DWELL: HARLEM FIREHOUSE PATROL NUMBER 5

Harlem Bespoke: Those who dream about living in a former Gilded Age firehouse in Manhattan might just be in luck these days.  Number 307 West 121st Street is located just west of prime Frederick Douglass Boulevard and was a firehouse from 1892 to 2006 but now is on the market for $6.5 $5.7 million.  So what's with the high asking?

NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE STATUE AT NEW BUILDING

Harlem Bespoke: The iconic statue at the front of the National Black Theatre just north of 125th Street at Fifth Avenue was removed right before the building was fully demolished last year and that left some questions on the public work of art's fate.  Everything on the block was gone by end of 2021 and now a recent rendering on the plywood reveals that the statue will be restored to the same location within a brand new theater space.

DWELL: 213 WEST 139TH STREET TOWNHOUSE

Harlem Bespoke: The notable townhouse at Number 213 West 139th Street by Adam Clayton Powell going for $1.7 million within the Strivers Row Landmark District might be one of the lower priced homes on sale in the neighborhood but there is a catch.

QUESTION: MORE DEVELOPMENT AT 655 ST. NICHOLAS?

Harlem Bespoke:  We have been taking photos of the development plans by Harlem School of the Arts for a decade now and remember when a huge 111 unit residential building was proposed next door at a massive lot that used to have an old garage building on it.  The lot was even staged as a set for West Side Story recently in a scene that depicts the Puerto Rican neighborhood being taken over by rampant development.  So what did eventually happen here?

VOTE: FILMS AT UNITED PALACE 2022

Online voting ends January 3rd, 2022,  Vote for Favorite Films to screen at United Palace, 4150 Broadway by 175th Street.  Movies at the United Palace hit pause in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but now will return with a full schedule in 2022 with the help of participating uptowners.

HARLEM BESPOKE ON CINEMA BESPOKE INSTAGRAM

Harlem Bespoke:  The Harlem Bespoke companion Instagram account is also now live and has exclusive color videos as extra content to the daily blog.   Nothing reposted from other accounts and totally all. original content! Cinema Bespoke will be the visual social media presence for Harlem Bespoke for moving images of uptown or greater New York City so make sure to follow for the latest news:  LINK

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RESTORATION: ALL SAINTS CHURCH OF HARLEM

Harlem Bespoke: Another landmark church that was in peril this year was All Saints at the corner of 129th Street and Madison but the St. Patricks of Harlem will now be restored in a miraculous adaptive reuse plan that will infinitely be beneficial to the neighborhood.  It turns out that one of the wealthiest rappers in history of music who grew up in Harlem has brought it all back to his hometown and will be helping out generations of kids.  

ARCHITECTURE: VERTICAL SIGNAGE AT UNITED PALACE

Harlem Bespoke:  The historic United Palace theatre in Washington Heights recently restored the marquee over the entranceway but now the vertical signage at the corner of the building might be next.  The cultural site on Broadway by 175th Street is an official New York City landmark so anything that comes about will have to be accurate to the original architecture when constructed over 90 years ago.  The other scenario here might be that this is a demolition of the existing signage but we suspect that a total replacement will be the final outcome for the legendary entertainment venue.  Check out the previous condition of vertical signage and also the interior of the United Palace in our past post: LINK

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REMEMBER: THE BERNHEIMER & SCHWARTZ BREWERY

Harlem Bespoke: We are reposting one of the original Bespoke articles from a decade ago with updated photos since the Mink Building has become one of the Harlem developments to look out for in 2021.  Note that the archival image is an exclusive to the blog and should not be reproduced without permission. The mention of the brewery is also outdated since that development did not eventually happen.

DWELL: 144 WEST 120TH STREET BROWNSTONE

Harlem Bespoke: A townhouse within one of the most intact landmark blocks to be found uptown has just arrived on the market.  The brownstone located in the Mount Morris Historic District at 144 West 120th Street recently went up for with a sharp asking price set at $2.7 million.  As previously mentioned, this 18-foot-wide home is in one of the most desirable historic districts in Harlem and there appears to be a lot of original details within.  This location is also ideal since Whole Foods and the express subway station are only 4 blocks away at 125th Street.  One additional point to note is that the house has been divided into a 3-family layout but is classified as an SRO with a Certificate of Non Harassment in place.  More photos and contact information can be found on the broker site: LINK

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ARCHITECTURE: 2086 FIFTH AVENUE REVEALED

Harlem Bespoke: Wow, what a difference a year makes!  The empty lot at 2086 Fifth Avenue by 128th Street just had plywood up around it last July with DOB permits and a rendering posted  but now the new townhouse has been fully revealed.  Those arches, high ceiling, Juliette balconies, cast iron detailing and the cornice at top really add to the brownstone history of the neighborhood. The brickwork is even an nice color selection which looks a little vintage and not just bright flat red in hue.  Check out our past post from last year to see what everything looked like back then when the original posted design looked a little lackluster in comparison to updated facade reveal: LINK

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INTRODUCING: LUNCH SERVICE AT GINJAN CAFE

Harlem Bespoke: Ginjan Cafe on East 125th by Park Avenue has been slowly reopening since last summer and has now introduced a new lunch service.  We have not been able to make it over yet but will definitely have a review up in the near future.  Those who have been reading the blog for some time might recall that this is the only anchor business currently in the restored Corn Exchange Building and is worth the trip to check out the official New York City landmark.  More about the local coffeeshop startup can be found in our past post: LINK

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TOUR: THE HISTORIC FIRE WATCHTOWER

Saturday,  May 15th 12:00PM–3:00PM, Mount Morris Fire Watchtower tour, at the top of Marcus Garvey Park. A prominent feature of Marcus Garvey Park and its neighborhood, the historic Mount Morris Fire Watchtower serves as an important landmark for the Harlem community. Visitors will get a chance to go inside with the Urban Park Rangers who will discuss the significance and history of this recently restored structure.  More on this FREE event can be found on the Parks site: LINK

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WHAT HAPPENED TO 357 WEST 115TH STREET?

Harlem Bespoke:  We noticed that a building at 357 West 115th Street by Morningside Park was abandoned recently and wondered what had happened at the Central Harlem address.  Windows were all blown out and scorched marks on the facade indicated that some sort of fire had happened at one point in time.  An article published in January reveals that the city-owned building had a massive fire emergency back in January that started in an empty apartment on the first floor.  The building was slated for renovations and so was partially empty.  Thankfully everyone else living at the prewar address made it out safely and no major injuries were reported.   More details can be found in the Daily News: LINK

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WHAT TO DO WITH LANDMARK HARLEM CHURCHES?

Harlem Bespoke:  Historic Harlem churches that have official landmark status are thankfully protected from demolition which becomes a bit of a creative puzzle when the sites are sold.  There are currently 3 notable houses of worship in the neighborhood that have been purchased or are up for sale which have this dilemma since end used will definitely be different. 

CONSTRUCTION: THE SUGAR HILL HORSE STABLES

UPDATE:  The building is not being demolished.  Two additional towers are being added on top an the entire site will be residendtial.  So the current situation is just gutting the interior of the site to make way for new apartment renovations.

We are Harlem's longest running blog so have done quite a few stories on historic buildings in the past decade and wanted to check out on some of the previously reviewed sites.  Walking by the historic horse stable building at 455-457 West 150th this weekend, a dumpster was discovered out front with lots of construction material in front of the building. 

PETITION: LANDMARK UPTOWN'S ABOLITIONIST HOUSE

Harlem Bespoke: There is now a petition up to urge the city to landmark uptown's only abolitionist house at 857 Riverside Drive by 159th Street.  As reported earlier in the week, demolition permits have already been filed and activist, the community board along with local politicians are trying to urge the city's Landmark Preservation Commission to reconsider protecting the antebellum house.  There is a great potential here for restoration and the address can become a reminder of the efforts of the underground railroad to free enslaved black Americans in the 19th Century.  The petition is easy to fill out and only takes seconds to make a difference: SaveRiverside.org

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DWELL: LANDMARK HARLEM CHURCH FOR SALE

Harlem Bespoke: One of grand local African-American churches went up for sale at 147-149 West 123rd Street for $6.25 $5.95 million in October 2019 but there is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.  The Greater Metropolitan Baptist Church which is a 9,418-square-foot neo-Gothic church in the Mount Morris Park neighborhood is actually protected as an official New York City Landmark since 1994.  This means any new developer that comes in can not demolish the site but would have to make some sort of adaptive reuse effort either as a combined residential development or maybe even some sort of event space.  Everything out front would have to eventually be restored accordingly and maybe the stained glass will come back one day.

On another historic note, this bluish-gray Vermont marble house of worship located just east of 7th Avenue was constructed in 1897-98 by a German-American congregation and was originally the Saint Paul’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Greater Metropolitan Baptist has been housed at the landmark building since 1985 and most likely faces the challenges of dwindling congregations that has been a common story uptown in the past decade or so.  A final note to point about the listing is that a cash only deal will be accepted.  More details can be found on the broker site: LINK

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REOPENING: THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

Harlem Bespoke: The Museum of the City of New York at 104th Street and Fifth Avenue had some sort of plumbing emergency in January and has been closed for several week.  An announcement has now been made this week that everything has been repaired and the museum will officially open doors again on Friday, February 26th.  All visits will be limited capacity and reservations should be made in advance on the Museum site: LINK

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ARCHITECTURE: HARLEM'S CHANGING SKYLINE

Harlem Bespoke:  We always loved the view of St. Joseph at 125th Street and Morningside Avenue since the low rise nature of this corner still had open skies above but that has now changed in the past few month.  The hotel under construction on the 126th Street side has since gone up several floors and blocks out the scenery in the background.  Luckily the church itself has been officially made into a landmark back in 2016 but the vista will now forever be altered.  This of course is nothing new and an older photo of this corner from the 1800s reveals a small village church amongst just a background of trees in the hills: LINK

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