My Bicentennial Memories
I’m not sure I believe in fate, but there must be a reason why I could never bring myself to throw out my Ross Bicentennial bicycle. My parents, despite complaining about its prolonged residence in the cellar of 1710 78th street, could never bring themselves to roll the bike out with Tuesday trash (something they had no issue doing with all my other toys and preciouses). Maybe I or they knew the Bicentennial would be something I’d one day revisit. Or maybe we all knew, as long as the bike remained, so would those wonderful hazy summer day memories of years past.
Keep checking back — as we countdown to the release of Brooklyn ’76, I’ll be adding some wonderful star-spangled, red, white, and blue blasts from the past.
Bicentennial Hydrants
During 1976, many towns and cities encouraged their residents to paint fire hydrants in a Bicentennial motif. Who let in the Red coat?
Bicentennial Cinema
Brooklyn dominated September 1976 at the Box Office. The highest grossing movie for the month - Bugsy Malone, starring Brooklyn’s own Scott Baio and John Cassisi; Also starring some girl named Jodie Foster.
Bicentennial Barbie
Critical outcry over the glaring omission of Bicentennial Barbie from the 2023 film is still strong and well-deserved.
Bicentennial Reunion
"I have a friend who loves what you do every year."
Labor Day 1976 - if you're too young to remember, you missed out!
Bicentennial TV Guide 2
Back when the TV Guide was the weekly periodical of choice for the most learned and discriminating of readers.
Bicentennial Centennial
There was more than one special birthday worth celebrating in 1976!
Bicentennial Action Figures
Just to add the the awesomeness of 1976, the Fantastic Four, Thor, and Conan were added to the Mego line of action figures. See them all in action here.
Bicentennial Transit
On July 4, 1976, the New York City Transit Exhibit was opened in a decommissioned underground Brooklyn subway station as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration, charging a fee of one subway token for admittance. Old subway cars which had been preserved, as well as models and other exhibits were displayed. Originally the exhibit was to remain open only through the summer, however it proved to be so popular that it remained open and eventually became a permanent museum. In a lesser known fact, the New York Transit Museum was my absolute favorite elementary school field trip, narrowly edging out both the Circle Line and the Bronx Zoo.
Bicentennial Smile
And now a Bicentennial message from the ADA - “A lot of people helped make this country great, and teeth helped them do it.”
No argument here.
Bicentennial Minute July 22, 1976
From this week in 1976 - Will Rogers Jr. speaks of Congress beginning to debate the Articles of Confederation. What they expected to take days, took five years. “We’d all learn that proclaiming a union of states was one thing, but making it work, that was something else.” Pretty sure we’re still working on it.
America 250
Let’s switch gears for a moment and look forward instead of to the past. Here is the official logo for the forthcoming 250th birthday of our nation, as well as link to the official website. So it begins.
Bicentennial Pez
Nothing more patriotic or sweeter than a rectangle of solidified corn syrup spilled from a gaping hole in Uncle Sam’s neck.
Bicentennial Flag
On June 28th, 1976, The Great American Flag - the largest flag ever made at the time, measuring 193 feet by 366.5 feet - was unrolled across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge for a test run prior to the Bicentennial. After just a few hours it was unfortunately ripped to shreds by wind. As one Bridge and Tunnel engineer put it, “The stars are still up, but the stripes are down.”
Bicentennial Disney
To celebrate the Bicentennial, Disney’s presentation of America on Parade was featured in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World from June of 1976 through September of 1976. Click on the photo to view the TV special which aired in April 1976. There’s also many home movies of better quality on Youtube.
Bicentennial Debut
On July 14, 1976, nearly two centuries of the American experiment culminates in the debut of the Gong Show.
Bicentennial Ceramics
To celebrate the start of National Clay Week, here are some finely crafted, officially recognized Bicentennial commemoratives. And as everyone knows, if your ceramics aren’t fired to 1325° Fahrenheit, they’re likely just crap.
Bicentennial Radio 2
Yet another special edition Bicentennial radio. Except this one is ALL transistor and still works!
Bicentennial Foil
You had no chance making it through the Bicentennial if you weren’t packing at least two boxes of aluminum justice in the kitchen cupboards. Now pardon me while I wrap this damp patch of earth in foil and take a nap.