Morningside Heights
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For the El Paso, Texas neighborhood, see Morningside Heights, El Paso, Texas
Morningside Heights is a neighborhood of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City and is bounded by the Upper West Side, Morningside Park, Harlem, and Riverside Park (some now consider it part of the Upper West Side). Streets marking its edges are 110th Street, 125th Street, Riverside Drive, and Morningside Drive (some define the southern edge as being 106th St., and a few place it as far south as 96th St.). The main thoroughfare is Broadway. The neighborhood contains several high schools, including Wadleigh Secondary School and Thurgood Academy, and is the main location for the many branches of Columbia University. Until the city grew this far north in the late 19th century, the area was a village called Bloomingdale.
Academic Acropolis
The label Academic Acropolis has been used to describe the area, since it sits on one of the highest natural points in Manhattan and contains numerous academic institutions. Much of the neighborhood is the campus of Columbia University, and the university also owns a large amount of the non-campus real estate. Other educational institutions in the neighborhood include Barnard College, Union Theological Seminary, Jewish Theological Seminary, Manhattan School of Music, Teachers College and Bank Street College of Education.
Other landmarks in Morningside Heights include the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Grant's Tomb, the Riverside Church, The Interchurch Center, International House, and St. Luke's Hospital.
On 1776 September 16, the Battle of Harlem Heights was fought in Morningside Heights, with the most intense fighting occurring in a sloping wheat field that is now the location of Barnard College.
Famous residents and sites
Comedian George Carlin grew up on West 121st St. in Morningside Heights, and in the piece "Morningside Heights" (which appears on his "" album) he referred to the neighborhood as "White Harlem." While writing a master's thesis on William Blake at Columbia University, Thomas Merton attended Corpus Christi Catholic Church on West 121st St., where he formally converted to Catholicism.
Singer/composer Fiona Apple grew up in Morningside Gardens, the experimental co-op project built in 1957 between 123rd Street and LaSalle Streets, and Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues. The Gardens prided itself on being an integrated community and for most of its existence, those selling their apartments have not been allowed to take any significant profit. Many professional African-Americans moved to Morningside Gardens to maintain roots with the black community of Harlem and to enjoy the benefits of a safe and integrated community. Among those were Thurgood Marshall, first black justice named to the Supreme Court. He moved to Washington, D.C., from the Gardens. Science fiction writer Samuel Delany also lived in the complex as a youth.
Arguably the most famous restaurant in Morningside Heights (and one of the most famous diners in the world) is Tom's Restaurant on Broadway at W. 112th St. After being featured in the song "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega (an alumna of Barnard College), it became known as the daily hangout of the characters of the television sitcom Seinfeld. (Exterior shots of Tom's were used on Seinfeld; the interior of the restaurant looks nothing like the fictional "Monk's Cafe," as the scenes in Monk's were filmed on a set in California.) Tom's is now part of the regular Seinfeld New York Tour conducted by Kenny Kramer.
Numerous other famous people have resided in the area while attending Columbia University.
Political
The neighborhood is part of the Fifteenth Congressional District of New York, which includes much of Harlem. Traditionally, Morningside Heights has been heavily Democratic.The famous Columbia University student riots and takeover of administrative buildings in 1968 stemmed from a protest opposing a Columbia University plan to build a gymnasium in Morningside Park, the park adjacent to Morningside Drive.
The neighborhood's ZIP codes are 10025 and 10027.
Trivia
Morningside Heights is also the name of the stereotypical "flash neighbourhood" in the New Zealand television series Bro Town.
References
- Andrew Dolkart, Morningside Heights, 1998 ISBN 0231078501.
- Hopper Striker Mott. The New York of Yesterday: A Descriptive Narrative of Old Bloomingdale. 1908.
External links
- [Famous Residents of Morningside Heights]
- [Morningside Heights Historic District Committee]
- [Morningside Heights Mailing List]
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