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Take a design journey through Harlem
Harlem
During the 1920s and ‘30s, Harlem experienced an influx of African American residents from whom sprang a rush of creativity in music, visual arts, and literature that immeasurably impacted American culture. Made famous for its lively jazz clubs, its numerous African American writers and thought leaders, and a fashion savvy population, the neighborhood has maintained its reputation as a cultural epicenter throughout the years; thousands of tourists continue to prioritize it on their list of places to visit. A unique style and design culture is embedded in Harlem’s DNA and a visit to this neighborhood steeped in creative history is sure to inspire.
Once inaccessible to Black musicians and patrons, 125th Street’s 1500-seat Apollo Theater became a major player in the evolution of American music from 1934, as greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, and even Lauryn Hill, got their start on stage at the legendary Amateur Night at The Apollo.
The Apollo’s neo-classical facade and interiors designed by prolific New York City architect George Keister, opened in 1913 as a primarily burlesque venue and has seen many alterations in its over-one-century existence. Current and on-going restorations are being overseen by Beyer, Blinder, Belle. The national landmark’s terra cotta façade with its five pilasters, original cornice, and celebrated marquee signs, have all been meticulously restored. Inside the three-tiered auditorium, signature red finishes on seats, carpet, and curtains have been upgraded and gilded reliefs surrounding the stage, box-seats, and doorways have all been reconditioned to their former glory. Amateur Night at The Apollo remains one of the city’s most popular long-standing entertainment experiences and is broadcast on several television stations across the world.
The Apollo Theatre
Stop 01 of 09
Established by husband-and-wife team Guy and Sharene Wood, Harlem Haberdashery has been the location in central Harlem for finding emerging designers and bespoke clothing designed by the brand since its inception in 2012. Born from 5001 Flavors—the family-owned brand creating custom-clothing for hip-hop royalty and athletes since 1992—the shop occupies the nearly 2,000-square-foot former home of civil rights leader Malcolm X.
On the shop’s deep cerulean blue walls hang gold-framed black and white pictures of Harlem luminaries and African American heroes. Clothing can be found neatly arranged atop antique furniture and hanging in vintage wicker armoires and trunks that sit next to stand-alone racks, creating a shopping experience that is more akin to stepping into your cool-kid best-friend’s home and pulling items straight from their closet, rather than walking into a cold, slick store.
Harlem Haberdashery
Stop 02 of 09
The city-run La Marqueta was originally named the Park Avenue Retail Market back in 1934 after then Mayor La Guardia formalized the myriad pushcarts and vendors selling their wares under the elevated tracks of the Metro North railway from 111th to 119th streets in East Harlem. As the area evolved into a majority Latinx demographic, the name of the 80,000-square-feet of indoor space evolved along with it.
Taking up 4,600 square feet of space inside the high-ceilinged, terrazzo-covered main hall is Hot Bread Kitchen, home of the market’s incubator program which designates commercial support for immigrant women launching culturally rooted food businesses. Space is also rented to food-based entrepreneurs in need of a commercial-grade kitchen. New York City’s largest purveyor of plants and garden supplies, Urban Garden Center, occupies 20,000 square feet of space from 116th Street to 119th Street. La Placita, the market’s community space, was just relaunched in 2021, outfitted with a stage, bleachers, an exhibition area, and upgraded public facilities.
La Marqueta
Stop 03 of 09
The Africa Center
Stop 06 of 09
Since 2014, Marc Williamson has been operating FlameKeepers Hat Club, an elegantly laid out men’s hat shoppe filled with a variety of swank styles, on the corner of 121st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. Marc’s aim isn’t just to sell hats, but "to pass the torch of 'Good Taste' from one generation to the next".
While the exterior—a grey-and-white awning emblazoned with the store’s name and logo—boldly beckons to pedestrians, it is the hats that do the talking once inside. Dark and light wood flooring greet patrons upon entry, with shelves of hats on a blueish-grey wall to the immediate right. Further to the back, minimalist copper shelving stands in front of a grey slate brick wall allowing a clear view of rows of brimmed-hats, while a deep plum wall serves as a backdrop to shelves filled with fedoras on the opposite end.
FlameKeepers Hat Club
Harlem School of The Arts (HSA)
Stop 05 of 09
Located within the Mount Morris Park Historic District, right on the southern end of Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park, is Heath Gallery, a contemporary art gallery and community space that’s been around since 2002. The husband-and-wife founders—artists Thomas Edwin Heath and Saundra Alexis Heath—started the gallery to showcase Thomas’s work after not being able to find a home within established galleries for Thomas’s art. Housed on the parlor floor of a Queen Anne style townhouse, the gallery now provides exhibition space for unrepresented and underrepresented artists, with an emphasis on those based in Harlem.
Heath Gallery
Stop 09 of 09
Based in Harlem for almost 20 years, GLUCK+ is an architecture firm that is best known for embracing an Architect Led Design Build (ALDB) practice, where the same team takes a project from design through to construction. The studio is housed inside the Sweets Building (where a New York pharmacist invented Dentyne gum), part of a former industrial warehouse complex of breweries from the turn of the last century now being developed into the Manhattanville Factory District.
The motto at GLUCK+ is “design matters and building matters”. In 2014, Fast Company listed GLUCK+ as a “World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Architecture”, recognizing the firm’s innovative, integrative working approach that characterizes the broad range of commissions at all scales; from single houses to residential campus retreats, commercial mixed-use developments, as well as institutional and educational projects across the United States.
GLUCK+
Stop 07 of 09
At 88 East 111th Street sits Contento, one of the city’s newest restaurant gems. Apart from warm, contemporary décor with black nailhead trim chairs, an exposed brick wall, and the much-raved-about Peruvian-with-an international-sensibility menu—the New York Times, Esquire, The Infatuation, and others, listed it on their “best of” restaurants for 2021—you’ll love Contento because it is one of the few truly inclusive restaurants in the city. Due to spinal cord injuries, two of Contento’s co-founders are paraplegic, and so have created a space where people with disabilities can feel at home. In the 36-seater dining room, higher tabletops and a split-level bar counter form a wide aisle, all of which are designed to comfortably accommodate wheelchairs. Consideration for wheelchair-bound patrons is also reflected in spacious touchless bathrooms with sinks and toilets positioned lower for easier access. Adaptive stainless-steel utensils are available upon request for those with a neurological condition and menus are available both in braille, and with a QR code that can read the menu to a patron with affected sight.
Contento Restaurant
Stop 08 of 09
Stop 04 of 09
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Dorothy Maynor, the internationally renowned soprano and first African American to sing at an American presidential inauguration, opened the Harlem School of The Arts in 1964 to provide world-class arts programming to the children of Harlem. School alums include Lenny Kravitz, Zazie Beetz, Caleb McLaughlin, and thousands of other successful arts professionals.
In 2020, HSA completed The Renaissance Project, a transformation of Ulrich Franzen’s 37,000-square-foot, 1970’s brutalist building, into a contemporary, more inviting state-of-the-art facility. Lead designer Imrey Studio and architect of record ekdnyc, replaced the brick façade of the building’s double-height, multi-purpose, St. Nicholas Avenue-facing lobby with a glass-wall, opening interaction between the school and its neighbors. Other amended spaces include a 120-seat black box theater, three dance studios, music studios, and a garden courtyard.
Comfortably nestled between the northeast corner of Central Park and Duke Ellington Circle, perched atop Fifth Avenue’s Museum Mile, is The Africa Center, an institution whose mission is to advance the world’s understanding of Africa and its Diaspora through activities like exhibitions, conferences, performances, screenings, lectures, and diplomatic meetings.
Occupying the first three levels of One Museum Mile—a 2018 Robert A.M. Stern mixed-use building— The Center’s interiors and terrace designed by Caples Jefferson Architects, echoes its mission with designated areas for research and public engagement. A multi-purpose atrium with white interiors that reflects the natural light flowing in from multi-windowed park-facing walls, forms at the lobby of the 70,000-square-foot facility. A theater, gallery spaces, dining room, and The Center’s policy institute, occupy the second and third levels. A large, uncovered, west-facing terrace provides spectacular views of Central Park and New York City. The Africa Center is one of the city’s largest publicly accessible, no-cost cultural spaces.
photo by J Boogie Love Photography
The Self-Guided Journey platform was developed and curated by Valerie Hoffman and Maya Bayram. Written content for the Clinton Hill & Fort Greene, NoMad & Flatiron, and Harlem maps is by Michelle Duncan. As the Crow Walks' Patra Jongjitirat created the map illustrations; David Timoteo was involved with the design. James Eades, Steven Wisley, and Stephanie Couture captured and edited the video content.
Thank you to the SVA Department of Design Research, Writing & Criticism for supporting this project.
Please give the experience a few seconds to load. Thank you for your patience!
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The Self-Guided Journey platform was developed and curated by Valerie Hoffman and Maya Bayram. Written content for the Clinton Hill & Fort Greene, NoMad & Flatiron, and Harlem maps is by Michelle Duncan. As the Crow Walks' Patra Jongjitirat created the map illustrations; David Timoteo was involved with the design. James Eades, Steven Wisley, and Stephanie Couture captured and edited the video content.
Thank you to the SVA Department of Design Research, Writing & Criticism for supporting this project.