110th Street (Manhattan)

Coordinates: 40°47′57″N 73°57′17″W / 40.799261°N 73.954602°W / 40.799261; -73.954602

Ellington Circle amphitheater and Central Park North

Central Park North and Fifth

Lincoln Correctional Facility

Frederick Douglass Circle

Looking west along West 110th Street from Broadway, toward Riverside Park

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, between Central Park West / Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Riverside Drive, it is co-signed as Cathedral Parkway.

Route

110th Street is an eastbound street between First Avenue and Madison Avenue. The small portion between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue is westbound. West of Fifth Avenue, the road widens to accommodate two-way traffic.

A statue of Duke Ellington stands in Duke Ellington Circle, a shallow amphitheater at 110th Street and Fifth Avenue, at the northeast corner of Central Park. Unveiled in 1997, the statue, by sculptor Robert Graham, is 25 feet (7.6 m) tall, and depicts the Muses — nine nude caryatids — supporting a grand piano and Duke Ellington on their heads.^[1] Duke Ellington Circle is also the site of the future Museum for African Art.

Where 110th Street crosses Central Park West and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, at the northwest corner of Central Park, is Frederick Douglass Circle.

The south edge of Morningside Park lies along West 110th Street between Manhattan Avenue and Morningside Drive.^[2]

The south edge of the close of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine is located along West 110th Street, known along this stretch as Cathedral Parkway, between Morningside Drive and Amsterdam Avenue. The street comes to a close at Riverside Drive before Riverside Park.

Central Park North

Central Park North 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. It is notable for its incongruities; the Lincoln Correctional Facility – originally constructed in 1914 for the Young Women's Hebrew Association – stands just a few blocks away from new luxury condo developments.

Central Park North has three of the original gates of Central Park. Farmers Gate is the termination of Lenox Avenue, also known as "Malcolm X Boulevard." Warriors Gate is the termination of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard portion of Seventh Ave. Pioneers Gate is at Fifth Avenue (Duke Ellington Circle).

The original Polo Grounds was located along Central Park North, between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Originally hosting polo, it was the home for the New York Metropolitans baseball club from 1880 to 1886 and for the New York Gothams – subsequently the Giants – from 1883 to 1888.

In the first decade of the 21st century, there was significant real estate development on properties with a view of Central Park. In 2003, Manhattan-based developer Athena headed by Louis Dubin bought a property on this street.^[3][4][5] The building was pitched as "an opportunity for New Yorkers to be on the park at roughly half the price of Central Park South."^[6] The rebirth of Harlem along Central Park north had attracted celebrities such as Marcia Gay Harden, Maya Angelou, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.^[7] The finished building was 20 stories tall with 48 residential units, 9,500 of ground floor retail space, 48 parking spaces, and each unit had a view of Central Park.^[8]

Notable places

• Congregation Ramath Orah
• Museum for African Art (under construction)
• Duke Ellington Circle
• Avalon Morningside Park
• Frederick Douglass Circle
• The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

Transportation

The elevated IRT Ninth Avenue Line used to reach a great height at its 110th Street station and, according to Douglas (2004), was a popular site for suicide jumpers. In 1927, The New York Times reported that:

"the number of suicides from the 110th Street Station of the Sixth Avenue elevated is ruining the business of the merchants with shops below, according to [the merchants].... According to [a spokesperson] there were eleven suicides from that station in the past year, and the effect has been such that potential customers prefer to walk a little farther rather than risk seeing a person hurtle from above."

Today, there are four New York City Subway stations on 110th Street:

• Cathedral Parkway – 110th Street at Broadway serving the 1 train
• Cathedral Parkway – 110th Street at Central Park West serving the A B C trains
• Central Park North – 110th Street at Lenox Avenue serving the 2 3 trains
• 110th Street at Lexington Avenue serving the 4 6 <6> trains

110th Street is served by the M2, M3, and M4 New York City Bus routes.^[9]

Notable people

George Gershwin lived in 501 West 110th Street, on the northwest corner of 110th and Amsterdam, where he composed his seminal piece Rhapsody in Blue.^[10] Arthur Miller lived in 45 West 110th Street as a child.^[11]

In popular culture

• The street is known from the Bobby Womack song "Across 110th Street" and from the 1972 movie of the same title (starring Yaphet Kotto and Anthony Quinn). The song also was used later in the 1997 film Jackie Brown and the 2007 film American Gangster. This song is also featured in the playlist for the game True Crime: New York City. This song is also used for the closing credits of S2 E3 of TV Show How to Make It in America.
• The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band released a highly regarded jazz album in 1969 entitled Central Park North.
• In the film Die Hard with a Vengeance, black character Zeus Carver tells John McClane not to bother him with the antics of terrorist criminal Simon Gruber unless he crosses 110th Street.
• The street, as well as other New York landmarks, is given as one of the boundaries for areas of drug distribution with respect to the rivalry and turf issues of Hollywood Nicky (Sean Combs), the Mafia family run by Artie Bottolota (Burt Young), and Carlito's crew in the 2005 feature Carlito's Way: Rise to Power.
• It was the billed hometown of professional wrestling tag team Harlem Heat.
• George Gershwin wrote Rhapsody in Blue at 501 West 110th Street where he and his brother Ira lived from 1924 to 1929.
• In the short story Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin, Sonny crosses 110th street to get to his neighborhood, suggesting it is just off from 110th street.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Douglas, George H. (2004): Skyscrapers: A Social History of the Very Tall Building in America. McFarland & Company, ISBN 0-7864-2030-8. (110th St station popular for suicides: p. 170).
• "Merchants Complain Suicides Hurt Business; Seek Way to Guard 110th St. Elevated Station" - New York Times, January 31, 1927, p. 19
• "Mixed-Income High Rise Takes Condominium Form" - New York Times, June 30, 1985
• "A Housing Renaissance Sweeps Central Harlem" - New York Times, August 27, 1989
• "In Frederick Douglass Tribute, Slave Folklore and Fact Collide" - New York Times, January 23, 2007

External links

• Media related to 110th Street (Manhattan) at Wikimedia Commons

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