110th Street (Manhattan)

110th Street (Manhattan)
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Name	110th Street
Location	Manhattan, New York City
Direction a	West
Terminus a	Riverside Drive
Direction b	East
Terminus b	FDR Drive
Maintenance	New York City Department of Transportation

Contents

110th Street (Manhattan) 110th Street is a major crosstown thoroughfare on the island of Manhattan in New York City, marking a key boundary between neighborhoods and institutions such as Morningside Heights, Harlem, Central Park, Columbia University, and Marcus Garvey Park. The street intersects major north–south avenues including Broadway (Manhattan), Amsterdam Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue, Lenox Avenue, Malcolm X Boulevard, and Fifth Avenue, and serves as a conduit for vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic linking western waterfronts to the East River shoreline near the FDR Drive. Over its length it abuts prominent sites associated with John D. Rockefeller, Frederick Law Olmsted, Calvin Coolidge, and multiple cultural institutions such as the Apollo Theater, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the Museum of the City of New York.

Route description

110th Street runs east–west from Riverside Park at Riverside Drive and the Hudson River across West Harlem and the Upper West Side to FDR Drive along the East River. The avenue crosses major north–south corridors including Broadway (Manhattan), Amsterdam Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Central Park West, and Fifth Avenue (Manhattan), where it forms the northern edge of Central Park adjacent to landmarks tied to Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. West of Morningside Park the street traverses residential blocks developed during periods connected to W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and the expansion of Columbia University under presidents such as Nicholas Murray Butler. Eastward the street descends past institutions connected to Harlem Renaissance figures like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Duke Ellington, terminating near thoroughfares linked to Robert Moses urban projects along the East River Drive.

The corridor that became 110th Street was shaped by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 grid and by 19th-century expansions incorporating Riverside Park designs influenced by Frederick Law Olmsted and developments financed by families such as the Rockefeller family. The street's role as a neighborhood boundary evolved through 19th- and 20th-century demographic shifts including the Great Migration associated with figures like W.E.B. Du Bois and organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Universal Negro Improvement Association. Urban planning decisions during the administrations of mayors Fiorello H. La Guardia, Robert F. Wagner Jr., and John Lindsay affected zoning, public housing projects linked to New York City Housing Authority, and infrastructure placed near Morningside Park and Marcus Garvey Park. Civil rights events and cultural movements tied to Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Harlem Renaissance left social imprint on blocks east of Saint Nicholas Avenue. Late 20th-century revitalization connected to initiatives by officials like David Dinkins and Michael Bloomberg influenced preservation efforts involving entities such as the Landmarks Preservation Commission and institutions like Columbia University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

110th Street intersects transit routes and services managed by agencies including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation, and MTA Regional Bus Operations. Near Central Park North–110th Street and Cathedral Parkway–110th Street stations, subway lines connecting to the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, IND Eighth Avenue Line, and IRT Lenox Avenue Line serve riders traveling to and from destinations such as Times Square–42nd Street, Grand Central–42nd Street, and Wall Street. Surface transportation includes bus routes once operated by New York City Transit Authority that connect to hubs like Columbus Circle and Harlem–125th Street station. Bicycle infrastructure planned by the New York City Department of Transportation and advocacy from organizations like Transportation Alternatives have shaped bike lanes and pedestrian plazas along corridors intersecting 110th Street.

Along or adjacent to 110th Street are cultural, academic, religious, and recreational landmarks associated with institutions such as Columbia University, Barnard College, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Central Park, and the American Museum of Natural History. The block near Fifth Avenue (Manhattan) borders the Conservatory Garden and the North Woods of Central Park, areas influenced by designers including Calvert Vaux and Olmsted Brothers. West of Broadway (Manhattan), sites related to the Morningside Heights academic cluster include buildings named for figures like Lewisohn, Hamilton Hall, and donors from the Rockefeller family. Eastward, the corridor abuts cultural venues and historic locations tied to the Harlem Renaissance, such as the vicinity of the Apollo Theater, sites commemorating Langston Hughes and James Baldwin, and parks associated with Marcus Garvey Park. Religious and civic architecture includes structures linked to denominations and congregations historically connected to leaders such as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and institutions like the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

110th Street figures in literature, music, film, and television related to Harlem Renaissance writers including Claude McKay and Langston Hughes, and later novels by authors such as Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, and Colson Whitehead. The street appears in songs associated with performers like Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, and bands connected to the Soul and Jazz traditions rooted near venues such as the Apollo Theater and clubs along Lenox Avenue. Films by directors including Spike Lee, John Singleton, and Sidney Lumet have used locations in and around 110th Street to depict narratives about urban life, civil rights themes tied to figures like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., and stories connected to institutions such as Columbia University and New York University settings. Television series portraying New York City neighborhoods and social histories frequently stage scenes at intersections like Central Park North–110th Street and use the street as a symbolic boundary between socio-cultural zones documented by historians like Herbert Gans and journalists with publications such as The New York Times.

Category:Streets in Manhattan