☞ DWELL: Number 7: Strivers Row

Harlem is a large part of Manhattan that changes block by block so we have put together a list of the best micro-nabes in Harlem based on location, architecture, transportation and local amenities.  This is our own opinion based on reporting on the neighborhood for a few years and a new post will be made each day until the number one spot has been revealed.

No. 7: Strivers Row,  Central Harlem, West 138th and West 139th Street between ACP/7th and FDB/8th Avenue.  Like Sugar Hill, Strivers Row has all of the architectural beauty going for it and the landmark Central Harlem blocks will charm anyone who has never stepped foot on the legendary grounds. Many of these architecturally intact townhouses in this neighborhood were the homes of some of Harlem's greatest jazz musicians back in the Renaissance years when the surrounding avenues were the center of culture.  With that said, those decades have passed and some of the great establishments nearby no longer exist.  The Renaissance Ballroom is a gutted shell that sits on the east end while many of the storefronts on the west end are abandoned.

If more better retail arrives in the surrounding blocks or if Strivers Row was closer to an express subway stop, it would be higher on our list.  This might not eventually matter at all to residents of Strivers Row since most of the townhouses have a garage in the back with their own private backstreet where horse-drawn carriages used to traverse a century ago.