Roebling documentary to be screened in Saxonburg
The German filmmakers who created a documentary on the Brooklyn Bridge and its inextricable connection to Saxonburg founder John Roebling were so impressed with Saxonburg’s dedication to its Roebling legacy that they will allow the film to be screened there in advance of its European release this summer.
Fred Caesar, volunteer curator of the Saxonburg Museum, was shocked and elated to receive an email recently from the producers of “Brooklyn Bridge: An Engineering Masterpiece” that offered a viewing of the documentary’s English version in Saxonburg before its official release.
The production company, Florianfilm, filmed in Saxonburg in October 2021.
The producers want the completed documentary to be shown in Saxonburg on Wednesday, May 24, which is the 140th anniversary of the grand opening of the bridge in New York City.
Roebling founded Saxonburg in 1831 with his brother, Carl, and later perfected the wire rope used on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City and many other suspension bridges.
“We are honored, shocked and surprised that they are allowing us to show the movie in Saxonburg in advance of its official release in Germany,” Caesar said.
After he received the email, Caesar immediately called Michelle Lesniak, director of the South Butler Community Library in Saxonburg.
The two conspired to arrange two viewings for 125 people.
The 90-minute documentary will be shown at the library on West Main Street at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, and again at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 25.
Caesar said the producers asked him not to charge people who want to see the film, but to accept donations for the costly project now underway to repair the crumbling foundation at Roebling’s wire rope shop in Roebling Park.
Caesar told the borough council on multiple occasions that the wire rope shop, where Roebling toiled to create a sturdy rope to support bridges, could be lost if the repairs are not made.
The council gave its approval in March to move ahead with the wire rope shop project, which is projected to cost $234,000 to $254,500 to complete.
He said the film crew spent almost two days filming in Saxonburg, including in the Saxonburg Museum and wire rope shop.
“We just sat and talked and they recorded it,” said a nearly giddy Caesar, who has dedicated the recent years of his life to preserving and promoting the Roebling legacy in Saxonburg.
He said the crew shot footage in Pittsburgh; at the Roebling Bridge between Covington, Ky., and Cincinnati; at the Roebling Museum in New Jersey; and in Muelhausen, Germany, which was Roebling’s hometown.
Caesar said the film cannot be shown again after the two screenings.
“If people don’t come to these (showings), they will have to wait until the documentary appears on some streaming service,” he said.
To secure a seat for one of the two screenings, scan the QR code available at the Friends of the Saxonburg Museum Facebook page or the library’s Facebook page or website, or call the library at 724-352-4810.
Lesniak said she is always thrilled to collaborate with Caesar on any project that promotes the unique history of Saxonburg.
“I think the producers understand from their meetings with Fred and being on location that this town holds in high regard its association with Roebling,” she said. “They saw that we are truly proud of that history.”
Roebling, a surveyor and engineer, developed wire rope in Saxonburg and manufactured it on the east side of town for a time.
But getting materials and shipping his product from a port on the Allegheny River in Freeport became inefficient as the wire rope’s popularity in bridge-building grew.
Roebling eventually moved to Trenton, N.J., in 1848, and never returned to the borough he and Carl had founded.
Wire rope was produced at Roebling’s factory in Trenton, including that which suspends the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.
Roebling did not live to see the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge, as his foot was crushed during its construction and he developed a fatal infection.
