The building on the northwest corner of W. 155th Street and Broadway, across the street from Trinity Cemetery, is the Hispanic Society of America Museum and Library. The Beaux Arts style building was constructed in 1908 with five-bay wings added to the east and west later. The building is part of the Audubon Terrace National Register Historic District, encompassing the entire block west of Broadway between W. 155th and 156th Streets. The block features eight buildings facing a central courtyard with statuary. The Hispanic Society of America complex was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. The Society closed for major renovations in 2017 but the East Building Gallery reopened in 2021.
The third stadium in New York City to bear the iconic name "Polo Grounds," this stadium was built in 1890 and home to the New York Giants from 1891 through 1957. The stadium doubled as the home field of the Yankees from 1913 to 1922 and would also be the first home field of the New York Mets. However, it was the Giants made the Polo Grounds famous as they hosted multiple World Series and made this the site of two of the most important moments in baseball history. The "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and "The Catch" are two moments that occurred here. The ballpark was replaced by Shea Stadium in 1963 and demolished shortly thereafter. The area is now home to a public housing project and park along the Harlem River. The stadium was located in upper Manhatten, specifically in Coogan's Hallow. It is known for having a distinctive bathtub shape.
Rucker Park began in the late 1940s when a Harlem teacher started a basketball tournament for impoverished youngsters within the neighborhood. Holcombe L. Rucker did not expect street legends and NBA stars to be attracted to the park but this is exactly what happened. The park gave hope and entertainment to generations of kinds and affected the entire future of basketball.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) once lived in Apartment 4A in the building at 935 St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights. The world famous jazz band leader and composer resided here from 1939 to 1961. He lived in this apartment when he wrote a musical composition in 1940 called "Harlem Air Shaft" that was inspired by life in the building. The apartment building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and is a National Historic Landmark for its association with Mr. Ellington. The building continues to hold apartments.
The oldest extant home in Manhattan, this mansion was built in 1765 by Roger Morris, a British military officer. The Mansion served as a headquarters for both sides during the American Revolution. Currently, the building is a house museum that is preserved and open to the public. with a vast collection of artifacts and an archive, along with regular events and guided tours.
Located in Washington Heights, this park commemorates Private William McKenna, who served for the US during the First World War as part of an anti-aircraft battalion and who died from wounds received during the Battle of the Argonne Forest in 1918 near Reciecourt, France. Before the war, he lived near here on West 173rd St. The site was officially named for him by the New York City Board of Aldermen on July 8, 1924, 6 years after McKenna's death.
The Audubon Ballroom was constructed in 1912 by William Fox, the movie producer who created the company that grew into 20th Century Fox. The Audubon Ballroom was home to a variety of theatrical performances over the years as well as meetings by area labor unions and immigrant groups. The ballrooms is most famous as the site where civil rights leader Malcolm X was shot and killed on February 21, 1965 while speaking at a rally of his new organization, the Organization of Afro-American Unity. The Audubon Ballroom was saved from demolition by the actions of preservationists, local residents, Columbia University students, and Malcolm X's widow Betty Shabazz. The building is now the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center.
Mitchel Square is a small urban park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. It is enclosed by Broadway to the west and St Nicholas Avenue to the east. The park is named after John Purroy Mitchel, who became the second youngest mayor of New York in 1914, and later died in a training mission as a pilot in the Army Aviation Corps. The park features a memorial plaque in honor of Mitchel and a statue honoring the men from the neighborhood who gave their lives in World War I.
The Washington Heights - Inwood War Memorial is located in Mitchel Square Park, on the intersection of Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue between 167th and 168th Street. The bronze monument is composed of three soldiers, two of which are helping the third during battle. The Memorial was dedicated on May 30, 1922 to honor the men that perished in World War I and lived in the Northern Manhattan communities of Washington Heights and Inwood. The Memorial includes the names of all the fallen soldiers from the community on plaques surrounding the three oversized figures.
This structure was constructed from 1909 to 1911 to house the armory of the 22nd Corps of Engineers. The building housed an armory for many decades and was also used as a temporary homeless shelter in the 1980s. The building now houses an indoor running track, the New Balance Track and Field Center, and the Track and Field Hall of Fame. Highlights of the Hall of Fame include a model of the New York City Marathon course and artifacts related to the history of the Olympics. The Fort Washington Avenue Armory was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 as part of a nomination of multiple Army National Guard Armories in New York State.
The tower in High Bridge Park near the west end of High Bridge was built in 1872 as part of the Croton Water System that brought fresh water to Manhattan. It was the first water tower to be built in Manhattan as part of this system and the only tower that survives. The octagonal structure is made of rough-cut stone and is almost 400 feet above the high water level of the nearby Harlem River. The Highbridge Water Tower stopped being used for the water supply system in 1949 and a carillon was installed in the belfry in 1958. The tower became a New York City Landmark in 1967 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The tower was renovated in 1989 to 1990 and was closed again for renovations around 2011, but reopened for scheduled tours beginning in November 2021.
Constructed in 1930, United Palace is Manhattan’s fourth-largest theater with 3,400 seats. The United Palace was one of five so-called “Wonder Theatres” located across New York City and New Jersey. Located in the historic Washington Heights neighborhood, at the time of its opening the theatre promised, “Times-Square entertainment nearer your home” (1). For the first 40 years, this was primarily a movie theater. In 1969 the building was purchased to house a new church congregation. The building was designed by Thomas Lamb with interior elements by Harold Rambusch who also crafted the interiors of the Waldorf Astoria and Radio City Music Hall. The United Palace was designated a landmark building in 2016.
This large boulder was placed and dedicated by the Fort Washington Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution on November 16, 1910. The boulder is carved with the inscription, “AMERICAN REDOUT 1776” and marks the site of a redoubt used by the American Continental Army during the defense of Fort Washington in November 1776 against the British in the Revolutionary War. This was one of the worst defeats for the Continental Army, the British forced a retreat. As a result, New York and Eastern New Jersey fell under British control for the next seven years. (1).
Officially called the Jeffrey's Hook Light but popularly known as the Little Red Lighthouse, this small lighthouse is located in Fort Washington Park, on the Hudson River. Its height is forty feet, and it has a diameter of 14.5. The lighthouse was constructed in 1880 although it was not lit until 1921. It is located on Jeffrey's Hook, a small land mass that serves as the base of the eastern pier of the George Washington's bridge, which connects the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan to Fort Lee, New Jersey. When the George Washington Bridge was completed in 1931, the lighthouse was considered to be of no use anymore because the bridge's lights. The Coast Guard decommissioned it and put out its light in 1948 hoping to be able to auction it later. Public opinion did not agree with the decisions and protests ensued. This resulted in the Coast Guard giving the lighthouse to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation on July 23, 1951. The lighthouse became listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse" in 1979, and was designated a New York City Landmark in 1991. In 2002, it was relighted by the city of New York. It became renown with children's book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift, illustrated by Lynd Ward (1942).
This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.
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Start at W. 155th Street & Broadway and wind your way through Washington Heights, to historic sites dating from the Revolutionary War through the 1940s. There are museums, parks, monuments, and theaters to explore. This tour ends at a lighthouse by the George Washington Bridge.
