Traveling Through Time: The Harlems and Morningside Heights

     As we get to know the borough of Manhattan a little better, it was time to explore the Harlems and a little bit of Morningside Heights. We first headed to East Harlem, which is the area east of Park Avenue and north of 96th St (BG p.437). In this area, there is a large Puerto Rican and Latino population, therefore this part of Harlem is also known as El Barrio or Spanish Harlem (BG p.437). Our first stop was the Museum of the City of New York, which was facing the  far north side of Central Park. In the museum, we were able to view artifacts and collections of New York history, such as the history of the East River Waterfront. I had learned that it used to be a shoreline of farms, villas, and meadows at first and then during the 19th century, it was then inhabited by docks and piers, which was then followed by factories, slaughterhouses, coal yards, and breweries. We had also learned that there was an "ideas competition" towards Reimagining the Waterfront, called the East River Esplanade. The East River Esplanade is an area that consist of open areas, pedestrian bridges, and shoreline views. The competition is centered on inviting architects and city planners around the world to submit a redesign proposal for this Esplanade. We were also able to watch a short and informative film on the history of New York, called Timescapes: A Multimedia Portrait of New York. I enjoyed the film very much because it used 3 different screens to help explain the history of New York. For example, one screen showed shots of animated maps, while another showed pictures and quotes from famous New Yorkers. The film was also very interesting because we were able to visualize and see the progression of New York and how it has developed and the major paths of transportation. We had also learned how some areas in New York got its name. For example, "Canal Street" had gotten its name because it was simply a canal at first. After the film, a few of my friends and I headed to the exhibit called "Activist New York". In this exhibit, we were able to explore social activism in New York City dating back from the 17th century. One of the many things that caught my eye was the piece they had on John Bowne. This interested me because a few blocks from where I live in Flushing, is the actual Bowne House. I had learned that John Bowne, an English-born Quaker, was banished because he was hosting illegal religious gatherings in his home. Bowne, therefore, protested and won in his favor. It was declared that everyone was allowed to have their own belief as long as they behave quietly and legally. Bowne's activism was important because it helped extend protection for religious minorities. Another piece that also caught my attention was the piece on "New York Is the Battleground: Woman's Suffrage". This piece focused on the national movement for women's rights to vote. On May 21,1910, about 10,000 New Yorkers fought for this right. It was considered the largest woman suffrage demonstration in the country.

    After the museum, we strolled through the East Harlem community, which is sometimes also known as El Barrio or Spanish Harlem due to the large Puerto Rican and Latino population (BG p.437).We had learned that at first German immigrants had migrated in this area, however, after World War I, Puerto Rican immigrants started to populate the area. During the 1990's Mexican and Caribbean immigrants then also started to settle in East Harlem. However, East Harlem, is still considered the largest Puerto Rican population in the country. After getting a little bit of history on East Harlem, we entered a very well known store in the area, called "Justo Botanica". This store was established in 1954 and is owned by Jorge Vargas. This store sells herbal remedies, some would even say witchcraft, to ward off evil spirits. For instance, some examples are bracelets, oils, statues, incense, and actual herbs. He told us of his experience while working in this store and that he believes that people come to this store looking for some type of healing in their life. He also said that there has probably been more confessions in this store than in a church. Unfortunately, he told us that the store will be closed by November and that they will relocate. This is due to non other than gentrification and increasing cost of renting the space. I have never been to a store like this. It was very cool and interesting to see the different kinds of healing people turn to. 

    

      After staring in awe at all the cool herbs and medicine in Vargas' store, we continued our stroll through the community to view its fascinating collection of public art. Some of the few collections of public art that we viewed was a mural of Pedro Pietri by a Harlem born artist, James De La Vega. While viewing this famous mural we also listened to a poem that was written by Pietri himself, called "Puerto Rican Obituary", which speaks about Puerto Ricans who travel to New York in search of a better life, however find hardships along the way. Across from the mural of Pietri was another work of art called "The Spirit of East Harlem" It was restored by a very well-known artist, and whose art can be seen throughout East Harlem, Manny Vega. This piece represents the street scenes in the 1970's where there was a close-knit community and scenes of crowded people enjoyed themselves despite any problems. While mural hopping, we then found ourselves in the Modesto Flores Community Garden on 104th St and Lexington Avenue, where we viewed "Soldaderas", by Yasmin Hernandez. This mural illustrates the connected hearts of Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo and Puerto Rican poet, Julia de Burgos. This mural celebrates the legacy of two Hispanic women who both used art as a weapon (as seen in the bullets around their chest) to share their love for their culture, people, and country. I loved this mural very much because it was very empowering towards women. We had also learned that community gardens such as this one, were built because there were no public parks. These community gardens therefore bring up the debate on public vs. private space. We were told that during Saturdays these community gardens were very lively and that many people gathered here. It was a quaint little spot to sit down and have a few minutes away from the urban life. As we were walking to look at more public art, we came across an unfinished mural. Suddenly a man came across us and started to continue his work on the piece. It was Manny Vega himself! He was working on a mural called, "Trickster". He was able to talk to us a little bit and speak about his art. What I remember the most was him saying that his art is whatever one wants it to be. It was very cool getting to meet the famous Manny Vega and seeing him working in his natural habitat. After meeting Vega, we then passed by another mural of Julia de Burgos as well as an elementary school playground that celebrated urban art with walls of graffiti. As we walked the streets of East Harlem, we noticed new condominium buildings being built. Just like many of the places we visited in the city, Harlem is also starting to be gentrified.   

     After mural hopping, our class decided to have lunch around 104th St and Lexington Avenue. A few of my classmates and I decided to eat at "El Caribeno Restaurant", where we had delicious inexpensive Caribbean food. I had beef stew, beans, and yellow rice. After lunch, we then headed to the northern end of Central Park (105th St to be exact) which we had learned from a previous class was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and was opened in 1873. As we entered the beautiful Vanderbilt Gate, we were welcomed by the breathtaking Conservatory Garden.

  

     After taking in the views of the Conservatory Garden, we then headed to central or what some may call mainstream Harlem on 125th St. Here, we were given a guided walking tour of the historic sites in the community. We had learned that Harlem was at first a fertile farmland that was taken over by the Dutch in 1658 . However, as the Harlem Railroad was built, more people were able to travel and settle in Harlem, such as German and Irish immigrants and African Americans. The Harlem Railroad reaches out from City Hall to the Harlem River (BG p.437). Although this railroad made it possible for development, it also acted as a barrier between the east and the west (BG p.437). We had also learned about what basically made Harlem what it is today, the Harlem Renaissance, which was the brief period from 1924 until the stock market crash of 1929 (BG p.439). The Harlem Renaissance was the rebirth of urban development such as in black literature, art, music, and political thinking (BG p.438). It is through the Harlem Renaissance where people such as Langston Hughes and Billie Holiday are known today.  During our walking tour, Jim, our tour guide, spoke about the boycott in the Blumstein Store. Jim had also told us about  Hotel Theresa and the Apollo Theater and how those places were the center of jazz music and where famous musicians such as Duke Ellington had first started out. The Apollo Theater is still being used today and is now run as a non-for-profit foundation (BG p.440). Jim even told us that in the Apollo Theater, it was tradition to rub the tree stump for good luck before any performer performed. During our tour, we had also passed by a few churches. Jim had told us that churches in Harlem have basically become political institutions. We had also learned about the famous Adam Clayton Powell Jr, who had protested against the department store. Other places that we had also passed by were Rice Highschool, Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church, and St. Martin's, which we found out had the largest carolone. Jim had also spoke to us about a man name Philip Peyton who was a real estate entrepreneur, helped populate Harlem. We had also learned about another man by the name of Marcus Garvey who created Black Star Line in order to ship African Americans back to Africa. We also visited the Marcus Garvey Park which was made because its steep, rocky terrain was not suitable for buildings (BG p.439). During our tour, we were also able to pass by a few brownstone houses. We had learned many things about the brownstones, such as the reason why there were so many stairs was done in order to wipe off any dirt of the shoes of any person entering the house. We had also learned that in the past, one family of 8-12 children would live there and the servants would live on the top floor. We had also passed by the Graham Court which had a classical design. We had also learned that its terracotta corness is now gone. We also walked by St. Nicholas St., which is the oldest street in New York City. We also saw Minton's Playhouse, which is where modern jazz began. We then ended the Central Harlem tour at the very inspirational and larger-than life Harriet Tubman sculpture. The sculpture had 70 faces on her skirt in order to symbolize the 70 people she rescued from slavery in the South. 

     After walking the streets of Harlem, we quickly walked up a long winding fight of stairs through Morningside Park on 120 St., where we arrived at Morningside Heights and had a quick glance. We had also learned that Morningside Park was also designed by Central Park's designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. I enjoyed exploring Harlem. Harlem is very vibrant and filled with a lot of history and culture. One thing that I definitely learned today is that Harlem has a lot to offer. 

          k".