A Night in Harlem: Mapping the Nightclubs of 1930's Harlem
Humanities
HIS 189
Due to the popularity of figures in the Harlem Renaissance who by and large disavowed the movement, the growth of jazz and nightclubs in Harlem during the 1930's has been overlooked. In addition to this, the illegality of alcohol during this time period has put a hinderance on the study of nightlife too. The few sources from the early 1930's constantly reference a 1932 annotated map of Harlem nightclubs by E. Simms Campbell. The aforementioned prohibition amendment forced Campbell to obscure the real locations of these nightclubs in his map, which inspired our team to re-create this map with each club's real world location. By utilizing the features of the digital medium, our map shows the tightknit communities that were created by these nightclubs. Many clubs were in very close proximity to each other, creating an environment where they were either forced to work together or fail. We highlighted many narratives that emphasize this symbiotic relationship between venues, such as people discussing popping in and out of each speakeasy or different clubs being more lively during different times of the night. Additionally these clubs shared many of the same values, being, for the most part, very inclusive and highlighting Black and LGBTQ+ performers. Nearly every club would serve both black and white guests regularly, breaking the popular understanding that these spaces were highly segregated. Our map blends these narratives with the physical space, creating an immersive and annotated experience similar to the map made by Campbell. Visual and auditory elements are also at the forefront of our re-creation as music and performance were integral to the communities that we focused on.
