Dear Mr. Thomas, You will be pleased to know that a photograph of the Tree of Hope will be found on p.143 of: "New York -Oddly Enough", by Charles G. Shaw, (Farrar & Rinehart, New York & Toronto, 1938, Library of Congress Catalog number 38011587), though now, long, long out-of print. Please bear in mind that this is a photograph of the second Tree of Hope replanted on, or near the same spot, which was donated in the 30's by the renowned tap dancer Bill (Bojangles) Robinson after the first was felled due to the exigencies of street engineering. Barely visible in the photo may be the faint outline of a brass plaque that Robinson had set into the sidewalk beneath the tree. Upon the plaque was inscribed: "The Original Tree Of Hope Beloved By the People of Harlem -You asked for a tree of hope so here it is, Best wishes," concluding with his signature. Unfortunately, I cannot tell the species of the tree from the photograph, nor do I know what became of the plaque. This second Tree of Hope vanished in the intervening years, and a commemorative sculpture by the artist Algernon Miller was installed on the spot sometime around 1972. The second Tree of Hope, like the first, stood in the traffic island in the middle of Seventh Avenue (now Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.) opposite the Lafayette Theatre, at 131st Street; NOT in front of the Apollo Theatre at 253 West 125th Street, as is often erroneously believed. As you probably already know, the first Tree of Hope was the spot where out-of-work singers, dancers, and actors gathered to trade gossip and listen for news of gigs. From there, it's easy to see how the legend originated that performing in front of the tree was thought to bring good luck to African-American artists who had fallen on hard times. In later years, Harlem residents believed that the tree would bring good luck to anyone who rubbed their back against it. I believe that confusion over the original location of the tree may have arisen because what remains of the stump of the second tree is kept onstage at the Apollo Theatre where aspiring stars rub it for good luck before curtain time. (Both Bill Bradley and Al Gore touched this relic before appearing onstage at the Apollo for a Campaign 2000 debate last year; not that it did either of them much good; perhaps they didn't rub hard enough.) The Lafayette Theatre (now the Williams Christian Methodist Church) is still standing, at 2225 7th Avenue between 131st and 132nd Streets. According to Norval White's AIA Guide to New York, it was the Lafayette Theatre that not long after its construction in 1912 became the leading black theatre for the nation and remained so for over 30 years. In fact, it was the sensational 1913 production of "Darktown Follies" that established the vogue for downtown New Yorkers to flock to Harlem for late-night entertainment. He further states that the Apollo did not become a venue for black performers, nor welcome African-American audiences until 1934, when the color bar was lifted and the theatre re-named the Apollo after 20 years as Hurtig & Seamon's New Burlesque Theatre. In November 1921, riding on the popularity of Noble Sissle's and Eubie Blake's hit: "Shuffle Along" the "Shuffle Inn" opened on 131st St. in a basement space adjoining the Lafayette Theatre. According to research done by Murray L. Pfeffer, the club was purchased shortly thereafter by Connie and George Immerman; German immigrants who had originally owned a Harlem delicatessen where, as a teen, Fats Waller had worked delivering groceries. In June 1923 a new entrance to the club was opened on the 7th Avenue side, at no. 2221 Seventh Avenue, and the Shuffle Inn was renamed Connie's Inn. The club became immensely popular throughout the 20's thanks to great jazz ensembles like the Don Redman Band. Connie's place in musical history was guaranteed when Louis Armstrong arrived from Chicago and made the club his base in 1929. A photograph from this era, with the signage for Connie's Inn heavily retouched, shows what is reputed be the first Tree of Hope, in the meridian of Seventh Avenue, with the Lafayette Theatre in the background. Although the Tree of Hope was said to have been outside of Connie's Inn; I do not yet know the origins of this photograph nor, the precise location of the tree relative to the Lafayette Theatre building. Whether this is the actual Tree of Hope is impossible to determine with certainty at this point. I am indebted to Sonny Watson of StreetSwing.com for this photograph; here is the link, so that you may assess it yourself. http://www.streetswing.com/histclub.htm When you arrive on the page, click on the "S" in the top-of-page index bar, and scroll down the chart to the "Shuffle Inn". Move across the chart to the next column, and click on the "Connie's Inn" link. (A .jpg image is attached below for those without web browsing.) Any further light that you, or anyone else can shed on the date and origin of this mysterious photograph would be greatly appreciated. One can deduce that the circumstances and lore surrounding the first Tree of Hope grew up not long after, if not in direct connection with the 1913 success of the production at the Lafayette Theatre, and the artistic triumphs of the 1920's at Connie's Inn. By the time of Bojangles Robinson's gift of the replacement tree in the 1930's, the mythic status of the tree was clearly well established. For more leads on the history of New York's black theatre community, Bojangles Robinson (and possibly more about The Tree of Hope) you might want to consult the collections of The New York Public Library for Performing Arts at Lincoln Center: http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html and the collections of The Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture: http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html (You've no shortage of names to follow up!) For information on the theatrical lore of the tree, you might consult; "Hippocrene U.S.A. Guide to Black America" by Marcella Thrum, (Hippocrene, 1991), and "When Harlem Was in Vogue" by David Levering Lewis (Penguin Books, 1997) Best Wishes, mailto:TGrunewald@QuadrigaArt.com Theodore Grunewald Chief Archivist Quadriga Art, Inc. Reproducta Co., Inc. Executive Headquarters 30 East 33rd Street New York, NY 10016 Phone: (212) 685-0751 x 244 Fax: (212) 889-6868 <<Connies Inn aka Shuffle Inn Enlargment.jpg>> ---------------------Original Message---------------------- The Museum of the City of New York does not have an image of it. Elizabeth Ellis Senior Cataloger Museum of the City of New York eellis@mcny.org Oliver Hirsch wrote: Have you tried either the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Hitorical Society, or the Studio Museum in Harlem? Or, come to think of it, the Apoolo Theater management? Good Luck, Oliver Hirsch john thomas <jdthomas@ZOO.UVM.EDU> wrote: I am attempting to locate an image of the "Tree of Hope" that stood in front of the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Nothing but dead ends so far. Does anyone know if and where this photo exists. Sincerely, John Thomas University of Vermont
Attachment:
Connies Inn aka Shuffle Inn Enlargment.jpg
Description: JPEG image