Photography: Harlem Retrospective
After seeing the post on Harlem Before and After, a reader was reminded of the post that appears below. So, back by popular demand we present the photography of Camilo Jose Vergara.
The Chronicle of Higher Education spotlighted the photography of Camilo Jose Vergara recently. The photos date back to 1970 and show the changing landscape of Harlem. You can see all of Camilo’s photos from the series on the website “Invincible Cities.”
“I began my photographic documentation of New York City’s East and Central Harlem in 1970, six years after the riot of 1964 that lasted two days and resulted in widespread destruction. I was attracted to the neighborhood from the start because Harlem seemed to me a tough, even militant place where you could see large murals — painted on the sides of burnt-out buildings — encouraging black people to break the chains of oppression, to be born again, to be free. I saw anger and mistrust on the faces of many young people then….Disconnected from mainstream America, Harlem was like a run-down version of Paris, where life was lived outside, on the streets, amid the fading glory of its grand boulevards. Once imposing and elegant buildings were now derelict; the streets looked dirty; parks were semi-abandoned and dangerous; the schools looked decrepit. Yet a culture different from that of mainstream America was thriving in Harlem’s many nooks and crannies. The vibrant street life, the scenes of destruction all around me, and the constant fear of being mugged made my visits exciting and unpredictable. There was something vital going on in Harlem in those days, and it was not a renaissance, a jazz scene, a frenzy of sports, or a world of gospel singing….”
Related: Et cetera
Originally featured 6/7/07
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a mix between vegas and soho???? not even close, conni. not even close.
When I was younger growing up at the tip of the Bronx, going to Harlem was always an adventure. My aunt lived in a 1room apartment of a brownstone that was still stuck in the depression era, complete with the community toilet in the hallway that she and her neighbor shared. But all of that was part of the charm, sitting in her one room, in the reclining rocker, peeking out onto 123rd because most of the other buildings were abandoned and watching the people. My mother would get her hair done on 125th by Harold Melvin and that was another adventure! Not everyone went there ya know… I remember driving down the Deegan, excited to be going to Harlem, a magical place… So what if the windows on the buildings were painted with flowerpots to disguise the fact that the buildings were abandoned! Who cared??? We were on our way to Harlem! 125th street, legendary…
Now I feel lost and confused in Harlem, a mix between Vegas and Soho, I usually start to get a headache when I hit 145th and the Belgians run me over with their shopping carts in PATHMARK!
exactly Uptownflavor! thanks for finding it and posting .. that was exactly what i meant.
I find myself getting lost within all those layering years of Harlem. It’s so mesmerizing; I’m probably going to be spending an inordinate amount of time just wandering through these images. Wow, what a treasure!
Great pics, some of the dots on the map are one block off so a little confusing
Boy, those photos from the “Invisible Cities” brought back memories, especially the one of 155th & 8th Ave with the Peace Store on the corner. Father Divines Peace Stores were like the 99 cents of today. If you could not find it at Peace, it did not exist.