{"id":18863,"date":"2019-09-12T05:39:15","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T12:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=18863"},"modified":"2019-09-12T05:39:22","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T12:39:22","slug":"uptown-stroll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=18863","title":{"rendered":"Uptown Stroll"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Care to go for a little walk \u2013 or, in truth, a rather long one? Let\u2019s start as far uptown as I ventured on my recent stay in Harlem \u2013 at the Riverbank State Park near 145th<\/sup>St, flanked by the Hudson on one side and rather large apartment buildings on the other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is an extensive space made for strolls, picnics, swimming in one of the Aquatic centers, admiring the beautiful view of the George Washington Bridge or taking a ride on a carousel. That carousel was what lured me to the park in the first place, I had heard that an artist had designed the creatures on it based on drawings by grade school children and that it was altogether enchanting. Wouldn\u2019t you know it, it was closed and shuttered, the day I walked by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I went slowly back South, walking along the elevated tracks of the subway, still in all its original glory, and noisily shaking the street every time a train comes by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Along the street trucks are parked that deliver the fruit and vegetables for the vendors on the side walk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Schools have names that remind of the community\u2019s heritage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

and window displays as well as murals remind us of recent history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Close to the corner of 132nd<\/sup>St and Malcolm X Ave you can hang out at the Revolution Books store, formerly located in the Village (when I lived there in the early 80s) until displaced by skyrocketing rents.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you cross over to the East to 127th<\/sup>St you can visit the brownstone that Langston Hughes occupied in his lifetime. Now a small museum and mostly a space run and utilized by the I, too Arts Collective<\/em>, it features readings and other cultural events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here is MLK Jr. reciting one of Hughes’ poems:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n