Harlem, New York City
The Upper Manhattan neighborhood at the heart of Black American culture.
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City, bounded roughly by the Hudson River to the west, the Harlem River and 155th Street to the north, Fifth Avenue to the east and 110th Street to the south. Originally a Dutch village organized in 1658, it is named after Haarlem in the Netherlands.
Quick Facts
- Borough
- Manhattan
- Founded
- 1658 (Dutch village)
- Named after
- Haarlem, Netherlands
- Cultural peak
- Harlem Renaissance (1920s-1930s)
- District
- Manhattan Community District 10
Lore & Background
Its history runs in boom-and-bust cycles with large population shifts. Predominantly Jewish and Italian American in the late 19th century, it drew African American residents in large numbers during the Great Migration, and in the 1920s and 1930s Central and West Harlem were the center of the Harlem Renaissance.
Reader's Guide
Job losses in the Great Depression and post-war deindustrialization raised crime and poverty; in the 21st century crime fell significantly and the area began to gentrify. Central Harlem is part of Manhattan Community District 10 and is close to Columbia University, the Manhattan School of Music and the City College of New York.
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