Category: Harlemscape
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Harlem Protest and Jet Magazine – 1963
In 1963 Jet Magazine ran with a story on a 2 month protest of wigs. This Harlem protest was organized by the Committee for Racial Pride. As Seen In Harlem On 3rd Avenue at 121st Street, a residential building rises.
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Marion Anderson
In 1947, Marian Anderson and the conductor, composer, and pianist Leonard Bernstein (1918– 1990) performed for nearly 20,000 spectators at the City University of New York’s Lewisohn Stadium. The photographer Ruth Orkin, who had demonstrated an interest in capturing musicians at work, took multiple photographs of Anderson and Bernstein as they prepared for the concert.…
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Mount Morris Park 1848
A fascinating map of Mount Morris Park from 1848 is up for sale for $3,400: https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/61038/mount-morris-park-central-harlem-map-of-property-belong-nicholson This map shows land owned by Samson Adolphus Benson, which extends north of Harlem creek, and south of Kingsbridge Road (all of the detailed blocks on the map are part of this Benson portfolio. In addition to showing the…
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Cast in India
Manhole covers for New York are often labeled as Made In India, creating discordance for anyone looking down and reading. Few who read the words realize that these manhole covers are hand made artifacts, produced in brutal conditions in small factories in India. The film Cast in India is a fascinating exploration of the process…
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126th Street and Lenox Ave
Looking eastward, from Lenox Avenue along West 126th Street. And the same view, from 1904, showing a special riveted rectangular water pipe, over the roof of the subway. And Further West… The Riverside Drive Viaduct at 125th Street (photographer Berenice Abbott) ~1937
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This is Harlem
From 1975, a TV report by Geraldo on Harlem. A place where most everyone has heard of but where most outsiders have never been. Every urban problem that plagues this country is represented here and you can find it all within a few blocks of this rooftop. Broken families, rampant street crime, the worst housing…
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Not 129, But…
A great photo of Harlem from 1946. Note how few trees there are on the streetscape: The text on the back claims it’s on 129th Street, but the distinctive porches on the right (south) side are unequivocally Astor Row (West 130th Street). It’s interesting to compare the tree cover 75 years later: However, the text…
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3rd Avenue Market?
When looking in an early 20th century street car, bus, and subway index to New York City streets, this popped up: indicating that there was a market at Third Avenue and 129th Streets – where the large sports fields are and where the traffic from the 3rd Avenue Bridge gets routed to East 129th Street…
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Zoe Anderson Norris
Recently a New York historian – Eve Kahn – reached out to residents on East 126th Street regarding a former resident from the block – the reformer/publisher/writer Zoe Anderson Norris (1860-1914). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Anderson_Norris https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/forgotten-gilded-age-author-zoe-anderson-norris-be-celebrated Zoe Anderson Norris lived at 57 East 126th Street around the turn of the 20th century. In addition, as an author, Zoe…
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Lost Church
The Henry J. Carter Specialty Hospital, just east of Marcus Garvey Park (between 122nd and 121st Streets and Madison and Park Avenues) replaced a Harlem church (outlined in green below) The photo (below) shows the rock rubble in Marcus Garvey park before the depression era work to revitalize the park, with the church in the…
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Under The Tracks
(from Uptown Grand Central’s newsletter) “The overhead lights in the back of a public plaza in East Harlem, mounted on a rusty viaduct that supports the Metro-North Railroad, were not working. And Carey King was panicking. Ms. King, who runs the plaza as the director of Uptown Grand Central, a nonprofit group formed by local…
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Omo Sade Skincare
Local businesswoman Sade Tyler started to sell her products on a table in front of the old Tower Records building in East Village, Manhattan. Also, back when corporate brands did not offer products for women of color, she was the first to set up a beauty kiosk in Allby Square mall in downtown Brooklyn. This…
