 2010 documentary film, “The Bungalows of Rockaway,” produced by Jennifer Callahan and Elizabeth Logan Harris. The film highlights the rich history of the Rockaway bungalows, lasting more than 100 years. Although by 1933 there were more than 7,000 bungalows dotting the peninsula, fewer than 500 remain today. The documentary, narrated by Oscar-winner Estelle Parsons, features rare archival footage, maps, and interviews with historians, prominent New Yorkers, and several of the longtime residents and vacationers. A Critic’s Pick by Time Out New York.

In 2012, HDC named the Far Rockaway Beach Bungalows to its Six to Celebrate list, six historic New York City neighborhoods that merit preservation as priorities for HDC’s advocacy and consultation over a yearlong period. HDC is working with the Beachside Bungalow Preservation Association to get the remaining bungalows of Beach 24th, 25th and 26th Streets on the State and National Registers of Historic Places and to raise awareness about this irreplaceable part of New York City’s history.

The screening will be followed by a “Q & A” session and discussion with Richard George, executive director of the Beachside Bungalow Preservation Association; Nancy Solomon, director of Long Island Traditions and author of the National Register nomination; David Selig, owner of Rockaway Taco; Jeanne DuPont of Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, and the filmmakers. The program will be moderated by journalist Eve M. Kahn.  Please join us for this event and discover the unique history of The Bungalows of Rockaway as well as what the future holds for this culturally rich and diverse area.

Don’t believe us that this movie is great, just read the rave reviews!

“The Bungalows of Rockaway, the documentary by the gifted filmmaker Jennifer Callahan, is an incisive analysis of urban policy making, and at the same time a vivid and compassionate portrayal of the injustice that a city’s misguided policies can play on the lives of its most impoverished citizens.”– Robert Caro“This is a fascinating story of community resistance to the rapacious forces of development and will be of real interest to planners, architects, and urban activists of many kinds.”– Anthony D King, Emeritus Professor of Art History and of Sociology, Binghampton University, State University of New York and author of The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture (Oxford University Press 1995) and Spaces of Global Cultures: Architecture Urbanism Identity (Routledge 2004).”The Bungalows of Rockaway is an arresting and important documentary… Deftly connecting broad historical forces to local everyday events, this well-written and well-crafted film is a terrific resource for educators and for anyone interested in architecture and urbanism.”– Sharon Marcus, Orlando Harriman Professor of English, Columbia University, and author of Apartment Stories: City and Home in Nineteenth-Century Paris and London (University of California Press, 1999)

 

“Fun, informative and empowering. What a combo. This loving portrait of the vibrant bungalow community of Rockaway captures the history and challenge of preserving an American vernacular architectural form that made vacations affordable and memorable for a century to working people. No less poignant is the struggle to preserve remaining bungalows against the onslaught of developers and gentrifiers. New Yorkers will love this look at their famous Queens beach community, but the story of an American iconic form — its legacy and the struggle to preserve it — resonates as well with countless tales of destructive American urban ‘development’ and ‘renewal.'”

— Daniel Walkowitz, Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, History, New York University

Posted Under: Event, Far Rockaway, Six to Celebrate

12 comments

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  3. The screening for June 11th, 2012 isn’t listed on Anthology’s calendar. Is that the correct date?
    Thanks for any info!

    Reply

  4. The screening for June 11th, 2012 isn’t listed on Anthology’s calendar. Is that the correct date?
    Thanks for any info!

    Reply

    1. Yes all orders will be recorded by HDC. When you arrive at Anthology we will have your name on our registered list.

      Reply

    1. Yes all orders will be recorded by HDC. When you arrive at Anthology we will have your name on our registered list.

      Reply
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