CultureNOW | A Celebration of Culture & Community

Architectural historian Carol Krinsky talks about Grand Central Terminal and the development of Midtown. Responding to the changing nature of the Terminal's transportation role, the Master Place, completed in 1990, was based upon a blending of historic preservation and modern needs to build on the strengths of the Terminal's original 1913 architecture. 

A number of individual projects in the building were undertaken to show the public how great a restored Grand Central could be, such as the removal of the Kodak sign from the east balcony and the cleaning of a test patch of the sky ceiling. The primary goal of the revitalization project was to create a train station for the twenty-first century. Engineering systems were restored or replaced and the building was air conditioned for the first time in its history. The famous sky ceiling was cleaned and newly illuminated using fiber optic lights. A new stair was created on the east side of the Main Concourse, following the designs of the original architect, Whitney Warren. A new entrance on the east side, at 43rd Street and Lexington Avenue, connects to the Main Concourse through a passageway which resembles a European marketplace. 

Architectural historian Carol Krinsky talks about the Seagram Building. The Seagram Building is recognized as one of the world's great architectural masterpieces. The distinctive landmark building was commissioned in 1958 by the Seagram Company and designed by the legendary Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. With the lobby and interiors designed by the equally renowned Philip Johnson, New York's favorite skyscraper is celebrated as a culmination of sophistication and refinement. The building's elegant simplicity juxtaposed against its constructional rigor embodies Mies van der Rohe's famed dictum "less is more" and personifies modern architecture. The New York Times heralded the Seagram Building as "the millennium's most important building."

Architectural historian Carol Krinsky speaks about the Helmsley Building, the electrification of the railroad, and the creation of Park Avenue. Located to the north of Grand Central Terminal, this building was the center of a series of hotels and office buildings sponsored by the New York Central Railroad.  Once visible for miles away along Park Avenue, this building served as a powerful reminder of the dominance of railroads in the era.

Architectural historian Carol Krinsky speaks about the history of Lever House. Midtown Manhattan's Lever House marked a watershed in American architecture when completed in 1952. Located on the west side of Park Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets, the corporate headquarters—with its façade of blue-green glass and stainless steel mullions—was one of the first glass-walled International Style office buildings in the U.S. Three of the most notable people involved with the project include Gordon Bunshaft, the design Principal at SOM, Natalie de Blois who assisted him as the Project Designer, and Charles Luckman who was President of Lever Brothers and went on to practice architecture in New York and later LA. 

The building was allowed to be a rectangular tower as the zoning requirements permitted it not to be stepped if it occupied less than 25% of its site. This was the first time anyone had done this. The renovation begun in 1998 added the Isamu Noguchi sculpture garden which had been planned but never installed.  

William Pedersen, founding design partner of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, talks about how his competition winning scheme integrated the original buildings with the new design and draws from the existing building. This allowed the Headquarters building to be completed sooner. 

William Pedersen, founding design partner of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, talks about some of the design impacts in the conceptualization of One Jackson Square. The fact that it sits on top of the subway only became viable when the real estate market changed. He also describes the zoning envelope and the desire to allow as much light in to the apartments as possible.

William Pedersen, founding design partner of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, talks about designing what was the tallest building in the world for a few years. The client was Japanese; the site was in China and he shares the real and perceived symbolism in the shape of the skyscraper and its top.  

This section of the tour begins with the life of writer Langston Hughes. A mosaic in the Schomburg celebrates Hughes's poem 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers'.

Marcus Garvey was a Harlem resident and Black nationalist speaker. His organization, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, his ideas of Pan-Africanism, and the travels of his vessel The Yarmouth were important forerunners to future African independence movements.

The tour ends with a discussion of the role of Adam Clayton Powell and his Abyssynian Baptist Church on the economic desegregation of Harlem. 

This section of the tour describes how Harlem came to be the destination for many people escaping the increasingly violent racism of the turn-of-the-century South, eventually earning the status of The Capital of Black America.

World War One was an important event for Harlem, which saw many residents sent to France to fight on the front lines. Earning the nickname 'The Hellfighters' and decorated with one of France's highest honors, these soldiers returned to Harlem as heroes. But despite their sacrifices, race relations in the United States did not see any of the hoped for improvement - the post-war period in saw several vicious race riots throughout the country.

In the post-war years, Harlem became a cultural center, where important Black artists lived and worked. This period became known as the 'Harlem Renaissance'. 

Welcome to HarlemNOW's Harlem: The Capital of Black America tour. This is a recording of a walking tour given by attorney and historian James Kaplan and Olivia Kaplan in October, 2009. The tour visited various places of historical significance in central Harlem.

This section of the tour discusses the growth of Harlem from the draft riots of the Civil War to the Great Depression. First considered a German and then a Jewish neighborhood, Harlem began to see significant numbers of Black residents by the turn of the century. Instrumental to this growth were the Black churches and Black-owned realty companies battling against exclusionary housing practices in central Harlem. This new Black "Capital" was to become the home of many organizations devoted to racial justice, such as the NAACP.