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Upper West Side |
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Broadway, brownstones, books, and some of the city's best bagels... the Upper West Side extends north
from Columbus Circle at 59th Street up to 110th Street, and is bordered by Central Park West and Riverside Park.
The Upper West Side is separated from the Upper East Side by Central Park. This is the traditional stronghold of the city's
intellectual, creative, and moneyed community, but the atmosphere is not as upper crust as the Upper East Side.
Elegant, pre-war buildings along the boulevards of Broadway, West End Avenue, Riverside Drive, and Central Park West meet
shady, quiet streets lined with brownstones. Much of the area is protected by landmark status, and the neighborhood's restored
townhouses and high-priced co-op apartments are coveted by actors, young professionals, and young families.
The Upper West Side boasts an impressive list of "firsts": The oldest Baptist congregation in the U.S. (founded 1753; First Baptist
Church, Broadway and 79th St.); the oldest Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation in New York (established 1654;
Congregation Shearith Israel, Central Park West and 70th St.); the world's largest bible collection (American Bible Society,
with 37,000 items); the first fireproof building in NYC (122 West 78th St., built by Rafael Guastavino in 1883); the oldest school
in the U.S. (Collegiate School, West End Avenue and 77th St.; founded 1628); and the world's largest carillon (the Laura
Spelman Rockefeller Carillon, in Riverside Church, and the largest tuned bell, the "Bourdon").
The famous Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts sits between 61st and 66th Streets on Broadway. It is home to the New York
State Theater, New York City Ballet, the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall, the New York
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Jazz At Lincoln Center, the Library and Museum of the Performing Arts,
Alice Tully Hall for chamber music, and the world-famous Julliard School of Music. The Walter Reade Theater is the home of the
center's film society. Its central plaza is the focus of summer outdoor performances of all kinds and dance nights (free salsa,
tango or swing lessons, anyone?). In early winter, the Big Apple Circus pitches its tents here.
Sidewalks in this neighborhood are always crowded during the day with performers rushing to auditions and families pushing
their babies in imported strollers. In the evenings, however, the action moves inside, where singles mingle in myriad restaurants
and bars. Stroll along Columbus Avenue to investigate the glitzy boutique-and-restaurant strip; walk along Amsterdam Avenue
with its mix of bodegas, bars, and boutiques. Along Central Park West are such titanic habitats as the buff colored, castle-like
Dakota, where John Lennon was killed and Yoko Ono still lives (respects may be paid across the street in Central Park's
Strawberry Fields memorial). Other interesting architectural jewels along the avenue include The Lanhgam (a 1920s Italian
Renaissance-style high rise); the twin-towered San Remo (home sweet home over the years to such luminaries as Rita Hayworth,
Dustin Hoffman, Paul Simon, and Diane Keaton); and The Kenilworth, with its impressive pair of ornate front columns, once the
home of Michael Douglas.
Cultural attractions include the dinosaur-filled American Museum of Natural History and Rose
Center for Earth and Space, the New-York Historical Society (whose collection reaches from the 1600s to today), and the
Children's Museum of Manhattan.
Dining choices include two of the city's most beautiful restaurants - the romantic
Café des Artistes and fantastical Tavern on the Green, plus a mind-boggling variety of cafés and restaurants along Columbus Avenue, serving everything from deli sandwiches to burritos to haute cuisine.
Venturing further uptown one finds the world's largest gothic Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Columbia University, Grant's Tomb, Riverside Church, Audubon Terrace (home of the Hispanic Society), and the Morris-Jumel Mansion, a colonial treasure. For greenery, Riverside Park is a real haven. The only state park situated on Manhattan Island, this 28-acre multi-level park rises 69 feet above the Hudson. Keep going, just past the George Washington Bridge, to the very tip of the island, and you will discover the Cloisters, which houses the Metropolitan Museum of Art's medieval art collection. In Fort Tyron Park, the Cloisters displays the famous unicorn tapestries and other 12th-16th century treasures.
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Harlem |
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Above Central Park is the area known as Harlem, an area rich in African American History.
Harlem has gone through a revitalization in the last 10 years.
Former President Bill Clinton brought some attention to the area when he opened his offices here.
Visit the Museo del Barrio, a museum that focuses on Latin American Art.
The famous Apollo Theater is host to many famous entertainers.
Visit the St. Nicholas Historical District and New York's oldest Black Church Abyssinian Baptist.
Also worth a look - the Studio Museum
To the west is Columbia University,
one the best and oldest universities in the country.
Also, Grant's Tomb can be found at W.122nd and RiversideDrive.
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