Wednesday, April 15, 2015

REMEMBER: AN AERIAL VIEW OF HARLEM CIRCA 1915


Who can guess the vantage point of this Harlem photo taken back in 1915?  Many of the same buildings still stand today but the large colosseum at the lower part of the image was demolished in the 1970s.

ANSWER:  This is a rare aerial vista of Sugar Hill in Hamilton Heights with a view looking north starting at the former Lewisohn Stadium which was a grand space for public gathering and concerts.  Sugar Hill is pretty much intact because of landmark laws in many areas but the impressive structure that locals used go to and see performances from the likes of Ella or Frank Sinatra was not part of that destination.

Archival photo courtesy the Museum of the City of New York

4 comments:

  1. It must be taken form an airplane, right? That's City College in the center, with St Nicholas Ave on the right, Amsterdam in the middle, and Broadway on the left. Too bad about the Colosseum! Great shot.

    Blake, The Earl of Edgecombe

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  2. City College and Sugar Hill. With St. Nicholas Avenue on the right, Convent in the center.

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  3. I think you can see the Polo Grounds top right. I wish we still had a major league team in the neighborhood, and I'm not counting the Yankees.

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  4. We lived right across the street from Lewisohn on West 136th before the apartments were razed and go up to the rooftop to hear Louis Armstrong in the magical summer concerts! What a shame they tore down Lewisohn Stadium. I'm sure in today's heightened awareness, this would not have happened.

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