An epicenter of African-American culture for more than a century, Harlem started out as Nieuw Haarlem, a Dutch farming settlement. By the turn of the 20th century, the neighborhood prospered and, by the 1920s, Harlem had become the most famous black community in the United States, perhaps in the whole world. The Harlem Renaissance was Harlem's golden era when local writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison achieved literary recognition. The Depression hit hard here, but happily, today the neighborhood is well on the way to new glory days. The combination of architectural treasures, crackling vitality, great music and culture and honest-to-goodness, lip-smacking soul food make Harlem a must-see destination.

Uptown Culture

Harlem's main thoroughfare is 125th Street, where you can find the famous Apollo Theater, a concert venue for luminaries as well as a rite of passage for rising musicians. Count Basie, Bessie Smith, Nat King Cole, Marvin Gaye, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Aretha Franklin have all performed here.

The Studio Museum of Harlem is one of the community's showplaces, housing a large collection of sculpture, paintings and photographs and specializing in African-American artists as well as artists of African descent. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (part of the New York Public Library's Division of Negro History) on Lenox Avenue is an eye-popping literary treasure trove. The Harlem Week/Harlem Jazz & Music Festival is an annual summer festival taking place each August, with food tasting, art exhibits, concerts, seminars, music, street entertainment, sporting events and an auto show. And don't miss The Greater Harlem Historic Bike Tour in early August. The Urban World Film Festival also takes place in August every year. To find out the latest happenings in this neighborhood, check out Harlem One Stop or WelcometoHarlem.com.

Things To Do and See

As Langston Hughes put it: "There is so much to see in Harlem." Visit Hamilton Grange, the country estate of Alexander Hamilton; Riverbank State Park, with its wonderful carousel and a spectacular view of the George Washington Bridge; the beautiful architecture of City College (CUNY); the lovely row houses of Hamilton Heights (often called Sugar Hill) that have been home to Count Basie, US Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall and boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson; and Strivers' Row (a reference to the upward mobility of the doctors, lawyers and other middle-class professionals who purchased homes here) on 138th and 139th streets.

Gospel

Any day is a good one to come uptown, but Sundays are, for many, the best time to hear gospel singing at churches like the Gothic-style Abyssinian Baptist (where the charismatic Adam Clayton Powell once preached), Canaan Baptist, Salem United Methodist and Metropolitan Baptist. Visitors of all races and creeds are given a warm welcome (please remember to dress appropriately for church). Harlem Spirituals/New York Visions provides gospel, jazz, heritage and ethnic tours.

Shopping and Dining

Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market is an open-air market on West 116th Street. Green Flea, a Saturday market, is located on West 135th Street at Lenox Avenue. Since exploring is often followed by hunger pangs, stop for a taste of Southern hospitality and stomach-and-spirit satisfying soul food at a restaurant such as Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Sylvia's, Amy Ruth's or Bayou. Hopping nightspots include the Lenox Lounge.