New York City, USA
HARLEM
134th Street ← 135th Street → 136th Street
135th Street is the location of the first subway stop after 125th Street. It’s amazing how the location of subway stops can shape the city. Distance from a subway stop directly influences the value of housing, the number of stores and the night life in an area. The B and C trains in the west have their entrance at Saint Nicholas Park. Just outside of the subway stop there is a lovely terrace great for a picnic or flying a miniature kite. Since this is my hood you may find me there on Saturdays doing just that. Let’s walk east through Harlem and see what's happening.**
St. Nicholas Blvd.
- B and C trains (local trains)
- There is a wonderful mural painted by Ademola Olugebefola just above the subway entrance.
- Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change - Grades 9-12
Frederick Douglass Blvd. (8th Ave.)
- Wright Bar and Grill - Don’t be fooled! They have no grill. The bar has been there since 1949 and it has NEVER had a grill
- Grand View Fashion - upscale women’s clothing. Very funky, want to dress like Macy Gray? Come here.
- 32 Precinct - huge well lit police station. If things are slow this is a great place to roller skate at night.
- Hats by Bunn - You know those ladies you see walking to church with strange hats? Well this is where those hats come from.
Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. (7th Ave.)
- Riverton Florist
- Harlem YMCA - The huge red neon sign on the tower of the YMCA is a trade mark of the Harlem sky line. The YMCA is also a YWCA so both men an women looking for inexpensive lodging in the city can give these guys a call.
- Harlem Democrats Headquarters - on voting day they go door to door to get the people out to vote.
- There is a famous basket ball court on this block, you may have seen it in some movies. It has a huge mural that reads “Harlem Plays the Best Ball in the Country”
- Gallery M - paintings
Malcolm X Blvd. (Lennox Ave. or 6th Ave.)
- Pan Pan Diner - great hot food, vintage interior, get dinner for under $5, they still serve Tab.
- New York City Public Library
HARLEM
134th Street ← 135th Street → 136th Street
**You might wonder why I didn’t start at
Riverside Drive or
Broadway or go further east than
Malcolm X Blvd. -- These nodes are meant to cover Harlem. After
125th Street Riverside Drive and
Broadway you are in
Washington Heights. In the east, everything past
Fifth Avenue “esta en
el barrio.” There are
complex political and geographical reasons why these areas are so vastly different. But the short answer is it has a lot to do with
bedrock and
highways.