Site of Harlem’s St. Nick’s jazz club destroyed

[ghost of miles]

Some here may have already read about this—I’ve been following it closely through the Facebook posts of a friend who’s about to publish a walking-tour-of-historical-Harlem book. A movie-set fire has led to the demolishing of the four-story building that housed the St. Nick’s jazz club from 1965 to 2011. The space had quite a lot of interesting history before that (including a spell with pianist Luckey Roberts as proprietor), as detailed in this article: Harlem history up in flames

[CJ Shearn]

Damn.  Thanks for the link, will take a look

[Brad]

I read the article as well as the New York Times story about the fire and it's a shame, not to mention a tragedy that one of NY’s finest died in the blaze.  However, it’s premature for the writer to assign blame when the investigation has just begun. 

[dicky]

10 hours ago, Brad said:

However, it’s premature for the writer to assign blame when the investigation has just begun. 

I don't think so. He's merely stating the obvious. From the article... "It’s more than likely that the incompatibility of a late 19th-century house, with early 20th-century wiring and the power needs of modern movie lighting, played some part in this catastrophe."

That's exactly what a friend and I - who collectively spent many dozens of nights/early mornings at St. Nick's - immediately suspected.

[Brad]

It’s a suspicion not grounded in fact.  As the Times article noted the movie makers usually bring their own generators with them.

You may be right but until the investigation has been completed we won’t know the answer. 

[Brad]

Further story. 

 

In Harlem, Mourning Another Historic and Cultural Marker