The Renaissance Ballroom and Casino
February 25th, 2009 -
The Renaissance Ballroom and Casino is an imposing block-long Harlem ruin. A vital piece of the neighborhood's history, it was built between 1920 and 1923 and was a black owned and operated center of culture - a movie theater, a ballroom, a space for basketball games, dances and meetings. It was the "setting for all of Harlem’s most important parties," according to author Michael Henry Adams, but by 1979 the complex had closed down and "by the 1990s it had so deteriorated that it was used as a setting for Spike Lee’s crack den from hell in the movie Jungle Fever."
The New York Times describes the Renaissance Ballroom and Casino as "a Harlem landmark in all but name," citing a "Landmarks Preservation Commission... proposal, dating to 1991, to designate the Renaissance complex a landmark." However, the buildings were never landmarked. The property owner, the Abyssinian Development Corporation, used backers like the New York Landmarks Conservancy to convince the Landmarks Commission that landmarking the property would "have created intolerable delays" in their plans to build a "13-story apartment house" and a "community center" on top of the complex.
In 2007, demolition began. Today, the buildings are nearly empty, exposed to the snow. A few ghostly artifacts remain inside their darkened interiors.
The Harlem Renaissance Theater
The Harlem YWCA
Theater Seats
Theater Mural
Mural and Demolition
The Harlem Renaissance Ballroom 
Chandelier
From the Balcony
Box Seats
6 comments:
Nice shots Nate! It's a bummer that the place is so gutted; I walked by it a few weeks ago on the way back from another location I had just photographed and was sad to see that I was too late. You got a good record of its dying breath!
It's a real scam that the owner, a division of the church of the same name, that has scarfed up so many Harlem landmarks has such disregard for the historic and cultural signifigance of its properties.
A better use of their tax-free status would be to raise funds to restore this place for the benefit of the community -- there are almost none of these old places left!!
Well, I suppose it's easier for a Black church's real estate holding company to get away with this than it would be for anyone else. This church is doing a disservice to its community!!
Your photographs are beautiful and sad. Thank you for documenting.
Great photos but I have to respond to Chris Flash and say that your comment about what should be done with the place ("raise funds to restore this place for the benefit of the community")is exactly what ADC is doing.
The plans for use are open and available for anyone that wants to review them - just contact ADC.
As for your comment "easier for a Black church's real estate holding company to get away with this than it would be for anyone else" not sure why you would feel its easier for a "Black" organization to "get away" with this - but I have to inform you that it was quite the opposite.
great shots as always. good use of natural light.
Good writing and photo work
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