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.

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

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

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: JUNETEENTH TOUR OF SENECA VILLAGE

Harlem Bespoke: Discover Seneca Village, the largest community of free African-American property owners in pre–Civil War New York.  Before Central Park was built, the area from West 82nd to West 89th Street was home to Seneca Village, the largest community of African-American property owners in New York.

REMEMBER: GLADYS BENTLEY'S CLAM HOUSE

Harlem Bespoke: We are revisiting some of the great LGBT history post over the years on Bespoke and one of the larger than life icons of the Renaissance years was a cross-dressing lesbian that became an instant celebrity throughout the speakeasy society of New York City.

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.

TOUR: HAPPY HOUR AT THE UNITED PALACE

Friday, June 16th, 7:00PM-8:30PM, Historical Tour and Happy Hour at United Palace, 4150 Broadway by 175th Street. Get up close and personal where you’ll explore this stunning 3,400-seat theatre, its mezzanine, grand foyer, balcony, and exterior.  The history of United Palace, Manhattan’s 4th largest theatre and now a landmarked building, began in 1930, when it was then one of five Loew’s “Wonder Theatres” across the boroughs and New Jersey. Designed by noted architect Thomas Lamb (Cort Theatre, the former Ziegfeld Theatre) with interiors overseen by decorative specialist Harold Rambusch (Waldorf Astoria, Radio City Music Hall), it was one of the region’s premier vaudeville and movie houses. Today, the United Palace is a transformational venue that fuses culture, spirituality and entertainment.   Tickets are $30 online: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

CELEBRATE: JUNETEENTH TOUR OF SENECA VILLAGE

Harlem Bespoke: Discover Seneca Village, the largest community of free African-American property owners in pre–Civil War New York.  Before Central Park was built, the area from West 82nd to West 89th Street was home to Seneca Village, the largest community of African-American property owners in New York.

REMEMBER: THE PINK ANGEL ON ST. NICHOLAS AVENUE

Harlem Bespoke: In celebration of Pride Month, HB will be revisiting some of the great history of uptown's LGBT legacy that goes back to the Renaissance years. This article was previously published back in 2015 and reveals the range of diversity in Harlem seldom covered by the mainstream media.  Since the article was written, St. Nick's Pub was gutted and demolished soon after a fire destroyed most of the townhouse building 4 years ago. 

IMMIGRANT HISTORY FESTIVAL AT DYCKMAN

Harlem Bespoke: Another free event to check out in Spring at Manhattan's oldest historic farmhouse in the heights.  Definitely worth the experience especially if you have not visited the historic address yet.  

REMEMBER: THE LEGENDARY IMPERIAL LODGE OF ELKS

Harlem Bespoke:  In celebration of Pride Month, HB will be revisiting some of the great history of uptown's LGBT legacy that goes back to the Renaissance years.  This article was previously published back in 2015 and reveals the range of diversity in Harlem seldom covered by the mainstream media.

Over the weekend, we caught up with some Harlem cultural history by watching Paris is Burning for about the 30th time and still wondered where the main ballroom in the film was located at within Harlem.  There is so much going on in the amazing Jennny Livingston documentary from 1990 which showcase the underground ballroom scene of Harlem that one can miss out when the narrator mentions the Imperial Lodge of Elks at 160 West 129th Street.  Viewers actually can see the taxidermy of an elk's head up at the lacquered red balconies in many of the scenes.

CELEBRATE: HIGHBRIDGE 175TH ANNIVERSARY

Tuesday, June 6th from 10:00AM-12:00PM,  Tour Inside Highbridge Tower, West 174th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Join NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, Bronx and Manhattan elected officials, civic leaders, and community partners for a 175th Anniversary celebration of the oldest standing bridge in NYC: the High Bridge.

REMEMBER: THE BRADHURST ESTATE ON SUGAR HILL

Harlem Bespoke:  We just took the above photo on Sugar Hill and really soaked in the history of the neighborhood.   This distinct corner at 148th and St. Nicholas Avenue is really unique because of the barrel front townhouses that line the avenue and also for the jazz clubs that used to be in a few of the commercial spaces.  A fire burned down one of the brownstones over a couple of years ago but much still remains intact in this landmark district.

REMEMBER: HARLEM'S OLDEST MONUMENT

Harlem Bespoke:  Harlem's oldest freestanding monument probably would be a small, modest grave dedicated by a father to his beloved five year old son who died an early death in the late 18th century.  The monument of the amiable child lies just north of Grant's Tomb at roughly 123rd Street and Riverside Drive and has been around since 1797.  The area was called Strawberry Hill (later to become the Claremont neighborhood) and a Scottish landowner would build this grave for his child who fell from the rocky edge of the nearby Hudson River.  As the estate was sold, George Pollock made the below request to all of the future landowners.  

ARCHITECTURE: HUDSON VIEW GARDENS

Harlem Bespoke:  We took a walk up in the Heights recently and checked out the small Tudor village called Hudson view gardens located between 183rd and 185th Street.  These picturesque buildings are actually coops built in the medieval style of architecture line a unique backstreet just west of Pinehurst  Avenue that breaks up the standard grid layout of Manhattan.  The  subway station is also just a block away so those looking for a more quiet residential enclave might want to check out this historic development built over 100 years ago as an affordable alternative for the middle class.

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

SERVICE HONORING BILL PERKINS AT FIRST CORINTHIAN

Wednesday, May 24th, Viewing, 3:00PM-8:00PM, Thursday, May 25th, Viewing 9:00AM, Service 11:00AM, Service for Bill Perkins at First Corninthian Baptist Church, 1912 ACP/7th Avenue and 116th Street. Service for the the honorable Councilman and Senator Bill Perkins will take place this week at First Corinthian Baptist Church for all who wish to remember and pay their respects.  More details on the memorial website: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

SEE: RAISE YOUR VOICE EXHIBIT AT MCNY

Raise Your Voice installation at Museum of the City of New York, 104th Street and Fifth Avenue. Raise Your Voice is an immersive installation by Brooklyn-based artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya.The project mixes selections from the public art campaign “We Are More,” which depicted the resiliency of New York’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community, with original artwork of activists and allies Yuri Kochiyama and Malcolm X.

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.

REMEMBER: JOSEPH LOTH RIBBON FACTORY CIRCA 1893

Harlem Bespoke: We colorized an image circa 1893 which shows the Joseph Loth Fair & Square Ribbon Factory as it stood fully constructed at 151st Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Hamilton Heights.