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THE LINCOLN AT 90
Harlem's first black theater is turning 90, and no, it's not the Apollo. When that fabled showplace began life as Hurtig & Seamon's Music Hall in 1913, African Americans could scarcely cross its door. Of all Harlem's big theaters, only one was desegregated from the day it opened:
"Unique among the playhouses of America is New York's New Lincoln Theatre, located on 135th Street…catering exclusively to a colored clientele." The article, from the June 1916 issue of Theatre magazine, praises the Lincoln Theater (which had opened the previous year) for housing what is probably the first African-American stock company in Harlem: "a building and an entertainment in which [patrons] might take pride."
But the Lincoln's greatest fame came within the next decade, when its stage hosted the most famous performers in blues and jazz, among them Bessie Smith, Florence Mills and, in her New York debut, Ethel Waters. Legendary black journalist Thomas Fleming recalls seeing a teenage Fats Waller perform as the in-house organist during the late teens: "The kids worshipped him because it was a heck of a thing to be playing at the Lincoln Theater at his age." By 1929, the Lincoln was touting its history with the tagline, "First Colored Theatre in Harlem."
While black entertainment largely shifted south to 125th Street and the new, rechristened Apollo in the 30s, the show didn't stop there.
"For us, it's a very rich piece of Harlem history," says Reverend Darnell L. Montgomery, Senior Pastor of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, which has occupied the building since the 1960s. Unlike the leaders of some other Harlem congregations now housed in former entertainment palaces, Montgomery sees no conflict with the building's secular past:
"African-Americans had great opportunities within these walls, and now we're back again. I believe one of the most tragic things is that 40 years ago, when we moved into the building, we didn't retain enough of the original theater content."
Still, much of the structure remains intact, notwithstanding the tiled, 60s-era façade and dropped ceilings. 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.
Montgomery hopes that the extensive renovation he's planning for the church later this year will garner, at the very least, an historical plaque out front.
"There are a lot of people who don't know that this was once the Lincoln Theater. I think it's a travesty. As much as the Lincoln played a role in this community, it still does today."
—David Freeland