181st Street (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
neighborhood in uptown Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It runs from the Washington Bridge
Washington Bridge
The Washington Bridge carries six lanes of traffic over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, connecting 181st Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan to University Avenue in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx...
in the east, to the Henry Hudson Parkway
Henry Hudson Parkway
The Henry Hudson Parkway is an long parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is at West 72nd Street in Manhattan, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout its entire course in Manhattan...
in the west, near the George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
and the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. The west end is called Plaza Lafayette.
West of Fort Washington Avenue
Fort Washington Avenue (Manhattan)
Fort Washington Avenue is a major north-south street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. It runs from Fort Tryon Park to 159th Street, where it intersects with Broadway. It goes past Bennett Park, the highest natural point in Manhattan. Famous residents of Fort Washington Avenue...
, 181st Street is largely residential, bordering Hudson Heights and having a few shops to serve the local residents. East of Fort Washington Avenue, the street becomes increasingly commercial, becoming dominated entirely by retail stores where the street reaches Broadway and continues as such until reaching the Harlem River
Harlem River
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
. It is the area's major shopping district.
181st Street is served by two New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
lines; there is a 181st Street
181st Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
181st Street is a station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located on Fort Washington Avenue and 181st Street, one of the main shopping districts of the Hudson Heights neighborhood of Washington Heights, and served by the A train at all times.This underground...
stop at Fort Washington Avenue
Fort Washington Avenue (Manhattan)
Fort Washington Avenue is a major north-south street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. It runs from Fort Tryon Park to 159th Street, where it intersects with Broadway. It goes past Bennett Park, the highest natural point in Manhattan. Famous residents of Fort Washington Avenue...
on the IND Eighth Avenue Line
IND Eighth Avenue Line
The Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway...
( train) and a 181st Street stop at Saint Nicholas Avenue
Saint Nicholas Avenue (Manhattan)
Saint Nicholas Avenue is a major New York City street. It runs north-south between 193rd Street and 111th Streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It goes through the neighborhoods of Washington Heights, Harlem, Hamilton Heights, and Inwood...
on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line ( train). The stations are about 500 yards (meters) from each other and are not connected. The George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal
George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal
The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City, New York....
is a couple of blocks south on Fort Washington Avenue. 181st Street is also the last south/west exit in New York on the Trans-Manhattan Expressway
Trans-Manhattan Expressway
The Trans-Manhattan Expressway or George Washington Bridge Expressway is a highway in New York City that is part of the Interstate Highway System. Though few of the millions who use it or live near it have ever heard the name, it is probably one of the shortest, busiest, and most congested named...
(I-95
Interstate 95 in New York
Interstate 95 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Canada – United States border near Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of New York, I-95 extends from the George Washington Bridge in New York City to the Connecticut state line at Port Chester...
), just before crossing the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.