During the Apollo Theater’s heyday as a showcase for Black performers from the 1930s into the 1970s, nearly every important African-American entertainer played here, including many LGBT stars, such as comedian Jackie “Moms” Mabley and singers Alberta Hunter, Little Richard, Luther Vandross, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Johnny Mathis, among others. In the 1960s, the popular drag show Jewel Box Revue was often hosted by LGBT icon, Stormé DeLarverie.

A rare surviving Harlem building that hosted drag balls, this building was originally built by the Imperial Lodge of Elks (also referred to as the Elks Lodge). It was prominently featured in the documentary “Paris Is Burning” (1990), which focused on the city’s 1980s ballroom scene. Drag queens, gay men, and trans women of color from several notable houses from that era competed here, including those from the House of LaBeija, the House of Xtravangaza, and the House of Ninja.

Between the 1920s and 2003, when it was closed by New York City officials, the Mt. Morris Baths was located in the basement of this building. During this period, it was an important social center for gay African-American men and one of the longest operating bathhouses in New York City. Until the 1960s, it was the only gay bathhouse in the city to admit African-American men due to overt discrimination.

Langston Hughes, celebrated poet and leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, lived on the top floor of this Harlem rowhouse from 1947 to 1967. While here, Hughes wrote many notable works centered around African-American life and culture, including "Montage of a Dream Deferred" and "I Wonder as I Wander".

During the Harlem Renaissance, the New York Public Library’s 135th Street Branch served as an intellectual and artistic center for African Americans, including the likes of Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay. In the mid-1920s, the works of these gay poets were included in the newly formed Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints, which ultimately became part of the renowned Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

During the Harlem Renaissance, the New York Public Library’s 135th Street Branch served as an intellectual and artistic center for African Americans, including the likes of Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay. In the mid-1920s, the works of these gay poets were included in the newly formed Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints, which ultimately became part of the renowned Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

The 135th Street Branch of the YMCA (now the Harlem YMCA) and the original West 135th Street Branch across the street were among Harlem’s most important recreational and cultural centers in a time when YMCA branches were segregated. They provided safe and affordable housing in an era when such places were difficult to find for African-American men, and had associations with many key figures in the Harlem and Black communities, including LGBT notables like Claude McKay and Langston Hughes.