This 1933 map illustrated by cartoonist Simms Campbell shows the vibrant nightlife of a Jazz-age Harlem.
IF NEW YORK is the city that never sleeps, then this map shows you where it used to go to stay awake. It was published on January 18th 1933, in the first issue of Manhattan: A Weekly for Wakeful New Yorkers. In those days, Harlem was known by its jive-talking denizens as the “land o’ darkness”. It was a place that came alive at night, when jazz played hot and hepcats talked cool. Harlem “was the place for a Negro to be,” the singer Cab Calloway wrote in his memoir. “And no one knew it better than my friend, E. Simms Campbell” – the man behind this map.
Check out the full article for more behind the map.
via Intelligent Life
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
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