We found a couple of archival photos of Hamilton Heights in the 150's. Apparently, this was an area where many carpenters based their businesses in the 1930's and 1940's. The top photo shows a pitched roof frame house with a huge carpenter sign vertically mounted on the front of the building. The three photos show another house on the same side of the street but a few buildings west. One can still see that R. Sutherland, carpenter and contractor, was living there and setting up shop. Walking by the location today between Convent Avenue and Amsterdam, one will find that the cottage is still there and the street is pretty much intact. The only thing going on is that the next door frame house (in the first photo) to the right of the carpenter house is either was demolished or is an empty lot in the process of being replaced with a new multi-level building. To get to this area, take the A,B,C,D to 145th Street and walk up north a few blocks. Archival photos courtesy NYPL. Current photo by Ulysses.
Does anyone have any knowledge of any Urban Archearologists who goes to the sites of old buildings being Deconstructed in Harlem to look for Artifacts from the early eras? If so is there a space that houses these items.
ReplyDeleteSadly most of these artifacts have value and are often too much trouble to be included in new construction, so these renovated homes are regularly plundered of their detail for resale. A huge inventory of these stripped artifacts can be found at demolition depot.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply Westsider, but has anyone ever sifted the dirt of deconstruction sites looking for artifacts from the old cisterns that many of these homes had before modern conveniences. Like medicine,beer bottles, blue glass and other items that have collectors value to them. A lot of these buildings were built on farmland also.
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