A Dream Deeply Rooted: Remembering King on the Banks of the Harlem River
By H. H. | The elegant bronze statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. is smooth to the touch with alterations in color due to oxidation. Engraved below the statue is an excerpt from the world famous “I Have a Dream Speech” that solidified his place in history. The statue of Dr. King was created in the […]
Edgar Allan Poe’s Home in the Bronx
By Abigael Hazell | The Bronx, a residential section of New York City, has a few historical gems for history and literature enthusiasts sprinkled throughout the borough. Fans of literary author Edgar Allan Poe will be thrilled to know his home is open to visitors, easily accessible by bus or train. Since I am a […]
Taking Wing in Spanish Harlem: The Dos Alas Mural
By S. F. | Getting off the 6 train that runs on the Lexington line, I see construction signs all around and many bodegas. I am in Spanish Harlem, home to many Hispanics. As I walk to the street mural called “Dos Alas,” I pass through a neighborhood filled with a diverse crowd of people. […]
‘Creepy’ Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
By K. R. | Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, which opened in 1849, is home to American writer Washington Irving’s final resting place, and the town in which it lies is the setting for one of his best known tales, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” When I visited the cemetery in early May of this year, I noticed […]
Frederick Douglass’ Legacy Lives On in West Harlem
By K. T. | There are several renowned monuments throughout the United States that honor Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became one of the country’s most unforgettable African-American leaders. Recently, I had the privilege to visit the memorial located on West 110th Street and 8th Avenue (Central Park West and Frederick Douglass Boulevard) in […]
A Mississippi Man With New York Aspirations: Richard Wright in Greenwich Village
By C. A. | Standing between a luxury building and short narrow townhouses, 82 Washington Place seems almost out of place amid these structures and with the NYU freshmen dorms rounding out the other corner. But that’s the beauty of New York City. Streets filled with all types of buildings and housing their own history […]
150 Years On: Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry
By Kiki Melvelle | The trip on the East River Ferry was like no other trip that I had taken before with my children. I mean, we had been to Disney World, the place of every child’s dream, but even Disney World had not produced the excited reaction that I got when we boarded the […]
The 135th Street YMCA: A Gathering-Place for African-American Luminaries
By Theresa Carter Grant | A towering beacon of red and brown brick with its recognizable red and white neon sign, the 135th Street YMCA has long been a monument in the Harlem community for African-Americans, many of whom came to New York from the South to escape Jim Crow laws, overwhelming oppression, and racial division. This […]
Slavery in New York: Hunts Point Burial Ground and Jupiter Hammon
By A. C. | The Hunts Point Slave Burial Grounds in the Hunts Point section in the Bronx is located on the tip of Hunts Point Avenue and Longfellow Avenue. The surrounding neighborhood is mostly auto body repair shops, chop shops, and other industrial businesses. One side of the park, along Longfellow Avenue, is busy with […]
The Tombs of Melville and Bartleby
By A. C. | Inside the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx lies American novelist Herman Melville. He is remembered for his great literary works such as Moby Dick and Bartleby. His tomb is located on Plot Catalpa, Section 23, and his tombstone is engraved with the traditional name, birth, and date of decease as well […]
Faith, Freedom and Riverside Church
By K. J. | Riverside Church is an immense building located at 490 Riverside Drive New York, NY. The congregation began in 1841 as a Baptist church. It wraps around four blocks with separate entrances, one on Riverside Drive and another on Claremont Avenue. The church features a sanctuary and main worship space that features […]
Stonewall: A Fight that Lasted a Lifetime
By A. O. | The Stonewall Inn, also known as Stonewall, is a gay bar located at 53 Christopher Street in New York City. It is one of the most important sites leading to the gay liberation movement and is still used today to support gay and lesbian rights (Stonewall Inn). In 1969, the original […]
The Walls: A Poem
By Jwendlen Nivens | Junior steps into his overalls, / and using a large cellulose sponge / dabs and chisels to clean the pillars. / While the radio plays Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” / He sings along off key and in spanglish / Junior, dust, dirt, and grease become one. […]
Harriet Tubman: Our Northern Star
By N. F. | “Aye lemme hold a Tubman!”—That might be a common future phrase. 103 years after her death, Harriet Tubman will be placed on the $20 bill. Would she be proud? That’s not for us to decipher, but one thing for sure is African-Americans were quick to create the Harriet Tubman meme. Just […]
A True Cock and Bull Story of Lower Manhattan
By S. G. | The Charging Bull, cast in 1989, currently stands in Bowling Green Park, which is located on Broadway and Morris Street in the historic financial district, in Manhattan, New York City. This massive bronze bull stands in the middle of the street, body leaning to one side in an aggressive stance—a main tourist attraction […]
The ‘S Marvelous and ‘S Wonderful Morgan Library
By A. M. | The Morgan Library, opened to the public in 1924 and the former home of Pierpont Morgan, is located on Madison Avenue and 36th Street in the Murray Hill district in Manhattan. Entering the large, vertically lined, bronze-gated door immediately provides the feel of stepping back into history. The Rotunda, the first […]
Hearing Sonny’s Blues at Showman’s in 2016
By S. M. | On a late night in May, I was finally able to visit Showman’s Jazz Club on West 125th Street in Harlem. If you’re not paying attention, you could almost pass right by the place. Although it does have a long awning above the door, it’s just not very flashy at all. […]
Frank O’Hara’s Plaque
By G. G. | I am not an avid traveler by any means; my expeditions have been limited to adventures in movies, books and poetry. Frank O’Hara’s works are known for their diary-like quality, and through them you can explore New York. When I got on the train with my friend one Saturday our destination […]
The Soul Food of Sylvia’s Restaurant
By A. D. | When I first arrived to Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, New York, there were many things that came to mind: the smell of all the fresh dishes arriving at the table and people singing along to the music assured me that this was going to be a great visit. I also noticed the […]
Welcome to Baxter Street: The Five Points Neighborhood
By U. J. | Baxter Street is located in the Five Points neighborhood, which was densely populated with people, structures and debris in the 1800s. The street is known to have housed African Americans, Irish, Italians, and other poor immigrants. These groups had fled their homes in Europe or the South to look for better lives […]
“The World Was Wide Enough”: Hamilton & Burr
By A. J. | Recently, I visited the dueling grounds in Weehawken, NJ, where Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in July of 1804. I made my visit on a rainy and cloudy Friday afternoon. Aside from three to four other people around the site and in Hamilton Park, located right next to it, the area was deserted. The bleakness […]
Jackie and Pee Wee: An Embrace Against Racism
By F. R. | Brooklyn, New York is home to one of New York City’s most iconic locations, Coney Island. On Coney Island, you find attractions such as the Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk, the New York Aquarium, Luna Park, the Cyclone rollercoaster and the original Nathan’s Famous. If you walk down Surf Avenue, past […]
Ode to Orchard Beach
By Maritza Lopez | Orchard Beach, also known as the Bronx or Puerto Rican Riviera, is a man-made beach situated along the Long Island Sound in Pelham Bay Park. It spans 115 acres and is over a mile long with a promenade that allows beachgoers to walk up and down the beach without having to […]
The Cover Girl in the Bay
By J. N. | Skin made of bronze while standing 305 feet tall. This goddess watches over me day and night. Weathering any storm, she battles the elements. A symbol of liberty and freedom, she stands not just me but for all the world to see. Her beauty admired by most. She is the fairest of them […]
The Hall of Fame for Great Americans: Emerson, Irving and Washington
By E. V. | A New York City landmark designed by the architectural firm of Stanford White, the Hall of Fame for Great Americans is located on the leafy campus of Bronx Community College high above the Harlem River. The architectural style of the landmark, created in 1900, is Classical Revival. Right behind it stands […]
DeWitt Clinton: Then and Now
By Ronal Cedano | At first glance, DeWitt Clinton High School on Mosholu Parkway and Paul Avenue looks like a college campus because of its large baseball field, football field, and main building. On Paul Avenue you can find other schools that lead up to Clinton like Lehman College and the Bronx High School of Science. […]
The Timeless Invisible Man
By D. P. | The Manhattan borough of New York City is home to many hidden gems. On 150th Street and Riverside Drive in Harlem, the “Invisible Man” sculpture is one monument worth visiting. Weighing 5,000 pounds and standing 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide, this rectangular bronze structure celebrates Ralph Waldo Ellison, the […]
The Summer White House: Teddy Roosevelt on Long Island
By G. M. | Among the dying words of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, were: “I wonder if you will ever know how I love Sagamore Hill.” Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s long-time home, nicknamed the “summer white house,” is located in Oyster Bay, a mere 45-minute drive from the Bronx. Roosevelt described his home as […]
Christopher Columbus Finally Reaches China(town)
By A. V. | There is a park located on 67 Mulberry Street in Manhattan, New York, close to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was designed by Calvert Vaux in the 1880s and was opened in 1897. Known alternately as Mulberry Bend Park, Five Points Park and Paradise Park, it was renamed in 1911after Christopher Columbus, […]
From Rat to Umpire: A Central Park Journey
By C. C. | It is often bypassed and ignored—after all it is just a rock. Most of the people who actually stop to see and admire it are tourists. More than half of them accidentally come across it while visiting Central Park. Umpire Rock is known to be a schist rock and is located […]
Displaying Christopher Columbus’ Monument in Central Park’s Literary Walk: What Are We Really Celebrating?
By Brandie Failey | Among the many monuments that line Central Park’s Literary Walk, there is a statue of the explorer Christopher Columbus. Huge and eye-catching, it inevitably makes you want to take a closer look at it. Columbus is standing with his arms outstretched while in one hand he holds what appears to be a […]
“Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places”: H.P. Lovecraft in Brooklyn
By Zayna Marjieh | Isn’t it unsettling…that we can walk by a seemingly ordinary place and be completely oblivious to its extraordinary history? 169 Clinton Street in Brooklyn, New York is a completely unremarkable building. It blends into the Brooklyn cityscape like a grain of sand […]
The White Horse Tavern: A Writer’s Reprieve
By Kejana Ayala | Stepping into the White Horse is like stepping into the past. After being bombarded by antique white horses, from the marble-headed figurines to the engravings on the windows and light fixtures, you are then caressed by the original wood and design that imbues this neighborhood watering hole with a classical literary […]
Ulysses S. Grant: National Hero and Literary Extraordinaire
By E. V. | The Grant Memorial Tomb, situated on the corner of Riverside Drive and W. 122nd Street in Manhattan, is the final resting place of President Ulysses S. Grant, who was in office from 1869-1877. Grant Memorial Tomb is a marble and granite building constructed with a dome at the top. The building has an […]
The Bethlehem of Hip-Hop
By D. P. | By popular consensus, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx, is regarded as the birthplace of hip-hop culture. The visitor to this address will find that 1520 Sedgwick Avenue sits in the middle of a mess of roads and waterways: Robert Moses’ Cross Bronx and the Major […]
West Side Story: The Classic Made Present
By Kejana Ayala | Whether or not we’ve seen it, we all know about Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’ film adaptation of West Side Story (1961). A classic retelling of Romeo and Juliet based on Arthur Laurents’ musical, the film has echoed in our American culture for over fifty years through its tunes and romantic storyline and the […]
