History
The D.F. Tiemann & Co. Color Works factory circa mid-1830s
At the western edge of what was then known as New Harlem, Manhattanville became incorporated as a village in 1806. The village soon boasted a commercial waterfront, stables, warehouses, icehouses, and factories. A rail station and ferry terminal in the 1800s, and then the IRT subway station in the early 1900s, helped spur industrial growth, and commerce and transportation converged in a thriving waterfront.
Dairies and meatpacking industries, including Sheffield Farms (today's Prentis Hall) and the McDermott-Bunger Dairy, moved into the area. Automobile manufacturers established operations in Manhattanville in the 1920s, and the Studebaker and Warren Nash Service Center buildings still stand today.
The IRT subway viaduct, with an arch spanning 168 feet and rising 55 feet above the street, was begun in the summer of 1901.
Columbia University began construction of its Morningside Heights campus, just to the south, in 1896, and, in the 1920s, established today's Medical Center, to the north, in Washington Heights. Other colleges and institutions also established themselves in the area, as the neighborhood's residential population grew.
The stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression signaled the end of strong commercial growth in Manhattanville. Trucking replaced water and rail transportation, leaving Manhattanville's waterfront access no longer advantageous to manufacturers. As industries—and the jobs they created—left the area, Manhattanville lost its industrial base in the decades that followed.
Heritage
Harlem helped shape the course of artistic expression in the twentieth century and plays a vital role in the world of arts and culture today. From blues and jazz to poetry, literature, and the performing and visual arts, Harlem has been home to innovative thinking for many decades.
Zora Neale Hurston studied anthropology at Barnard College, where she was the college's first African-American student. She later pursued graduate work at Columbia with renowned anthropologist Franz Boas.
Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Josephine Baker, and countless other musicians helped make history in Harlem. Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin are just some of the writers who have found inspiration here.
Today, the arts community remains vibrant in Harlem. Traditional jazz and contemporary music are finding new audiences at historic jazz clubs. New gallery and studio spaces have taken root in West Harlem, and hundreds of local artists support each other through organizations such as the Harlem Arts Alliance. Stars are still being born and legends made at the Apollo Theater. These are just some examples of the creative community at work today in Harlem.
Neighborhood residents come together in other ways, too. Civic engagement flourishes in West Harlem, from the community board and local schools, to religious, philanthropic, and other community-based organizations.
Manhattanville Today
Manhattanville today, viewed from the 125th Street Station on the No. 1 train
Community leaders and residents are working together to continually improve the schools, parks, and local businesses that are at the heart of the neighborhoods of West Harlem. In addition, we all recognize the need for new jobs and business opportunities.
Columbia's redevelopment plan, crafted with community and government leaders over almost five years, will make the former manufacturing area of West Harlem once again a source of jobs, innovation, and opportunity for the neighborhood and a vital contributor to the future of the city.