New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood is situated in the borough of Manhattan, in the uppermost area of the borough. It was given this name in honor of Fort Washington, a stronghold built by Continental Army troops at the highest natural point on Manhattan Island during the American Revolutionary War to protect the area from British forces. Washington Heights is bordered to the north by Inwood, which is bisected by Dyckman Street, to the south by Harlem, which is bisected by 155th Street, to the east by the Harlem River and Coogan’s Bluff, and to the west by the Hudson River.
Washington Heights, which had been sparsely populated by luxury mansions and single-family residences prior to the twentieth century, grew significantly during the early 1900s as it became connected to the rest of Manhattan by the A, C, and 1 subway lines, which were built in the same period. Beginning as a middle-class neighborhood with a large number of Irish and Eastern European immigrants, the neighborhood has since become home to communities of German Jews, Greek Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Russian Americans, among other groups.
Because to the substantial Dominican presence in Washington Heights, the neighborhood is sometimes known as ‘Little Dominican Republic.’ There’s a tremendous sense of belonging in this place. A number of excellent parks are located in the neighborhood, including Fort Tryon Park, which includes over 67 acres of walking trails, basketball courts, and playgrounds, as well as breathtaking views of the Hudson River.
With its high residential density despite the dearth of new development, Washington Heights stands out among Manhattan’s neighborhoods. The vast bulk of the neighborhood’s few high-rise buildings are owned by the NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Yeshiva University and Boricua College are two other institutes of higher learning in the area. Fort Washington Park, Highbridge Park, and Fort Tryon Park, all of which are home to historical treasures such as the Little Red Lighthouse, the High Bridge Water Tower, and the Cloisters, provide abundant green space for the neighborhood. Audubon Terrace, the Morris–Jumel Mansion, the United Palace, the Audubon Ballroom, and the Fort Washington Avenue Armory are some of the other notable attractions in the neighborhood.
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