Harlem

The opening of the New York and Harlem railroad in 1837 marks the beginning of Harlem's development as a suburb for the well-to-do. Completion if the IRT Lenox Avenue Subway in 1904 encouraged a real estate boom in Harlem, but many more apartments were built that could be rented. At the same time, the blocks of Herald Square, where a large part of City's African- American population was living, were being redeveloped, and they were forced to seek living space elsewhere. Philip A. Payton, Jr. a remarkable realtor and a founder of Afro-American Realty Company, opened many of Harlem's vacant apartment buildings to African-Americans by assuming management of individual buildings and guaranteeing premium rents to their landlords. The great influx of African- Americans during 1920s was bottled up in this one area and the privations of the Great Depression further burdened Harlem and its people. As recently as 1990s Harlem was marked by burned-out shells and acres of vacant land where demolished housing once stood. Around that time Yuppies began moving in. During the Bloomberg administration rents and housing prices soared right along with the rest of the City. By 2006 it was difficult to find anything. On the positive side, previously neglected town houses have been meticulously restored, new in-fill housing built. On the negative side, many see the lessening of Harlem's unique- largely African American, East-Indian, and Latino- culture. More more information on the recent transformations in Harlem listen to our podcasts: Through The Eyes of an Architect: Harlem Today by Zevilla Jackson - Preston; City Planning in Harlem by Edwin Marshall; City Planning Today by William Menking; Gentrification in Harlem by Christine Haughney.