Businesses & Residences

Harlem was established in 1658 by Director Peter Stuyvesant. Harlem’s history starts from pre-colonial time, includes the revolutionary period, and continues to boom in the 1800 and 1900s. Harlem was settled by Dutch farmers who used it for farming since it was remote from the already settled areas in NYC (Jackson, 573). In 1776, Harlem Heights was witness to revolutionary actions when the Continental Army defeated British troops (Jackson, 573). By 1840, farmland became unproductive and abandoned, and taken over by Irish squatters (Jackson, 573). A railroad was built in the 1880s along 2nd, 3rd, 8th, and 9th Avenues in order to encourage development (Jackson, 573). Harlem attracted many immigrants from out of the U.S. due to cheap housing and employment opportunities (A Walk Through History, n.d). Post-civil war, this area also attracted African-American immigrants who sought to start a new life in the North. In 1901, more African-Americans moved into Harlem as a result of a deflated boom in real estate (New York City Guide, 258). Harlem became the specific center of African American settlement due to circumstances from the great migration from the South (Osofsky, 17).

In 1912, Hotel Theresa was built but only staffed white management and attracted white clientele (New York City Guide, 259). Between 1920 and 1930, the number of African Americans in Harlem increased by 120,000, while the number of whites decreased by an equivalent amount (Jackson, 574). In the 1920s, Rockefeller built the PAUL Laurence Dunbar Apartments to house middle-class African Americans (Osofsky, 84). The apartment offered a Dunbar National Bank, a nursery for childcare for a modest fee, and a clubroom for teenagers to hang out in (Osofsky, 156).In 1940, whites-only policy ended at the Theresa Hotel (Landmarks Preservation Commision, 1993). Harlem’s Renaissance, a movement of high literacy and artistry, began around 1925 and served as a symbol of black cultural success and independence (Jackson, 574). American writer, Carl Van Vetchen, helped attract white clientele to clubs around Harlem, including the integrated Small’s Paradise (Jackson, 574). The Great Depression hit Harlem’s residents as rents remained high and apartments were subdivided into smaller units. Riots in the 1930s helped bring government attention to the economic issues and strengthen communication between city leaders.