Harlem On My Mind

October 29th was a beautiful sunny day – perfect for Greeter Leigh Hallingby to share her love of Harlem with about 20 other Greeters.

We met at 135th Street and Sixth Avenue at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In the lobby was an artwork called a cosmogram, celebrating Arturo Schomberg who started the center’s collection of books and artifacts – and writer, Langston Hughes.

On to the Harlem “Y” (YMCA) at 180 West 135th Street, a famous landmarked building completed in 1932. Since the Civil Right Era didn’t begin until 1954, this was the only New York City “Y” out of 23 others, that didn’t discriminate against African Americans. In fact, Jackie Robinson coached a baseball team there!

Next stop was the Harlem Walk of Fame where we saw seventeen bronze plaques on the ground honoring great African Americans, great New Yorkers, and great Harlem-ites, such as singer Ella Fitzgerald, Mayor David Dinkins, and bandleader Tito Puente.

At 229 West 135th Street was a building with two enormous painted murals of jazz legend John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (photo left by Leigh Hallingby). Created in 2017 by artists Brandan Odums from New Orleans and Marthalicia Matarrita from Harlem, the murals exuberantly celebrated the 100th anniversary of Gillespie’s birth.

Exquisite late 19th century row houses between West 138th and 139th Streets became known as  “Strivers’ Row” in the early 20th century when leaders in the Black community, upwardly-mobile professionals, intellectuals and artists lived there.

We couldn’t have been more thrilled to arrive at 125th Street and 8th Avenue where the world-famous Apollo Theater is located. They have their own Walk of Fame plaques honoring great performers such as Smokey Robison, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and a host of other brilliant entertainers.

One of our final stops was at 122nd Street and Eighth Avenue where there is a statue of Harriet Tubman, called “Swing Low.” Created in 2007 by artist Alison Saar, the statue shows Tubman as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a 19th-century network of secret routes, safe houses, and people sympathetic to the cause of abolishing slavery.

How could we possibly pass up the “Best milkshake in New York City”? Lured by that reputation, some of us had lunch at Harlem Shake, which also offered burgers and salads. A sweet end to an exhilarating day.