National Historic Landmark

Henson, Matthew, Residence

New York, New York County, New York
Listed
May 14, 1975
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
75001207

About this property

The Dunbar Apartments, also known as the Paul Laurence Dunbar Garden Apartments or Dunbar Garden Apartments, is a complex of buildings located on West 149th and West 150th Streets between Frederick Douglass Boulevard/Macombs Place and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. They were built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. from 1926 to 1928 to provide housing for African Americans, and was the first large cooperative aimed at that demographic. The buildings were designed by architect Andrew J. Thomas and were named in honor of the noted African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. The complex consists of six separate buildings with a total of 511 apartments (as constructed) and occupies an entire city block. The buildings center around an interior garden courtyard, with each building U-shaped so that every apartment receives easy air flow and direct sunlight at some point during the day. The Dunbar is considered the "first large garden-complex in Manhattan." The complex was designated a New York City Landmark in 1970, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1979. One of the buildings contains the Matthew Henson Residence, which is separately listed on the NRHP as a National Historic Landmark.

Location

246 W. 150th St., Apt. 3F
New York, New York County, New York
40.82544, -73.93874

Categories

BLACKSCIENCEARCHITECTURE
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

Dunbar Apartments
Industrial
0 mi
West 147th-149th Streets Historic District
Industrial
0.1 mi
Harlem River Houses
Industrial
0.1 mi
Bailey House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Sugar Hill Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi

Nearby Battles

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

Questions about this property

When was Henson, Matthew, Residence listed on the National Register?

Henson, Matthew, Residence was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1975.

What type of historic resource is Henson, Matthew, Residence?

Henson, Matthew, Residence is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Henson, Matthew, Residence a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Henson, Matthew, Residence has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Henson, Matthew, Residence?

The period of significance for Henson, Matthew, Residence is recorded as the industrial era.

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