Crowds gather outside the Apollo Theater in Harlem on December 28, 2006 (Richard Hake/WNYC)

NEW YORK, NY December 28, 2006 —Harlem is hosting a big party/memorial service right now in honor of James Brown. His body arrived about an hour ago in a gold coffin pulled by two white horses. WNYC's Richard Hake reports.

They are literally dancing in the streets here in harlem. It's more like a carnival than a memorial as thousands of people line up along 125th street in both directions from the famed Apollo Theatre where James Brown's body was carried inside from a white horse-drawn hearse. They are waiting to file passed his coffin as part of a public viewing.

As they wait here on the street there is dancing, lots of photographs under the lighted marquee that reads "Rest In Peace", and Apollo memorabilia for sale. People are hawking James Brown t-shirts, buttons, pictures, bobble heads. There's even one guy who set up a table that has real electric guitars and saxophones, all for sale.

For WNYC on 125th Street, I'm Richard Hake.