First Watergate Barge Concert
Item
Title
First Watergate Barge Concert
Description
At sunset on July 14, 1935, Dr. Hans Kindler conducted the National Symphony Orchestra in the first performance at the Watergate steps near the Lincoln Memorial. The orchestra played from a specially contracted barge anchored in the Potomac near the steps. Tickets ranged from 25 cents to a dollar, although people listened for free from nearby boats and the Arlington Bridge. The first concert included pieces by Wagner and Johann Strauss and the Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. President Franklin Roosevelt dropped in to listen shortly before intermission. Watergate concerts continued until the 1960s.
Source
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. View original.
Date
07/14/1935
19350714
Coverage
1920-1949
Type
Concert
topic
arts & culture
ghost mall
work & play