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DK Eyewitness Travel Guide USA
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Lincoln Theatre, Harlem, NYC


  • Travel Genus: Sight
  • Sight Category: Building

The Lincoln Theatre is a former cinema and vaudeville theatre in central Harlem, NYC. Once the home of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, a tiled facade and dropped ceilings were added in the 1960s. Behind the changes much of the structure remains intact, notwithstanding the, David Freeland reported in a NY Post story. A sturdy rectangular proscenium, richly brocaded in lovely floral patterns, dominates the front interior, while the original sloping floor is steep enough to make first-timers wobble. Best of all, the theater's boxes were never removed, and their gentle, curving lines add delicacy to a space that appears larger than it really is. - AsNotedIn


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Timeline

Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
1915/00/00 Owner Maria C Downs opens the Lincoln Theatre as the first theatre in Harlem, then a predominantly white neighborhood, to cater exclusively to a black clientele.
1919/02/00 Fats Waller Performer Thomas Waller Waller quits DeWitt Clinton High School after one semester, to work as an organist at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem, earning $32 a week.
1921/09/04 Bessie Smith Possible Performer "That night I went to the Lincoln Theater across Lenox Avenue where maybe one of the Smiths - Bessie, Clara, Trixie, or Mamie - was singing the blues." - Langston Hughes
1921/09/04 Langston Hughes Audience Member "That night I went to the Lincoln Theater across Lenox Avenue where maybe one of the Smiths - Bessie, Clara, Trixie, or Mamie - was singing the blues." - Langston Hughes

Data »

Particulars for Lincoln Theatre, Harlem, NYC:
Cultural Affiliation Black American
Sight Category Building
Level of Significance National
Area of Significance Performing Arts
Criteria Person
Owner Private
Area of Significance Theatre




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