Though my family’s been on York Avenue since 1896, my mother’s roots started in East Harlem. She was born on 118th Street and Second Avenue in 1930. Her family left there for the St. Lucy’s parish on 104th Street between First and Second Avenues in the mid-1930s.
Above is a photo of mom’s family in their 104th Street apartment right before they moved into the East River Houses in 1941. This photo is in the public housing archive at LaGuardia College. The photo was supposed to be the “then” photo in a “now and then” series that the New York City Housing Authority was doing at the time to promote the quality of the new apartments their low income residents were moving into.
My grandfather was born at 239 East 113th Street in 1900, and my grandmother was born on 112th Street and Fifth Avenue in a brownstone in 1905. As a little girl, her job was polishing the banisters on Saturday mornings.
Last week, I wrote about my walk through West Harlem on a frigid morning in January. That Friday, when I left the Mount Morris area, I walked east on 116th Street to Lexington Avenue and made the rest of my way south towards Yorkville through the center of East Harlem. Take a look:
By the end of the walk, I couldn’t feel the tips of my fingers to work my camera. It was worth it. Harlem, East and West, are gorgeous, interesting neighborhoods. See more photos HERE.
And to warm your soul, here is Ben E. King singing “Spanish Harlem.”
http://youtu.be/0dGRKMgobx0
Thomas Pryor has been featured on A Prairie Home Companion and This American Life, and his work has appeared in the New York Times. He curates City Stories: Stoops to Nuts, a storytelling show at the Cornelia Street Café on the second Tuesday of the month (next show March 13th). Check out his blog Yorkville: Stoops to Nuts.
