New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [83]
West of the house is the block-long Sylvan Terrace, a row of crisp two-story clapboard houses built in the 1880s. | 65 Jumel Terrace, north of W. 160th St.; between St. Nicholas Ave. and Edgecombe Ave. , Harlem | 212/923–8008 | www.morrisjumel.org | $5; guided tours $6 | Wed. to Sun., 10–4; guided tours Sat. noon.
Strivers’ Row.
This block of gorgeous 1890s Georgian and neo-Italian homes earned its nickname in the 1920s from less affluent Harlemites who felt its residents were “striving” to become well-to-do. Some of the few remaining private service alleys, used when deliveries arrived via horse and cart, lie behind these houses and are visible through iron gates. Note the gatepost between No. 251 and 253 on West 138th Street that says, “Private Road. Walk Your Horses.”
The houses were built by the contractor David H. King Jr., whose works also include the base for the Statue of Liberty and the oldest parts of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. When the houses failed to sell to whites, the properties on these blocks were sold to African-American doctors, lawyers, and other professionals; the composers and musicians W. C. Handy and Eubie Blake were also among the residents.
If you have the time, detour a block north to see the palazzo-style group of houses designed by Stanford White, on the north side of West 139th Street. | W. 138th and W. 139th Sts. between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass Blvds., Harlem | 10030 | Subway: B, C to 135th St.
WORTH NOTING
First Corinthian Baptist Church.
One of the most ornate structures in Harlem, this church kicked off its life in 1913 as the Regent Theatre, one of the country’s early movie palaces that replaced the nickelodeons. Its elaborately columned and arched facade loosely resembles the Doges’ Palace in Venice. The Regent was sold to the church in 1964. To attend services, arrive at least an hour ahead of time. | 1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., at 7th Ave., Harlem | 10026 | 212/864–5976 | Services Sun. at 8 and 11 | Subway: 2, 3 to 116th St.
Marcus Garvey Park.
At the center of this historic, tree-filled public square, atop a 70-foot-high outcrop of Manhattan schist (the same bedrock that anchors our skyscrapers) stands a 47-foot cast-iron watchtower (Julius Kroel, 1865), the last remnant of a citywide network used to spot and report fires in pre-telephone days. Around it, an Acropolis provides great views of Manhattan and the handsome neoclassical row houses of Mount Morris Park Historic District, which extends west from the park. | Interrupts 5th Ave. between W. 120th and W. 124th Sts., Madison Ave. to Mt. Morris Park W, Harlem | 10027 | www.nycgovparks.org | Subway: 2, 3 to 125th St.
Masjid Malcolm Shabazz (Mosque).
Talk about religious conversions. In the mid-’60s the Lenox Casino was transformed into this house of worship and cultural center, and given bright yellow arches and a huge green onion dome that loudly proclaims its presence in a neighborhood of churches.
Once functioning as Temple No. 7 under the Nation of Islam with a message of pro-black racism, the mosque was bombed after the assassination of Malcolm X, who had preached here. It was then rebuilt and renamed for the name Malcolm took at the end of his life, El-Hajj Malik Shabazz; its philosophy now is one of inclusion.
These days the Sunni congregation has a large proportion of immigrants from Senegal, many of whom live in and around 116th Street. Next door is Graceline Court, a 16-story luxury condominium building that opened in 2008. | 102 W. 116th St., at Malcolm X Blvd., Lenox Ave./6th Ave., Harlem | 10026 | 212/662–2200 | Subway: 2, 3 to 116th St.
Sugar Hill.
Standing on the bluff of Sugar Hill overlooking Jackie Robinson Park, outside the slightly run-down 409 Edgecombe Avenue, you’d never guess that here resided such influential African-Americans