Super 8 - 1976 Bicentennial

Super 8 footage of the July 4, 1976 NY Bicentennial celebration in Battery Park, NYC. Festivities included a NY Harbor Show, concerts, etc, followed by a fireworks display.

Film used was Ektachrome 160 with a Kodak XL-55 camera.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Super 8
• Super+8
• 8mm
• Ektachrome 160
• Kodak XL-55
• NYC
• Bicentennial
• 1976
• July 4
• Fireworks

[Kartoonkid95]

Did you know that the fireworks spectacular by the Statue of Liberty was produced by Disney?

[x05e]

@Kartoonkid95 No I didn't know this fact...many thanks!!!

[BettinaBalser]

I love this so much. I like to pause the film and examine the people there. I wonder who they are. I wonder about what they are doing today, or if they are still alive. Thank you so much for posting it.

[x05e]

@BettinaBalser Bettina thanks so much for your comments. The lady with the hat at :50 is the Cuban-born actress Liia Lazo , I do not know who her friend is. At 1:48, the man with the red/blue shirt is my dad...he passed in 1998. In the same frame the lady to the left is my mom, and she's 79.

[592010]

Wow, this was back in the day! Brings back memories. The TV antenna wasn't even up yet on the north tower of the WTC.

[x05e]

@592010 This is true!

[le238man]

Thanks for this! I remember it well. I keep replaying this to see if I can recognize anyone.

[blastfromthefuture59]

I was there. There wasn't a Portapotty that wasn't overflowing.

[x05e]

@bijeto Many thanks for the comments. I remember this day as well...I knew we were celebrating something special. I'll probably try at some point to get this footage transferred a bit better. It was shot at 9fps, so it had to be slowed down a bit in post, which makes shows much double-framing. I also remember Fraunces tavern..it had been bombed two years earlier.

[bijeto]

I've watched this film so many times. I love it. It's the closest thing to time travel there is. Though I was little I still remember that sweltering day in an urban gothic neighborhood in St. Louis. Blazing sun and a smoky sky from all the fireworks. Now, thanks to your video, I feel like I spent that day in Battery Park. Great shots of Fraunces Tavern (George Washington ate there!) and the Harbor. I also love that you shot footage on the street; such a contrast to the high rise.