Saint Nicholas Avenue (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
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
From early colonial days through the 19th century the road was known as Harlem Lane. It is claimed to have followed an old Indian path called Weekquaeskeek. The road accommodated travelers going toward Spuyten Duyvil
, Kingsbridge, and points north. Harlem Lane was sometimes referred to as the Kingsbridge Road, and it constituted a portion of the old Post Road
that led from lower Manhattan to New England.
St. Nicholas Avenue is named after Saint Nicholas of Myra
, patron saint of New Amsterdam
since Dutch times.
North of 169th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue is aligned with the street grid, with Wadsworth Avenue one block west (north of 174th Street) and Audubon Avenue
. The intersection of St. Nicholas with Broadway at 167th Street forms Mitchell Square Park
. Below 169th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue cuts at a diagonal to much of the Manhattan street grid, crossing Amsterdam Avenue at 162nd Street and continuing against the grain to West 148th Street. Below 148th, St. Nicholas returns to a rough parallel track, with Convent Avenue one block west and Edgecombe Avenue, down to 124th Street. Below 124th, St, Nicholas Avenue takes a sharp diagonal, crossing Frederick Douglass Boulevard
at 121st Street, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard
at 116th Street, ending at Lenox Avenue
, just north of Central Park
. Its 17th century origin as part of Eastern Post Road
accounts for its non conformance to the later grid
.
The IND Eighth Avenue Line
runs under St. Nicholas Avenue north of 123rd Street, sometimes referred to as The St. Nicholas Avenue Line.
St. Nicholas Avenue serves as a border between the West Side of Harlem
and Central Harlem. Although Harlem in a broad sense spans from the East River
to the Hudson River
, the area west of St. Nicholas Avenue is not always counted as part of Harlem.
In 2000, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani signed a bill adding the name "Juan Pablo Duarte Boulevard" to St. Nicholas Avenue for the stretch from Amsterdam Avenue and West 162nd Street to the intersection of West 193rd Street and Fort George Hill. The added name was in honor of Juan Pablo Duarte
, one of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic
.
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...
street. It runs north-south between 193rd Street and 111th Streets in 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...
. It goes through the neighborhoods of Washington Heights
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...
, 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...
, Hamilton Heights, and Inwood
Inwood
-Places:In Canada:*Inwood, Manitoba*Inwood, OntarioIn the United Kingdom:* Inwood, Warleigh, Wiltshire, EnglandIn the United States:* Inwood, Florida* Inwood, Iowa* Inwood, New York, in Nassau County...
From early colonial days through the 19th century the road was known as Harlem Lane. It is claimed to have followed an old Indian path called Weekquaeskeek. The road accommodated travelers going toward Spuyten Duyvil
Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx
Spuyten Duyvil is the name of a subsection of the Riverdale section of the Bronx in New York City. The area is named after Spuyten Duyvil Creek, a Dutch name with various historical spellings and meanings, the most plausible of which is "Spinning Devil", "Devil's Whirlpool", or "Devil's Spate"...
, Kingsbridge, and points north. Harlem Lane was sometimes referred to as the Kingsbridge Road, and it constituted a portion of the old Post Road
Boston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into the first major highways in the United States.The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York...
that led from lower Manhattan to New England.
St. Nicholas Avenue is named after Saint Nicholas of Myra
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
, patron saint of New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
since Dutch times.
North of 169th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue is aligned with the street grid, with Wadsworth Avenue one block west (north of 174th Street) and Audubon Avenue
Audubon Avenue (Manhattan)
Audubon Avenue is an avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan that runs north-south, parallel to Amsterdam Avenue. Its southern terminus is at West 165th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, and its northern terminus is at Fort George Avenue, just north of West 193 Street...
. The intersection of St. Nicholas with Broadway at 167th Street forms Mitchell Square Park
Mitchell Square Park
Mitchell Square Park is a small urban park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is a two part, triangle shaped park formed by the intersection of Saint Nicholas Avenue, Broadway and 167th Street....
. Below 169th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue cuts at a diagonal to much of the Manhattan street grid, crossing Amsterdam Avenue at 162nd Street and continuing against the grain to West 148th Street. Below 148th, St. Nicholas returns to a rough parallel track, with Convent Avenue one block west and Edgecombe Avenue, down to 124th Street. Below 124th, St, Nicholas Avenue takes a sharp diagonal, crossing Frederick Douglass Boulevard
Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
Eighth Avenue is a north-south avenue on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic. Eighth Avenue begins in the West Village neighborhood at Abingdon Square and runs north for 44 blocks through Chelsea, the Garment District, Hell's Kitchen's east end, Midtown and the...
at 121st Street, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
at 116th Street, ending at Lenox Avenue
Lenox Avenue (Manhattan)
Lenox Avenue / Malcolm X Boulevard is the primary north-south route through Harlem in the upper portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. This two-way street runs from Farmers' Gate at Central Park North to 147th Street. It is also considered the heartbeat of Harlem by Langston Hughes in...
, just north of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. Its 17th century origin as part of Eastern Post Road
Boston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into the first major highways in the United States.The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York...
accounts for its non conformance to the later grid
Commissioners' Plan of 1811
The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design plan for the streets of Manhattan, which put in place the grid plan that has defined Manhattan to this day....
.
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...
runs under St. Nicholas Avenue north of 123rd Street, sometimes referred to as The St. Nicholas Avenue Line.
St. Nicholas Avenue serves as a border between the West Side of 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...
and Central Harlem. Although Harlem in a broad sense spans from the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
to 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 area west of St. Nicholas Avenue is not always counted as part of Harlem.
In 2000, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani signed a bill adding the name "Juan Pablo Duarte Boulevard" to St. Nicholas Avenue for the stretch from Amsterdam Avenue and West 162nd Street to the intersection of West 193rd Street and Fort George Hill. The added name was in honor of Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez is one of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic. He was a visionary and liberal thinker who along with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella is widely considered the architect of the Dominican Republic and its independence from Haitian rule in 1844...
, one of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
.