MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS AND HARLEM
The area between Morningside Park and the Hudson River is dominated by Columbia University and two important churches. Extending north is Harlem, America’s best-known African-American community. Irish, Italian, and Jewish families occupied large townhouses here in the 1880s, but by the 1920s black families predominated. The Harlem Renaissance, when black artistic and intellectual culture flourished, ended with the Depression. Nevertheless, development is reviving the area, causing some to declare a second Renaissance.
1.Columbia University
West 116th St at Broadway • www.columbia.edu 
One of America’s oldest universities, noted for its law, medicine, and journalism schools, Columbia was founded in 1754 as King’s College. It moved in 1897 to its present campus, designed by American Beaux Arts architect Charles McKim. Notable buildings include McKim’s 1898 Low Memorial Library and St. Paul’s Chapel, which has three stained-glass windows by La Farge.
St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University
2.Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave at 112th St • Open 7:30am–6pm daily • Free • www.stjohndivine.org The mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, begun in 1892 and still incomplete, is the largest cathedral in the world. Over 600 ft (180 m) long and 320 ft (96 m) wide, the church is a mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles. Features include the west entrance, the rose window, bay altars, and the Peace Fountain on the south lawn. The medieval stone carving techniques used on the building are taught in workshops for disadvantaged youths (for further details see Cathedral of St. John the Divine).
Statue of St. John the Divine
3.Riverside Church
490 Riverside Drive, between 120th and 122nd Sts • Open 7am–midnight daily • www.theriversidechurchny.org This skyscraper Gothic church financed by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1930, has a 21-story tower with wonderful views. The tower houses the world’s largest carillon, dedicated to Rockefeller’s mother. The stained-glass windows are copies of those at Chartres cathedral with four exceptions – the early 16th-century Flemish windows on the east wall.
Riverside Church
4.Hamilton Heights Historic District
West 141 St to West 145th St Once part of the country estates of the wealthy, like Alexander Hamilton whose 1802 home, Hamilton Grange, is here, this location on a hill above Harlem became desirable in the 1880s when an elevated rail line was built. Fine residences went up between 1886 and 1906, and in the 1920s and 1930s they attracted Harlem’s elite, when the area was dubbed Sugar Hill. Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall and musicians Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway were among those who lived here.
Hamilton Heights Historic District
5.St. Nicholas Historic District (Strivers’ Row)
202–250 West 138th St, between Powell & Frederick Douglass Blvds These fine houses, originally known as the King Model Houses, were built in 1891 when Harlem was a neighborhood for the gentry. Three architects, including McKim, Mead, and White, managed to blend Renaissance, Georgian, and Victorian styles to create a harmonious whole. Successful African-Americans, such as congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., moved here in the 1920s and 1930s, giving rise to the nickname Strivers’ Row.
6.Abyssinian Baptist Church
132 West 138th St, at Powell Blvd • Sunday services at 11am • www.abyssinian.org One of the oldest and most influential African-American churches in the US was organized in 1808 by a group protesting segregation within the Baptist church. The congregation became politically active (starting in 1908) under such leaders as congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Today the church is popular for its gospel choir.
Abyssinian Baptist Church
7.Marcus Garvey Park
West 120th to West 124th Sts, between Lenox & 5th Aves A black nationalist who encouraged emigration to Africa, Garvey became a hero of the Black Pride movement, and the park’s name was changed from Mount Morris in 1973 to honor him. It adjoins the Mount Morris Historical District of handsome houses and churches from an earlier, affluent, German-Jewish era. In the 1920s, as Harlem became mostly African-American, the synagogues became churches, and the houses were divided up.
8.Studio Museum in Harlem
144 West 125th St, at Lenox Ave • Open noon–9pm Thu & Fri, 10am–6pm Sat, noon–6pm Sun • Donations • www.studiomuseum.org Opened in 1967 as an artists’ studio, the organization has become an important center for work by black artists. The present building, which opened in 1982, has undergone a major expansion to add more gallery space, an enlarged sculpture garden, an auditorium, and a café.
Studio Museum in Harlem
9.Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Lenox Ave at 135th St • Open noon–8pm Tue–Thu, 10am–6pm Fri & Sat This complex, opened in 1991, houses the largest research center for African and African-American culture in the US. The immense collection was assembled by Arthur Schomburg. The original building was the unofficial meeting place for the black literary renaissance of the 1920s; the present building includes a theater and two art galleries.
10.Malcolm Shabazz Mosque/Harlem Market
Mosque: 102 West 116th St • Open 9am–5pm daily • Harlem Market: 52–60 West 116th St, between 5th & Lenox Aves • Open 10am–9pm daily The Malcolm Shabazz Mosque was the ministry of the late Malcolm X, and the area around it has become the center of an active Muslim community. Harlem Market nearby sells African art, dolls, and prints.
A DAY IN HARLEM AND MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS
Morning
Begin late Sunday morning and take the No. 2 or No. 3 subway uptown to 135th Street and Lenox Avenue. Walk to Odell Clark Place and turn west to hear the fabulous choir at the Abyssinian Baptist Church.
Continue west along the street to see the fine 1890s homes of the St. Nicholas Historic District and stop on 8th Avenue to enjoy a gospel brunch at Londel’s Supper Club.
Afternoon
Retrace your steps to Lenox Avenue and head downtown to 125th Street to browse the shops. Turn west for the famous Apollo Theater and excellent displays of African-American art at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Stop for coffee at the Starbucks on Lenox Avenue at 125th Street.
Take the M60 bus to West 120th Street and Broadway. Walk down to Riverside Church for fine views over the Hudson River from the bell tower. Across the street is the monument honoring the 18th US president, Ulysses S. Grant. At 116th Street, head east two blocks to Broadway and the entrance to Columbia University. One block east on Amsterdam Avenue is the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine with its immense interior. End the day with some good southern cooking at Miss Mamie’s and return to Broadway for the No. 1 subway back downtown.
Places for Music
1.Harlem Stage
City College campus, West 135th St & Convent Ave Home to jazz series, as well as ballet, modern dance, opera, and the Harlem Stage on Screen film festival.
Harlem Stage auditorium
2.Paris Blues
2021 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd Open since 1968, this dive bar is a neighborhood favorite and offers live jazz performances every night with no cover charge.
3.Showman’s Jazz Club
375 West 125th St, between St. Nicholas & Morningside Dr Live jazz and blues have been the lure since 1942 at this club, where the vibes and the people are as cool as the music.
4.Londel’s Supper Club
2620 Frederick Douglass Blvd (8th Ave), between West 139th & 140th Sts Part of the new Harlem, with an upscale ambience, waiters in tuxedos, delicious Southern fare, and live jazz on weekends.
5.Bill’s Place
148 West 133rd St A Harlem hideaway modeled after the atmospheric speakeasies that once dotted this brownstone neighborhood. There are great jazz sets to listen to on Fridays at 10pm and midnight, but no bar so it’s BYO.
6.Sylvia’s
328 Lenox Ave, between West 126th & 127th Sts Sylvia Woods founded this soul food restaurant in 1962. The place is jammed for Saturday and Sunday gospel brunches, and always fun despite the tour groups.
7.Cotton Club
656 West 125th St at Riverside Dr Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway are long gone, and the location has changed, but the famous club of the 1920s is making a comeback.
8.Apollo Theater
253 West 125th St, between 7th & 8th Aves This is Harlem’s famous showcase, where Ella Fitzgerald and James Brown launched their careers.
The famous Apollo Theater
9.Minton’s
206 118th St Bebop was born at this legendary jazz club which has been revitalized and has a nightly lineup of jazz, along with cocktails and Southern cuisine.
10.Smoke
2751 Broadway at West 106th St Music lovers congregate here to hear top notch jazz groups every weekend.
Restaurants
1.Red Rooster
310 Lenox Ave • 212 285 0222 • $$$ Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson brings Downtown style to Harlem, drawing in an eclectic crowd to enjoy a cutting-edge menu that honors the area’s colorful culinary history.
2.Boulevard Bistro
239 Lenox Ave • 212 285 0222 • $$ Relax into the night at this engaging wine bar and restaurant. Enjoy classic American dishes with a soul food twist, like pan-fried chicken and cornmeal-crusted grouper.
3.Miss Maude’s/ Miss Mamie’s
Miss Maude’s: 547 Lenox Ave at West 137th St • 212 690 3100 • Miss Mamie’s: 366 Cathedral Pkwy, between Manhattan Ave & Columbus Ave • 212 865 6744 • $These two cheerful sister cafés are run by Norma Jean Darden, who knows her Southern cooking.
Miss Maude’s
4.Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
700 West 125th St at Riverside Dr • 212 285 0222 • $$ The generous portions live up to the name of this roadhouse-style BBQ joint. A wide selection of microbrews along with pit-smoked meats.
5.Tom’s Restaurant
2880 Broadway • 212 285 0222 • $$ Immortalized as a location in the Seinfeld TV series, this family-owned eatery is popular for its filling portions of affordable diner classics.
6.Pisticci
125 La Salle St, between Broadway & Claremont Ave • 212 285 0222 • $$$ A cozy Italian eatery serving up pasta dishes to a mostly local crowd.
7.Amy Ruth’s
113 West 116th St, between A. C. Powell & Lenox Aves • 212 285 0222 • $$ A cheerful café with an updated slant on Southern classics. Waffles are a house specialty.
8.Le Baobab
120 West 116th St at Lenox Ave • 212 285 0222 • No credit cards • $$ The Senegalese cooking and the tab are both agreeable here.
9.Harlem Shake
100 West 104th St • 212 285 0222 • $ Fill up on juicy burgers, all-beef hot dogs and creamy milkshakes at this playful restaurant.
10.Jin Ramen
3183 Broadway, between Tiemann Pl & 125th St • 212 285 0222 • $ This famed Japanese restaurant attracts a mix of patrons with its bowls of ramen, tasty pork buns, and other inexpensive specialties.