Going Coastal

Olga Bloom was 57 years old in 1976 when she gave up her career as a violinist and violist to create Bargemusic. For her “floating concert hall,” she chose a 100-foot steel barge that had been built in 1899 and had served much of the last century as a working vessel in the New York harbor, delivering hand-loaded sacks of coffee for the Erie Lackawanna railroad. Bloom renovated the barge herself, together with her brother, his wife and preschool daughter, and a violin student.
Bloom now runs Bargemusic, New York City’s floating concert hall in Brooklyn, at the Fulton Ferry landing near the Brooklyn Bridge. Bargemusic’s mission is to present live music at affordable prices, featuring world-class musicians as well as young talent, in four extraordinary concerts each week. Bargemusic provides the opportunity to experience classical chamber music in a unique setting, with the intimacy originally intended for chamber music, but rarely experienced today.
For her dedication to bringing superlative music to the city, the New York City Hall of Fame inducted Bloom into its first class of honorees. Her photo and a brief bio are on the nychalloffame.org website along with the other inductees.

The purpose of the NYC Hall of Fame is to honor remarkable New Yorkers who have contributed to the betterment of the city and will, in turn, serve as role models for future generations.

Greenpoint Star