☞ REMEMBER: Provident Loan Society at 127th

We had a post up on the multiple Provident Loan Society Buildings that use to be all over the city and the above photo shows the most preserved one in Harlem at 127th by FDB/8th Avenue.  In the archival image taken circa 1940,  Provident Loan Society had already closed down and the information on the research material states that it was at that point the Robert H. Holmes Youth Center.  After a little bit of research on the namesake of the establishment, we found out that Mr. Holmes was the first NYPD African American officer to die in the line of duty chasing a suspect back in 1913.  The center must have been named to honor the officer of the 38th precinct but today a church resides in the building (lower photo).  There's another one of these buildings that is in pretty good condition down on Houston Street along with a remarkably painted Harlem counterpart on the east side.  See our past post to check out what the other not-so-accurately-restored Loan Society looks like over at East 124th Street: LINK.  Archival image courtesy NYPL