135th Street (Manhattan)

135th Street (Manhattan)
Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	135th Street
Location	Manhattan, New York City
Length mi	1.2
Direction a	West
Terminus a	Riverside Drive
Direction b	East
Terminus b	5th Avenue
Borough	Manhattan
Neighborhood	Harlem; Hamilton Heights; Morningside Heights

135th Street (Manhattan) 135th Street is an east–west thoroughfare on the island of Manhattan in New York City linking Riverside Drive to Fifth Avenue, traversing the neighborhoods of Hamilton Heights, Harlem, and Morningside Heights. The street forms part of the Manhattan street grid established under the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 and intersects major north–south corridors such as Broadway, Lenox Avenue, and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. 135th Street has been a locus for institutions including City College of New York, cultural sites like the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and historic venues connected to the Harlem Renaissance, Great Migration, and the development of Metro-North Railroad era infrastructure.

Geography and route

135th Street runs approximately east–west from Riverside Drive and Henry Hudson Parkway on the west to Fifth Avenue adjacent to Morningside Park on the east, crossing the Hudson River-facing West Side urban fabric and the East Side-oriented Harlem street network. The corridor intersects major arteries including Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, Lenox Avenue, and Malcolm X Boulevard (officially Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard), providing direct transit links to nodes such as Columbia University, City College of New York, Grant's Tomb, and Marcus Garvey Park. Topographically, the street negotiates the escarpment between the low-lying Riverside area and the higher elevations of Morningside Heights, with landmarks sited at grid irregularities inherited from the Common Lands and 19th-century real estate plats.

History

Originally laid out as part of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 and incrementally developed during the 19th century, 135th Street gained prominence as Harlem transitioned from rural estates associated with families like the Schuyler family and Morris family into dense urban neighborhoods shaped by the New York City draft riots era growth and later by the Great Migration. During the early 20th century the corridor became central to the Harlem Renaissance, hosting businesses, performance venues, and religious institutions tied to figures such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, and Zora Neale Hurston; it served as a local axis for organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Urban League. Mid-century changes brought infrastructure projects linked to Robert Moses planning and transit expansions like the IND Eighth Avenue Line, while late-20th and early-21st century redevelopment involved preservation efforts by entities such as the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and community groups associated with the Harlem Community Development Corporation.

Landmarks and notable buildings

135th Street hosts a concentration of cultural, educational, and religious landmarks. West of Lenox Avenue sits the Duke Ellington House (residence of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington), proximate to performance sites related to the Cotton Club era and venues associated with Cab Calloway and Billie Holiday. The intersection near Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard features the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church and nearby the Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics at Columbia University satellite facilities; the street also abuts the City College of New York campus and academic structures tied to alumni such as Albert Einstein (who lectured in the neighborhood) and I. M. Pei-designed projects elsewhere in Manhattan. Residential and institutional architecture includes examples by architects linked to the Beaux-Arts and Art Deco movements, with buildings once home to activists like Marcus Garvey and organizations such as the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Nearby cultural sites extend to the Apollo Theater corridor, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and memorials related to Ulysses S. Grant at Grant's Tomb.

Transportation

135th Street is served by multiple transit modes: surface routes include Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus lines connecting to hubs like the George Washington Bridge Bus Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal corridor, while subway access is provided by stations on the IND Eighth Avenue Line and the IRT Lenox Avenue Line at intersections with St. Nicholas Avenue and Lenox Avenue respectively. Cycling infrastructure links to the Hudson River Greenway at the western terminus and to Citi Bike stations used by commuters to Columbia University and Barnard College. Proximity to commuter rail terminals such as New York Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal is achieved via connecting subway services, and regional connectivity extends toward Westchester County via Metro-North Railroad interchanges reached through local transit transfers.

Demographics and neighborhood context

The street lies within census tracts that reflect the broader demographic dynamics of Harlem, Hamilton Heights, and Morningside Heights, neighborhoods characterized by historic African American, Caribbean, and Dominican communities alongside growing populations of students, faculty, and professionals associated with institutions like Columbia University and City College of New York. Socioeconomic indicators have evolved amid waves of gentrification and preservation debates involving stakeholders such as local elected officials from the New York City Council, community boards, and nonprofit developers affiliated with Local Initiatives Support Corporation initiatives. Cultural identity remains anchored by institutions including the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and long-standing music and literary venues that maintain the street's association with the Harlem Renaissance, civil rights activism, and contemporary arts programming.

Category:Streets in Manhattan Category:Harlem Category:Morningside Heights, Manhattan