Memories of 409 Edgecombe
409 Edgecombe Avenue, The House on Sugar Hill
by Katherine Butler Jones.
409 Edgecombe, the 13-story home to the black elite at the height of the Harlem Renaissance was also the home of Mme. St. Clair, Queen of Policy in Harlem and nemes
is of Dutch Shultz. Culture clashes emerge between African Americans, West Indians, middle class and working class people while Madame St. Clair’s “magical” powers effect lives of 409 residents. St. Claire puts her life on the line to support “my people” by exposing corrupt police and judges. She suffers dire consequences when she takes the law into her hands in a personal crisis.
Katherine Butler Jones was named the PEN “Discovery” author for non-fiction in 1996. Her chapter, ” 409 Edgecombe, Baseball, and Madame St. Clair,” which is the inspiration for this play appeared in THE HARLEM READER, Crown, 2003.
Source: ACT Roxbury; Photo: Mme St. Clair (Corbis)
Katherine Butler Jones grew up in one of the most prominent addresses on Sugar Hill, 409 Edgecombe Avenue. Her neighbors included some of the most elite that Harlem had to offer, from Thurgood Marshall to W.E.B. DuBois. Most notable in Butler’s eyes was her neighbor Madame Stephanie St. Clair, purported to be the “Numbers Queen” of Harlem. “Queenie” as she came to be known, was reportedly the richest black woman in America at one point.
Playing numbers or policies, was the precursor to the modern day state lottery system. Instead of betting a dollar, bettors would typically play a nickle or dime, although some people played as little as a penny. If they didn’t have the money to play up front, the policy holder would extend a line of credit until a bettor eventually hit their number.
Although state lotteries have replaced playing the numbers in most places, Harlem maintains a deep rooted history with the practice. To read more about the history of numbers in Harlem and Queenie St. Clair, click here.
Source: Boston.com
Related: The History Makers
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This is all fascinating. My grandmother lived in 409 from the 40′s until the ’80′s. I never knew it’s history until just the last decade. I do, however, remember the uniformed doorman and what a warm, familial environment it was with her neighbors in and around the building. I can’t remember her remarking on the notariety of any of the neighbors (but that would have been an odd thing for her to convey)–they were just neighbors to whom we were introduced on our visits. The grand layout of the apartment with it’s french doors between the livingroom and dining room strikes me now as luxurious for a New York City apartment.
It’s funny. I really did not know about the numbers history as it relates to harlem. It has been a big part of the dominican culture and tranlsated into dominican immigrants of hamilton heights and washington heights. It just sucks that they have to do it in prohibition-style dealings. I’ve seen some of my local bodegas get raided as if they were a full blown drug spot. Very disconcerting.