Please enjoy these random views of Harlem while I take a few days off.
Thanks!
See you on the other side,
Marcia
Random Harlem Views
Tag: New York City
Weekly Photo Challenge – Entrance
I have so many photos of entrances, especially those to churches, I had a hard time deciding which ones to include.
Entrances can be opulent, functional or rudimentary. Either way, it’s one detail that tells us a great deal. See what you think.
- Entrance, Chatelet Metro, Paris
Enjoy!
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Travel Photo Thursday – New York City
New York City has an unmistakable skyline but it’s difficult to see it when you’re in the city. Some of the most spectacular views are from New Jersey. I took this photograph in Jersey City, which because of its close proximity to Lower Manhattan is fast becoming part of the business and financial area of New York City.
The tall structure on the left (with cranes on top) is the new building going up at Ground Zero.
Enjoy!
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Historic Harlem – 125th Street
From time to time, I hear Harlemites refer to 125th Street as the “real” midtown. Looking at the map though, it’s 110 Street that is the actual halfway point on the 220-street grid that makes up Manhattan. 125th Street, however, has most of the major highway connections. Traveling east leads to the Harlem River Drive on the East River and going west, there’s access to the Henry Hudson Parkway on the Hudson River.
Continue reading “Historic Harlem – 125th Street”
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Harlem Week 2011, July 31 – August 30
Harlem Week was organized 37 years ago by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce as Harlem Day, a 
one-day celebration of the rich economic, political, artistic and cultural history of the community. It was also intended as an effort to counter some of the negative images of Harlem and lift the spirits of its citizens.
Since then, Harlem Week has evolved into a month of street fairs, musical performances and sporting events. This year, more than 100 activities, including film screenings, restaurant specials, parties and an auto show are planned.
Following are some of the activities taking place at this year’s Harlem Week. Follow this link for a complete list. Continue reading “Harlem Week 2011, July 31 – August 30”
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Travel Photo Thursday – The Apollo Theatre
Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, the Apollo Theatre is the landmark music hall that introduced performers such as Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Lauryn Hill, James Brown, Billie Holiday, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross and countless others. It’s also been home to Showtime at the Apollo. Amateur Night introduces new musicians to the public.
The Apollo Theatre is located on125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr and Frederick Douglass Boulevards in Harlem.
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Historic Harlem – 125th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd
Of all the places I’ve lived, Harlem is the only one that makes me constantly aware of history.
On my block, for example, the famous Great Day in Harlem photo of black and white jazz musicians was shot in 1958. From time to time, as I’ve looked out my window to see various groups recreating that iconic photo.
And sometimes when I walk down 125th Street, I try to imagine what it must have been like in the early 1920s when Jamaican born Pan-Africanist, Marcus Garvey, decked out in his military regalia complete with plumed hat, and members of his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), the first black nationalist organization, would parade down the streets. Or when in the 1960s Malcolm X would stand on the corner of 7th Avenue and 125th and preach black self-determination. Continue reading “Historic Harlem – 125th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd”
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The Studio Museum in Harlem
When I get tired of creating images with words, I look to art or design to rest my eyes, free my brain and inspire me. Most times, the place I head to is The Studio Museum in Harlem, an oasis of calm and culture in the midst of street vendors, clothing stores and shops selling human hair and all kinds of ‘beauty’ supplies.
Since it first opened in 1968 in rented loft space on Fifth Avenue and 125th Street, The Studio Museum has been celebrating the work of artists of African descent. In 1979, it moved to its current location on 125th Street between Lenox (6th Avenue) and Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd (7th Avenue). Continue reading “The Studio Museum in Harlem”
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Travel Photo Thursday – New York View
New York has a million faces. It just depends on where you are. Of course, the city looks very different when you’re not at ground level.
I took this from the Time Warner Building. Before the sun set, I could see directly to New Jersey. A few hours later, these clouds came into view and washed the buildings with an inky tint.
Those saucers are the light fixtures from inside the building. They just bounced off the window.
I love New York, New York!
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Manhattan to Spain via the Bronx
I wanted to revisit Barcelona earlier this year. Had reserved a room at a hotel that’s located steps from the Ramblas. I was excited. For years since I left Barcelona, I had not felt the urge to return. My experience has so shaped me and my view about travel, I wanted to preserve the memories.
But quite unexpectedly, I started feeling that I needed to go. What would Barcelona look like since I was a student there 20 plus years ago? Would the images I’ve clutched to my heart look like anything I’d see? Would I recognize the street I used to live on?
All these questions flooded my brain as if the door behind which they had been stored had finally been opened. I was excited to find out.
Then life intervened and I returned to New York nursing my disappointment. It had been a perfect plan.
Things looked up late in May when I noticed an article in the New York Times about an exhibition that was set to open at the New York Botanical Gardens. Titled Spanish Paradise: Gardens of the Alhambra, it seemed an answer to my longing for Barcelona and Spain.
The Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a palace that was built in the 14th century by the Moorish leaders who ruled Southern Spain. Its gardens are beautiful and legendary. Although I had studied the history and architecture of the Alhambra, I had not seen it during my time in Spain. An exhibition was not Barcelona, but I knew it would satisfy my longing. So last weekend, my friend and I, cameras in tow, made a trip to the New York Botanical Gardens.
Located in the Bronx, the New York Botanical Gardens spreads approximately 250 acres. An oasis of tranquility and beauty, it houses plant laboratories, gardens, plant collections, old growth forest containing oak, beeches, cherry, birch, tulip and white ash trees, some more than 200 years old, a cascade waterfall and wetland area. It’s the perfect location for an exhibition of this nature.
The focus of the Spanish Paradise is the replica of a Spanish garden that takes over 15,000 square feet of the Haupt Conservatory. With the aroma of lavender, jasmine, sour orange and lime trees, olive, fig and saffron, you are transported immediately to Southern Spain.
It’s an exhibition that appeals to the senses. Poems about nature by the Spanish poet, Frederico Garcia Lorca, line the Poetry Walk while Flamenco dancers provide entertainment on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Sangria and tapas are available in the cafe.
In the library, rare prints, 19-century photographs of some of the courtyards of the Alhambra, paintings and other artifacts can be viewed. The exhibition also pays tribute to American poet, Washington Irving, who lived at the Alhambra while he was writing his collection of essays and sketches, Tales of the Alhambra, which sparked renewed interest in the palace. The Alhambra is one of Spain’s major tourist attractions.
Spanish Paradise sated my appetite temporarily. Now, I want to see the real thing.
Spanish Paradise: Gardens of the Alhambra will run until August 21, 2011 at the New York Botanical Gardens. 2900 Southern Blvd., New York. 718-817-8777.
Hours: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays
Tickets: All Garden, $20. Grounds only, $5. The grounds are also free all day on Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays.
The Botanical Gardens are accessible by car or public transportation. If you’re in the New York area or planning to visit, add it to your list.
Enjoy!
