A video by Nikolia Apostolou and Alizah Salario.

Three months after the New York City Council passed a law that would speed up graffiti removal,

many tags still remain on the streets of East Harlem. Residents discuss the benefits and drawbacks

of graffiti in their neighborhood.

Reported on Oct. 1, 2009

It has been three quarters of a century and still, every Wednesday night the lights turn on and amateur artists have the opportunity to perform on the same stage that Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Michael Jackson did.

The Sphinx Laureates Harlem Quartet performing during the Open House on Oct. 3, 2009. Photo by Nikolia Apostolou

The Apollo Theater has always been a source of inspiration for new artists, according to long-time neighborhood residents and performers.

“It is where stars are born and legends are made”, said Jerry Suh, a Harlem composer. “I remember a story where the great James Brown had to borrow money from a nearby record store to buy a guitar in order to perform in the theater.”

It was 75 years ago, when Frank Schiffman and Leo Brecher took over the theater with the goal of presenting black entertainment to black audiences. This year, the Apollo Theater is celebrating its diamond anniversary: a fate that seemed uncertain just 10 years ago when financial mismanagement threatened to shut it down.

The neo-classical theater was constructed in 1914 and was originally called the “Hurtig and Seamon’s New Burlesque Theatre.” People of color were not allowed in the audience for the first 20 years, even though the theater has always been considered a symbol for black music.

The theater gained prominence, in part, through the amateur nights it hosted. On one such night, the Jackson Five performed.

“I was a Jackson insider during those years,” said Antoinette Holmes, who founded the first Jackson Five Fan Club in Harlem in 1967. “Now I am finishing a book about my childhood friendship with Michael Jackson called ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star: The Michael Jackson I Knew.’”

The theater, which has been recognized as a national landmark, has always held special memories for the people who worked there.Nana-Oye Addo-Yobo was the special events manager for three years.

“Working at the Apollo Theater was a great opportunity to serve as a preservationist of U.S. history while helping to extend a treasured legacy for the next generation to benefit,” she said.

The Apollo Theater is still a landmark in the neighborhood, and on Oct. 10 and 11, it will participate in America’s largest architecture and design exhibition called Open House New York. The weekend will include a lecture on the Apollo Theater renovation, a discussion of other historic entertainment venues in Harlem and a tour of the theater

Years later, the Apollo remains a magnet for aspiring artists. Composer Suh, who just released his first album, works at a soul food restaurant as his day job. He said he still dreams of making it onto the stage where Ella Fitzgerald and Michael Jackson once stood.

“I haven’t performed at the Apollo. Not yet!” he said.

]]> http://neighborhoodbeatbox.org/2009/11/01/harlem-landmark-hosts-open-house-for-community/feed/ 0