Casa Amadeo, antigua Casa Hernandez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Casa Amadeo, antigua Casa Hernandez
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | 786 Prospect Ave., Bronx, New York |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1905 |
| Architect | Meehan, James F. |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 01000244 |
| Added to NRHP | March 23, 2001 |
Casa Amadeo, antigua Casa Hernández is a very special place. It is the oldest Latin music store in New York City. This shop has been open non-stop since 1941. It is located in the Bronx.
Casa Amadeo is inside an old apartment building. This building is in the Longwood area of The Bronx. James F. Meehan designed the building. It was built in 1905 and called The Manhaset. The building has six floors. It is built in a Neo-Renaissance style. This means it looks like old European buildings. The first floor has shops. The bottom two floors are made of rough stone. The top floors are red brick. It has a fancy entrance with Corinthian order columns. A local group called Banana Kelly helps manage the building. They have been fixing up buildings in Longwood since the 1970s.
History of Casa Amadeo
The first music store owned by Puerto Ricans in New York City was Almacenes Hernández. Victoria Hernández and her brother Rafael Hernández started it. This was in 1927, at 1724 Madison Avenue. A record producer named Luis Cuevas bought Almacenes Hernández in 1939.
The Hernández siblings opened their second music store in 1941. They called it Casa Hernández. In 1969, a musician and composer named Miguel Angel "Mike" Amadeo bought the store. He changed its name to Casa Amadeo, antigua Casa Hernández. Mike Amadeo still owns and runs the music store today.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. This means it is a very important historic place.
Who is Miguel Angel Amadeo?
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Miguel Ángel Amadeo
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| Birth name | Miguel Ángel Amadeo Vicente |
| Occupation(s) | musician, composer, music store owner. |
| Years active | 1954––present |
| Labels | Alegre Records, Fania Records |
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Miguel Angel Amadeo is often called "Mike" Amadeo. He is a musician from Puerto Rico. He owns the Casa Amadeo music store in the Bronx. Mike Amadeo was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. His father, Alberto "Titi" Amadeo, was also a musician. His father played with Desi Arnaz for NBC. Mike Amadeo is also the uncle of Grammy Award-nominated musician Tito Nieves.
Mike Amadeo has written almost 300 songs! Many famous artists have performed his music. These include Celia Cruz, Danny Rivera, and Cheito Gonzalez.
In 1954, Amadeo visited Puerto Rico. There, he met a pianist named Rafael Ithier. Ithier was working with a bandleader named Rafael Cortijo. When Cortijo's group broke up, Ithier started a new band. This band was called El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. Amadeo began writing songs for El Gran Combo. One of his most famous songs is Que Me Lo Den en Vida (Give it to Me in Life).
When he returned to New York City, Amadeo joined Alegre Records. He worked with many important Nuyorican musicians. These included Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto, and the brothers Eddie Palmieri and Charlie Palmieri.
Mike Amadeo has lived in the Bronx for a long time. He knows many people in the Latin music community. Because of this, he is known as a community historian. He has been honored many times for his work. He was honored by the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in 2008. The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture held a concert for him in 2005. The Bronx Council on the Arts honored him in 2010. In 2014, a street corner was named after him. The corner of Logwood Avenue and Prospect Avenue is now called Miguel Angel "Mike" Amadeo Way.
See also
- Alegre Records
- Fania Records
- Rafael Hernández Marín
- El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico
- Playground 52
