DWELL: 329 WEST 112TH STREET TOWNHOUSE

Harlem Bespoke:  One of the most impressive corner townhouses in all of Manhattan is now up on the market for $5.875 $5.49 million and should be an easy sell.

SEE: GODFATHER OF HARLEM FILMING IN HARLEM 2021

Harlem Bespoke: Season 2 for Godfather in Harlem starring Forest Whitaker as gangster Bumpy Johnson in the 1960s on Epix started up today and we noticed the set on Lenox by 120th Street.  Sign had been up all week around the Mount Morris Park neighborhood but none of the storefronts had been altered since the historic district still looks pretty historic.  About a year ago, there was some filming on Sugar Hill and one bodega did go through an amazing transformation.  Follow our Cinema Bespoke Instagram account for more updates on all things Harlem: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2021

READ: A CONDO ABOVE DAPPER DAN X GUCCI

Harlem Bespoke:  The New York Post has an article up mentioning that a two-bedroom condo unit above the Dapper Dan Gucci atelier is now up on the market for $1.598 million at 241 Lenox Avenue.  There actually some restored original details within such as the ornate window mouldings but everything feels immaculately renovated.  Ceilings are also an unheard of 14-foot-high and the location at the corner of 122nd Street is in the coveted Mount Morris Park Historic District with some of the best landmark architecture in the city.  Dapper Dan officially partnered with Gucci back at the end of 2017 and the luxury fashion house collaborations has since created one of the most unique design spaces for custom clothing in New York City.  More commercial fare such as Wholefoods can be found just a couple of blocks away and the express station is also located at the corner of 125th Street.  More details and photos can be found on the broker site: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2019

SEE: AROUND HARLEM THIS WEEKEND

Keep it all uptown and help out Harlem's great local businesses over the weekend.  Below is the Bespoke list of what is new and notable in the neighborhood to try out this  holiday weekend.  

Sugar Hill Market at La  Maison d'Art this Sunday on West 132nd: LINK

Souther French cuisine at RDV on FDB by West 112th Street: LINK

Japanese style crepes at Crepe Master on Fifth Avenue by 125th: LINK

Weekend brunch service at Belle on ACP 7th Avenue by 139th Street: LINK

LGBT history at the new Gay Gotham exhibit at MCNY at 103rd Street: LINK

New local brew and pizza at Hop House on FDB and 120th Street: LINK

Checking out the new Harlem Shake location on East 111th Street: LINK

Discovering the East Harlem Bottling Co. on Lexington by 107th Street: LINK

Seafood and craft cocktails at the new B2 Harlem on West 119th: LINK

Trying out southern whiskey at Uptown Bourbon by 152nd Street: LINK

Drinks at the new Alibi lounge on 7th Avenue by 139th Street:  LINK

Catching up with 80s fashion through the Antonio exhibit at El Museo: LINK

Trying out burgers at Harlem Burger Co. on FDB and 118th Street: LINK

Discovering the Morningside Park Farmers Market on Saturday: LINK

Slurping up authentic ramen at R.O.K.C on Broadway by 141st Street: LINK

Hanging outside at the new Bierstrasse beer garden on 12th Avenue: LINK

Drinks at the Sunday LGBT Pride Night at Hogshead Tavern: LINK

Eating hand-made tacos at the Oso on Amsterdam and 140th Street: LINK

Getting java at ACP Coffee on 7th Avenue by 134th Street:  LINK

Brunch or dinner at Sottocasa Pizzeria on Lenox by 121st Street: LINK

Tasting delicious Japanese curry at the new Curry-Ya Uptown: LINK

Eating great Italian at Fumo on Amsterdam and 139th Street: LINK

Destination worthy brunch at Solomon & Kuff on 12th Avenue: LINK

Burgers for dinner at Island Burgers on Broadway by LaSalle Street: LINK

Sunday Brunch at Mountain Bird on East 110th Street: LINK

Brunch or Dinner at Chaiwali on Lenox and 124th: LINK

Tasting incredible Edomae style sushi at Inoue on Lenox and 129th: LINK

READ: HARLEM COFFEE SHOP EXPANDS TO THE BRONX

Anyone living in upper Manhattan over the past 5 years can tell you that setting up a coffee shop will  pretty much be a success if all is done right.  Now it appears the Bronx has caught on to the trend and the New York Times just wrote about all of the new java joints opening up in the next-door borough which apparently portends gentrification. The owners of Double Dutch and Filtered are mentioned since they started out in Harlem and now a Filtered coffee shop has opened in Mott Haven as of April.  Quite a few Harlem startups have expanded over the years so it is especially nice to see these local small businesses really making it happen as opposed to the bigger corporate businesses. More on the story can be found in the Times: LINK

READ: EAST HARLEM THE NEXT HOT SPOT?

There are not many neighborhoods that are affordable left in Manhattan and a recent article in the Times suggests that East Harlem will be the next hip hood to watch out for.  El Barrio has been written up many times in the past ten years as an alternative for cheaper housing but now might just be the right time for things to happen.  With more new construction happening this year and also better restaurants starting to move into the neighborhood at a quicker pace, things might definitely now start to change.  Everything is pretty much speculative at this point but the feature does point out that coffee shops and a beer garden are some of the anchor tenants that are negotiating for space at the restored Corn Exchange Building on east 125th Street: LINK

SEE: MATERIAL HISTORIES AT THE STUDIO MUSEUM

Sunday, August 17th, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM,  Artist in Residence Tour at the Studio Museum,  144 West 125th Street, just east of ACP/7th Avenue.  Enjoy an interactive and informative tour of Material Histories: Artists in Residence 2013-14, led by a knowledgeable museum educator. Material Histories is the most recent in a series of exhibitions featuring work of Kevin Beasley (b. 1985), Bethany Collins (b. 1984) and Abigail DeVille (b. 1981), three emerging artists who have been awarded eleven-month residencies at the Studio Museum.

This exhibition maintains the Museum's commitment to highlighting new artistic talent and voices, and features artwork created by the 2013–14 artists in residence since they began their residence in October 2013. The free tour will have something for everyone: adults, families and kids of all ages are welcome: LINK

☞ JOIN: HARLEM BESPOKE ON FACEBOOK

Join our growing community of over 6,642 followers on the official Harlem Bespoke Facebook site and receive daily posts to your account by liking our page: LINK

REMEMBER: THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE DEMI-MONDE

The above album cover from 1989 conveys a lighter, nostalgic mood about The Cotton Club but an excerpt from Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington by Terry Teachout via DelanceyPlace.com reveals much more.  A Bespoke reader sent us this article which gives a better idea of  the iconic Cotton Club during the renaissance years at its original Central Harlem location on 142nd and provides a look at the Harlem underworld for the wealthy elite who paid for a questionably good time which included stellar music, illegal booze, sexual dalliances and apparently bad, overpriced food within a crass plantation themed interior.

"In 1927 Harlem was a playground for white people who could afford to pay for liquor and sex -- and who liked having sex with black people, so long as they didn't have to talk to them afterward. Of the uptown nightclubs that catered to white patrons, the Cotton Club, which billed itself as 'the Aristocrat of Harlem' in its newspaper ads, was the best known and most expensive, as well as the one with the dirtiest pedigree."

☞ EAT: Harlem's Hot Restaurants 2014

Eater is the über website on all of the best restaurants in the city and two Harlem eateries made the cut  for 2014.  First of all is the Essential 38 which is the top must visit restaurants in Manhattan which includes Balthazar, The Dutch, Spotted Pig and also uptown's own Red Rooster.  Marcus Samuelsson's pioneer Lenox Avenue establishment is packed to the rafters every night even after having been open for several years and Red Rooster's reputation is now international.  The second restaurant with also a poultry-centric name made the Eater  Manhattan Heatmap which is a more of a realtime analysis of what restaurants are getting the best buzz and reviews.  Mountain Bird on 145th Street is the only Harlem restaurant on the Heatmap for February so this little gem of a restaurant in the northern reaches of Manhattan is living up to our 2013 award for being the best new arrival uptown: LINK

Eater Manhattan Heatmap February 2014:  LINK
Eater Essential 38 Map 2014:  LINK