The Top Neighborhood in New York City
On the East Side of the top neighborhood in New York City is Spanish Harlem (El Barrio), with its tenements, bodegas, La Marqueta, Spanish and Latino eateries. On the West side of Harlem are the famous Washington and Hamilton Heights, Sugar Hill, Strivers Row and Marcus Garvey Park (formerly Mt. Morris Park) Historic District all with a mixture of grand pre-war apartment buildings, tenements and elegant well preserved brownstones. These sections each boasts it’s own flavor and identity, each one uniquely different from the other. In El Barrio on the southeast corner of 118th Street and Lexington Avenue grows a peach tree that is loaded with big beautiful peaches.
The main cross street (East to West) are 145th, 135th, 125th, and 116th Streets. Each one extends from river to river and are lined with and assortment of stores and other businesses. 125th Street is the hub of the businesses district in Harlem. It hosts businesses from the one and only Cotton Club to the newly arrived Dinosaur Bar B-Que; Subways to Starbucks, the famous Apollo Theater, Disney, Modell’s, more than one dozen banks, Pathmark and the New Haven Railroad station. Many of its sidewalks are lined with vendor’s stands selling books, CDs, DVDs, and other wares. On West 116th Street and Lenox Avenue is the African open-air market with its colorful assortment of ethnic fabrics, clothing, jewelry, masks, carvings and other specialties from the Mother Land. On the corner of Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. (7th Avenue) is the famous Graham Court apartment building, which is renown for its grand structure as well as the fact that it has been home to many of Harlem’s elite. The main avenues with their approx. 30 feet of sidewalks are lined with art galleries, specialty shops, spa’s, millineries, boutiques and hair and braiding salons.
A short stroll from the hub of Harlem is the Manhattan Valley with its townhouses a grand newly renovated castle-like mansion that has been converted into a Jazz club, bed and breakfast and hostel. Just a bit to the north is Morningside Heights, the educational epic center of New York City. Within less than a one mile radius is Barnard College, Columbia University, Bank Street College, Teacher’s College, Jewish Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, and Manhattan School of Music. This area also boasts the world famous Riverside Church and the world’s largest cathedral, St. John the Divine.
Entertainment
What’s your pleasure? Harlem has it all. Live entertainment at the Apollo Theater, or a movie at the one and only Magic Johnson Movie Theater, or Poetry reading at the Harlem Tea Room or the Uptown Renaissance, or jazz at the newly reopened Minton’s Playhouse, or an old fashioned jam session at Amsterdam Music Association or an impromptu performance at Harlem’s Jazz Day Club, it’s all here. Or for a more intellectual fare the Schombourg Library on West 135th Street has the greatest African American collection. Not far from there is The Gatehouse, Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall where culture flows.
Dining
Harlem offers a veritable cornucopia of fine eats that will satisfy every palate: Fine Italian on East 118th Street and 5th Avenue, French pastries on 120th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.; Seafood at Pier 2110, MoBay and the Taste of Sea Food; Soul Food at Uptown Renaissance at 108 West 116th Street; Southern cuisine at Mannas, Amy Ruth’s and Sylvia’s; Caribbean, Chinese and American. Or maybe a spot of tea at the Harlem Tea Room is more to your liking. For pastries it’s off to Make My Cake for a piece of their original sweet potato cheesecake or their red velvet cake.
Churches
Harlem is the urban cultural center of black America, as such a visit must also include one of it s many churches on a Sunday morning. Choices include Canaan Baptist Church on West 116th Street, the pulpit from which Martin Luther King Jr. preached one of his famous sermons; then there is Abyssinian Baptist Church where the pastor is non other than the famous Rev. Calvin Butts; or Mount Olivet one of the many beautiful old churches in the area; or Bethel Gospel Assembly, the church with a legacy of reconciliation. The passionate sounds of joyous singing, clapping, and shouting is sure to stir up a response from the most conservative worshiper.
Special Events
In addition to the everyday happenings in Harlem, there are some extra special ones worth catching among them are Harlem Week and Harlem Book Fair in August; Puerto Rican Day Parade in July; Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday in January; Black History Month in February; African American Day Parade in September; and Kwanza in December.
After a tour of Harlem, New York, there is nothing more comforting than knowing that transportation is always no more than a few steps away. Whether your mode of travel is by bus, express bus, train, subway or taxi, or tourist bus it is never more than a few steps away.
For additional information about Harlem, visit the following sites:
www.welcometoharlem.com
www.harlemonestop.com
www.harlemworldmag.com
www.eatinharlem.com
