Photo of the day: ‘EMPTY’ BY HANS VON RITTERN, 9 days left to see 5 Pointz’s “Whitewash”
Photo of the day: ‘EMPTY’ BY HANS VON RITTERN – Don’t let June pass you by with that “Empty” feeling. Only 9 more days to see our ‘Whitewash” exhibit!
This photo is one of my 16 photos on display and has already been sold to one of the men in the photo. The photo was taken the day of the whitewash, I noticed these two guys where just standing there for at least a half an hour, silent, motionless – just dumbstruck by the vandalistic act. The title ‘Empty’ says it all, how we felt, they felt and we all still feel to this day.
If you would like to see more expressions by great graffiti and street art artists on canvas and in photographs (mine included) this weekend – come to the Jeffrey Leder Gallery this weekend and view the brilliant art by artists: Auks, Cortes, Hans Von Rittern, Jerms, Just One, Meres One, Poem, Shiro, See TF, Topaz, Zimad, all brilliantly curated by
Marie Cecile Flageul!
The Jeffrey Leder Gallery: 2137 45th Road, L.I.C.
#G subway stop to Court Square. #7 train is not running this weekend but shuttle service is available from #N/Q trains at Queensboro Plaza. One block away from 5 Pointz and PS1 Moma. Admission is free, open 12-6.
Leder Gallery: http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
May 30, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz destroyed, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, arts, Auks, AUKS One, AUKS Thomas Lucero, Brooklyn, celebrities, Christian Cortes, Cortes, Court Street subway stop #7 G, Court Street subway stop 7 G train, Experiencing the destruction of 5 Pointz, graffiti, graffiti art, Hans Von Rittern, Hunt Rodriguez, Jeffrey Leder, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Just One, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Marie Flageul, Meres, Meres One, Meres One Cohen, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, public art, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, Shiro of Japan, Shoko Mikami, street art museum, the importance of public art discussion, the importance of street art discussion, Thomas Lucero, Topaz, Wolkoff, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: LET’S GO RANGERS ! ! ! !
May 30, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 42nd Street, Broadway, GO RANGERS, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Rangers fans celebrating on double decker bus in New York City, Rangers fans in Times Square, Rangers hockey finals, Rangers Hockey Team, Rangers Hockey Team 2014, sports, Times Square | 1 Comment
Photo of the day: DEBBIE HARRY, CHRIS STEIN, BLONDIE, EARTHA KITT AND HANS – 35 YEARS LATER – or “How a Russian, an old concert ticket and Eartha Kitt got me to meet Blondie”
Warhol’s Interview, June 1979 -Illustration by Richard Bernstein. Bernstein created more than 120 portraits for Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine in the 1970s, including this one of Blondie’s Debbie Harry.
“Rapture” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHCdS7O248g
“Dreaming” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOnv8lXDzhg
May 29, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Dreaming"/(Eat to the Beat), "Heart of Glass", "Rapture", 'The Laughing Dogs, 1979, 92nd Street "Y", Abba, Andy Warhol, Anthony DeCurtis, Asbury Park's Convention Hall, Blondi rare interview, Blondie, Blondie and reggae, Blondie Ticketron 1979 tickets, CBGB's, celebrities, Chris Stein, Debbie Harry, Debbie Harry on Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin, Dreaming" Blondie is copy of Abba, Eartha Kitt, entertainment, first mainstream rap song, Hans Von Rittern, how the, how the Blondie look evolved, Janis Joplin, Manhattan, Marilyn Monroe, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Richard Bernstein, Studio 54, The Ramones, Warhol Blondie, Warhol photographing Debbie Harry, Warhol's Interview | 4 Comments
Photo of the day: PHOTOGRAPHING THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
May 28, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: a different photographer's view, Empire State Building, German tourists explore New York, Go West Tours, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, Marco Polo Tours, New York City, New York photo, NYC tourism, Photo of the day, photographing New York City, photography | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: BEACH SEASON IS OFFICIALLY OPEN!
May 27, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: beach season opens, Brooklyn, Coney Island beach, Hans Von Rittern, hunky lifeguard, lifeguard watching beach, Lifeguards on duty, Manhattan, Memorial Day, muscular lifeguard, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: THE WORLD WAR II VET
May 26, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 85 year old WWII veteran, Central Ave in South Orange, Hans Von Rittern, Memorial Day 2014, Memorial day memories, New York City, New York photo, old World War II veteran, Pennsylvania (Penn) Train Station, Photo of the day, photography, South Orange - New Jersey, subway, transportation, Veterans Day | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: NEVER FORGET – Happy Memorial Day.
May 25, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: American flag forgotten in woods, Bronx, Brooklyn, burried American flag, faded glory flag, Hans Von Rittern, Happy Memorial Day, Manhattan, never forget our flag, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, Staten Island, USA flag in garden | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: FROZEN by SHIRO, 5 POINTZ WHITEWASH EXHIBIT THIS WEEKEND
Photo of the day: FROZEN by SHIRO, 5 POINTZ WHITEWASH EXHIBIT THIS WEEKEND – One of the most beloved 5 Pointz artists is Shiro of Japan. I am delighted to also call her a friend. Two of the most iconic figures that represent 5 Pointz to this day are Meres One’s iconic light bulbs and Shiro’s Japan girls. For our current Whitewash exhibit, artists decided to represent their feelings in one of two ways – either to express their feeling through expressive paintings or to simply recreate one of their 5 Pointz murals. Shiro aka Shoko Mikami has decided to do both in recreating some of her iconic Japan-anime figures. The only thing now different is they are frozen and violated, the mermaid has been caught and chained, the geisha girl has been raped and the nurse has been poisoned. This is how most of us feel about the destruction of this iconic place.
If you would like to see more expressions by great artists on canvas and in photographs (mine included) this weekend – come to the Jeffrey Leder Gallery this weekend and view the brilliant art by artists: Auks, Cortes, Hans Von Rittern, Jerms, Just One, Meres One, Poem, Shiro, See TF, Topaz, Zimad, all brilliantly curated by Marie Cecile Flageul!
The Jeffrey Leder Gallery: 2137 45th Road, L.I.C. #7/G subway stop. One block away from 5 Pointz and PS1 Moma. Admission is free, open 12-6.
Leder Gallery: http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
SHIRO has been expressing her own vision of the world and for life through her original characters. Her colorful artwork is a reflection of her love for true graffiti and hip-hop. Over the years she has been touched by the essence & soul of hip-hop culture and old school graffiti styles. Her devotion to graffiti art afforded her the opportunity to work with many great graffiti artists. She decided to stay in NY and develop her talent as an artist. From 2002 to 2004, she lived in Brooklyn and Queens, and could be found painting in the city on a regular basis. Today she lives part time in Brooklyn and hopes to stay in NYC permanently one day. She has performed in various live painting events, participated in international gallery art shows and been a part of graffiti crew gatherings in the world. She also participated in community awareness murals and other large-scale graffiti projects all over New York City and Japan. In Japan, Shiro has worked with people in the hip-hop industry, organizing graffiti shows and live painting events in her hometown of Shizuoka and participating in painting events in surrounding areas. In addition to her murals, she has worked on canvases, illustrations, and has designed and produced original theater stage decorations. She happens to work as a nurse in a hospital, caring for people who need assistance in critical parts of their lives. Through her work within the medical field, she witnessed many dramas which motivate and stimulate her. With these experiences which strengthen and broaden her perspectives on life, she continues to express this message through her artwork: “We exist RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE!”
May 24, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz destroyed, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, arts, Auks, AUKS One, AUKS Thomas Lucero, Brooklyn, celebrities, Christian Cortes, Cortes, Court Street subway stop #7 G, Court Street subway stop 7 G train, Experiencing the destruction of 5 Pointz, graffiti, graffiti art, Hans Von Rittern, Hunt Rodriguez, Jeffrey Leder, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Just One, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Marie Flageul, Meres, Meres One, Meres One Cohen, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, public art, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, Shiro of Japan, Shoko Mikami, street art museum, the importance of public art discussion, the importance of street art discussion, Thomas Lucero, Topaz, Wolkoff, Zimad | Leave a comment
Postcard story from New York – “MEMORIAL DAY 1931, THIS IN MEMORY OF OUR FOLKS WHO HAVE GONE AHEAD”
Postcard story from New York – “MEMORIAL DAY 1931 ~ THIS IN MEMORY OF OUR FOLKS WHO HAVE GONE AHEAD”
Endwell, New York, June 1, 1:00pm, 1931
Woolworth and Municipal Bldgs. from Brooklyn Bridge, New York.
To: Mrs. H. A. Knapp
Waverly
Pa.
“Memorial Day 1931 This in Memory of our Folks who have gone ahead. How sweet to think of them! The day’s Celebration here has been a trail of planes from the Endicott landing place. Sure “Love can never lose it’s own.” H.K.__”
The card is addressed to Mrs. Henry Alonzo Knapp, actual name Anna Dutilleul (b.1870, d.1954.)
Her husband Henry A. Knapp (b.1851, d. 1931 the year this card was written) started as a filing clerk in Pennsylvania and rose to become a prominent lawyer who, in 1899, established the borough of Vandling in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, Vandling has a population of 751.
The ‘Endicott landing-place’ refers to a landing strip that was to become the Tri-Cities Endicott Airport, established in 1936.
The poetic quote: “Love can never lose it’s own” is from a poem entitled “Snowbound/Firelight” by influential American Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier.
“…Yet Love will dream, and Faith will trust,
(Since He who knows our need is just,)
That somehow, somewhere, meet we must.
Alas for him who never sees
The stars shine through his cypress-trees!
Who, hopeless, lays his dead away,
Nor looks to see the breaking day
Across the mournful marbles play!
Who hath not learned, in hours of faith,
The truth to flesh and sense unknown,
That Life is ever lord of Death,
And Love can never lose its own!”
To read the full fitting Memorial day poem “Snowbound” click: http://www.bartleby.com/248/222.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow-Bound
May 23, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "And Love can never lose its own!”, 1931, 1931 postcard, 1936, American Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier, Anna Dutilleul, antique Manhattan postcard, architecture, “Snowbound/Firelight”, Brooklyn Bridge, collecting postcards, Endicott landing-place, Endwell, Hans Von Rittern, Henry A. Knapp, Henry Alonzo Knapp, Manhattan, Memorial Day, Memorial Day 1931, Memorial day memories, Memorial day remembered, Mrs. H. A. Knapp, Mrs. Henry Alonzo Knapp, New York, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Poem, poetry, Postcard Stories from New York, Tri-Cities Endicott Airport, Vandling in Lackawanna County Pennsylvania, Vandling Pennsylvania, vintage Brooklyn Bridge postcard, vintage New York postcard, vintage NYC postcard, vintage postcard, Waverly PA, Woolworth Building, Woolworth postcard, Woolworth tower | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE COLORED
May 22, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Follies", 1960's art, 1968, 1968 pop art poster, arts, blacklight poster, Brooklyn, Celestial Arts, Celestial Arts San Francisco, colored people, Ebay poster find, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Orbit poster USA, Photo of the day, photography, pop art, Poster #CA27, psychedelic art, psychedelic poster, Queens, racial equality poster, rainbow colored female nudes, rainbow people, Robert Lewis, Robert Lewis poster, Some of my best friends are colored, vintage black light poster, vintage blacklight poster, Yellow Submarine | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: OLD TIMER’S NAVY SALUTE
Under the direction of Lt. Cmdr. Carl Gerhard, Navy Band Northeast is one of 13 official bands of the United States Navy worldwide, and is comprised of 45 professional Navy musicians, many of whom are from the New York metropolitan area and welcomed a chance to perform in front of the hometown crowd.
May 21, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: American patriotism, American standards music, band concert, Bryant Park, Hans Von Rittern, Lt. Cmdr. Carl Gerhard, Manhattan, Memorial Day 2014, Navy Band Northeast Pops Ensemble, New York City, New York photo, old navy man salutes band, old timer's salute, Photo of the day, photography, proud navy man, U.S. Fleet Forces Band, United States Navy | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: HAPPY 68th BIRTHDAY CHER!
Photo of the day: HAPPY (yes) 68th BIRTHDAY CHER ! – If ever an icon has kept the love of six generations of fans, she has, with a hit record in every decade. No recording artist has done that. I have had the sheer delight to have met her several times and she is as beautiful inside as she is outside. Happy Birthday Cher – you DID turn back time !
May 20, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: arts, celebrities, Cher, Cher 68th birthday, Cher Carnegie Hall meeting fans, Cher in leather jacket, Cher with birthday cake, Hans Von Rittern, Janet Novick, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: CAN YOU SPOT THE TOURIST?
May 19, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 7 train, cowboy hat in New York City, cowboy hat on a subway, Grand Central Station, Grand Central Terminal, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, out of towners on a subway, Photo of the day, photography, subways of New York, tourism in New York, tourists on a subway | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: RED WHITE AND BLUE, REMEMBERING TYRONE MAY
May 17, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 9/11 memorial, 911 memorial in rain, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, May 14 2104 trade center museum opens, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, red white blue roses at 911 memorial, remembering lost ones at World Trade Center, roses in rain at 911 memorial, Tyrone May, World Trade Center | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: MAY 14, 2014 THE WORLD TRADE CENTER MUSEUM FINALLY OPENS
Photo of the day: MAY 14, 2014 THE WORLD TRADE CENTER MUSEUM FINALLY OPENS
May 16, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: architecture, Hans Von Rittern, Hurricane Sandy, little girl gets her first look at World Trade memorial, Manhattan, May 14 2014 Trade Center museum opens, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, World Trade Center | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: DISCUSSION TODAY 6pm ‘THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC ART’ at JEFFREY LEDER GALLERY (5 Pointz)
If you would like to hear more expressions by great artists tonight – come to the Jeffrey Leder Gallery tonight and view and hear the awesome artists: Auks, Cortes, Hans Von Rittern, Jerms, Just One, Meres One, Poem, Shiro, See TF, Topaz, Zimad, all brilliantly curated by Marie Cecile Flageul!
The Jeffrey Leder Gallery: 2137 45th Road, L.I.C.
#7/G subway stop. One block away from 5 Pointz and PS1 Moma. Admission is free, open 6 to 9pm.
Leder Gallery: http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php See More
May 15, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz destroyed, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, arts, Auks, AUKS One, AUKS Thomas Lucero, Brooklyn, celebrities, Christian Cortes, Cortes, Court Street subway stop #7 G, Court Street subway stop 7 G train, Experiencing the destruction of 5 Pointz, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Hunt Rodriguez, Jeffrey Leder, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Just One, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Marie Flageul, Meres, Meres One, Meres One Cohen, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, public art, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, street art museum, the importance of public art discussion, the importance of street art discussion, Thomas Lucero, Topaz, Wolkoff, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: “LET US DIRTY”
May 14, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Anthony Alonzi, B train, Brooklyn, Cher ass tatoo, Cher Barclays Center 5-9-14, Cher concert, Cher mimic, club kid, cross tatoo, fashion, fixing your mascara on a subway, Hans Von Rittern, late night on a New York subway, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, subway, transportation | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: URSULA VON RITTERN, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY !
May 11, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 3 generations of divorced moms, arts, fiercley independent women, Hamburg Germany, Hans Von Rittern, Happy Mother's Day, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Ursula Von Rittern, vintage 1940's photo womans portrait, Von Ritttern family history | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: HEAVY CONSCIENCE by AUKS/5 POINTZ
The Jeffrey Leder Gallery: 2137 45th Road, L.I.C.
#7/G subway stop. One block away from 5 Pointz and PS1 Moma. Admission is free, open 12-6.
Leder Gallery: http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
May 10, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz destroyed, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, arts, Auks, AUKS One, AUKS Thomas Lucero, Brooklyn, celebrities, Christian Cortes, Cortes, Court Street subway stop #7 G, Court Street subway stop 7 G train, Experiencing the destruction of 5 Pointz, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Hunt Rodriguez, Jeffrey Leder, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Just One, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Marie Flageul, Meres, Meres One, Meres One Cohen, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, street art museum, Thomas Lucero, Topaz, Wolkoff, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: CHER COMES TO BROOKLYN’S BARCLAYS CENTER TONIGHT!
May 9, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Dressed to Kill" tour, architecture, Barclays oculus, Brooklyn, celebrities, Cher, Cher Barclays Center 5-9-14, Cher comeback tour, Cher concert photos, Cyndi Lauper, entertainment, Hans Von Rittern, Janet Novick, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Oculus hommage to Cher, personalized Barclays oculus, Photo of the day, photography, six decades of Cher | Leave a comment
Postcard story of New York: “STOMPING AT THE SAVOY IN HARLEM”
Postcard story from New York: “STOMPING AT THE SAVOY IN HARLEM”
New York, October 15, 2:00pm, 1954
The Savoy the showplace of Harlem, has acquired an international reputation for its unique styles of dancing. Such dances as the Lindy-Hop, Big Apple, and the latest of all sensations the Mutiny Swing, had their origin at The Savoy.
To: Mrs. M. A. Ryan
U.S. Army Air Corps
8505 W. Warren Ave
Detroit, Michigan
Personnel
“Hi Marg: We arrived in NY Monday at 9:30p.m. are having a swell time here. Say hello to the girls for me
Connie + Bob”
Sadly Connie & Bob’s adventures at the famed Savoy were never received by Mrs. M. A Ryan at the U.S. Army Air Corps since the postcard is stamped “FOUND IN PACKAGE BOX COLLECTION”.
It is guaranteed that Connie & Bob had a ‘swell time’ since The Savoy nightclub was dubbed the swingingest hot spot in Harlem and all of New York City. The first non segregated club allowing blacks and whites to swing together. The famed Cotton Club was for white patrons only with famed black musicians on stage. At The Savoy – real hep cats dug some cool jive on the be-bop side! They were jammed packed every night from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. Often thousands had to be turned away. The Savoy is deeply rooted in our dance, music and culture. Music united all at the Savoy !
Read about it’s wonderful history here and see the link to the YouTube videos below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy_Ballroom
See a brief video history:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqsc0dhoED0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmnsWcxdhEQ
With swing’s rise to popularity and Harlem becoming a connected Black community, The Savoy opened at a perfect time, giving the rising talented and passionate Black dancers an equally beautiful venue. The Savoy’s ballroom, which was 10,000 square feet in size, was on the second floor and a block long. It could hold up to 4,000 people. The interior was painted pink and the walls were mirrored. Colored lights danced on the sprung layered wood floor. In 1926, the Savoy contained a spacious lobby framing a huge, cut-glass chandelier and marble staircase.
The Savoy was extremely popular right from the start. A headline from the New York Age March 20, 1926 reads “Savoy Turns 2,000 Away On Opening Night – Crowds Pack Ball Room All Week”. The ballroom didn’t go dark a single night of the week.
The Savoy even participated in the 1939 New York World’s Fair, presenting “The Evolution of Negro Dance”.
The Savoy was unique in having the constant presence of a skilled elite of the best Lindy Hoppers, known as “Savoy Lindy Hoppers”. Occasionally, groups of dancers such Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers turned professional and performed in Broadway and Hollywood productions. Whitey turned out to be quite a successful agent, and in 1937, the Marx Brothers’ movie A Day at the Races featured the group. Herbert White was a bouncer at the Savoy who was made floor manager in the early 30s. He was sometimes known as Mac, but with his ambition to scout dancers at the ballroom to form his own group, he became widely known as Whitey for the white streak of hair down the center of his head. He looked for dancers who were “. . . young, stylized, and, most of all, they had to have a beat, they had to swing”. The Savoy held a yearly dancing festival called the Harvest Moon Ball featuring lindy dancers. The first Ball was held in 1935, and the contestants introduced the Lindy Hop to Europe the next year.
Unlike many ballrooms such as the Cotton Club, the Savoy always had a no-discrimination policy. Generally, the clientele was 85% black and 15% white, although sometimes there was an even 50/50 split. Lindy hop legend Frankie Manning noted that patrons were only judged on their dancing skills and not on the color of their skin: “One night somebody came over and said, ‘Hey man, Clark Gable just walked in the house.’ Somebody else said, ‘Oh, yeah, can he dance?’ All they wanted to know when you came into the Savoy was, do you dance?”. Virtuosic dancers, however, excluded others from the northeast corner of the dance floor, now referred to as the “Cat’s Corner,” although the term was not used at the time. This part of the floor where the professional Lindy dancers ruled was on the 141st street side of the room and was then referred to just as “the corner”. Only Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers could dance and work routines there. Competition was huge in “the corner” and every serious hopper awaited the nightly “showtime”. Other dancers would create a horseshoe around the band and “ . . . only the greatest Lindy-hoppers would stay on the floor, to try to eliminate each other”. On 140th street was the opposite, mellow corner which was popular with dancing couples. The skilled Tango dancer known as The Sheik frequented this corner.
Many dances such as Lindy Hop (which was named after Charles Lindbergh and originated in 1927) were developed and became famous there. It was known downtown as the “Home of Happy Feet” but uptown, in Harlem, as “the Track” because the floor was long and thin. The Savoy earned the nickname “Home of Happy Feet” from Lana Turner who remarked of the dancers, “What happy feet these people have”. The Lindy Hop is also known as The Jitterbug and was born out of “. . . mounting exhilaration and the ‘hot’ interaction of music and dance”. Other dances that were conceived at the Savoy are The Flying Charleston, Jive, Snakehips, Rhumboogie, and variations of the Shimmy, Mambo, and many more.
It is estimated that the ballroom generated $250,000 in annual profit in its peak years from the late 20s to the 40s. Each year, the ballroom was visited by near 700,000 people. The normal entrance fee was 30 to 85 cents per person, depending on what time a person came. 30 cents was the base price, but after 6pm the fee was 60cents, and then 85cents after 8pm. The Savoy had made enough money by its peak of business in 1936 that $50,000 was spent on remodeling it.[
The ballroom had a double bandstand that held one large and one medium sized band running against its east wall. Music was continuous as the alternative band was always in position and ready to pick up the beat when the previous one had completed its set. The bouncers, who had previously worked as boxers, basketball players, and the like, wore tuxedos and made $100/night. The floor was watched inconspicuously by a security force of four men at a time who were headed by Jack La Rue, and no man was allowed in who wasn’t dressed in a jacket with a tie. Besides the security staff, the Savoy was populated by “Harlem’s most beautiful women”: the Savoy Hostesses. They would be fired for consorting with patrons outside the ballroom, but inside the hostesses would teach people to dance and were dance partners for anyone who purchased a 25 cent dance ticket. Roseland Ballroom hostesses often visited the savoy on their night off; this inspired Buchanon to create Monday-Ladies-Free Nights. Other special events began during the week, including the giveaway of a new car every Saturday. The floor had to be replaced every 3 years due to its constant use.
“Stompin’ at the Savoy“, a 1934 Big Band classic song and jazz standard recorded by Chick Webb, was named after the ballroom. The song was featured in an episode of I Love Lucy in which she performs the Jitterbug.
Chick Webb was the leader of the best known Savoy house band during the mid-1930s. A teenage Ella Fitzgerald, fresh from a talent show win at the Apollo Theater in 1934, became its vocalist. Floating World Pictures recently made a documentary called “The Savoy King” about Webb, Ella, and the ballroom. It was shown at the 50th New York Film Festival.
The Savoy was the site of many famous “Battles of the Bands” or “Cutting Contests“, which started when the Benny Goodman Orchestra challenged Chick Webb in 1937. Webb and his band were declared the winners of that contest. In 1938, Webb was once again challenged by Count Basie Band. While Webb was officially declared the winner again, there was a lack of consensus on who actually won that night. Earle Warren, the alto saxophonist for Basie reports that they had worked on a song called “Swingin’ the Blues” for the purpose of competing and says, “When we unloaded our cannons, that was the end”. Webb’s “unbeatable” band had been bested.
The Savoy participated in the 1939 New York World’s Fair, presenting “The Evolution of Negro Dance”.
Despite efforts by Borough President Hulan Jack and others to save it, the Savoy and the nearby Cotton Club were demolished for the construction of a housing complex, Bethune Towers/Delano Village. The Ballroom was shut down as a result of “charges of vice filed by the police department and Army”. The mayor was the target of protest by angered members of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The ballroom was auctioned off for $25,000 to a “middle-income housing project”. Count Basie was quoted in the paper saying “With the passing of the Savoy Ballroom, a part of show business is gone. I feel about the same way I did when someone told me the news that Bill (Bojangles) Robinson was dead”. On 26 May 2002, Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, surviving members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, unveiled a commemorative plaque for the Savoy Ballroom on Lenox Avenue between 140th and 141st Streets. The tradition of swing has lived on today and many surviving dancers from the Savoy still dance when they can. As Norma Miller says in her memoir, “Although Harlem created it, the Lindy belongs to everyone”.
May 8, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "The Evolution of Negro Dance", 1939 World's Fair Savoy dancers, 1954, 1954 postcard, Big Apple dance, collecting postcards, Cotton Club Harlem, Detroit Michigan, entertainment, Hans Von Rittern, Harlem, history of modern dance, history of The Savoy Ballroom Harlem, Lindy Hoppers, Lindy-Hop, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, postcard collecting, Postcard Stories from New York, Roseland Ballroom, Savoy Ballroom Harlem, the first integrated dance club, the Mutiny Swing, U.S. Army Air Corps, vintage NYC postcard | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: OMG! YOU KNOW YOU ARE OFFICIALLY OLD WHEN…PINE LAWN CEMETERIES SENDS YOU AN INVITE!
May 7, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: baby boomers getting older, cemetery invitation, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Pine Lawn Cemeteries, Pinelawn Cemeteries, Pinelawn Cemetery memorial park and garden mausoleums, Queens, Sunnyside, you know you're old when... | 1 Comment
Photo of the day: HAPPINESS IS HOLDING HANDS WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND
May 6, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Hans Von Rittern, Happimess is a warm puppy, Happiness is holding hands with your dog, Hommage to Charles M Schhulz, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, man holding dogs paw, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Noel Hans' dog, Noel the dog, pet adoption, pets, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, sheep dog terrier mix | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: FRESHLY GROOMED ‘NOEL’ WAITS FOR HER CAR SERVICE
May 5, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 7 train, dog grooming nightmare stories, dog grooming problems, dog sitting on stoop, dog waiting for car service, finding the right dog groomer, Hans Von Rittern, Jude Amsel, LIC Doghouse, Long Island City Queens, New York City, New York photo, Noel Hans' dog, Noel the dog, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, sheep dog terrier mix, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment