Harlem

Commercial and residential district of northeastern Manhattan, New York City, USA, north of Central Park. The principal thoroughfare, 125th Street, runs east–west between the Hudson River and the East River. Originally a Dutch settlement, founded in 1658, Harlem developed as a black community after World War I. Harlem's heyday was in the 1920s, when it established its reputation as the intellectual, cultural, and entertainment centre of black America (see Harlem Renaissance). It is known as a centre for music, particularly jazz. The Apollo Theatre (1934–84) was one of many influential music venues; the Dance Theatre and Theatre of Harlem are also here.

Harlem became a fashionable residential area for rich New Yorkers in the 1890s, when electric railways brought it within easy reach of Lower Manhattan, and a property boom resulted. At the beginning of the 20th century this boom abruptly subsided, and Harlem attracted a black population, many of whom came directly from the southern states to New York.