We have a detailed history of Tin Pan Alley thanks to invaluable information from the Historic Districts Council in their “Brief-ish History of Tin Pan Alley” written in 2008, and Michael Minn in his piece “Tin Pan Alley”, part of his “New York City” photography collection project. As both accounts cover both overlapping and different information, we present them both below. Many thanks to them both for their thorough and dogged research and insightful presentation.
Upcoming Events
Come, Josephine! A Family Sing-Along with Tin Pan Alley
Sunday, July 12, 10-11:30 AM
Poster House, 119 West 23rd Street, NY 10011
(bet. 6th & 7th Ave)
Come sing-along in a "flying machine" of fun songs from Tin Pan Alley on Sunday, July 12, 2026, 10:00 to 11:30 AM. Children of all ages are invited to soar into an imaginative flight of fancy as they sing, dance, and learn about classic American popular songs like “Come, Josephine In My Flying Machine,” "Ballin' the Jack," and “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.” This interactive workshop will be led by theater and music educator Robert Lamont, Education Committee Chair of the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project.
A co-sponsored event by the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project, Poster House, and The West Side Festival, singing and dance activities are planned for all. Children will learn how songs are created and that they, too can create a popular song or dance. Adults will delight in stories of how the songs were written right here in New York City and how their legacy remains strong in our shared culture to this day.
Special guest, Eve Burris, granddaughter of James Henry Burris, lyricist of "Ballin' the Jack," will speak about the career of her grandfather on Tin Pan Alley, the musical stage and screen.
The event is free to all, but space is limited! To reserve free tickets, click here.
Poster House Walking Tour of Harlem
with Historian, John T. Reddick
Saturday, July 18, 11 am to 1 pm
On-site address provided with ticket purchase
Celebrating the exhibition, Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage & Screen, and our partnering museum, Poster House, join Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project Board Member, John T. Reddick for a walking tour in Harlem. Explore the historic institutions, cultural landmarks, and architectural icons that shaped Black performance and public life in the neighborhood under the guidance of a true expert!
Participants will stop at key sites like Strivers’ Row, the Schomburg Center, and Harlem Hospital’s WPA murals, investigating the ways in which Harlem’s built environment served as both backdrop and catalyst for the Harlem Renaissance and the cultural flourishing of the area. Along the way, Reddick will connect the imagery in Act Black to the streets where Black actors, musicians, and cultural leaders transformed American stage and screen, highlighting the powerful intersection of place, performance, and poster art.
John T. Reddick is an architectural preservationist, historian, and collector of Harlem-related documents and ephemera, several Tin Pan Alley sheet music pieces of which are on view in Act Black. He has contributed his knowledge of Harlem’s culture and architecture to a number of public art and open space projects in that community, among them the Ralph Ellison Memorial, Harriet Tubman Square, and the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Circle. Supported by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, Reddick is currently working with the Central Park Conservancy to encourage public discussion around the history of Seneca Village as the basis for a formal commemoration of that predominantly African American community, established before the founding of Central Park itself.
Reddick received his BS in Architecture from Ohio State University and his MA in Architecture from Yale University.
For more tickets and information about this event, click here
Information on visiting Poster House and seeing Act Black, visit:
![Harlem Is Heaven [PH].jpeg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5a0eff_88ebeb7d4f294f318bec4b79a5c70b5f~mv2.jpeg/v1/crop/x_47,y_33,w_1556,h_1020/fill/w_328,h_215,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Harlem%20Is%20Heaven%20%5BPH%5D.jpeg)