Virtual 1930s Harlem

Raiford writes "Students can now take fully guided field trips in a VR environment. An article in the newsroom section of the IEEE website describes a trip to an historic Virtual Harlem setting in the 1920s and 30s. The article gives a description of the VR technology and programming and states that the simulation is supported for both Silicon Graphics and Linux platforms"

Comments

Re:Why?

[colmore]

Speaking as someone who lives a few blocks south and west of the historic neighborhoods of south Harlem, the reason is simple: old Harlem doesn't exist.

125th street is as much of a mall as you'll find on the island. The old storefronts, clubs, and apartments have been replaced by chain outlets like Old Navy and the like. The few remnants of the old days have been completely comodified and stripped of their sincerity. The Apollo no longer has any sort of focus on Jazz or Blues, and even then Jazz and Blues stopped being innovative areas of music decades ago. Harlem in the 1930s was a cultural center, a breeding ground for a new and uniquely American style of poetry, music, and art. Now it's just the last frontier for the complete Gentrification and Disnification of Manhattan.

So where's the virtual East Village of the 1970s?