If They Only Knew


I found myself in Harlem one Sunday morning, riding my bicycle around.

It was the first time I’d ever done it.  I used to live in Harlem, but I never owned a bike then.

I was there with my bike because I was in the middle of riding around the entire outer perimeter of the island of Manhattan.  Also something I’d never done.

There’s one big bike path that goes all the way around the island — for about 33 miles — along the Hudson, Harlem, and East Rivers.

The path — called the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway — is a bikes-and-pedestrians-only route for most of its length, but it disconnects at certain places where it’s necessary to ride along surface streets.

That’s what happens when you get to Harlem.

I rode clockwise around the island, which means I came into Harlem from the North, along the old Harlem River Speedway, which is a stretch of the bike path that goes alongside the Harlem River between Dyckman Street and 155th Street.

I didn’t know exactly where the path would let out, but to my delight it was at 155th and Eighth Avenue, right in front of the Polo Grounds Towers.  That’s where the old Polo Grounds ballpark — former home of the New York Yankees (until 1923) and the New York Giants (baseball and football) — once stood.

At this point there are no Manhattan Waterfront Greenway signs to be found, so I had no idea if I was still on the route.

This was great, I thought, because from there I could just ride down through different parts of Harlem until I eventually reached 122nd Street, where — going due East — I knew I could reconnect with the bikes-only portion of the route along the East River.

So that’s what I did.

Across the street from the Polo Grounds Towers is Holcombe Rucker Park, where playground basketball legends have battled since the 1950s in the Pro League, the Entertainer’s Basketball Classic, and the Elite 24.

At the southeast corner of 155th and Eighth is a parking lot that covers the spot where the “Mecca of Black Basketball” — the spacious ballroom known as the Manhattan Casino, later called the Rockland Palace — used to be.   From the early 1910s through the mid-1920s, that’s where the country’s top African American basketball teams — such as the Alpha Physical Culture Club, the St. Christopher Club, Howard University, and the Monticello Athletic Association — played each other in front of crowds reaching 6,000 or more.

From there I cut over to Bradhurst Avenue, where I found the familiar Greenway signs and bikes-only path once again, and rode south alongside Jackie Robinson Park.  Bradhurst turns into Edgdcombe Avenue, but instead of going all the way down as the route suggests, I took a left at 138th Street.

One block later, after crossing Eighth Avenue again, I found myself in the landmark historic district known as Strivers Row, which consists of beautiful townhouses built in the late 1800s that are named after the hard-working African Americans who aspired to live there.

It was early Sunday, so there was no traffic, and when I stopped pedaling to coast down the street slowly I was surrounded suddenly by a hushed gentle silence that felt timeless and sacred and tingly, like it was an honor to be there.  And it was an honor.  There’s something there, and it’s there whether people notice it or not. I thought to myself, how come I’ve never done this before? Why don’t they have a Harlem Bike Tour?

This aura was made more pronounced by the appearance of the old Renaissance Ballroom coming into view ahead of me on the corner of the next block.  The Renaissance is one of old Harlem’s best-known landmarks (but, sadly, without official landmark status).  Aside from being a famous dance- and entertainment hall, it’s also the former home court of the legendary New York Renaissance (a.k.a. “Rens”) professional basketball team, which played there from the 1920s through the 1940s.

When I got to the corner of 138th and Seventh Avenue, this is what I saw:

The Renaissance Ballroom in Harlem on a Sunday morning

The Renaissance Ballroom in Harlem on a Sunday morning, with the spires of the Abyssinian Baptist Church visible in the background on the left,
midway down the block.


There were hundreds of people waiting next to- and in front of the Renaissance.

Were they waiting to get into a New York Rens game?  I wish!

No.  They were waiting to attend an authentic “gospel mass” at the neighboring Abyssinian Baptist Church.

What’s interesting is that these were tourists who had come from all over the world.  I’ve been to Abyssinian for Sunday service before, but it’s been a while and I forgot about the lines that formed around the block.

I think that this form of tourism is a very good thing, not only for Harlem and for Abyssinian but also for the tourists, whose numbers were made up entirely of Caucasians and Asians.  This fact is well-known throughout Harlem, especially by the enterprising street vendors who have set up there to sell beautiful African American themed arts and prints (seen against the wall of the ballroom in the photo above).

Yet, among the tourists, I couldn’t help but notice a certain level of obliviousness there too; a dimension of unconsciousness that was all the more obvious in contrast to my exquisite, graceful experience on the previous block.

I got off my bicycle and walked it across the street to get a closer look.

When I got to the sidewalk in front of the artwork, I stopped to allow a lone elderly African American gentleman to pass by in front of my bike.  I could tell he had someplace to go.  As he walked in front of me our eyes met, and he acknowledged the nicety through a brief twinkling connection.  But I could tell he was slightly perturbed by all these people, so without missing a beat I said to him, with a smile, “If they only knew.”

That caused him to do a kind of double-take, over his shoulder, with an extra look of — all at once — astonishment, acknowledgment, and gratitude.  Along with a wry smile.  It was a familiar sort of a smile, filled with irony, reminiscent of the way John Isaacs — and other men of his generation — used to do that sometimes.

In that moment I knew that he knew that somebody knew … even if it wasn’t those people waiting in line.

Maybe I wanted to make sure of that, without making a big deal about it.  Yes, that was definitely my intention.  To make history now.

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Susan
10 years ago

Wow,
I am not a blogger and didn’t check back after inquiring in Feb last year about my friend, Earl “Goose” Powell. Thanks for responding even though I just now got it!
It is weird that Goose comes up on a Google search and then can’t be found where the search leads, and now I hear that you don’t know who he is. I met him in 1970, he was a volunteer for a Harlem organization called the Sports Foundation which worked with youth. After years of losing contact, I found him by calling the Foundation in 1986. We were in touch until 2009 or 10, and in fact visited Harlem together at that time. Now his cell is disconnected and I have no other way to contact him.
My understanding is he played for the Globetrotters and was named “Goose” after Goose Tatum. He had his own cleaning and repair business in Harlem for many years, has a son Jonathon Powell who sings religious music, and was a dedicated healthy juice drinker the last few times we met up.
Thanks for asking for more information, I would really appreciate finding him, and your help is invaluable. SO sorry for the nearly year delay in my following up. I call the cell number I have every few months, and it’s still disconnected.
With gratitude,
Susan

Susan
11 years ago

Hi Claude,
These posts are over 3 years old, so not sure I’ll get a reply. You came up first on the list of sites google gave for Earl “Goose” Powell, with a comment about him being your friend. I could find nothing in your post about him. I am an old friend of Goose, knew him in NYC in 1971, and last saw him in Harlem maybe in 2009. His cell is no longer active and I have no other way to contact him. Can you help me out. IF you can contact him, tell him Susan from CA wants to hear from him. Thank you so much

Admin
11 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Dear Susan, I regret I do not know of anyone by that name and I’m not sure how Google came up with that search result. Thinking that maybe he left a comment once, we just searched all of our comments and content and found no reference to him or by him. Who was he? What did he do?

11 years ago

Claude, very nice story reading on my way to work this morning. I couldn’t put my phone down until I finished reading…Although I didn’t move to D.C. until later on in life some of your story reminds me when I’m driving or riding through DC of things I didn’t do or see when I was younger. I want to get a bicycle and ride throughout the nation’s capital, so I can what I’ve missed close up. This story was very inspiring and has me pondering. Thanks for showing the Rens played also. That would be a great suggestion of a bike tour through the Harlem. I think they give some bike tours here in D.C. I’m not sure…I see tours on the little scooters or whatever you call those things throughout our city, but haven’t see too many bike tours…

Carol Jeanne
14 years ago

Oh my Claude, you have made me homesick for Harlem. I lived in the 5th Ave building of Lenox Terrace and your wonderful descriptive trek through Harlem took me back. When I lived in Harlem I never owned a bike either…makes me wish I had.

Love your blog Claude!

14 years ago

Claude,
This is so beautiful, and because time is short I will get right to the point. We (read as “us”) need to put together a concerted effort to make sure the bike path is completed in Harlem. We are in the very middle and heart of Manhattan. Many of us have bikes now and we would love to travel Harlem on our bikes. Secondly we need to see what needs to be done about restoring our Harlem landmarks. I am a Harlem native and for many years and as a historian I have literally wept at the condition of Harlem landmarks. I will commit right here to work with anyone that wants to see our history restored. We are the proverbial “THEY”, and we need to step up. I love this blog.

14 years ago

Claude, thanks for the story. I’ve been to NYC twice (one of my brothers lives in Congers, NY), but haven’t been through Harlem. Now the next time I’m in NYC, I’ll have to check it out — and maybe by bike.

Lawrence
14 years ago

Very nice story. This elderly African-American gentleman must have known the story; perhaps even watched a few games in that building back in the day.

Margie Woods
14 years ago

That was awesome. Felt like I was gliding alongside, and seeing it all for the first time. The historical account brought it alive beyond what was on the surface. And I also believe the old gentleman was simply grateful.

Lori
14 years ago

Hello Mr. Johnson,

Its been a long time since we have spoken. I am checking Jazmon’s emails for him and he mention that he was in contact with you. This was an adventure in which you were on. Thanks for sharing it with us. There are some people who will never get the chance to travel and people like you sharing their experiences give them a glance of what the other world is like.

Until then keep up your adventures, never know who you might run into.

Lori
Longview, Texas

14 years ago

OK. So lets do this. We need a bike tour, walking tour, whatever tour but a tour, (especially native Harlemites) to see all of the basketball history, baseball history , music history , dance history, political history etc. What Claude doesn’t know I know and what I don’t know Claude knows. I say the 3rd Saturday in August. Where should we meet ?

TC
14 years ago

Thanks for this piece – heartfelt and moving.

Trokon Freeman
14 years ago

Claude I’m glad to be back blogging, I’m recovering from surgery as a result of “ballin”. This is powerful, reading this makes me want to go to Harlem, I was saying to myself if I only knew my way around there like you did. In the Bronx they had a Hip-Hop tour shuttle for tourist, it still might be active. But even more important that would be great to have shuttle of sorts for all players, and especially African American players. The torch seems to not get passed, and even stay lit, it’s in Harlem and this is significant as the musical artist there of that time as well. I know you’re passionate about the game, study the game, and live to enlighten those and shed light on the players before us who made way for the game. To you, it’s one thing to appreciate and embrace the heart & soul of the game back then, so much, that you feel you literally lived in that era. So when you see tourist going to church that’s blessed to know and needed. However, knowing the history and what took place makes for a richer experience to those who have no clue, they where the African-American experience of basketball derived from and has a lasting impression on them and their family members today. The look you and the older man exchanged was a look of something to be understood and not spoken of. Clearly it wasn’t church because people were going in, already but as an elderly African who probably lived some of those experiences was glad some one knew.

14 years ago

Claude – what can I say ? You got me pretty tingly with this one. Great job- I know it’s from the heart. Talk to you soon.

14 years ago

Claude,
you truly are making history now, by taking us back through time with a current view. Your writing is majestic.

Pamela

Mack
14 years ago

Thanks for sharing an excellent blog. I’m going to put some air into my 15 speed bicycle, ride across the GWB and cycle around Manhattan with the intention of breaking up my journey by having a bite at Wells.

Blaise Lamphier
14 years ago

Claude:

Thanks for sharing this wonderful story. Your words are always an inspiration and I appreciate all you do to perpetuate the memories of the NY Rens. The ballroom should be a the National Registry of Historic Places–a true cultural landmark.

Now if we could only figure out a way to watch the Rens play there again–like a movie or virtual reality experience–wouldn’t that be amazing, to recreate the entire atmosphere of a Rens game with all the sights and sounds–including the fans–at the peak of their power. That would be magical!

Cheers,
Blaise

14 years ago

Beautiful story Claude. Hat’s off to you for your journey and words. Very moving.

Tim S.
14 years ago

Beautiful story and it’s inspired me to make this bike ride some day. (Is there a bike rental place nearby? I live on the West Coast.)

Love the ending with quick quip to the man walking by you. Very poetic.

Keep up the great work!

carl campbell
14 years ago

claude you have seen the wonders of harlem,usa-a place lwhich has some many wonderful stories of my life-my buddy earl (goose) powell were just speaking on how they have not finish the harlem portion of bike and running path sorry you didnot get to the st. nicholas houses –127th street/adam clayton powell blvd -home of the rucker tournament that started in 1950 now have touch base with some of legends there are other sports that have many persons who are legends of historical interest glad you made that trip…