Please enjoy these random views of Harlem while I take a few days off.
See you in a few days,
Marcia
Random Views of Harlem, 2
Tag: postaday2011
Random Harlem Views
Please enjoy these random views of Harlem while I take a few days off.
Thanks!
See you on the other side,
Marcia
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Soulful Sundays – Damian Marley
The youngest son of the reggae icon, Bob Marley, Damian Marley seemed to explode on to the music scene with
his double Grammy Award Winning CD, Welcome to Jamrock, which was recorded in 2005. But these weren’t his only Grammy Wards. Marley, who’d been singing since he was thirteen, also won in 2002 for his second CD, Halfway Tree.
Damian Marley was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1978. His mother, Cindy Brakespeare, is a jazz singer and a former Miss Jamaica.
I was pleased to hear Marley showcasing the unmistakable ‘old school’ reggae vocabulary on several tracks on this CD. One of my favorites and the featured song for today’s Soulful Sundays is There For You. Most of reggae is protest music, and songs about poverty and social injustice. It’s always a pleasant surprise when an artist slips in one that isn’t. There For You reminds me of the turn his father took with a little love song, which interestingly, was penned for Damian’s mother.
Take a listen to There For You.
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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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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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Weekly Photo Challenge, Mountains
The highest mountain range in Southern Africa, the Drakensberg Mountains reaches 11,424 feet. This part of the mountain is the Sani Pass, a 5 1/2 mile unlit dirt road that connects KwaZulu Natal to the Kingdom of Lesotho.
- Sani Pass, from Lesotho
The view of the Sani Pass from 9,400 feet, in Lesotho.
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Soulful Sundays – Kem
Last week, I mentioned a friend who had pointed out a certain phrase in one of India.Arie’s songs. A few
days later, I got a text that he was going to be visiting New York City. I mention this friend because he also introduced me to Kem. We have the same taste in music and when we get together the conversation usually veers towards books, movies, wine and food.
I hadn’t thought of Kem until my blog buddy, Tosh Fomby, featured him in a post last week. I’ve been listening to him again and again.
The first time I heard Kem, I though he sounded very much like Al Jarreau. My friend and I have been longtime Jarreau fans. I couldn’t believe when he said it wasn’t. The more I listened, though, the more I realized that it wasn’t Jarreau. Different phrasing, different sound all together but just as enjoyable. Kem can sing for me any day of the week.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Kem was raised in Detroit where he still lives. He’s a self-taught musician who began playing the piano at age 5. Unfortunately, Kem got into drugs and hit rock bottom several years after high school, but thankfully pulled himself together.
In 2002, he produced his first CD, Kem Kemistry, which sold 10,000 copies and got Universal Motown interested. His latest CD is Intimacy.
Take a listen to Kem’s Why Would You Stay. [youtube]X-H8xf-gtME[/youtube].
Bonus track, Love Calls [youtube]9Pl_Y5A-ieI[/youtube]
Good news: if you’re in the New York/New Jersey area, Kem will be performing at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark on August 12th.
Enjoy!
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Jamaica at 49. What’s to Celebrate?
When I lived in Jamaica, we’d go to the beach regularly. My older male cousins were all good swimmers
and on one occasion, I asked one of them to teach me to swim. He led me out to where my feet no longer touched the sand. Then he let go of my hand and yelled as he turned towards shore, that I should swim.
I think of that incident now as I reflect on Jamaica’s 49 years, and take a personal assessment of how it has handled its own navigation as an independent nation.
In August, 1962, Jamaicans were giddy with the prospect of self-government after 300 years of British
rule. (There was a semi-independence period from the mid- to late 1930s under universal adult suffrage. Political parties were formed and the first election took place in 1944. Full independence came later, in 1962.)
Continue reading “Jamaica at 49. What’s to Celebrate?”
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Historic Harlem – The Hotel Theresa
Imagine if you will, how Harlem must have looked in the early 1900s. Except for a few buildings like the Koch & Company store between Sixth and Seventh Avenues (the building still stands), churches and banks, much of 125th Street west of Fifth Avenue was populated by row houses and tenement buildings with stores at street level.
On the southwest corner of 125th Street and Seventh Avenue was the Winthrop Hotel, a six story building that took up Seventh Avenue between 124th and 125th Streets. Beyond that, several large tracks of land lay undeveloped.
The Winthrop was one of a few prominent buildings in Harlem but in 1912, the owner, Gustavus Sidenberg, demolished it and commissioned a new building, the Hotel Theresa, named in honor of his late wife.
Designed by the architectural firm of George & Edward Blum, the Hotel Theresa was Harlem’s ‘first great hotel.’ It stands 13 stories and was the tallest building in Harlem at the time. The Theresa had 300 rooms and was planned as an apartment hotel for long-term guests. Suites had one to three rooms and ensuite baths. One hundred of the rooms were reserved for short-term guests.
The entrance to the hotel, on Seventh Avenue, led to a thirty by thirty-five foot lobby area with a marble staircase leading to the main lobby on the second floor, a waiting room, ladies’ parlor and smoking room. Several stores, including a barbershop, a tailor and a delicatessen occupied the ground floor.
Located on the top floor of the hotel, the dining room offered diners magnificent views of Harlem, the New Jersey Palisades and Long Island Sound. Residents and guests could have their meals delivered to their suites or take them in the dining room, which seated 272.
Continue reading “Historic Harlem – The Hotel Theresa”
