Posted on May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 by ErinLincoln Center By: Erin Wengerter, Karissa Collins, Saray Vazquez, & Veeraj Jethalal The Present Lincoln Center An aerial view of Lincoln Center. This displays the major configuration of the Facilities, Plazas, and Park of the Center. A spectacular angle of Lincoln Center displaying the grandeur of the complex during sunset. From this view, one can see an event being held in Damrosch Park. With its vibrancy, Lincoln Center seems as if it is the center of the City itself. The Amsterdam Houses essentially marked the beginning of the reconstruction of the San Juan Hill area. It was created as a public housing project for people in the city by Robert Moses and the Mayor’s Committee on Slum Clearance in 1948. As veterans were returning from war, they demanded housing from the government, and this is what they got: low rent, subsidized housing. Today, the Amsterdam Houses, located between 10th and 11th Avenues, stand almost as a symbol of the demolition of the area and of the result of city planning. They continue to serve the same purpose and are still controlled by the government. As one can see from the photo, parts of the development are still being renovated. It is interesting to note the stark contrast between the remnants of the old pier along with the Amsterdam houses a few blocks away and the tall, modern residential towers in “Trump Place.” These buildings are big, tall, and beautiful; they’re located right on the Hudson. The pier and gantry serve as a memory of the longest railroad/port depot where trains, goods, and cattle were transported for a very long time. The Past Lincoln Center Photo Eddie Hausner, from the NY Times, 1959. San Juan Hill, containing the largest African American population at the time, was formally declared a slum in 1940 by the New York Housing Authority. Demolition soon began in the 1950s. The construction of Lincoln Center leveled 18 blocks, displacing thousands of people, most of whom were Black. The displacement of thousands of African Americans led to the settlement of Harlem, illustrating the northward movement of immigrant communities in Manhattan as the city developed and industrialized. By the 1920s, San Juan Hill was culturally booming in the Jazz scene. Thelonious Monk (left) and James P. Johnson were significant figures in the Jazz movement-Thelonious Monk in the bebop style of Jazz and Jonson’s creation of the Charleston dance craze.