Renaissance Groundbreaking
After years of talking and wading through political red tape, a Groundbreaking ceremony for Harlem’s historic Renaissance Ballroom Complex will finally happen.The Renaissance, located between 138 and 139th Streets, and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and Lenox Avenues, was formerly known as The Renaissance Ballroom and Casino or “The Renny.”
If you remember last month The New York Times published a feature on about the history of the Renaissance Ballroom:
The block-long Renaissance complex dates to 1920. That’s when William H. Roach, an immigrant from Montserrat who owned a housecleaning service, bought the northeast corner of 137th Street and Seventh Avenue, now known as Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard.
Property records are not explicit, but it appears that Mr. Roach, working chiefly in partnership with his countryman Joseph H. Sweeney and an Antiguan named Cleophus Charity, built the Renaissance Theater there in 1921.
Two years later, the partners added the Renaissance Casino, with a second-floor ballroom, at the 138th Street corner of the block.
“The Renny” was once the socio-economic, cultural center of the Harlem Renaissance and the only upscale reception hall for African Americans in New York.
The Renaissance Complex, as the project will be dubbed, will be designed by award-winning architect Max Bond. When redevelopment is complete, the 196,000 sq. ft. Renaissance Complex will include:
- 112 home-ownership units providing the first of its kind for neighborhood residents
- 27,000 square feet of cultural and much needed performing arts rehearsal space
- 10,000 square feet of commercial space
- 10,000 square feet of community space
Regardless which side of the issue you stand on, you must admit that anything is an improvement over the deteriorated shell that currently fills an entire city block. The Ceremony will take place today, Friday March 23rd, at 2:30 pm.
Related: NYSun ::
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That should have read “that preservationists would not accept” — sorry for the typo.
The architect of the new buildings is a nice man, but an ideological Modernist who designs buildings that fit badly with their old neighbors because of their lack of scale.
It is strange that they say landmarking would kill the project. The tax credits that come from landmarking have made many otherwise unprofitable rehabilitation projects possible.
Why would tax credits be bad here? One suspects they intend to do work preservations would not accept, even though Mr. Bond’s firm has done good preservation work. But either in their restoration or in their addition they are planning work which will diminish the old building — and please note that preservation laws were written by Modern architects and favor contrasting buildings and styles.
Sorry to see such a Majestic Building going in into Harlem History.
If you listened very hard quiet night, you could hear the partying and dancing still going on.:(
R.I.P. “RENNY”