WHERE: Sylvan Terrace, Jumel Terrace to St. Nicholas Avenue, Manhattan
NEAREST SUBWAY: 168 Street subway station (A and C trains, fully accessible), 168 Street subway station (1 train), 163 Street - Amsterdam Avenue subway station (C train)
Sylvan Terrace, looklng west from Jumel Terrace. Photograph by Matt Summers.
This trip was part of a longer walk described in “Harlem and Heights History Tour” on the “Other Walks Around Town” page.
Sylvan Terrace is a cul-de-sac of wooden houses built in 1882-1883. Initially rented out to laborers and working-class civil servants, the houses were restored in 1979-1981. At the west end are 12 steps leading down to St. Nicholas Avenue. From The AIA Guide to New York City, Fifth Edition:
Two story wood houses: savor the wooden canopies and the doors at No. 5. Here are green shutters, brown hoods, and cream clapboards: a revived memory of very old New York. The streetbed of Sylvan Terrace is the path of the Morrises’ original driveway.” Roger Morris built the nearby Morris-Jumel Mansion (1765).
The steps are in excellent condition: in good repair, uniform risers, and a handrail on each side at a comfortable height.
Sylvan Terrace, looking east from St. Nicholas Avenue. Photograph by Michael Cairl.
Map courtesy Google Maps.