What can you find in Washington Heights? Two things: a delicious blend of cultures with a dash of US history.
Washington Heights is the area that sits right above Harlem from West 155th Street to Dyckman. While Washington Heights encompasses a large span of upper Manhattan, I will focus only on the enclave from 160th to162nd Street, Edgecombe to Amsterdam.
Photo by: D. Bell
Ever wonder how Washington Heights obtained its name? Believe it or not General George Washington really did spend time in the area. The Morris Jumel Mansion was the headquarters of our nation’s first president in 1776. Tucked along the hilly curves of Edgecombe Avenue is a little known piece of the colonial puzzle. The historic house has been turned into a museum that offers plenty of workshops and public events, including the annual Jazz at the Mansion event on the lawn of the mansion.
Sitting just steps away from the mansion are quaint yellow row houses situated on a cobblestone block called Sylvan Terrace. The street bordering the mansion to the west is Jumel Terrace. Jumel Terrace has more secrets tucked away in the garden apartment of an 1891 Brownstone.
Jumel Terrace Books specializes in local history, African and American: Colonialist and Revolutionary books, art, and ephemera relating to the Morris/Jumel Mansion and its community: Harlem, Washington Heights, African America, Africa, and the Black Atlantic. Jumel Terrace Books is located at 426 West 160th Street (between St. Nicholas and Edgecombe Avenues). The shop is only open on weekends and by appointment.
Just a couple of blocks away on the other end of Jumel Terrace sits another hidden treasure. The Museum of Art and Origins is located on 162nd Street. Three floors of the brownstone owned by a former college professor at 430 West 162nd Street have been opened to the public and named The Museum of Art and Origins. On display are a collection of African masks, figures and implements. For a $5 entrance fee and by appointment only you can view personal treasures collected from across the world inside of a turn of the century brownstone-lined block that looks like it has been frozen in time.
If you visit the area on a lazy Sunday afternoon then you will be in for an extra special treat. Lifelong Harlemite and jazz impresario Marjorie Eliot will invite you into her Sugar Hill parlor with open arms to hear a free jazz concert at 555 Edgecombe Avenue. Not only is the building a national landmark but it is also a virtual who’s who of famous Harlem residents that run the gamut from Paul Robeson to Count Basie. Parlor Entertainment is located at 555 Edgecombe Avenue and concerts are every Sunday from 4 to 6:30 PM in apartment 3F. Donations are gladly accepted and refreshments are on the house.
Other places in the neighborhood to check out:
Nelly’s Bakery | 2021 Amsterdam Avenue. Grab a cup of cafe con leche (espresso with steamed milk) and a guayaba con queso (guava and cheese pastry.)
L’Fonda Family Restaurant | 2023 Amsterdam Avenue. Specializes in delicious Dominican dishes at very reasonable prices. Lunch is only $5.00.
Patagonia Wine and Spirit | 2001 Amsterdam Avenue (at 159th Street). Grab a bottle of vino to go along with your meal from L’Fonda and sit out in the park along Edgecombe or walk over to Riverside Drive to enjoy the views while having an alfresco picnic.
Posted on March 7, 2009 by D. Bell