5. Riverside Church & Grant’s Tomb
These two architectural focal points at the southern edge of Harlem seem straight out of Europe. Riverside Church was constructed by John D. Rockefeller and Grant’s Tomb was built as a mausoleum to house General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia. Unlike the churches in Europe, Riverside Church was constructed with steel, and only “wears Gothic clothes,” according to Mellins and Miller. Grant’s Tomb was originally envisioned with a grand staircase leading down to the Hudson River, but the plans were never realized.
