• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Historic District Designated in Central Harlem

June 8, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

West 130-132nd Streets Historic DistrictThe New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has recently designated the Central Harlem – West 130-132nd Streets a Historic District. This mid-block historic district represents Central Harlem’s residential architecture, and the social, cultural, and political life of its African American population in the 20th century.

To illustrate the significance of this diverse historic district, LPC launched an interactive story map called Explore the Central Harlem – West 130th-132nd Streets Historic District.

The Central Harlem – West 130-132nd Streets Historic District is located on the mid-blocks of West 130th, West 131st, and West 132nd streets, between Lenox and Seventh avenues. It consists of approximately 164 properties primarily row houses with a handful of apartment and institutional buildings.

Constructed during the speculative building boom that created Central Harlem’s row house neighborhoods in the late 19th century, this district contains a notably cohesive and intact collection of late-19th century row house architectural styles, including rows of neo-Grec buildings with their classical ornament and incised details, along with Queen Anne, Renaissance Revival, and Romanesque Revival style buildings.

During the Harlem Renaissance and through the 1960s, many of the district’s small, primarily residential buildings were adapted to house a variety of cultural, religious, civic, and political activities that sustained the community, fostered social justice and contributed to the incredible cultural significance of the district. Notable buildings include The New Amsterdam Musical Association (NAMA) headquarters, the oldest African-American musical association in the United States; the home of Scott Joplin, dubbed the “King of Ragtime;” the Friendship Baptist Church, actively involved in the fight for civil rights; the Utopia Neighborhood Club, an African American women’s social club that provided children’s health and educational services; and the National Headquarters for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, instrumental in spurring the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

For more information click here.

Photo of West 130-132nd Streets Historic District provided.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Black History, Harlem, Harlem Renaissance, Historic Preservation, Landmarks Preservation Commission

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Finish Our 2022 Fundraising

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Edythe Ann Quinn on Poetry: Stairway from Heaven
  • Ellen Brown on How Does A Land Trust Protect A Watershed? One Parcel At A Time
  • Nell Rapport on Transforming The Niagara Falls Experience
  • Jimmy on World War II POW Camps in Upstate New York
  • Paul Huey on Advocates: Pass The Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act
  • NOEL A SHERRY on Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations
  • NOEL A SHERRY on Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations
  • Jim Fox on Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations
  • Big Burly on Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations
  • MATTHEW J BURDEN on When Did New York Stop Speaking Dutch?

Recent New York Books

battle of harlem hights
Ladies Day at the Capitol
voices of wayne county
CNY Snowstorm book front cover
The Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era
Expanded Second Edition of Echoes in These Mountains
historic kingston book
Buffalo Sports cover re-re-sized.indd
With an Ax and a Rifle Vol I

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide