[Album Page: Columbus Circle and Central Harlem, 135th Street Vicinity, Manhattan]

Berenice Abbott

1929 · Gelatin silver prints · Photographs

The ice cream shop depicted in the photograph in the lower right-hand corner was adjacent to the famous Lafayette Theater on Seventh Avenue (now Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard) and 132nd Street in Harlem. Known as the "House Beautiful," the 1,500-seat venue was the first major theater in New York to desegregate its orchestra seating. In addition to plays, the theater regularly hosted jazz performances featuring Duke Ellington, Chick Webb, Fletcher Henderson, and many others.

Artist

Berenice Abbott

Date

1929

Medium

Gelatin silver prints

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gift of Emanuel Gerard, 1982