Harlem, Hamilton Heights, El Barrio, New York City

Harlem is an area in northern Manhattan which includes Hamilton Heights and El Barrio (Spanish Harlem). In 1658, Governor Peter Stuyvesant established Harlem, naming it Nieuw Harlem after the Dutch city of Harlem. From 1920 until about 1930, Harlem was the center of an African American cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. The East Harlem/El Barrio community is bounded by First Avenue to Fifth Avenue and from East 96th Street to East 125th Street; the population is primarily Puerto Rican and African-American.

Hamilton Heights is a residential historic district north of Morningside Heights and south of Washington Heights which includes Sugar Hill. Sugar Hill extends from Edgecomb Avenue to Amsterdam Avenue, and from 145 Street to 155 Street. The name "Sugar Hill" originated in the late 1920's when rich African-Americans began moving into the "sweet and expensive" area.

Major Sights

• Sugar Hill Edgecomb to Amsterdam Ave from 145 to 155 Streets
• Hamilton Grange 503 W. 145th Street (near Amsterdam Ave): this former country home of Alexander Hamilton is now a landmarked branch of the New York Public Library.
• The Harlem School of the Arts 645 St. Nicholas Ave near 141st Street
• Strivers' Row 138th and 139th Street between Adam Clayton Powell (ACP) & Fredrick Douglas Blvd.
• City College of N.Y. (CUNY) Convent Avenue and 138th Street
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture 515 Malcolm X Boulevard at 135th Street
• Apollo Theater 253 West 125th Street
• Teresa Hotel on 125th Street: where Fidel Castro stayed in 1961
• Sylvia's Soul Food 328 Lenox Avenue at 125th
• National Black Theater Fifth Avenue between 125th St. & 126th St
• Studio Museum in Harlem 144 West 125th Street btw. Lenox & 7th Ave
• Masjid Malcolm Shabazz Mosque 102 West 116th Street at Lenox Avenue
• El Museo Del Barrio 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street
• Museum of the City of New York 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street