Florence Mills House

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Florence Mills House
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
current view of where Florence Mills House stood
current view of where Florence Mills House stood
Location: 220 West 135th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York [1], [2]
Designated as NHL: December 8, 1976 [3]
Added to NRHP: December 8, 1976 [4]
NRHP Reference#: 76001244 [5]

Florence Mills House at 220 West 135th Street was believed to be where Florence Mills, 1896-1927, lived from 1910 to 1927. She was a leading African-American actress and entertainer during the 1920s.[6] She lived at this address, or a similar address a few blocks away, during her most productive years. The 220 West 135th Street building that existed in 1927 no longer stands and has been replaced. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.[3]

[edit] Incorrect address

There is contention that the actual address of her home was 220 West 133rd Street, and that a mistake was perpetuated from a photo of the house being mislabelled as being on West 135th Street in a New York Evening Journal article at the time of her death.[7] The 220 West 133rd Street building has also been demolished and replaced.[7] The mistake in landmarking the West 135th Street address is acknowledged implicitly by the National Park Service, in stating that "For a number of years, this four-story row house was thought to be Mills home for most of her tragically short life."[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ New+York County listings at the National Register of Historic Places
  2. ^ [[http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/76001244.pdf Florence Mills House--photos of 220 W. 135th Street accompanying NHL/NRHP nomination, from 1976.]PDF (515 KiB) National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination]. National Park Service (1976).
  3. ^ a b Florence Mills House. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service (2007-09-11).
  4. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  5. ^ NHL Additional Writeup
  6. ^ Places Where Women Made History: Florence Mills House, at National Park Service, downloaded 9/13/2007
  7. ^ a b Florence Mills.com
  8. ^ Places Where Women Made History: Florence Mills House, at National Park Service, downloaded 9/13/2007

[edit] External links

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