Profile for Harlem, New York, NY

Bounded by 110th Street, 155th Street, Convent Avenue and Madison Avenue.

Settled by the Dutch in 1658. Thousands of Irish immigrants lived here, often in squalid conditions, during the 1800s. The arrival of the elevated trains in the 1870s brought new prosperity to the area

Blacks began moving here in the early 20th century, first from other parts of New York and later from all over the country. Harlem changed from a preferred residential neighborhood to an impoverished area in which riots broke out in 1964

On Seventh Avenue near 131st Street stood the "Tree of Hope," where black actors exchanged information about jobs. When it was cut down, its replacement was dedicated by Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, dancer and Harlem resident

After declining in the 1970s and 1980s, the area has begun to work its way back. Real estate values have climbed, and the community scored a public relations coup when Bill Clinton decided to locate his office here after leaving the White House

Local foods: Southern dishes such as ribs, barbecue, collard greens, spoon bread and sweet potato pie. Also, Jamaican, West Indian and Senegalese cuisines.

Well-known residents have included:
· Colin Powell, secretary of state, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
· Sean "Puffy" Combs, musician
· Langston Hughes, poet
· Duke Ellington, musician
· Cab Calloway, musician
· Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court justice

Local bands (past and present) have included Drifters

Local festivals include:

• Harlem Jazz & Music Festival - Aug. 1-31, 2007
• Harlem Book Fair - July 20-22, 2007

Performing arts: Dance Theatre of Harlem

Harlem attractions: Apollo Theater

Historic sites and museums: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Abyssinian Baptist Church, Museum of the City of New York, Studio Museum in Harlem

Quotes:
Up and down along and between Lenox and Seventh and Eighth Avenues, Harlem was like some technicolor bazaar.
-- The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Malcolm X

Songs:
· "Spanish Harlem"

Listed places near Harlem

Airports (1)

Archives (7)

Attractions (6)

Cemeteries (39)

Colleges (47)

Communities (133)

Hotels (269)

Libraries (132)

Lost places (1)

Museums (55)

Parks (9)

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• Business & merchants association

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Neighborhood historic districts include Hamilton Heights Historic District, Mount Morris Park Historic District, Saint Nicholas Historic District.

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