What do Lena Horne, John James Audubon, and Malcolm X all have in common? They all have a connection to New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood! The once-rural area of northern Manhattan, now a fully urbanized multicultural neighborhood, has been home to major cultural institutions, sports venues, historic landmarks, notable people, and public art throughout the centuries. In an upcoming virtual tour of the neighborhood, you will discover some of its most fascinating hidden gems!
Hidden Gems of Washington Heights
On this Virtual Tour:
- Find out who was the first non-Native American to settle on what would become New Amsterdam
- See beautiful artistic renderings of endangered North American birds
- Visit where the Croton Aqueduct system entered New York City
- Learn about major civil rights leaders and cultural icons, such as Malcolm X and Paul Robeson
- Discover a small street of wooden houses frozen in time
On this virtual walking tour, we will meander through part of Washington Heights, focusing on Eliza Jumel’s years there as the Morris-Jumel Mansion’s longest resident. The Morris-Jumel Mansion was built as a country retreat for retired British Colonel Roger Morris in 1765. It sat on a property of about 130 acres spanning from the Harlem River to the Hudson River. In 1810, the Morris House was bought by Stephen and Eliza Jumel with new property lines covering about 140 acres on the Harlem River side of the island. This tour will reveal how the neighborhood evolved over the history of the Morris-Jumel Estate, which is Manhattan’s oldest surviving residence! Your guide for this experience is Alan Cohen, an expert Untapped New York tour guide and a docent at the Museum of the City of New York and the Morris-Jumel Mansion.
Tickets for this talk on Tuesday, April 6th are just $10! You can gain access to unlimited free virtual events per month and unlock a video archive of 100+ past events as an Untapped New York Insider starting at $10/month. Already an Insider? Register here! Can’t make it live? Register for this virtual talk and we’ll email you a recording of it after it ends!
Hidden Gems of Washington Heights
Next, check out A Rare Colonial Marker Stands on the Grounds of the Morris-Jumel Mansion