A Place Called Harlem
Prominent cultural, social, and political establishments during the Harlem Renaissance
The Great Migration led to the formation of a strong Black American community in New York City. Take a closer look at the prominent cultural, social, and political establishments that brought together artists, activists, and scholars in Harlem.
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park on the south.
Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.
Harlem’s history has been defined by a series of economic boom-and-bust cycles, with significant population shifts accompanying each cycle. Harlem was predominantly occupied by Jewish and Italian Americans in the 19th century, but African American residents began to arrive in large numbers during the Great Migration in the 20th century.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Central and West Harlem were the center of the Harlem Renaissance, a major African American cultural movement.
Use this gallery and the map (above) to explore the prominent cultural, social, and political establishments of the Harlem Renaissance.
644 LENOX AVE.
The Cotton Club
The Cotton Club—Harlem’s most famous nightspot—drew headlining singers, dancers, and jazz musicians. Yet it remained virtually unknown to African American audiences of the day.
New York society swells (those with strong social status) packed the seats of the club, whose shows were often broadcast over the radio. Ironically, African American audiences were not allowed inside the Cotton Club. Thus, they missed bravura performances by Black entertainers such as Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Cab Calloway and his Missourians, Earl “Snakehips” Tucker, Ethel Waters, and Adelaide Hall.
This disconnect was hardly unusual in the 1920s. From the time the all-Black revue Shuffle Along won over white audiences in 1921, Black art and music soared in popularity among the white population. Though white audiences were willing to trek to Harlem to hear Black musicians perform, they preferred to attend segregated venues.
Still, music became the battering ram that smashed the barriers of segregation. In 1927, when Duke Ellington and his orchestra began to play the Cotton Club amid an explosive spectacle of feathered “black and tan” dancers, white patrons thronged the club—and opened their wallets to Black musicians.
596 LENOX AVE.
The Savoy Ballroom
Spanning an entire block of New York City, the Savoy Ballroom was one of Harlem’s best-known nightclubs. Nicknamed “The Home of the Happy Feet,” it became the hottest dance spot in town, drawing throngs of Harlem residents and well-known dancers like “Shorty George” Snowden and Earl “Snakehips” Tucker.
Many jazz-dance crazes of the 1920s and 1930s—including the “lindy” or “Lindy Hop,” a jitterbug inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo transatlantic flight in May 1927—originated there. After being “exported” from Harlem, the lindy spawned many local variants as it caught on around the country.
The Savoy often featured two bands, one at either end of the hall. In a sort of musical relay race, one band would kick in just before the other quit playing, guaranteeing a nonstop sound. This arrangement sparked the Savoy’s signature musical innovation, the famous “Battle of the Bands,” which pitted against one another combos led by legends such as Chick Webb (“King of the Savoy”), Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, and Duke Ellington.
In the arid desert of Swing Era segregation, the Savoy was a welcome oasis of integration. The storied ballroom enjoyed international renown until finally closing its doors in 1958.
58 WEST 135TH ST.
The Lincoln Theatre
One of the first theaters in New York to allow African American patrons to pass through its doors, the Lincoln Theatre was an integral part of Harlem’s cultural scene. In 1915, the Lincoln became the original home of the Anita Bush Players. The all-Black theatrical troupe later moved its base to the Lafayette Theatre and became known as the Lafayette Players. The Lincoln went on to thrive in the 1920s and 1930s, showcasing many of Harlem’s hottest jazz and vaudeville performers, including Ethel Waters and Florence Mills. The 1,000-seat venue also featured silent movie screenings with musical accompaniment by pianist Fats Waller.
272 LENOX AVE.
GGG Studio
When James VanDerZee worked as a darkroom technician at the Gertz Department Store in Newark, New Jersey, he would often substitute for his employer when he was not able to do a scheduled photo shoot. VanDerZee’s creative ways of posing subjects delighted Gertz patrons, which motivated the photographer to open his own studio in Harlem.
VanDerZee was almost immediately successful, with patrons drawn in by his inviting window displays. With his popularity growing, he quickly outgrew his first photography studio, Guarantee Photo, so he opened the larger GGG Studio in 1932. Hundreds of Harlemites flocked to the GGG studio and were posed with a variety of props against romantic backdrops.
VanDerZee’s photographs boast such famous subjects as poet Countee Cullen, heiress A’Lelia Walker, activist Marcus Garvey, and dancers Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Florence Mills.
2221 SEVENTH AVE.
Connie’s Inn
The intersection of 131st Street and 7th Avenue was a Harlem hot spot called “The Corner.” This was the site of Connie’s Inn, a popular cabaret that was the chief rival of the famous Cotton Club.
Connie’s opened its doors during Prohibition—the period from 1920 to 1933 when the making and sale of liquor was outlawed in the United States. No surprise, then, that it hosted a shady clientele of gangsters and molls, rumrunners, and bathtub bootleggers.
The club’s owners—German immigrant brothers Connie and George Immerman—originally ran the place as a segregated club. Given the Inn’s location in Harlem, the Immermans ultimately decided to allow African American patrons to visit the Inn late at night, when there were fewer white patrons in the club. Still, a night out at Connie’s was an expensive proposition that remained beyond the means of most Harlem residents.
Despite its well-earned reputation as a speakeasy, Connie’s made some significant contributions to popular culture. Night after night, Harlem’s hottest Black musicians and performers gravitated and performed there, including Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Earl “Snakehips” Tucker, and Ethel Waters.
Connie’s is also famed as the birthplace of Hot Chocolates (originally Hot Feet), an all-Black revue by composer Fats Waller and lyricist Andy Razaf. The hip, hot musical (it later moved to Broadway) featured the dance troupe Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers and the songs “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Black and Blue”—both of which are now jazz standards.
7TH AVE. AT 131ST ST.
The Tree of Hope
Nestled between the Lafayette Theatre and the popular nightclub Connie’s Inn, a tall chestnut tree was rumored to bring good luck to all who touched it. During the Harlem Renaissance, aspiring performers such as Ethel Waters, Fletcher Henderson, and Eubie Blake were rumored to have visited the Tree of Hope.
When the tree was cut down in 1934 during the expansion of 7th Avenue, it was cut into logs and sold as souvenirs. One section was salvaged and found a home at the Apollo Theater, where today’s amateur performers continue to rub the trunk in the tradition of their predecessors.
In 1941, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson joined New York Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia in a formal ceremony to rededicate the stump of the original tree.
2225 SEVENTH AVE.
The Lafayette Theatre
The Lafayette Theatre played two starring roles in the Harlem Renaissance. Not only was it one of the first New York City playhouses to welcome integrated audiences, but its stage was among the first to showcase sophisticated performances by African American actors.
The 2,000-seat theater, dubbed “House Beautiful” by its fans, was home to Harlem’s first professional stock company, the Lafayette Players. This acting troupe had been attached to the Lafayette since 1916. It cast Black actors in serious dramatic roles—many of them written for white actors by white authors.
Standout Harlem thinkers such as W. E. B. Du Bois rebuked the players for failing to promote the work of Black authors. Yet the set-up allowed serious Black actors such as Evelyn Preer, Charles Gilpin, and Paul Robeson to transcend the stereotyped or comedic roles to which they had once been relegated. The Lafayette stage also put the public spotlight on such beloved performers as blues singer Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington and his orchestra, and the legendary tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
In 1923, new management transformed the Lafayette into a lively community nightspot. For the next decade or so, the Friday night late show was a hallowed neighborhood tradition: From midnight until four in the morning, first-rate professionals shared the stage with audience members brave enough to get up and deliver impromptu performances.
As management changed hands in the aftermath of the theater’s glory days, the Lafayette served first as a movie house, which showed films by Black directors like Oscar Micheaux, and finally as a church.
133RD ST. AT LENOX & 7TH AVE.
The Jungle
Individuals interested in experiencing Harlem nightlife in the 1920s and 1930s headed straight for the Jungle, the block of 133rd Street known for its large and diverse selection of bars, clubs, cabarets, and speakeasies.
During the Harlem Renaissance, visitors to the Jungle might encounter singer and musician Gladys Bentley performing at a smoky speakeasy called The Clam House, or pianist Willie “The Lion” Smith accompanying Billie Holiday at the Catagonia Club. At the posh nightspot Barron’s, headliners included stride pianist James P. Johnson and a band called the Washingtonians, led by a young Duke Ellington.
2294 SEVENTH AVE.
Small’s Paradise
Small’s Paradise began as a speakeasy and went on to become one of the most prestigious African American owned Harlem nightclubs. The popular club was known as much for its jazz performers as its rollerskating waiters, who could dance the Charleston while balancing trays. Small’s drew both Black and white audiences and was frequented by such luminaries as scholar Alain Locke and poet Countee Cullen.
Writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten also frequented Small’s until the release of his controversial novel. Offended by the novel’s depiction of their club and Harlem life in general, the owners of Small’s banned Van Vechten from entry.
180 WEST 135TH ST.
Harlem YMCA
Segregationist policies meant that African Americans were banned from most YMCAs in New York City. The 135th Street branch of the YMCA was created as a separate branch to serve Harlem residents, and it became a major cultural center that offered a variety of services and resources to the Black community in Harlem. It was an outreach organization for Black men, a hotel, a theater venue, a lecture hall, and a gathering place for Harlem literati. It also was the home of murals created by the acclaimed artist Aaron Douglas.
As a hotel, the “Y” provided temporary housing for Black visitors who were not allowed in segregated New York hotels. Some of its short-term residents included acclaimed writers Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, Claude McKay, and James Baldwin.
With such lively visitors, it is not surprising that the YMCA became a venue for many writers and artists to exchange ideas and share works. Patrons of the Y were treated to fascinating lectures by intellectuals such as Professor John Dewey of Columbia University, as well as plays performed by groups like W. E. B. Du Bois’ Krigwa players, a theater group that focused on promoting Black writers, performers, directors, and actors.
One of actor Paul Robeson’s performances at the Y, in Simon the Cyrenian, sent members of Provincetown Playhouse running backstage to offer him the lead in Emperor Jones, which became one of his signature roles.
108 WEST 136TH ST.
The Dark Tower
Nightlife in Harlem consisted of an electrifying mix of live jazz and blues, dancing, plays, and literary readings—not to mention eating, drinking, and conversing. A’Lelia Walker’s parties provided all of these things in one place.
Walker was the heiress to the fortune of Madam Walker, her enterprising mother, who became rich from the successful sales of hair care products for African Americans. A’Lelia Walker used part of her inheritance to fuel her interest in Harlem’s cultural life. She renovated her brownstone on 136th Street, filled it with posh furniture, and invited Black and white artists, writers, patrons, scholars, bohemians, and Harlem high society to dance, drink, and converse.
Walker’s Harlem home became a popular nighttime hotspot, drawing guests like Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and James Weldon Johnson, and performances by Alberta Hunter and Adelaide Hall. Guests sat in a room next to a wall adorned with Langston Hughes’s poem, “Weary Blues.” The mansion was named “The Dark Tower” after poet Countee Cullen’s column in the magazine Opportunity. Walker originally asked popular Harlem artists Aaron Douglas and Richard Bruce Nugent to decorate The Dark Tower, but instead hired Manhattan decorator Paul Frankel.
In one controversial party, Walker allegedly served her white guests pig’s feet and chitterlings, while Black guests dined on caviar, champagne, and pheasant in a separate, more lavish room. While many Harlemites looked forward to Walker’s parties, some regarded the “Mahogany Millionairess” with disdain, believing she merely liked to “show off her blackness to whites,” as writer Richard Bruce Nugent once said.
WEST 135TH ST. & LENOX AVE.
New York Public Library
Situated on the corner of W. 135th Street and Lenox Avenue, the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library was more than a repository of books. It was the cultural and intellectual center for the community. Librarian Ernestine Rose held frequent poetry readings and book discussions for literature enthusiasts, with Jessie Fauset (Crisis editor), Ethel Nance (secretary of W. E. B. Du Bois), and poets Countee Cullen and Gwendolyn Bennett among her featured presenters.
The library regularly showcased the work of visual artists, and was selected as the exhibition space for The Harmon Foundation’s first juried show of paintings and sculptures by Black artists. Notable among the library’s permanent collection was the mural Aspects of Negro Life (1934) by Aaron Douglas.
Just outside the library was the famous “Speakers’ Corner,” where anyone could stand and extemporize about issues of the day. It was here that civil rights leader Marcus Garvey delivered his views on race politics.
Today, the library is the home of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which maintains the letters, manuscripts, prints, playbills, and paintings of Arturo Schomburg, a collector and historian who chronicled many facets of Harlem’s cultural life.
140–148 WEST 137TH ST.
Mother A.M.E. Zion Church
Founded in Manhattan in 1796, Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (originally called the John Street Methodist Church) was New York’s first African American church and is one of the country’s oldest Black churches. The church served as part of the Underground Railroad, earning it the nickname of “Freedom Church.”
In 1925, the church moved to Harlem, where its tradition of social activism continued under the leadership of Bishop Stephen Gill Spottswood, the longtime chairman of the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Many individuals associated with the Harlem Renaissance attended mass at Mother Zion, including actor Paul Robeson, whose brother was a pastor, and wealthy businesswoman Madam Walker (mother of Harlem hostess A’Lelia Walker).
One of the most memorable events at Mother Zion was the funeral of Florence Mills in 1928. Friends and fans filled the church to capacity, while thousands of others lined the streets to pay homage to the popular Harlem personality.
150 WEST 138TH ST.
Renaissance Ballroom
Built in 1924, the Renaissance Ballroom & Casino was one of the only upscale reception halls in New York available for events sponsored by African Americans. Thus, it earned the distinction of hosting the first awards ceremony for The Crisis (a publication edited by W. E. B. Du Bois).
The Renaissance Ballroom & Casino entertained patrons with cabaret acts, concerts, and gambling. On the second story, couples danced the Lindy Hop, Black Bottom, and Charleston to the sounds of Chick Webb’s and Fletcher Henderson’s orchestras. The dance floor doubled as home court for the Harlem Renaissance, a Harlem-based basketball team. Dubbed the “Harlem Rens,” it was the first all-Black basketball team to win a World Championship.
The extent to which the Renaissance Ballroom & Casino was woven into the fabric of Harlem nightlife is evidenced by its appearance in literature of the day, such as “College Formal: Renaissance Casino,” a poem by Langston Hughes.
132 WEST 138TH ST.
Abyssinian Baptist Church
The Abyssinian Baptist Church was constructed in lower Manhattan in 1808. Among its founders were a group of wealthy Ethiopian traders who refused to accept the segregation policies of other New York churches of the day. (In fact, the name “Abyssinian” is a reference to ancient Ethiopia.)
In 1908, Rev. Dr. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. became pastor of the church. His charismatic preaching style mesmerized the congregation and drew many new members. In 1922, the congregation moved to Harlem in a newly constructed Neo-Gothic style church.
Rev. Powell was a fervent proponent of civil rights, and an active participant in the National Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He worked tirelessly to improve social conditions for African Americans and established the church as both a religious and social center for the community. Under his Depression-era leadership, the Abyssinian fed thousands of Harlem’s poor residents.
Other notable preachers at the Abyssinian included the father of musician Fats Waller (with the young Waller himself playing piano at the church) and Rev. Adam Powell, Jr. who eventually succeeded his father as pastor.
114 WEST 138TH ST.
Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall housed the headquarters for the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), an organization dedicated to promoting self-reliance among African Americans. The space served as the platform from which UNIA founder Marcus Garvey delivered his powerful—and sometimes inflammatory—views on racial politics.
On August 1, 1920, Liberty Hall played host to “The First International Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World,” in which delegates drafted and adopted the “Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World.” The event, which marked the pinnacle of Garvey’s power, included a month-long series of meetings, massive parades, and a culminating speech at Madison Square Garden attended by tens of thousands.
267 WEST 136TH ST.
267 House
Originally tenement housing, 267 W. 136th Street was renovated by Iolanthe Sydney, owner of an employment agency and the building’s title-holder, to provide rent-free rooms to artists.
Many artists and bohemians of the day lived at “267 House,” including Wallace Thurman and Richard Bruce Nugent. Others would walk in and out of its brightly painted rooms to party and socialize, exchange ideas, create art, or seek temporary lodging. Writers Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes lived at the house in the summer of 1926.
The 267 House became a gathering place for a younger generation of artists and writers who revolted against aesthetics and ideas put forth by the so-called “Talented Tenth.” The Talented Tenth, an older group led by W. E. B. Du Bois, supported the use of art as propaganda and steered clear from any aesthetics, forms, and manners that might jeopardize a “dignified” image of African Americans.
Rejecting Du Bois’ views as elitist, residents and visitors at 267 House wanted to create art for art’s sake. Hurston, who had coined the term “Niggerati” in deliberate contrast to the elitist Harlem literati identity expressed by the Talented Tenth, playfully called 267 House “Niggerati Manor.”
In this creative and rambunctious environment, Thurman, Hurston, Hughes, Nugent, artist Aaron Douglas, and writer Gwendolyn Bennett discussed the need for an avant-garde literary magazine that was not tied to sociopolitical motivations. Fire!!, published in 1926, was the result of these discussions.
257 WEST 138TH ST.
Pace Phonograph Company
The popularity of “race records”—recordings of Black performers issued by white-owned firms—had been growing steadily when singer Ethel Waters walked into Pace Phonograph Company for a recording session in 1920. The tracks she laid down there began to sell rapidly in stores, grabbing the attention of company founder Harry Pace.
In 1921, Pace sent Waters out on tour with Pace recording manager Fletcher Henderson to promote Black Swan—Pace’s new label showcasing the talents of African American singers and musicians. Black composer William Grant Still was hired to be the music director of the new label. In fact, all employees at Black Swan were African American.
The name “Black Swan” had originally been given to Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, an African American concert singer who was popular in the 19th century. Every Black Swan record bore a circular sticker trumpeting the label as “The Only Genuine Colored Record—Others Are Only Passing for Colored.” Apparently “genuine” had its limits: The label rejected some musicians—including Bessie Smith, the “Empress of the Blues”—as “too colored.”
Black Swan had been created with the avowed purpose of advancing the African American race. Its board of directors, which included scholar W. E. B. Du Bois, decreed that no record it issued could subvert this mission—not even from the Empress of the Blues. Despite robust sales of Ethel Waters records, the board grew leery of blues records, and it began to seek out more “elevated” forms of music.
Pace’s star performer, Ethel Waters, had already decided to quit the tour mid-swing due to musical differences with Henderson. Her replacement, singer Trixie Smith, was a talented singer but could not match Waters in popularity. When race records from other labels began competing with those put out by Pace, the company sold the Black Swan catalog to Paramount.
138TH & 139TH ST. AT 7TH & 8TH AVE.
Strivers’ Row
Officially named the St. Nicholas Historic District, the stretch between 7th and 8th Avenues on 138th and 139th Streets became known as Strivers’ Row. The moniker was bestowed on the area to describe its residents—African American doctors, dentists, and bandleaders who were striving for a better life despite the economic and social hardships they faced during this time.
The houses in this district were designed by some of America’s most prominent architects, including the celebrated Stanford White, who designed the neo-Italian Renaissance houses on the north side of W. 139th Street. Although the homes were originally designated for middle class Black families, only the wealthy could afford to live there. Musicians Eubie Blake and Fletcher Henderson both lived in Strivers’ Row.
7TH TO 8TH AVE. AT W 149TH TO 150TH ST.
The Dunbar Apartments
Though middle- and upper-class African Americans had ample housing opportunities in Harlem, poor families found affordable dwelling places tough to obtain there. To remedy the situation, the well-to-do Rockefeller family financed the construction of the Dunbar Apartments.
The five-acre Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments complex (named in honor of the prolific Black poet) stood in the valley below Harlem’s wealthy “Sugar Hill” district. In 1928, 511 moderately priced rental units—as well as a playground, several stores, and a branch of the Dunbar National Bank—welcomed newcomers to the premises.
Rockefeller’s intentions notwithstanding, the Dunbar proved beyond the means of most Harlem residents. Instead, the complex came to house members of the so-called Talented Tenth (an elite group of Black leaders and intellectuals). As the buildings bulged with renowned residents—Countee Cullen, labor organizer Asa Philip Randolph, musician Fletcher Henderson, actor Paul Robeson, scholar W. E. B. Du Bois—a steady stream of distinguished visitors came and went. A weekly bulletin, Dunbar News, kept tabs on Dunbar apartment dwellers and their guests.
EDGECOMB AVE. AT 145TH & 155TH ST.
Sugar Hill
Looming above the rest of Harlem was the wealthy Sugar Hill district. The stately apartments of Sugar Hill were home to many of the most prominent figures in Black society, including Duke Ellington, singer Ethel Waters, and writer Ralph Ellison.
To gauge the prominence of a Sugar Hill address, one need only look at the inhabitants of a single apartment building at 409 Edgecomb Avenue: Walter Francis White (Chief Executive of the NAACP), concert singer Jules Bledsoe, painter and illustrator Aaron Douglas, and scholar W. E. B. Du Bois.
At another residence, the posh 580 St. Nicholas Avenue, Charles S. Johnson’s secretary Ethel Nance offered a couch in her apartment to promising writers and artists visiting New York.
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