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120 Odell Clark Place



On 138th Street in Central Harlem stands an apartment building erected on the hallowed ground of what had once been Liberty Hall, Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association’s assembly hall where the organization met for nightly meetings and speeches. Dominique has lived at 120 Odell Clark Place for 11 years with her dog Baby. Across the street from the famed Abyssinian Baptist Church is an empty lot used for overflow parking. Built in 1937, the six-story apartment building on Odell Clark Place is where the street’s namesake once lived with his wife Robbie Clark and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. on the fifth floor. Gee, son of original band member of The Drifters, Gerhart Thrasher, holds the base of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trophy from his father’s induction ceremony in 1988. Four generations of women (from left to right) Jolie (4), Bella (4) Hawa, Fatmata, and Memuna (Granny), originally from Sierra Leone, all live under one roof supporting one another through the challenges brought on from the coronavirus pandemic. Under the buzz of fluorescent lights and despite the signs and warnings to dissuade thieves, packages at 120 Odell Clark Place are stolen regularly. Charles and his wife Liz have lived at 120 Odell Clark place for 15 years. Charles, a photographer, created a home studio in their living room. When tenants move out of the rent stabilized units of 120 Odell Clark Place, the apartments are painted and minor repairs are made to bathrooms and kitchens. Jade and her partner, Ari moved into their first home together with their daughter, Bronx in February 2021. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jade was unable to celebrate her pregnancy and Bronx’s birth with extended family and friends. Tim, a software engineer who has lived in the building for 16 years, loves looking at floorplans of buildings around the city and visualizing how they might look inside. Tim drew a blueprint of 120 Odell Clark place from memory. An iconic detail of urban life, fire escapes were mandated in New York City from the 1860s to the 1960s. Moving to the same building as her daughter Toni, with the increased flexibility of her job to work entirely remotely, Donna now splits her time between her apartment in New York and her apartment in Mexico. Built in 1937, 120 Odell Clark Place is a pre-war building that despite its deterioration, maintains some of the character and details not seen in modern buildings, such as built-in metal hampers in the bathrooms and drying racks in the kitchens. Liz and Charles had a rough 2020. Before starting a new job, she had a miscarriage. Then the pandemic hit New York City. Unable to properly grieve in the moment, Liz learned over the course of the year what she needed to heal and how to not isolate herself from her loved ones. In various places around the apartment, Liz and Charles keep dried roses from anniversaries and birthdays. After moving a lot as a kid, 17 times by the time she was 15, Grace considers 120 Odell Clark Place home. Having lived here since 2011, it’s the longest she’s ever lived in one place. Two doors both alike in dignity, in fair Harlem, where we lay our scene… The mementos we keep in our small New York City apartments reveal our values. Gee uses his space to display memorabilia and family photos including this photograph of his stepfather, John Henry Broome during his World War II service. Even with the trash and recycling at the curb, the façade of 120 Odell Clark Place appears cinematic with the night’s shadow masking its flaws and the different-colored front lights shining as our beacon of home.
















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