515 Edge\u00adcombe Avenue (\u201ccombe\u201d is derived from an Anglo-Sax\u00adon word mean\u00ading \u201chill\u201d) is locat\u00aded in a neigh\u00adbor\u00adhood bathed in his\u00adto\u00adry.<\/p>\n
![\"main-17651-300x200-9706281\"](\"https:\/\/edgecombe.emagines.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/main-17651-300x200-9706281.jpg\")
Just 2 blocks north of our build\u00ading is the his\u00adtoric Mor\u00adris-Jumel Man\u00adsion. Gen\u00ader\u00adal Wash\u00ading\u00adton used Mor\u00adris-Jumel Man\u00adsion (MJM) as his head\u00adquar\u00adters dur\u00ading the fall of 1776. It was dur\u00ading this peri\u00adod that the General\u2019s troops forced a British retreat at the Rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adary War Bat\u00adtle of Harlem Heights<\/p>\n
The house was built eleven years before the rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion, in 1765, by British Colonel Roger Mor\u00adris and his Amer\u00adi\u00adcan wife, Mary Philipse. The breezy hill\u00adtop loca\u00adtion proved an ide\u00adal loca\u00adtion for the family\u2019s sum\u00admer home. Known as Mount Mor\u00adris, this north\u00adern Man\u00adhat\u00adtan estate stretched from the Harlem to the Hud\u00adson Rivers and cov\u00adered more than 130 acres. Because they were loy\u00adal to the crown, the Mor\u00adris\u00ades were even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly forced to return to Eng\u00adland.<\/p>\n
Dur\u00ading the war, the hill\u00adtop loca\u00adtion of the Man\u00adsion was val\u00adued for more than its cool sum\u00admer breezes. With views of the Harlem Riv\u00ader, the Bronx, and Long Island Sound to the east, New York City and the har\u00adbor to the south, and the Hud\u00adson Riv\u00ader and Jer\u00adsey Pal\u00adisades to the west, Mount Mor\u00adris proved to be a strate\u00adgic mil\u00adi\u00adtary head\u00adquar\u00adters. Short\u00adly after the Bat\u00adtle of Harlem Heights, Wash\u00ading\u00adton and his troops left the Man\u00adsion and, for a time, it was occu\u00adpied by British and Hes\u00ads\u00adian forces.<\/p>\n
Pres\u00adi\u00addent Wash\u00ading\u00adton returned to the Man\u00adsion on July 10, 1790, and dined with mem\u00adbers of his cab\u00adi\u00adnet. Guests at the table includ\u00aded two future Pres\u00adi\u00addents of the Unit\u00aded States: Vice Pres\u00adi\u00addent John Adams and Sec\u00adre\u00adtary of State Thomas Jef\u00adfer\u00adson. Sec\u00adre\u00adtary of the Trea\u00adsury Alexan\u00adder Hamil\u00adton and Sec\u00adre\u00adtary of War Hen\u00adry Knox also attend\u00aded.<\/p>\n
The Man\u00adsion is built in the Pal\u00adla\u00addi\u00adan style, with a sec\u00adond sto\u00adry bal\u00adcony and a two-sto\u00adry front por\u00adti\u00adco sup\u00adport\u00aded by clas\u00adsi\u00adcal columns. The two-sto\u00adry octa\u00adgon at the rear of the house is believed to be the first of its kind any\u00adwhere in the colonies. The first floor of the 8,500 square foot house fea\u00adtures rooms for fam\u00adi\u00adly and social gath\u00ader\u00adings, and includes the par\u00adlor in which Madame Eliza Jumel mar\u00adried Aaron Burr in 1833. Across the hall stands the din\u00ading room where Wash\u00ading\u00adton like\u00adly enter\u00adtained his guests in 1790. At the far end of the hall, the octag\u00ado\u00adnal draw\u00ading room, or with\u00addraw\u00ading room as it is prop\u00ader\u00adly known, pro\u00advid\u00aded a grand set\u00adting for social gath\u00ader\u00adings. Bed\u00adrooms on the sec\u00adond floor include those of George Wash\u00ading\u00adton, Eliza Jumel, and Aaron Burr. The base\u00adment hous\u00ades the colo\u00adnial-era kitchen and tells the sto\u00adry of domes\u00adtic servi\u00adtude at the Man\u00adsion. The room fea\u00adtures the orig\u00adi\u00adnal hearth and a bee-hive oven as well as a col\u00adlec\u00adtion of ear\u00adly Amer\u00adi\u00adcan cook\u00ading uten\u00adsils. Through archi\u00adtec\u00adture and a diverse col\u00adlec\u00adtion of dec\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtive arts objects, each room of the Mor\u00adris-Jumel Man\u00adsion reveals a spe\u00adcif\u00adic aspect of its col\u00ador\u00adful his\u00adto\u00adry from the 18th through the 19th cen\u00adturies.<\/p>\n
[This text is tak\u00aden from the Mor\u00adris-Jumel Man\u00adsion web\u00adsite.]<\/p>\n
Coogan\u2019s Bluff, a large cliff extend\u00ading north\u00adward from 155th Street in Man\u00adhat\u00adtan, once was the site of the fabled Polo Grounds, the home of the New York Giants (base\u00adball) for over 5 decades, and the first home of the New York Mets. <\/p>\n
To the north of High\u00adbridge park is a wood\u00aded area with\u00adin which lies a land\u00admark schist rock that pokes through the dirt called Coogan\u2019s Bluff. It is named after James Coogan, Man\u00adhat\u00adtan Bor\u00adough Pres\u00adi\u00addent, who sold the land to New York Giants own\u00ader John T. Brush, who moved the Giants to the sec\u00adond Polo Grounds in 1891.<\/p>\n
It sits atop a steep escarp\u00adment that descends 175 feet to the Harlem Riv\u00ader Val\u00adley below. In 1891, John T. Brush (1845\u20131912), the Giants\u2019 own\u00ader, bought the land for the sta\u00addi\u00adum from James J. Coogan (1845\u20131915), a real estate mer\u00adchant and Man\u00adhat\u00adtan Bor\u00adough Pres\u00adi\u00addent (1899\u20131901).<\/p>\n
The Giants orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly played in a polo field on 111th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Brush kept the name, Polo Grounds, when he moved the team to Coogan\u2019s Bluff in 1891. In April 1911, the Polo Grounds, an elab\u00ado\u00adrate wood\u00aden struc\u00adture, burned to the ground. By Octo\u00adber, the Giants were host\u00ading the Philadel\u00adphia Ath\u00adlet\u00adics for the 1911 World Series in a rebuilt sta\u00addi\u00adum of con\u00adcrete and steel. The new Polo Grounds boast\u00aded box seats of Ital\u00adian mar\u00adble, orna\u00admen\u00adtal Amer\u00adi\u00adcan eagles on the balustrade, and blue and gold ban\u00adners, 30 feet apart, fly\u00ading from a can\u00adtilever roof. At the time, it was the pre\u00admier Major League Base\u00adball sta\u00addi\u00adum.<\/p>\n
![\"anderson_span-300x142-4700419\"](\"https:\/\/edgecombe.emagines.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/anderson_span-300x142-4700419.jpg\")
Base\u00adball soon estab\u00adlished itself as the quin\u00adtes\u00adsen\u00adtial Amer\u00adi\u00adcan game, and the New York Giants made sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtions to 20th cen\u00adtu\u00adry base\u00adball lore. Mel Ott (1909\u20131958) and Willie Mays (b.1931) are thought to be among the finest play\u00aders of all time; and the names of Christy Math\u00adew\u00adson (1878\u20131925) and Carl Hubbell (1903\u20131988) are still men\u00adtioned when\u00adev\u00ader great pitch\u00aders are dis\u00adcussed. The Giants also pro\u00advid\u00aded base\u00adball with one of its most dra\u00admat\u00adic moments: \u201cthe shot heard round the world.\u201d In 1951, the Giants and their arch-rivals the Brook\u00adlyn Dodgers were in the ninth inning of the decid\u00ading game in a play-off to deter\u00admine the Nation\u00adal League pen\u00adnant win\u00adner. With two outs left in the game, the Dodgers were ahead 4\u20132 when Bob\u00adby Thom\u00adson came to bat for the Giants and hit a 3\u2011run home run win\u00adning the game for the Giants, and mak\u00ading base\u00adball his\u00adto\u00adry.<\/p>\n
In 1957, the own\u00ader of the Giants, Horace Stone\u00adham (1903\u20131990) broke many New York hearts when he announced that he was mov\u00ading the Giants to San Fran\u00adcis\u00adco. The Polo Grounds remained for sev\u00aden more years, serv\u00ading as home to the New York Mets for the 1962 and 1963 sea\u00adsons. In 1964 the sta\u00addi\u00adum was demol\u00adished and now the Polo Grounds Tow\u00aders, a hous\u00ading project, occu\u00adpies the site. All that is left of the orig\u00adi\u00adnal Polo Grounds is an old stair\u00adcase on the side of the cliff that once led to the tick\u00adet booth.<\/p>\n
Today, Coogan\u2019s Bluff is part of High\u00adbridge Park, which was assem\u00adbled piece\u00admeal between 1867 and the 1960s, with the bulk being acquired through con\u00addem\u00adna\u00adtion from 1895 to 1901. The cliff\u00adside area from West 181st Street to Dyck\u00adman Street was acquired in 1902, and the par\u00adcel includ\u00ading Fort George Hill was acquired in 1928. The park extends from 155th Street in North Harlem to Dyck\u00adman Street in Wash\u00ading\u00adton Heights\/Inwood. The Friends of High\u00adbridge Park are involved in pre\u00adserv\u00ading the park\u2019s his\u00adto\u00adry and the New York Restora\u00adtion Project has cleaned the park and restored its trails.<\/p>\n
[This text is part of Parks\u2019 His\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal Signs Project and can be found post\u00aded with\u00adin the park.]<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/www.edgecombe.us\/coopsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/robe1-238x300.jpg\")
The Paul Robe\u00adson Res\u00adi\u00addence, a Nation\u00adal His\u00adtoric Land\u00admark, is locat\u00aded at 555 Edge\u00adcombe Avenue in New York City.<\/p>\n
Paul Robe\u00adson (1898\u20131976) \u2014 actor, singer, civ\u00adil rights advo\u00adcate \u2014 lived in an apart\u00adment in this 13 sto\u00adry apart\u00adment build\u00ading from 1939\u20131941, upon his return from liv\u00ading and per\u00adform\u00ading in Europe.<\/p>\n
Paul Robe\u00adson was a gift\u00aded stu\u00addent and ath\u00adlete while attend\u00ading Rut\u00adgers Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty in New Jer\u00adsey. He was a bril\u00adliant Phi Beta Kap\u00adpa stu\u00addent, two time All Amer\u00adi\u00adcan foot\u00adball play\u00ader (1917\u20131918), and won hon\u00adors in debat\u00ading and ora\u00adto\u00adry. He grad\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded from Colum\u00adbia Law School but gave up law to pur\u00adsue a career in singing and act\u00ading. Robe\u00adson per\u00adformed on Broad\u00adway, and is not\u00aded for his lead\u00ading roles in Oth\u00adel\u00adlo<\/i> and Eugene O\u2019Neill\u2019s play, Emper\u00ador Jones<\/i>, and his stun\u00adning ren\u00addi\u00adtion of the song \u201cOle Man Riv\u00ader\u201d in the musi\u00adcal Show\u00adboat.<\/i> In 1934, he vis\u00adit\u00aded the Sovi\u00adet Union, where he felt ful\u00adly accept\u00aded as a black artist. Dur\u00ading World War II, he enter\u00adtained troops at the front and sang bat\u00adtle songs on the radio.<\/p>\n
In 1937, Robe\u00adson wrote, \u201cthe artist must elect to fight for free\u00addom or for slav\u00adery. I have made my choice. I have no alter\u00adna\u00adtive.\u201d He con\u00adtin\u00adued this fight for free\u00addom, both polit\u00adi\u00adcal and artis\u00adtic, until his death in 1976.<\/p>\n
Despite his war efforts, he was labeled \u201csub\u00adver\u00adsive\u201d by McCarthyites, who were wary of his ear\u00adli\u00ader trip to the Sovi\u00adet Union, his sup\u00adport of the 1947 St. Louis pick\u00adet\u00ading against seg\u00adre\u00adga\u00adtion of black actors and a Pana\u00adma effort to orga\u00adnize the most\u00adly-black Pana\u00adman\u00adian work\u00aders. Robe\u00adson began receiv\u00ading death threats from the Ku Klux Klan while cam\u00adpaign\u00ading for the Pro\u00adgres\u00adsive Par\u00adty can\u00addi\u00addate in the 1948 pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial elec\u00adtion. When he pub\u00adlicly opposed the Cold War, even the nation\u00adal sec\u00adre\u00adtary of the NAACP ques\u00adtioned his loy\u00adal\u00adty as an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan. Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut state offi\u00adcials also went to court to pre\u00advent him from vis\u00adit\u00ading his fam\u00adi\u00adly home in Enfield. Undaunt\u00aded, Robe\u00adson for\u00admal\u00adly denounced the action and on August 27, 1949, trav\u00adeled to Peek\u00adskill, New York, to sing before a group of African Amer\u00adi\u00adcan and Jew\u00adish trade union\u00adists. A KKK-led riot can\u00adceled the con\u00adcert but Robe\u00adson returned the fol\u00adlow\u00ading week with 25,000 sup\u00adport\u00aders. A \u201chuman wall\u201d pro\u00adtect\u00aded Robe\u00adson while he sang, though after\u00adwards many of the con\u00adcert goers were ambushed and beat\u00aden while local police and state troop\u00aders stood by.<\/p>\n
In March 1950, NBC barred Robe\u00adson from appear\u00ading on a tele\u00advi\u00adsion show with Eleanor Roo\u00adsevelt. Con\u00adcert halls closed their doors to him, and his records began to dis\u00adap\u00adpear from stores. After eight years, an inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal out\u00adcry, and the Supreme Court\u2019s rever\u00adsal of the same sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion for the artist Rock\u00adwell Kent in 1958, Robe\u00adson won.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
515 Edge\u00adcombe Avenue (\u201ccombe\u201d is derived from an Anglo-Sax\u00adon word mean\u00ading \u201chill\u201d) is locat\u00aded in a neigh\u00adbor\u00adhood bathed in his\u00adto\u00adry. Mor\u00adris-Jumel Man\u00adsion Just 2 blocks north of our build\u00ading is the his\u00adtoric Mor\u00adris-Jumel Man\u00adsion. Gen\u00ader\u00adal Wash\u00ading\u00adton used Mor\u00adris-Jumel Man\u00adsion (MJM) as his head\u00adquar\u00adters dur\u00ading the fall of 1776. It was dur\u00ading this peri\u00adod that the \u2026 <\/p>\n