No. 4: Lower Convent Avenue Historic District, West Harlem, 141st Street up to 144th Street on Convent Avenue including Hamilton Terrace. The Hamilton Heights Historic District is one of the best in all of New York City and that is the biggest selling point of lower Convent Avenue. Homes here are amazingly intact inside and out which have helped make record sales over $2 million when placed on the market. Express subways at 145th Street are roughly a 5 minute walk away and will get one to midtown in 10 minutes easily on any given day.
Notable restaurants have only been arriving recently and Convent Avenue would have been lower on our list if this had not happened. The Grange, Il Caffe Latte 145th Street, and Coccola have all opened in 2013 within close proximity to the historic district. Harlem Public and Mountain Bird are also in easy walking distance and have opened in the past year. We expect Lower Convent Avenue to eventually make the top 3 in the future but more better businesses need to arrive in this northern reach of Harlem before this happens.
A fair ranking - when we bought our brownstone in Harlem we considered both this area and some of the historic districts farther south. This was long before any of the better retail on Lenox or even really FDB arrived. We ended up choosing a location farther south (not on this list yet) and I don't regret it since the amenities have gotten better more quickly, I still might have to admit that the houses here might be the best in terms of pure architecture. The other thing I would say is this - the new restaurants and bars here have really nailed it. In South Harlem it feels more mixed - some great new places but others that miss the mark a bit and food/decor feels generic.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Less has opened this far north but the taste level, quality and affordability of the new restaurants are exceptionally consistent.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. This is one of great districts.
ReplyDeleteBest district in Harlem, imo.
ReplyDeleteReally great series. Fair choices all around. Lower Convent and Hamilton Terrace- a good call for 4th. Lower Convent was very , very tempting when we moved uptown 3 years ago and now even moreso - the houses are just great up there and except for 145th St itself, the neighborhood is very nice too. To Harlem Bespoke- the top 10 - what a great idea from an already top website! Kudos!!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping this would go even higher, since it really is one of the most wonderful historic districts in NYC. But that's a fair point about fewer services/restaurants than FDB or Lenox, for now.
ReplyDelete