It matters in history whose stories are told. In the 1950s, New York’s planning czar Robert Moses cleared 18 blocks on the West Side for a new center for the performing arts. This action was the result of the story that the area, San Juan Hill, was a slum that the City of New York should take possession of and demolish for the good of the city. Ultimately, 7,000 families were forced to relocate and every building was leveled. Architectural historian Jessica Larson tells another, more complex, story of San Juan Hill. This story tells of a place, originally developed in the late 1880s, that soon became overfilled with people who were unwelcome or exploited in other communities. By the turn of the 20th century, San Juan Hill was the densest Black neighborhood in the U.S. and its architecture began to change to reflect its needs and realities. Saint Cyprian's Episcopal Church, built in 1907, and Union Baptist Church, built in 1904, became the social and religious anchors for the community and provided welfare services that white charitable institutions would not extend to Blacks. Come learn the many ways Black charity and reform initiatives shaped the landscape of San Juan Hill in the early decades of the 20th century. Larson will focus in on the architecture of the buildings constructed to facilitate this social work, and together we will look at how the built environment of San Juan Hill was shaped by community-driven efforts to address poverty and improve the quality of life for the residents. Because charity work was deeply gendered, Larson will emphasize the significance of women to the spatial and welfare programs of the neighborhood.
