Just Off Fifth: 12-24 West 120th Street

The townhouses that line 12-24 West 120th Street were probably erected as a speculative development.  Built with red brick and brownstone trim, the style is an eclectic mixture of Neo-Grec and Queen Anne details.

Two West 120th Street

Two West 12oth Street, designed in 1900 by George Pelham, is a very handsome Beaux Arts apartment house in the Anglo-French style.  Its deep red brick makes a dramatic contract with the more somber brownstones that line this block of West 120th Street. Ironically, the first building on Fifth Avenue in the Mount Morris Historic District is… Continue reading

Marcus Garvey Park

Originally named Mount Morris Park, Marcus Garvey Park was renamed in 1973 after the Pan-Africanist movement founder Marcus Garvey, who was a noted early Black Nationalist.  Dominated by a vast “berg” (Dutch for hill) of schist, the park was an early lookout for first the Native Americans of the area and then Hessian soldiers during… Continue reading

Mount Morris Park Historic District

The first historic district on Fifth Avenue north of 96th Street, the Mount Morris Park Historic District technically only borders two blocks of the avenue despite encompassing 16 blocks overall.  Created in 1973 as one of New York City’s earliest historic districts, Mount Morris Park takes its name from the original name for what is… Continue reading

1486 & 1488 Fifth Avenue

A pair of handsome early 20th century buildings, 1486 & 1488 Fifth Avenue exhibit various Italianate and Beaux Arts details in a suave mishmash characteristic of the period.