We were checking out some of the carved townhouse elements in the Hamilton Heights Historic District and noticed one very decorative Star of David just around the corner from Convent Avenue. This might be a Christian reference or another possibility could be that one of the builders had been Jewish during this time period when brownstones started to appear all over the former countryside of Harlem. Regardless of the reason, this star with a spring floral motif was a lovely discovery and is rarely found outside of church or temple architecture uptown.
does anyone know if this is "bas relief" or "alto relief" I never can tell the difference. Its lovely nonethelss
ReplyDeleteI often wondered about this one (as I have walked past it more than a few times). There is (what is currently) a church with a Star of David on Amsterdam only a couple of blocks away. When you include Miskin's and Fein pharmacies also within a few blocks radius- I would imagine there were likely a number of Jewish families living in this vicinity. Having seen a few of the HDFC coop's along Convent Ave are fairly old, and you can see the outlines of painted over mezuzah's or hints that they were once present in the frame of the door based on outlines in the paint.
ReplyDeleteThere was a yeshiva on 139th Street and Riverside Drive, where the current Riverview Towers are. This school was an incredible building with surrounding walls; if I remember correctly this type of Star of David was at that location before it was torn down to make way for the new towers around 1965.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous remarks are very interesting because it reminds me as a child, on sunny days you would see the several of the old Jewish men sunning themselves with their white sleeves rolled up - I would often see the numbers that were tattooed on their forearms. All this would be seen on the green islands on Broadway in the area along park benches that use to be in the area (early 1960's).
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