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Nov. 14th, 2013 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogEven though I'm trying to work on schoolwork, I can't seem to stay away from social media. I need to get better about that.
But since I"m here, I thought I'd share this fantastic map with you.
Maps are really neat things. They can be so much more than a direct, informative guide to navigation, or a representation of geographically-tied data. They can tell you a great deal about a worldview, a culture, or how a particular place and time was perceived by those who experienced it.
This map of Harlem, circa 1932, is a fantastic look at the nightlife scene of the capitol of African-American culture nationwide during the Harlem Renaissance. Not just a map of where the nightclubs are, or even who's playing at them, this cartographer wants you to see them dressed up in their show-biz finery, to hear them tickling the ivories or belting out a "Ho-de-hi-di-ho!" Ask for Geo. Woods at the the Log Cabin, it whispers to you. Ask for Clarence at Club Hotcha, but not 'till after 2 A.M. Nothing happens before then.
Several figures scattered around the map hint at some of the less-savory activities of '20s and '30s Harlem. The stooped figure of the "Reefer man" confers with a couple others, leaning in to offer "Marahuana cigarettes, 2 for $.25". Several figures try to find answers to the question "What's de numbah?", a reference (according to another analysis of this map I found on line) to a numbers-based gambling game that was popular at the time. Even the police are in on it, an interesting comment on how law enforcement at the time was viewed. Perhaps here in Harlem where, as an article in a 1921 issue of The Independant wrote, "Even the cops are colored," this implies a less adversarial relationship between African Americans and the generally White structure of governmental power than was typically the case.
Maps tell where things are in relationship to each other. But sometimes they tell you so very much more than that. Despite the fact that I'm taking classes and working toward a GIS certificate with the goal of learning to turn quantitative geographic data into straight-forward visual representation, the maps that I find really fascinating and appealing are ones like this. Ones that have more to say, and do it in a way that speaks on numerous levels.
http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/476-go-late-a-night-club-map-of-harlem
But since I"m here, I thought I'd share this fantastic map with you.
Maps are really neat things. They can be so much more than a direct, informative guide to navigation, or a representation of geographically-tied data. They can tell you a great deal about a worldview, a culture, or how a particular place and time was perceived by those who experienced it.
This map of Harlem, circa 1932, is a fantastic look at the nightlife scene of the capitol of African-American culture nationwide during the Harlem Renaissance. Not just a map of where the nightclubs are, or even who's playing at them, this cartographer wants you to see them dressed up in their show-biz finery, to hear them tickling the ivories or belting out a "Ho-de-hi-di-ho!" Ask for Geo. Woods at the the Log Cabin, it whispers to you. Ask for Clarence at Club Hotcha, but not 'till after 2 A.M. Nothing happens before then.
Several figures scattered around the map hint at some of the less-savory activities of '20s and '30s Harlem. The stooped figure of the "Reefer man" confers with a couple others, leaning in to offer "Marahuana cigarettes, 2 for $.25". Several figures try to find answers to the question "What's de numbah?", a reference (according to another analysis of this map I found on line) to a numbers-based gambling game that was popular at the time. Even the police are in on it, an interesting comment on how law enforcement at the time was viewed. Perhaps here in Harlem where, as an article in a 1921 issue of The Independant wrote, "Even the cops are colored," this implies a less adversarial relationship between African Americans and the generally White structure of governmental power than was typically the case.
Maps tell where things are in relationship to each other. But sometimes they tell you so very much more than that. Despite the fact that I'm taking classes and working toward a GIS certificate with the goal of learning to turn quantitative geographic data into straight-forward visual representation, the maps that I find really fascinating and appealing are ones like this. Ones that have more to say, and do it in a way that speaks on numerous levels.
http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/476-go-late-a-night-club-map-of-harlem
