The Upper West Side (sometimes known as the UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in the United States city of New York. The Upper West Side is bordered by the neighborhoods of Hell’s Kitchen to the south, Columbus Circle to the southeast, and Morningside Heights to the north, and it is also bordered by Central Park to the east. Bloomingdale Road was the site of some of the most ambitious houses in colonial New York throughout the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and the Upper West Side-to-be was no exception. During the first half of the nineteenth century, it became progressively populated with smaller, more suburban villas, and by the middle of the century, some areas had become noticeably lower class.
The Upper West Side, like the Upper East Side, which is directly across Central Park, is an affluent, largely residential neighborhood with many of its residents employed in the commercial districts of Midtown and Lower Manhattan. As is true of the Upper East Side’s Museum Mile district, the Upper West Side is regarded as one of Manhattan’s cultural and intellectual hotbeds, with Columbia University and Barnard College located just to the north of the neighborhood, the American Museum of Natural History located near its center, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School located at the southern end of the neighborhood.
Upper West Side is bordered by two beautiful parks: Central Park on the east side and Riverside Park on the west side, making it one of the greenest districts of Manhattan. Central Park is on the east side and Riverside Park on the west side. Despite the fact that there are numerous calm streets in the neighborhood, you still have access to a plethora of relaxed restaurants and bars. There are several high-rises and townhouses in this area, with the rent prices getting better the further north you go. Brownstones fill the streets, and there are plenty of playgrounds and elementary schools scattered around the area.
Upper West Side cultural hotspots include the American Museum of Natural History in Central Park, as well as the Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera House (New York City Ballet, The New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Performing Arts). The American Museum of Natural History, nestled among the stately apartment towers of Central Park West, houses exhibits ranging from dinosaurs to outer-space exploration. The residents of majestic brownstones on quiet side streets come out on Saturday and Sunday mornings to line up for brunch or bagels.
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