“Goodbye to Glocamorra” (1968) is a documentary film originally made for broadcast on Irish television and is a fascinating look at the predominantly Irish Inwood of yesteryear. The film takes an unflinching look at the forces of transformation at work in the late 1960’s in the neighborhood. Inwood at the time was one of the last Irish immigrant communities in New York City.
Besides being a stroll down memory lane, the documentary captures a community on the cusp of change and a neighborhood in the throes of a deep demographic shift. That Inwood no longer exists but we now find the community going through a similar upheaval, which begs a whole host of questions. Will Uptown retain it’s Dominican identity? Who will define the Uptown of tomorrow? What comes next?
Related:
The Washington Heights Riots of 1992 Remembered – Part 1
The Washington Heights Riots of 1992 Remembered – Part 2
Postcards from the Edge | My Inwood
Historic Inwood – The Dyckman Oval
Historic Inwood – The Seaman Drake Arch
Heights History – Hilltop Park
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PL
December 2, 2012 at 12:02 pmwow! fear,hate,ignorance,violence and stupidity (including the priest.lol).unfortunatley the cycle continues with the current occupants of this neighborhood.Dominicans against Mexican and Blacks.smh.
Maria
March 6, 2013 at 6:09 pmAlways so important to know the history of a place and a people. Great question – what might be next? I see Inwood really on the rise and hope that gentrification doesn’t push out the people who have lived here for so long.
jan
March 17, 2013 at 5:40 pmThis bothers me and tells me why we had problems in the 60’s and 70’s
Seán Curtain
November 19, 2017 at 3:41 amGreat video!
Seán Curtain
November 19, 2017 at 3:54 amThis video includes a glimpse of Gaelic Park, an Irish “institute” that still exists, but its long term future is probably in doubt for lack of new Irish immigrants. I first attended Gaelic Park in May, 1958, and continued to do so until March of 1960, when I moved to Camp Lejune to start basic training in the Marine Corps. In the ’60s, there were at least 10 from my local area in Ireland serving in the U.S. military, including 2 officers. I think it was around 1965 that the new immigration laws SHUT the door on would-be Irish immigrants. By the early ’70s, very few who attended Gaelic Park wore U.S. military uniforms, even though about 30 known Irish natives K.I.A.s in Korea who between them had 3 BRONZE STARS and one SILVER STAR>
Seán Curtain
November 22, 2017 at 7:34 pmI’ve watched this vdeo many times
Seán Curtain
December 8, 2017 at 6:16 pmNow that CHRISTMAS is only 2½ weeks from now, I’m reminded of the first CHRISTMAS I spent in Inwood, which was in 1958. At that time almost everyone called CHRISTMAS by its actual name; it was NOT the holiday or the season; it was simply and accurately CHRISTMAS. Nollaih shone bheanniththe daoibh. (A happy, holy CHRIST<AS to you all).