5. James Baldwin Residences

James Baldwin was an African-American author and social critic whose novels caused controversy for their homoerotic content and exploration of racial identity. He lived in multiple residences in the West Village Historic District and the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District at different points in his life. Baldwin lived at 81 Horatio Street in the West Village in the late 195os through the early 1960s.

In 1965, Baldwin bought a row house at 137 W 71st Street. He lived in this building from 1966 until his death in 1987. This home, in which he wrote works like Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone (1968), If Beale Street Could Talk (1974), and No Name in the Street (1972), was designated an individual landmark in 2019.