Proposed Arrangement of Sixth or Seventh Avenue between Central Park and Harlem River. Black ink with colored washes (from the New York City Municipal Archives)

The evolution of the Central Park Commission from a purely park-planning body into a comprehensive city-planning body began with a baby step. Andrew H. Green, who headed the commission, was concerned that the approaches to the park, especially from the north, were inadequate. He asked the state legislature to grant the commission the power to widen and improve Seventh and Sixth Avenue (Adam Clayton Powell and Lenox Blvds, today). In 1859 Green was given permission to alter the Commissioner’s Plan north of Central Park and acted on this permission in 1864.

It is this request/permission that led to the grand boulevard aspects of Adam Clayton Powell and Lenox Blvds and distinguished them from their continuations, south of the park.

The drawing (above) shows one of the three designs the commission considered for the project. The widened avenue is 150 feet across, a dimension set by the empowering legislation. Of this, the carriageway is 80 feet wide, the sidewalks are each 20 feet wide, and the so-called courtyards are each 15 feet wide. MM

The Salvation Army’s Easter Parade

The Harlem Renaissance Dinner Party

The New York Times has a great piece on the launching of the Harlem Renaissance, and the role a fabulous dinner gathering had on this launch: