SHOP: PLANT CORNER ON LENOX AVENUE

Harlem Bespoke:  One of the local stores to support for the warmer season is Plant Corner on Lenox by West 119th Street which is just over a year old now.  Stop for some green gifts including pots and more unique accessory items for the plant lovers in your life.

FOOD IN NEW YORK EXHIBITION AT MCNY

Food in New York exhibition at Museum of the City of New York, 104th Street and Fifth Avenue. Food is a powerful social network binding New Yorkers to each other and with countless others across the globe. The city's raucous restaurant scene; its ubiquitous street food; the current activist efforts to source food locally; the world's largest food market in Hunts Point; and the artists, thinkers, and designers who are imagining new sustainable ways to relate to food, will all be part of Food in New York: Bigger Than the Plate.

CLASSICAL THEATRE OF HARLEM IN JULY

Harlem Bespoke: Outdoor theater returns to Harlem with the Classical Theatre of Harlem's production of Malvolio at Marcus Garvey Park in July.   One of the must-see experiences of summer!

DWELL: 205 WEST 139TH STREET TOWNHOUSE

Harlem Bespoke: A historically distinguished brownstone at Number 205 West 139th Street by Adam Clayton Powell within the Strivers Row Landmark District has recently arrived on the market for $2.75 million $2.595 million and is in the much coveted single-family layout.  

SHOP: SATURDAY AT MORNINGSIDE FARMERS MARKET

Harlem Bespoke: The Morningside Park Farmers Market has been around for over 10 years now and is bigger and better these days. This outdoor pop-up on West 110th Street and Manhattan Avenue runs every Saturday from 9:00AM to 2:00PM and a list of visiting merchant and more updates can be found on the official website: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

REMEMBER: HOME OF THE FATHER OF HARLEM

Harlem Bespoke:  Who is known as the Father of Harlem and where did he live?  Below is one our original post mentioning the Home of Phillip A. Payton Jr. which still stands today in Central Harlem.

Number 13 West 131st Street just west of Fifth Avenue has windows that look like a Jack O'Lantern face but is also notable for being the former home of the Father of Harlem.   Phillip A. Payton Jr. founded the Afro-American Realty Company during a time when the financial market crashed in 1904 and would bring the black community uptown to brand new homes that were built in a speculative boom when the subways were constructed.  Desperate developers could not refuse the opportunity and African-Americans who formerly lived in the gritty Tenderloin section of midtown saw an opportunity to live in a brownstone neighborhood which was not accessible previously.  More on the incredible story of the black broker can be found in our past post: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

☞ JOIN: HARLEM BESPOKE ON FACEBOOK

Harlem Bespoke:  Harlem's most followed blog on Facebook!  Join our growing community of over 14,665 followers on the Harlem Bespoke Facebook site and receive daily to your account by liking our page: LINK 

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

GOATS RETURN TO RIVERSIDE PARK 2023

Harlem Bespoke: The goats are back at Riverside Park and West 120th Street on the upper level! Did you know the word Gotham basically means goat town? Harlem was known as a village full of goats before the brownstones arrived by the end of the 1800s and now everything has gone full circle.

DWELL: 465 WEST 144TH STREET TOWNHOUSE

Harlem Bespoke:   After selling for $1.9 million back in 2020 during the start of the pandemic, Number 465 West 144th Street in Hamilton Heights is now back on the market for a cool $2.5 $2.1 million.  So what is different this time around?

BESPOKE KIDS: THE BILLION OYSTER PROJECT

Saturday, July 8th, 12:00PM–2:00PM,  The Billion Oyster Project at The Baylander, West Harlem Piers on the Hudson at 125th Street.  Come see the Billion Oyster Project on the Baylander’s Jungle Deck. Learn about the project's latest effort to restore our harbor!

REMEMBER: GAY BARS OF THE RECENT PAST

There have been a couple of stories on the old Silver Rail Bar just below 125th Street on 8th Avenue in the past but Bespoke readers are the ones who have revealed the forgotten LGBT history at some of Harlem's establishments in 70s, 80s or 90s.  This block would eventually be demolished for the big glassy Harlem USA complex but before that happened, 2321 8th Avenue became Andre's which appears to haves been the spot for the gay community to socialize.

Andre's filled-in where the Silver Rail left off and did very well. Another gay bar on 125th St. was known as Jay's and lets not forget the Big Apple. All three catered to a particular sub-set within the black gay culture of Harlem. The Big Apple catered to older, middle-aged gay black men while Andre's was known for its demimonde and Jays catered to everyone else including hustlers.  

We visited each site this week to see what they look like in 2016.  Anyone with more details on the actual dates they were open should comment accordingly or contact: harlembespoke@gmail.com

CLASSICAL THEATRE OF HARLEM IN JULY

Harlem Bespoke: Outdoor theater returns to Harlem with the Classical Theatre of Harlem's production of Malvolio at Marcus Garvey Park in July.   One of the must-see experiences of summer!

DWELL: 210 WEST 122ND STREET TOWNHOUSE

Harlem Bespoke: Number 210 West 122nd Street was up for sale before the pandemic with the asking set at $3.7 million and now the listing returned to the market for the spring 2023 season for an upgraded $4.9 million.

SEE: DRYLONGSO AT MASLES CINEMA

Harlem Bespoke:  The spring season will have more on the calendar for everyone and local live events are some of the things to watch our for in the coming month.  Keep it all in the neighborhood and help support uptown's small businesses!

GREEN HARLEM: DELIVERY BY URBAN GARDEN CENTER

Harlem Bespoke:  Uptown gardeners looking for blooming trees or larger plants should check out Urban Garden Center on Park Avenue by 116th Street since they will make a deliver.  Harlem has a lot of brownstone green spaces or terraces on newer buildings and this is the time of year to get more dramatic gardening started.  Get more details on the official website: UrbanGardenNyc.com 

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

NEW THIS WEEKEND: UPTOWN TRIENNIAL 2023

Uptown Triennial 2023, on view June 23rd, 2023 through September 17th, 2023 at the Wallach gallery, 615 West 125th Street, west of Broadway, Wednesday-Sunday, 12:00PM-6:00PM.  Uptown Triennial 2023 is a visual arts tribute to the sonic world—in the realms of music, soundscapes, and spoken word—that resonates with the spirit of Harlem. The Triennial was originally conceived in 2017 as a survey of works by artists who live or practice north of 99th Street in Manhattan..

HARLEM BESPOKE SUBSCRIPTION EMAIL UPDATE

Harlem Bespoke:  Google has cancelled the previous email subscription format so we have switched to follow.it for the newsletter.  All current subscribers will be getting an updated feed confirmation link via email this week but if you want to switch right away to follow.it then just type in your email address below and press the subscribe button.  

SHOP: SATURDAY AT MORNINGSIDE FARMERS MARKET

Harlem Bespoke: The Morningside Park Farmers Market has been around for over 10 years now and is bigger and better these days. This outdoor pop-up on West 110th Street and Manhattan Avenue runs every Saturday from 9:00AM to 2:00PM and a list of visiting merchant and more updates can be found on the official website: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

REMEMBER: THE LANGSTON HUGHES HOUSE CIRCA 1940

Harlem Bespoke: We have written a lot about the Langston Hughes House at at 20 East 127th Street over the years but never pulled up an archival photo.  The above historic images from the city files show the matching brownstones on the block between Fifth Avenue and Park a few year before the Harlem poet would reside within on the top floor as his workspace.  

CELEBRATE: HARLEM PRIDE JUNE 2023

Harlem Bespoke:  Mark those calendars for a great day in Harlem featuring food, vendors and a stage with live entertainment. The annual celebration will be set up on 12th Avenue at the north end of the viaduct with great views of the Hudson just steps away.