New York's Lincoln Center Commemorates Its 50th Anniversary With A Major Exhibition, Showcasing Its Profound Impact On The Arts And The City, Featuring Iconic Costumes And Photographs


Lincoln Center Celebrates 50 Years

The Fountain at Lincoln Center

How old have we all gotten??? First comedy troupe Monty Python turns 40, now New York’s Lincoln Center turns 50. To celebrate, the arts organization is throwing itself a party, of sorts. “Lincoln Center: Celebrating 50 Years” will be on view at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center (40 Lincoln Center Plaza; 212 870-1630), running today (October 15) through January 16, 2010. This is the first major exhibition to focus on Lincoln Center’s impact on the arts, the city, and the world, from its beginning in the mid-1950s through today.

The exhibition includes approximately 400 objects, among them costumes, photographs, video recordings, props, and set pieces. Among the offerings? The elaborate gown that Beverly Sills wore at her farewell performance; an Andy Warhol-designed poster for the 1967 New York Film Festival; and Leonard Bernstein’s concert tuxedo. Visitors who haven’t been to Lincoln Center in a while will get a nice surprise; the fountain, under renovation for quite a while, has returned in a blaze of glory, or at least, sprays of water.

Lincoln Center Revamps the Fountain

The redesign has turned the fountain into a sort of floating ring, with open views across the plaza. A little bit of Disney-type magic has crept in as well—new nozzles and lighting systems will allow for special-effect light and water displays. At night, white lights will illuminate the various watery effects. Trivia quiz: The fountain is something of a movie star—do you know any of the films it has appeared in? Ghostbusters, The Producers, and Moonstruck, to name a few.