National Register of Historic Places

Harlem River Houses

New York, New York County, New York
Listed
December 18, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79001605

About this property

The Harlem River Houses is a New York City Housing Authority public housing complex between 151st Street, 153rd Street, Macombs Place, and the Harlem River Drive in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The complex covers 9 acres (3.6 ha) and was built between 1936 and 1937, opening in October 1937. It was one of the first two federally funded public housing projects in the city and was designed to provide quality housing for working-class African Americans. Harlem River Houses consists of seven residential buildings completed in 1937, with a later adjacent expansion, Harlem River Houses II, constructed in 1965. In contemporary preservation and renovation initiatives, the two developments are often discussed together as part of the Harlem River complex. The complex was designated a New York City Landmark in 1975 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In 2014 the complex was designated a Special Planned Community Preservation District, a zoning category created in 1974 "to preserve and protect ... superior examples of town planning or large-scale development." The success of the project can be attributed to its formal, classically influenced design, to the project's focus on attracting a wide variety of tenants, not just the indigent, and to its "generous budget and high aspirations for quality."

Location

151st to 153rd St., Macombs Pl. and Harlem River Dr.
New York, New York County, New York
40.82606, -73.93620

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTBLACKARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Henson, Matthew, Residence
Industrial
0.1 mi
Dunbar Apartments
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0.1 mi
West 147th-149th Streets Historic District
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0.2 mi
Bailey House
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0.3 mi
Sugar Hill Historic District
Listed
0.4 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Harlem Heights
1776Revolutionary War
0.8 mi
Battle of Fort Washington
1776Revolutionary War
1.7 mi
Fall of Fort Washington (1776)
1776Revolutionary War
1.7 mi
Fall of Fort Washington
1776Revolutionary War
1.8 mi
Fort Lee Evacuation
1776Revolutionary War
1.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Harlem River Houses listed on the National Register?

Harlem River Houses was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Harlem River Houses?

Harlem River Houses is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Harlem River Houses?

The period of significance for Harlem River Houses is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Harlem River Houses?

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