Dedicated by the Washington Heights Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on December 29, 1909, this boulder and commemorative plaque mark the position of a defensive structure that was used by American colonists during the Revolutionary War. The Continental Army held this position through three British attacks until the fall of Fort Washington. The plaque is inscribed, “This stone marks the position of the First Line of Defence constructed across these heights and bravely defended by the American Army – 1776.”
The Gothic Revival stone building at the corner of Riverside Drive and W. 140th Street was built to house St. Walburga's Academy, which opened in 1913. The Roman Catholic school was a boarding and day school for girls; it was also called Academy of the Holy Child. The academy relocated to Rye, New York in 1957 and became known as the School of the Holy Child. Since 1998, the buildimg has been owned by the Fortune Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to housing homeless, previously-incarcerated individuals. The exterior of the St. Walburga's Academy building was restored and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The buff brick building at 15 Old Broadway is the Old Broadway Synagogue, constructed in 1923 for a local Jewish congregation formed in 1911. Immigrants from Russia and Poland made up most of the early congregants and were mainly Ashkenazi Jews. While much of the population of local permanent residents in the congregation has moved out of West Harlem, the Orthodox Jewish synagogue still draws from young people affiliated with local colleges and universities. The original stained glass window above the doorway was replaced with brick for many decades and was restored around 2003. The Old Broadway Synagogue was listed in the New York and National Registers in 2001 and 2002.
The stone building at the southwest corner of Convent Avenue and W. 135th Street was built from 1884 to 1890 as part of the Croton Aqueduct system to bring fresh water into New York City. The Romanesque Revival style structure was designed by Frederick S. Cook. Since 2006, the renovated building has been the Harlem Stage Gatehouse, a performing arts center, with spaces for rehearsal, performance, and support of cultural arts. The mission of Harlem Stage is to "perpetuate and celebrate the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture." The building was listed in the National Register in 1983 for its significance in architecture and engineering.
Where Schiff Park is now, on the west side of Amsterdam Avenue between W. 136th and 138th Streets, once stood the Hebrew Orphan Asylum. The core of the massive building was constructed from 1882 to 1884 by the Hebrew Benevolent Society of the City of New York to house Jewish orphans. The structure could house almost 1,800 orphans. When the cottage style of housing was shown to be more beneficial for raising children, the society decided to sell the building to fund a new campus in the Bronx, and the building was vacated in 1941. The asylum building then housed U.S. Armed Forces for the City College of New York's Army Specialized Training Program and was renamed "Army Hall." The building was vacated once again in 1955 and demolished. The New York City Department of Parks established the Jacob H. Schiff Playground on the cleared site in 1956.
Constructed from 1903 to 1907, Shepard Hall became the first building on the College of the City of New York's new campus and was originally known as the Main Building. The Late Gothic Revival, castle or cathedral-like structure designed by George Browne Post was built of stone and terra cotta. Shepard Hall is east of the Quad, which is lined with four other early campus stone, Late Gothic Revival buildings that constitute North Campus. There are more modern buildings on the adjacent South Campus, south of W. 138th Street. Shepard Hall was listed in the New York and National Registers of Historic Places in 1984.
Hamilton Grange National Memorial is the relocated home of Alexander Hamilton, who was one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. The house itself has three floors, including the basement, which is where the visitor entrance is located. Visitors to the Memorial can learn more about Hamilton's view of the nation, along with details about the house itself, which has been relocated twice.
Still functioning as apartments today, these apartment buildings were finished in 1951. The architect went by the name of Vertner Tandy. The building was named for Dr. Walter Ivery Delph - a prominent doctor in Harlem and a large investor in reality. His concern was the low-end housing available for the poor socioeconomic society in the area, which consisted of a large African American population.
The building at 503 W. 145th Street is one of the 65 libraries built in New York City in the early twentieth century with millions of dollars donated by businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The Hamilton Grange Branch of the New York Public Library was constructed from 1905 to 1906 and opened on January 8th 1907. The three-story, Beaux Arts style building was designed by Charles F. McKim of the well-known architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. The name comes from the country home called The Grange that Alexander Hamilton built nearby for his family in 1802. The library building was listed in the New York and National Registers of Historic Places in 1981 and has been a New York City Landmark since 1970. It still houses a library branch.
Joseph Loth founded a silk mill in 1875 on Greene Street in Manhattan to manufacture mainly ribbons. He built a new factory here on Amsterdam Avenue in Sugar Hill that opened in 1886. The brick building is three stories tall and a block long. Loth's "Fair & Square Ribbons" were very popular and sold in stores across the country. About 600 people worked in the Philadelphia red brick building, creating 165 shades of ribbon in 14 widths and multiple styles. Loth died in 1900 and the business moved from this factory in 1902. Loth's son, Bernard converted the vacant Amsterdam Avenue factory building into general loft space in 1904 and added ground floor, cast iron storefronts. Commercial spaces were added along the Amsterdam Avenue ground floor and continue as businesses today. The upper floors are a charter school. You can still see the "ghost" of the painted sign advertising the company's ribbons on the whitewashed brick facade at the rear corner on W. 150th Street.
The four-story red brick building on the southeast corner of Amsterdam Avenue and W. 152nd Street, across from the Carmansville Playground, is the 32nd Police Precinct House. The structure was built in the early 1870s for the 32nd Precinct and later was used by the 40th Precinct and the 30th Precinct. The building is covered by a French Second Empire mansard style roof with decorative iron fencing on top. The brick building next door at 1850 Amsterdam Avenue was built as the 32nd Police Precinct Garage around 1920. The building complex (station house and garage) was listed in the New York and National Registers of Historic Places in 2019 and is part of the West Harlem National Register-eligible Historic District. The station house is owned by a local church who rents out part of the building for medical offices.
Trinity Cemetery is a park-like burial ground bordered by W. 153rd Street, Riverside Drive, W. 155th Street, and Amsterdam Avenue. The famed naturalist and artist, John James Audubon is buried in Trinity Cemetery; the cemetery is on land that was formerly part of Audubon's farm. Trinity Church bought the 23 acres in 1842 from Richard Carman. Broadway Avenue was extended northward through the cemetery in the 1870s and a suspension footbridge was constructed to join the east and west parts of the cemetery. The footbridge was removed in 1911 to build the Chapel of the Intercession in the northwest corner of the east part. The Chapel was designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue in Late Gothic Revival style; the renowned architect died in 1924 and is entombed in the chapel transept's north wall. Trinity Cemetery and the Chapel of the Intercession Complex were listed in the New York and National Registers of Historic Places in 1980.
This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.
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Start at W. 155th St. & Broadway by Trinity Cemetery; drive to historic sites west of St. Nicholas Ave. from the Revolutionary War, 19th century, & early 20th century, including Alexander Hamilton's home & a former silk ribbon factory.
