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Re: Tree of Hope? Yes, (2) Trees



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
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