Some of the greatest African American luminaries of the 20th century including W.E.B. Du Bois and Count Basie lived and worked in Harlem. But in the 1990s, many of the buildings and the architectural cornices - moldings atop the buildings - were threatened by development .
The most endangered listing by the National Trust for Historic Preservation heightened the community’s awareness of the loss of the cornices, but development projects continue to threaten the neighborhood’s architectural character. Increased listings to the national register and the use of historic tax credits, however, are contributing to the neighborhood’s revitalization.
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