Astor Row

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Astor Row

Astor Row is the name given to 130th Street between Fifth Avenue and Lenox Avenue

Lenox Avenue (Manhattan)

Lenox Avenue / Malcolm X Boulevard is the primary north-south route through Harlem in the Upper Manhattan portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan....
in Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a Neighbourhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center....
, in the New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
borough

Borough (New York City)

New York City is one of the largest cities in the world, and it is segmented into boroughs for various reasons. A borough is a unique form of government which administers the five fundamental constituent parts that make up the History of New York City ....
of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
.

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Encyclopedia

Astor Row is the name given to 130th Street between Fifth Avenue and Lenox Avenue

Lenox Avenue (Manhattan)

Lenox Avenue / Malcolm X Boulevard is the primary north-south route through Harlem in the Upper Manhattan portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan....
in Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a Neighbourhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center....
, in the New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
borough

Borough (New York City)

Manhattan

Townhouse

Historically in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries, a townhouse was a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city....
s built in Harlem, and their design is very unusual. The houses are set back from the street and all have front yards, an oddity in New York, and all have wooden porches. The effect is southern, and the houses look as though they might have been airlifted in from Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, Georgia , United States. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia....
. They were built on land that had been purchased by John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor

For other pages relating to Astor, see John Jacob Astor 'John Jacob Astor' was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States....
in 1844 for $10,000, but the development was driven by his grandson, William Backhouse Astor

William Backhouse Astor, Jr.

William Backhouse Astor, Jr. was a businessman and a member of the prominent Astor family.The younger son of William Backhouse Astor, Sr., he was joint heir to the Astor real estate empire, though he left its active management to his elder brother John Jacob Astor III ....
, who hired architect and builder Charles Buek

Charles Buek

Charles Buek was a Real estate developer and architect in New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He worked mostly on the east side of Manhattan, in the years between 1880 and 1914....
to oversee the project. The houses were all built between 1880 and 1883.

Ownership stayed in the Astor family until 1911, when the westernmost ten of the houses were sold to real estate investor Max Marx, who traded them in part for an apartment building in Washington Heights

Washington Heights, Manhattan

Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the Borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington , a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the British forces....
. The new owners, the Brown Realty Company, defaulted on their mortgage and the houses passed to the New York Savings Bank.

The Astor Row townhouses rented originally for $1,100 per year, and were so popular that there was for years a waiting list to live there. The Astor Row townhouses were occupied originally by whites, but in 1920, 20 of the 28 Buek houses (the ten owned by New York Savings Bank, plus ten still owned by the Astors) were purchased by a real estate operator named James Cruikshank and leased to black tenants.

The houses were not maintained as Harlem decayed from 1930 - 1990, and the porches were gradually lost. In 1978, the second edition of the described the row as having "restrained beauty which has been tarnished by years of economic distress." In 1981, New York City declared the entire row to be landmarks and raised funds to restore their facades, and improve their plumbing, heating systems, and electrical lines where needed. The group overseeing and financing the work included the , New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation Law....
, , Manhattan Community Board 10

Manhattan Community Board 10

The Manhattan Community Board 10 is a local government unit of the city of New York city, encompassing the List of Manhattan neighborhoods of Harlem and Polo Grounds in the borough of Manhattan....
, , the Commonwealth Fund

Commonwealth Fund

The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation whose stated purpose is to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency....
, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development is the mayoral agency of New York City responsible for developing and maintaining the city's stock of affordable housing....
, and several local banks. In 1992, Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as "Jazz royalty" and the "First Lady of Song", is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century....
performed at a benefit at Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city....
to raise money for the restoration. By the end of the 1990s, the porches and other decorative elements had been restored to almost all the buildings on the block.

The houses on the north side of the street are large, attractive brownstones of a more common design. In 1932, Father Divine

Father Divine

George Baker , also known as Father Divine, was an African American spirituality leader from about 1907 until his death. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messenger" and George Baker early in his life....
, leader of Father Divine's International Peace Mission Movement

International Peace Mission movement

The International Peace Mission movement was the religious movement started by Father Divine, an African-American who claimed to be God....
, lived on the north side of Astor Row.

Today, Astor Row is racially integrated, and is one of the stellar architectural landmarks in Harlem. It is located near Sylvia's Restaurant of Harlem

Sylvia's Restaurant of Harlem

Sylvia's Restaurant of Harlem is a soul food restaurant in New York City. It was founded in 1962 by Sylvia Woods. It has since expanded to a much larger space at 328 Lenox Avenue , and an adjacent building....
, the , the former home of Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes, was an American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist. Hughes is best-known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance....
, and other Harlem landmarks.

Sources

"Past & Present On Astor Row in Harlem, Two Restorations Stand As Reminders Of What Once Was"; Newsday
Newsday

Newsday is a daily tabloid-size, Pulitzer Prize-winning, United States newspaper that primarily serves Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens, although it is sold throughout the New York City metropolitan area....
, October 8, 1992. p.77
"The Sky Line: On Astor Row", Brendan Gill, The New Yorker
The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an United States magazine that publishes reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Starting as a weekly in the mid-1920s, the magazine is now published 47 times per year, with five of these issues covering two-week spans....
, November 2, 1992, p.51
"Streetscapes/Astor Row on West 130th; In Harlem, Restoration of Rowhouses at Mid-Stage"; The New York Times
The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"?named for its staid appearance and style?is regarded as a national newspaper of record....
.October 9, 1994
Harlem: Lost and Found; Michael Henry Adams. Monacelli, 2002. p.103
The New York Times
The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"?named for its staid appearance and style?is regarded as a national newspaper of record....
, January 5, 2003. Section 14, p.1