Manhattanville

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 125th Street station on the corner of Broadway and 125th Street

Manhattanville is a neighborhood in the New York borough of Manhattan and the island of the same name .

location

Manhattanville is north of Morningside Heights , south of Hamilton Heights , east of the Hudson River and west of Harlem . The neighborhood borders roughly from 122nd Street to 135th Street and the Hudson River to St. Nicholas Park .

history

During the 19th century, Manhattanville was a city with an important ferry terminal . It was the first stop on the Hudson River Railroad north of New York City and the stop of the stagecoach , bus and tram routes .

Its location near Bloomingdale Road with its hotels, entertainment venues and post office made Manhattanville a popular suburb and a popular getaway for New York City residents. At the same time, the direct location on the Hudson River made it an ideal port of call for industrial goods, building materials and other freight destined for Upper Manhattan . With the construction of a high bridge for train traffic over the Manhattanville Valley, Manhattanville was increasingly incorporated into the growing city of New York until it became a rather insignificant industrial area of ​​New York City.

A major expansion of Columbia University is planned for this area today , whose campuses are currently in Morningside Heights in the south and Washington Heights in the north.

Colonial times

Manhattanville is located in a valley that was called "Moertje David's Vly" during the Dutch colonial period (Dutch for "Mother David's Valley") and was called "Harlem Cove" during the English colonial period. During the American Revolutionary War , the valley was also known as the Hollow Way. Here the Battle of Harlem Heights began under the command of General George Washington . During the British-American War (1812) there were defenses on the elevations of Manhattanville Pass on the southern border of the valley - including Fort Laight and Blockhouse No. 4, where Morningside Gardens and Public School No. 36 (see also: Manhattan Valley ).

19th century

In 1806 the village of Manhattanville was founded in the valley where Bloomingdale Road and Manhattan Street met - today roughly at the point where Broadway and 125th Street intersect. The site map for the original streets of the village was drawn up by Jacob Schieffelin and other wealthy traders, mostly Quakers , who had country estates in the area. The village flourished with the development of Manhattan Street from the Hudson River. The good access to the Hudson River that exists here also became a decisive factor in the growth of the older Harlem village southeast of the Harlem River. Harlem and Manhattanville were roughly level and did very well economically during the 19th century as the two main villages of Upper Manhattan .

The population from the early days of Manhattanville was diverse and an unusual mix of inter-married American patriots, British loyalists - including at least one former slave trader - slave owners and enslaved African-Americans as well as Quakers, anti-slavery activists, businessmen, artisans , poor laborers and wealthy industrialists. Many were linked through the same institutions - mostly St Mary's Protestant Church , built in 1823 and now a listed landmark in the neighborhood. It was the first episcopal church to abolish "pew rental" in 1831. In addition, the children of many residents went to the Manhattanville Free School (founded in 1827 - later Public School No. 43 ), which is still in the same location today.

The most famous resident of Manhattanville was the industrialist Daniel F. Tiemann (1805–1899), owner of DF Tiemann & Company Color Works and Mayor of New York City from 1858 to 1859. His laboratories and factory buildings were originally on 23rd Street Corner of Park Avenue in New York City near Madison Square Park and were moved to Manhattanville in 1832, which is now 560 Riverside Drive.

Immigration and urbanization

After the Hudson River Railroad opened in 1850, many Irish immigrants moved to Manhattanville and founded the Church of the Annunciation there in 1854 . In addition, many German immigrants settled here , who founded St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in 1860. After the Civil War , Jewish immigrants who had found a home in Harlem began to increasingly move to the western blocks of Manhattanville, where they founded the Cherva Talmud Torah Anshei Marovi Synagogue (also " Old Broadway Synagogue ") in 1911 . Another important foundation in Manhattanville in the 19th century was the Academy of Convent of the Sacred Heart (later Manhattanville College and Manhattan College ).

20th century

In 1904 the new Broadway Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) high-speed railway was opened. This elevated railway line ensured a quick connection from Manhattanville to the city center ( Downtown Manhattan ). With this, the still rural suburb of Manhattanville suddenly became an extension of the expanding metropolis New York City.

During the 20th century, immigrants from Cuba , the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico moved to Manhattanville. In the 1970s, the southern part of Manhattanville - roughly up to 125th Street - was home to many students, staff, and faculty from Columbia University and Barnard College as the university continued to grow. This development continues to this day and extends northwards. In 2006 Columbia University built the new School of Social Work on Amsterdam Avenue and 122nd Street. In addition, other colleges have also built student dormitories in this (see below). The western section of 125th Street has seen a general economic boom since the late 1990s. This went hand in hand with a higher demand for housing, so many of the buildings south of 125th Street were converted into condominiums as part of the gentrification of the district.

21st century

Columbia University expansion

A major Columbia University expansion is planned in the Manhattanville area. The university has acquired several blocks of this area for this. These blocks are between 125th Street to the south, 133rd Street to the north, Broadway to the east, and 12th Avenue to the west. As part of this construction project based on the plans of the Italian architect Renzo Piano , parts of the existing buildings are to be demolished in order to create a new campus and a park, among other things.

The residents of Manhattanville feared that this construction project could lead to further gentrification - in addition to the controversial possibility of expropriating this project. In June 2007, the New York City Department of City Planning confirmed that Columbia University's application for rededication of the area was ready. Subsequently, until the end of 2007, the public had the opportunity to inspect the specific project and submit comments as part of the municipal "Uniform Land Use Review Procedure".

In November 2007, the New York Daily News summed it up as follows: "Columbia owns 65% (of the area). The state and Con Ed owns 23%. This allows the university access to 88% of the area. Most of the remaining 12% Consists of two gas stations and half a dozen commercial properties. The college is trying to finalize the purchases. There are only 132 apartments with fewer than 300 residents across 17 acres, and all have been offered equivalent or better apartments with a guarantee that none Expropriation is undertaken in order to purchase the residential property. None of the apartments are in the first phase of the project; none will be touched by at least 2015. " On December 19, 2007, the City Council of New York City ( New York City Council ) voted in favor of the rededication of the area proposed by the university.

To the north of the neighborhood (St. Nicholas Terrace), a 600-seat dormitory was completed in June 2006 as an extension of the City College of New York - known as "The Towers". This is the first time City College has hosted students on campus. Occupancy began in autumn 2006.

To the south, near 122nd Street, the Manhattan School of Music also built a dormitory around 2003. In 2006 the Jewish Theological Seminary of America opened a smaller dormitory, also on 122nd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. The increase in students is one of several factors that are rapidly changing the character of Manhattanville. As the population grew, cafes and restaurants have opened on Broadway, La Salle Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

In August 2009, at the corner of 135th Street and Covent Avenue, the new building for the School of Architecture and Urban Design with an area of ​​over 12,500 m² (135,000 square feet) was completed by the City College - the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture (named after the New York property developer and philanthropist Bernard Spitzer and his wife). The construction refers to the building that stood there before - the old Cohen Library on the South Campus. The new building was designed and built by Rafael Viñoly's architectural office to add a modern aesthetic to the diverse architectural mix of this area.

West Harlem Piers

West Harlem Piers

In April 2006 work began on creating the West Harlem Piers Waterfront Park. The park includes a fishing pier, a kayak staging area, sculptures, and a dock for water taxis. It extends from 125th Street to 132nd Street . This closed a gap in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway , which runs along the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan Island. The park was opened to the public at the beginning of October 2008 later than planned, as it was discovered in the summer that the fencing, which is supposed to prevent visitors from falling into the river, did not meet the requirements. The area that encloses the park and the pier is sometimes called ViVa (Viaduct Valley).

Art, culture and night life

Croton Gatehouse

The revival of art and culture continued in October 2006 when the Gatehouse Theater, which primarily features dance theater, opened as an additional venue to Aaron Davis Hall . It was built as part of the renovation of the 19th century Croton Aqueduct building on the corner of 135th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Upon completion, the Aaron Davis Hall and Gatehouse Theater developed the umbrella name "Harlem Stage". Another important cultural institution is the "Triple Candie" non-profit exhibition space on the corner of 126th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

religion

Four of Manhattanville's houses of worship are among the most historically significant in Harlem. None of these are in the area used to expand Columbia University.

The St. Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church was founded in 1823 on the West 126th Street (formerly Lawrence Street) and was the only church in this area in the second quarter of the 19th century, when the Dutch Reformed Church apart on the East Side. The current stone church building was built between 1908 and 1909 by TE Blake and the architects Carrere & Hasings - on the same spot as the previous building (a wooden church building), which was built in 1824 and consecrated in 1826. In 1831, St. Mary's was the first church in the diocese to abolish pew rental. Today, St. Mary's is the oldest church in Harlem to have remained in its original place throughout. In 1998, the building complex consisting of the church building, the adjacent rectory (from around 1851) and the brick school building from 1890 was officially included in the list of monuments of the city of New York.

The Catholic Church of the Annunciation on the corner of West 131st Street and Covent Avenue was founded in 1854, making it the first Catholic church to be built on the west side of Manhattan north of 2nd Street and primarily serving the Catholic Irish workers of the Hudson River Railroad . The Christian Brothers built the church building next to Manhattan College on 131st Street and Bloomingdale Road (Old Broadway). The Christian Brothers later sold the church and parsonage to John Huges, the first Catholic Archbishop of New York. The current stone building was built between 1906 and 1907 by the Lynch & Orchard group of architects, making it the second church building to which the parish moved in 1907.

The Catholic St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church was built in 1860 as the "Church of the Holy Family" by German Catholics in Manhattanville at the Northwest corner of 125th Street and Morningside Avenue founded. On the 100th birthday in 1960 it was recorded: "When the construction of the church was in progress on May 30, 1861, the possibly first public Corpus Christi procession was celebrated in New York City" (“While the construction of the church was going on ... on May 30, of the year 1861 was celebrated what was probably the first public Corpus Christi procession in New York City ”). The historian John J. Hopper from Manhattanville mentions this church in his memoirs around 1920 as "the German Catholic Church on Ninth Avenue , which my father Isaac A. Hopper built" (“the German Catholic Church at Ninth Avenue, which my father [Isaac A. Hopper] built ”). He was a boy then and lived on Manhattan Street between 1853 and 1865. The AIA leader wrongly dates the church building to the year 1889 and attributes it to the Herter Brothers. This mistake could have been due to a mix-up with the St. Joseph RC School building around the corner at 168 Morningside Avenue. David Dunlap lists this church as the oldest church building in Harlem in his book "Glory in Gotham: Manhattan's Houses of Worship".

The Old Broadway Synagogue is an Orthodox synagogue built in 1911 under the name Chevra Talmud Torah Anshei Marovi on Old Broadway (one of the few remnants of Bloomingdale Road) by architects Meisner & Uffner in 1923. The community was mostly founded by Ashkenazi Jews who immigrated to New York from Russia and Poland in the 1880s. Here they initially settled in the center of Harlem and later moved to West Harlem. The building was listed as an individual monument on the National Register of Historic Places .

Landmark

Former Claremont Theater

Aside from Grant's Tomb , Riverside Church and the Manhattan School of Music, the elevated section of the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line and the Riverside Drive Viaduct are prominent landmarks of Manhattanville. The Manhattanville Houses are another landmark in the neighborhood . They were a major construction project of the New York City Housing Authority , whose 1,272 apartments were moved into in 1961. This project aimed to provide affordable housing for middle-income citizens and was designed by William Lescaze , an American architect of Swiss descent.

The entrance to the listed Claremont Theater in neo-Renaissance style appears in a short film by Thomas Edison from 1915. Next to it is the Manhattanville Bus Depot - Manhattan's largest bus station and St. Mary's Church.

In Riverside Park, north of Grant's Tomb, was the Claremont Inn, which in its heyday was a popular hotel among wealthy African-Americans. It was originally built as a private estate in 1775. Towards the end of the 19th century, it was acquired by the City of New York and leased to a hotelier. Bicycles could also be borrowed here. It fell victim to a serious fire in the 1940s that led to the hotel's demise. During the planning for a revitalization as a hotel and restaurant, a devastating fire in 1951 led to the permanent closure. A stone plaque is now on the spot where the Claremont Inn stood.

In the 1920s, on 131st Street between Broadway and Twelfth Avenue, there was a Studebaker auto factory in Manhattanville that made luxury cars. The building was sold to Borden Food Corporation during the Great Depression in the 1930s for conversion to a dairy farm. Today it is used by Columbia University and houses a Studebaker Cafe.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See also Fort Laight and Blockhouse No. 4th
  2. ↑ Eric K. Washington: Manhattanville. Introduction
  3. ↑ Robert J.Baptista: DF Tiemann & Co. Color Works, Manhattanville, New York City. In: Colorants Industry History. July 7, 2009.
  4. ↑ Columbia University website, which provides information on the planning in Manhattanville and links to media reports.
  5. ↑ "Columbia owns 65% [of the tract]. The state and Con Ed have 23%. That gives the university access to 88% of the tract. Most of the remaining 12% consists of two gas stations and a half-dozen commercial properties. The school is trying to negotiate purchases. In the entire 17 acre (16,000 m²), there are only 132 apartments with fewer than 300 tenants, and all have been offered equivalent or better housing, with a guarantee that eminent domain will not be Used to acquire homes. None of the apartments are in the first phase of the project; none will be touched until at least 2015. Columbia Passes Big Test. In: New York Daily News. November 28, 2007.
  6. ^ "City Council Announces Approval of Columbia University Expansion" , City Council press release, December 19, 2007.
  7. ↑ From the website of the City College of New York ( Memento of the original dated May 16, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ccnytowers.com
  8. ^ Website of the architectural office Rafael Viñoly. The "Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture" will also be presented there
  9. ^ The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture. New York, New York. Rafael Viñoly Architects. In: Architectural Record.
  10. ↑ Harlem Piers on the Columbia University website (PDF file; 764 kB)
  11. ↑ Daniel Amsallag, Construction Snag Delays Opening Pier, Columbia Daily Spectator 15 September, 2008.
  12. ↑ From the website of the Aaron Davis Hall ( Memento of the original of March 31, 2002 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aarondavishall.org
  13. ^ Grace, Matthew: New Landmark Designation: Claremont Theater. ( Memento of July 26, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) In: The New York Observer . June 7, 2006 (archived 2006)
  14. ^ Claremont Theater: NY 1915 Thomas Edison. In: Library of Congress. film archives ( MPG version )
  15. ↑ Claremont Theater Building, 3320-3338 Broadway (aka 536-540 West 135th Street), Manhattan. (PDF file; 701 kB) In: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission . June 6, 2006, Designation List 375 LP-2198.
  16. ↑ "Remember: The Claremont Inn" , Harlem Bespoke
  17. ↑ Remember: Claremont Bicycles. ( Memento from December 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: Harlem Bespoke.
  18. ^ Riverside Park: Claremont Inn tablet. In: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation . The Claremont Inn sign was built into the path at Claremont Playground in 1952.
  19. ^ Studebaker Building. on: Harlem Bespoke.