Lenox Avenue / Malcolm X Boulevard is the primary north-south route through Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

 in the upper

Upper Manhattan

Upper Manhattan denotes the more northerly region of the New York City Borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary may be defined anywhere between 59th Street and 155th Street. Between these two extremes lies the most common definitions of Upper Manhattan as Manhattan above 96th Street...

 portion of the 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...

 borough

Borough (New York City)

New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...

 of 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...

. This two-way street runs from Farmers' Gate at Central Park North

Central Park North

Central Park North is a street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City; it is a section of West 110th Street. As the name implies, it lies at the northern end of Central Park. It is bounded by Central Park West on the west and Fifth Avenue on the east....

 (110th Street

110th Street (Manhattan)

110th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is commonly known as the boundary between Harlem and Central Park, along which it is known as Central Park North. In the west, it is also known as Cathedral Parkway....

) to 147th Street. It is also considered the heartbeat of Harlem by Langston Hughes in his poem Juke Box Love Song. The IRT Lenox Avenue Line

IRT Lenox Avenue Line

The Lenox Avenue Line is one of the IRT lines in the New York City Subway, mostly built as part of the first subway system. It is a rather short line, only serving upper Manhattan.-Extent and service:...

 runs under the entire length of the street.

Originally a part of Sixth Avenue

Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)

Sixth Avenue – officially Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown"...

, it was renamed in late 1887 for philanthropist James Lenox

James Lenox

James Lenox was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and later became part of the New York Public Library in 1895.-Biography:...

. In 1987, it was co-named Malcolm X

Malcolm X

Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...

 Boulevard (both names are officially recognized), in honor of the slain civil rights leader.

The Savoy Ballroom

Savoy Ballroom

The Savoy Ballroom, located in Harlem, New York City, was a medium sized ballroom for music and public dancing that was in operation from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. It was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue....

 was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue. Other historical venues of Lenox Avenue are Sylvia's Restaurant, located between 126th and 127th, and the Lenox Lounge

Lenox Lounge

Lenox Lounge is a long-standing bar in Harlem, New York City. It is located in Lenox Avenue, between 124th and 125th. The bar was founded in 1939 and served as venue for performances by many great jazz artists, including Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane...

, located between 124th and 125th.

"Lenox Avenue: Midnight," a well-known poem by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...

, is set on Lenox Avenue.

In 'The Fire Next Time', two essays written by civil rights leader James Baldwin, (previously published in The New Yorker), Lenox Avenue is simply referred to as 'The Avenue'. It is thus represented as symbol of the darkness of Harlem.

Featured in the first verse of the original (Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...

's) lyrics of Puttin' on the Ritz

Puttin' on the Ritz

"Puttin' on the Ritz" is a popular song written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin' on the Ritz . The title derives from the slang expression "putting on the Ritz," meaning to dress very fashionably. The expression was inspired by the...

, albeit in an off-putting and mocking fashion, referencing the then-popular fad of flashily-dressed but poor black Harlemites parading up and down Lenox Avenue, "Spending ev'ry dime / For a wonderful time".