Harlem Gospel Multimedia Walking Tour

The tour was led by two people. First, we were met by Andi, a 91 year old gentleman, former actor and historian, who greeted us and gave us an introductory talk, and accompanied us to the church, where we attended the service for about an hour. You can go to such a service on your own, but as a first-timer, it may feel a bit intimidating, and it was nice to have someone in the know accompanying you. (Visitors usually sit on a special balcony, where the rules are less strict than in the main hall, which is called the sanctuary, and you don't have to stay for the full 2.5 hour service). The church was a historically significant one, as we learnt later, but then, those streets are chock full of important history. Next, we were introduced to our tour guide, Neal, a.k.a. Mr Harlem, who led us on a tour of the neighborhood and explained its history, including a walk through the housing projects where he himself grew up. (Andi also accompanied us on the tour, rounding up stragglers.) He accompanied the tour with music, sometimes just while we were walking along, but often with lyrics that he then carefully elucidated to point out their relevance to the area. Neal has a larger-than-life personality and a good speaker, taking care to speak clearly. People passing by kept greeting him and waving, and/or adding their own comments or stories. The tour helped us get the feel of the area and made us like it very much. I feel it was money very well spent to get a much richer experience of the area than we would have on our own. This tour was one of the definite highlights of our trip to New York and I recommend it warmly.