James Baldwin's Birthday

+ Harlem Opera House

Author

The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association
August 02, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

Today is James Baldwin’s Birthday, August 2nd. He was born in 1924.

James Baldwin lived in a number of Harlem apartments in our community - most notably along Park Avenue above 126th Street. The Harlem Renaissance School that Baldwin attended (it was a public elementary school then) was on East 128th Street near Madison Ave. His school had a principal who wrote beautifully not only of James, but also of the grace, strength, and eloquence of his mother - a profound influence on James' attraction to the power of the written word:

"Public School 24 basks in the reflected glow of the eminence of James Baldwin as a consequence of the small part it had in shaping his career. The author was his principal during his fifth and sixth years at school. I vividly remember his haunted eyes and his slim physique. He was active in school affairs but never intrusive. I remember too, his mother above all other mothers. She had the gift of using language beautifully. Her notes and letters, written to explain her sons' absences etc. were admired by the teachers and me. This talent transmitted through her is surely the basis of James' success. It is said that he too writes as an angel, albeit an avenging one. But his mother expressed only calm devotion to her family."

The Harlem Opera House, 1902

At the turn of the 20th Century, the Harlem Opera House was putting on a show of The Rivals, a comedy in 3 acts:

The play is long forgotten but the playbill is available on Ebay that includes a couple of interesting ads, including the still iconic Moet champagne:

However, the playbill only includes one ad from a Harlem business:

The only two depictions of women in the ads shown display a wealthy white woman in a corset and a Black woman with a washboard:

Where was the Harlem Opera House? 211 West 125th Street:

Today, the Community Board 10 meets in the same location, just west of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd:

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