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Founded in 1861 the first BAM facility at 176-194 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights was conceived as the home of the Philharmonic Society of Brooklyn. It housed a large theater seating 2,200, a smaller concert hall, dressing and chorus rooms, and a vast "baronial" kitchen. After the building burned to the ground on November 30 , 1903 , plans were made to relocate to a new facility in the then fashionable neighborhood of Fort Greene. The cornerstone was laid at 30 Lafayette Avenue in 1906 and a series of opening events were held in the fall of 1908 culminating with a grand gala evening featuring Geraldine Farrar and Enrico Caruso in a Metropolitan Opera production of Charles Gounod 's Faust . The Met would continue to present seasons in Brooklyn through 1921 . The new building is near the Flatbush Avenue Station of the Long Island Rail Road and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank building, the tallest building in Brooklyn. After World War II , Brooklyn faced a decline like many other urban centers experiencing the Doughnut Phenomenon . BAM's audience and support base declined. In 1967 Harvey Lichtenstein was appointed executive director and during the 32 years that Lichtenstein was BAM's leader, BAM. experienced a renaissance. BAM is now recognized internationally as a progressive cultural center well known for The Next Wave Festival (started in 1983). Artists who have presented their works there include Philip Glass , Peter Brook , Laurie Anderson , Lee Breuer , Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan , Steve Reich , Robert Wilson , Ingmar Bergman , The Whirling Dervishes and the Kirov Opera directed and conducted by Valery Gergiev among others. In 1997 the BAM Rose Cinemas opened allowing Brooklynites the chance to see more art-type films without having to go to Manhattan . Today, BAM is under the leadership of President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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