Walking by the old Renaissance Ballroom between West 137th Street and West 138th Street this past weekend confirmed what many preservationist feared would happen to the iconic Central Harlem institution. The deteriorating main ballroom at the back of the lobby and restaurant storefronts had been in a state of decay for some time and it seems that permits were signed off in August to demolished the entire back structure. So now the deed is a done deal and the only thing left for one of the first buildings in Harlem to have been built by African-Americans is a condo tower to arrive once the financing happens:
LINK. The lower photo is the neglected state of the ballroom a couple of years back as taken by Nathan Kesinger:
LINK. See more photos of the Renaissance Ballroom as it was in our past post:
LINK. ***Please provide user name or initials for comments to remain on current post. No URL required.
Not knowing much about construction, no idea whether this place could have been saved, but once again it is a sad, sad loss and with it I am sure go a lot of fond memories. What a shame they couldn't at least retain some of the structure whilst converting it into apartments.
ReplyDeleteStill, the blame ought to be placed on those who allowed it to deteriorate to this degree in the first place.
that would be the church who owns it.
ReplyDeletewhy they didnt want to use it as a community facility for the church or event space or hall is beyond me.
is the front being preserved?
The demolition is complete so the intent must be to keep the front facade and attach it to the new structure that will rise behind it.
ReplyDelete