Category: History

  • Local Sauce Company Bought for 2.3 Billion

    Local Sauce Company Bought for 2.3 Billion

    Campbell Soup will buy Rao’s and (Parent Company Sovos Brands) jarred sauce empire for $2.33 Billion.Over the past 100 years, Rao’s has gone from a Harlem neighborhood staple to its sauces being sold at grocers across the U.S. Rao’s line Italian sauces, soups, and frozen meals are now available at grocers across the country. The…

  • Le Tropezienne Bakery

    Le Tropezienne Bakery

    1st Avenue at 110th Street Le Tropezienne has back to school cookies. Note the Teacher Fuel edition, and the 1st Day Of Classes edition: it’s an amazing bakery and our go-to for amazing croissants and pastries. https://twobakeriesandarestaurant.com/#la-tropezienne AC Coming A great B/W image of the Victoria Theater on West 125th Street. In addition to a…

  • A 1980’s View of East Harlem

    A 1980’s View of East Harlem

    See a great 1986 snapshot of East Harlem: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/a-look-back-our-block-east-harlem/ New Parent Support Group

  • Harlem Woman

    Harlem Woman

    A wonderful item on Ebay – a photo of a woman from a Harlem photography studio: It’s on sale on Ebay, HERE. Note the faded name of the studio “The Harlem”: and it’s tough to make out, but the company is listed as S. W. Cor. 124th St. and Third Ave.: Today, that intersection looks…

  • Art Nouveau in Harlem

    Art Nouveau in Harlem

    Art Nouveau never really had much purchase in the United States, and there are virtually no examples of it in Harlem. This pendant, with the date 1891, on a (now) storage warehouse on 126th Street, is about as close as you get. Thanks to the contemporary owners who had the medallion painted so sympathetically. Tonight!…

  • Mount Morris Park From The Air

    Mount Morris Park From The Air

    An amazing aerial photo of Mount Morris Park. 1937. A View of the “Curfew Bell and Tower”

  • Blues Singer

    Blues Singer

    This photo from 1958 of “Sticks McGhee” ( a Blues Guitarist) was only described as being taken in Harlem NYC: What struck me was that the foreground figure had space. Space between the building where the photographer was, and the subject. Most Harlem streets have stoop stairs ending right at the property line, with no…

  • 118/Park

    118/Park

    Before (1980’s): And now: Um… We all know that Greenpoint is south-east of Harlem, not north…

  • 50

    50

    Hip Hop turns 50, today. August 11, 1973 is the birthdate of hip-hop. It was the date DJ Kool Herc – Clive Campbell – deejayed a “Back to School Jam” in the recreation room of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, introducing a culture that was coming together in Black and Latino neighborhoods throughout New…

  • Eve Arnold

    Eve Arnold

    Eve Arnold, a celebrated fashion photographer, is perhaps best known for her portraits of a nude Marilyn Monroe. Arnold should also be celebrated for the strikingly contemporary portfolio of work she produced in 1950 – the Harlem series. The photos of Black fashion shows caused a sensation. They led to an invitation for Arnold to…

  • A Great Day

    A Great Day

    The 1958 Esquire Magazine photo that started it all: And with the rise of Hip Hop, XXL Magazine (in 1998) did this riff with Gordon Parks as the photographer: Unfortunately, an ill-timed shadow marred the photo. However, fewer people know that Gordon Parks’ also paid homage to the Art Kane 1958 original in 1995. Parks…

  • Colonial Park 1930’s

    Colonial Park 1930’s

    A view of Colonial Park, now Jackie Robinson Park, from the 155th Street Viaduct. The photo was clearly taken on a wet day, though no one in the photo has an open umbrella. Note the ubiquitous window awnings to help with the summer sun/heat (pre-air conditioning). Below is a detail of the park where the…