HAMILTON GRANGE OPEN MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2022

Harlem Bespoke: Some more reopenings to look out for uptown are the local park sites like Hamilton Grange at north end of St. Nicholas Park and West 141st Street.  Everything was shut down for two year and now decorative bunting has been placed out front in celebration of the holiday.  Self-guided tours are now available but RSVP is required for crowd control purposes. 

☞ INTRODUCING: Hamilton Grange Opens

Hamilton Grange had its big opening this past weekend and there was actually a line to get into Alexander  Hamilton's house at its new location on the north side of St. Nicholas Park. The event was highlighted with reenactors and musician who were about on the lawn to greet the families that gathered out front.  Those looking to get into the house at 141st Street and Convent Avenue had to wait about 20 minutes in line to see what the renovated home looked like.  Check out the photos after the jump.

TOUR: HAMILTON GRANGE GROUNDS OPEN TO PUBLIC

Harlem Bespoke: Hamilton Grange on West 141st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue has been closed for over two years now because of the pandemic but the grounds are open to the public.

TOUR: HAMILTON GRANGE GROUNDS OPEN TO PUBLIC

Harlem Bespoke: Hamilton Grange on West 141st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue is one of the hidden heritage sites to be found uptown and looks beautiful this time of year.

WALK: HAMILTON GRANGE IN BLOOM

Harlem Bespoke: Morning walks now are quite picturesque with not a lot of folks around and we walked by Hamilton Heights' namesake to check out the local landmark during the sunny spring weather season.  Hamilton Grange was the historic estate of Alexander Hamilton when Harlem was all country homes that Manhattan dwellers escaped to for some fresh air but the surrounding area quickly transformed by the end of the 19th Century.  As most know by now, this location on 141st Street and St. Nicholas Park was not the original and the house had been moved several times from locations just a few blocks north.  The mansion museum itself is currently not open during the pandemic but views of the lovely garden out can be seen clearly out front on any given day.  More on Hamilton Grange can be found in our past post: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2020 

☞ REVIVE: Hamilton Grange Interior Reno Begins

The Hamilton Grange received $2.4 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will enable the National Park Service to complete the interior restoration of the home. Work on the interior has begun and the Parks Department expects to reopen the memorial to visitors in the fall of 2010. Read more on the Friends of St. Nicholas Park website: LINK. Read all about the Hamilton Grange nabe in our past post: LINK. Photo by Ulysses

☞ BESPOKE: Heritage Rose District at The Grange

Friday, April 13th, 10:30AM, Heritage Rose Planting at Hamilton Grange, 414 West 141st Street at St. Nicholas Avenue.  Everything is coming up roses in West Harlem as the Heritage Rose Districts extends to Hamilton Grange this weekend.  Alexander Hamilton's famous estate of which the Heights are named after just relocated and opened its doors last year but there is definitely room out front for more flora. The Grange has been selected as one of the locations for uptown's growing rose regions so expect the surrounding grounds to be in bloom by the end of summer.  Check out or past post to see a map of the areas where roses are blooming in Harlem: LINK

☞ WALK: Hamilton Grange is Coming Along

The Friends of St. Nicholas Park blog has been covering Hamilton Grange's move form Convent Avenue to the north border of the park. We walked by yesterday and snapped a shot of the building as workers started to landscape the grounds and finish off the front facade of Alexander Hamilton's former home(top photo). For those who weren't around a year ago, the grange was moved from its location between two buildings on Convent Avenue, right below West 142nd Street, to the more open space of the St. Nicholas Park a block south. The lower photo is the house in 1913, on its second location after it was moved from the west side of the avenue in a previous decade. Notice the right side (correct) entrance was totally blocked off and in the new location, the porch has been reconstructed. On a final note, let's hope they plant some large trees as a backdrop to soften the contrast of the more modern building at the corner. Read more about the move on the Friends of St. Nicholas Park site: LINK. To see a print of the the original location and a more current photo of the 2nd spot, check out our previous post: LINK. The closest subway is the 1 train at 137th Street or the A,B,C,D at 145th Street. Top photo by Ulysses. Archival shot by NYPL.

☞ REVIVE: Something New at Hamilton Grange

The historic home of Alexander Hamilton opened last weekend after a relocation along with several years of renovation and we discovered something quite modern over at the Grange. Restorations to the building located at north side of St. Nicholas Park and 141st have been more accurate than any other attempts in the past but there was one particularly modern addition to building.

☞ REVIVE: Hamilton Grange to Debut

Hamilton Grange moved to its third location back in 2008 and will be opening again on Saturday, September 17th.  The only home ever owned by Alexander Hamilton is also the namesake of Hamilton Heights in West Harlem and was moved from a formerly claustrophobic location on a nearby residential block to the north border of St. Nicholas Park at 141st Street.  The grounds will be open in the morning with tours of the house, re-enactors, demonstrations and live music. More details can be found on the National Parks Service site: LINK

☞ READ: Hamilton Grange in the News

Alexander Hamilton's house was moved from its previous site to the north edge of St. Nicholas Park a few years back and now it appears that the old location has some issues to it.  An article in Curbed yesterday via DNAinfo reveals that the gated lot at 237 Convent Avenue and 141st Street (lower photo) is under heavy scrutiny since there is a debate whether to put affordable housing on the site or keep it as green space or build a visitor center. A zoning issue which only permits a two-story building might be problematic for the housing backers but there are apparent ways to get around the slight issue.  This section of Convent Avenue is the start of one of the best historic districts in the area so if anything gets built, maybe the Landmarks folks should have a look at it.  In the meantime, new windows have gone into the actual Hamilton Grange (top photo) and that historic house will open again on September 17 according to the official website: LINK

☞ REMEMBER: CARMANSVILLE REVISITED 2023

Harlem Bespoke: Where are the bounderies of the Carmansville village in greater Harlem? A Bespoke reader posed this question in the past and we delved into the forgotten history.  The following is from the our original HB article from a decade ago:

☞ REMEMBER: CARMANSVILLE REVISITED 2021

Harlem Bespoke: Where are the bounderies of the Carmansville village in greater Harlem? A Bespoke reader posed this question in the past and we delved into the forgotten history.  The following is from the our original HB article from a decade ago:

☞ REMEMBER: Carmansville Revisited

A Bespoke reader mentioned they were curious about the bounderies of Carmansville in West Harlem since it was mentioned on the BBC 19th century drama called Copper.  The African-American doctor of the period piece at one point visits Carmansville and plans to make a move from the festering Five Points neighborhood of what is now around the borders of Chinatown.

Carmansville was the village north of Manhattanville, was made up mostly of what is now considered Hamilton Heights and was named after the landowner John Carman.  A book on the Hudson published in 1866 mentions that Hamilton Grange at 143rd Street is on the southern most region of Carmansville: LINK.  At the north end of the villages border would have been Minnie's Land which was owned by James Audobon so that said boundary would have been in the lower 150s.  The area around Amsterdam Avenue would have made up the east border and the Hudson provide the many estates with river views to the west.

The above photo shows a couple of rare views of the village during the latter part of the 19th century when the transition to country village to NYC town was well underway.  At top is an image taken in 1893 that is probably the train system that reportedly Carman was opposed to on the west side and the lower photo was taken taken in 1885 with Hudson River views.  As with any town, more modest houses existed alongside wealthier estates but most of this would start to unravel once the subways arrived uptown by the turn of that century.  Some of the more charming structures appeared to have survived a little longer than the more modest building during this time period: LINK

Today, not much of the old wood frame housed remain of the former Carmansville but a few reminders are still standing within the neighborhood.  At 152nd and Amsterdam Avenue, the freestanding building with a mansard roof was formerly the village police station built in 1871.  The Hamilton Grange also still is intact at the north end of St. Nicholas Park and would have been reminiscent to the grand country homes that would have been scattered throughout this west side of Harlem.  Lastly, a playground at 151st and Amsterdam has been named Carmansville to reflect upon the old history of this part of town.  Check out more details on the Copper website: LINK

Archival photos via the digital collection at the Museum of the City of New York

☞ SEE: Hamilton Grange on Film

The Friends of St. Nicholas Park found this great clip of Hamilton Grange that was shot for a PBS documentary by renowned historian Ken Burns. The historic home of Alexander Hamilton was moved several blocks to the northwest corner of St. Nicholas Park in 2008 and has been under renovation ever since. The completion date varies depending on the source of the information, but it should all come together by the fall 2010 at the latest. Catch up with the Friends of St. Nicholas Park on their website: LINK.

☞ SEE: Around Harlem this Weekend

Friday, September 16th, 8:00 PM, SEED debuts at the National Black Theatre in Harlem, 2031 Fifth Avenue at 125th Street. SEED explores themes of abandonment, poverty, class differences and byproducts of the crack epidemic that swept through Harlem in the 1980s and 90s: LINK

Saturday, September 17th, 12:00 Noon-5:00 PM, Hamilton Grange Opening, 414 West 141st Street, west of Convent Avenue. Hamilton Grange will be rededicated in the morning and re-open to the public with an afternoon celebration. Re-enactors will portray Alexander Hamilton and the ordinary New Yorkers who were his contemporaries. There will be music, games and crafts, and other family-friendly activities throughout the afternoon. The celebration continues Sunday with a lecture series from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM: LINK

Saturday, September 17th, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM, Mount Morris Park Historic District Farmers Market is open for the season at 124th Street and Fifth Avenue.  The Peach Guy is back so check it out: LINK

Saturday,  September 17th, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, Morningside Park Farmers Market, corner of 110th Street and Manhattan Avenue. Check out the new seasonal and locally grown and produced goods while enjoying Morningside Park: LINK

Sunday, September 18th, at 3:00 PM, Season Opening Concert for the Harlem Chamber Players, St. Mary's Episcopal Church at 521 West 126th Street, Between Broadway and Amsterdam.  The Harlem Chamber Players will debut for the Fall 2011 season.  Tickets are $15 General Admission $10 Seniors/Students. This event will be hosted by Manhattanville historian Eric K. Washington.  More details and ticket purchase can be found at the classical group's site: LINK

Sunday, September 18th, 1:00 PM, The African American Day Parade, 111th Street and ACP/7th Avenue to 136th Street. Grand Marshals for this year's African American Day Parade will be David Paterson, David Dinkins, Rev. Al Sharpton, Dr. Adelaie Sandford, Congressman Charles Rangel, William Thompson and Lillian Roberts: LINK

☞ PROTECT: Politicians Rally for P.S. 186

Saturday, March 20th, 10:00 AM at Hamilton Grange Public Library Basement. The Hamilton Heights Homeowners association will gather tomorrow to discuss the preservation of P.S. 186 with the help of some local politicians. Scheduled appearances include:

Councilman Robert Jackson 10 AM-10:45 AM
Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr. 10:45 AM-11:30 AM

Come support the community effort to save the historic school building from the wrecking ball. For those who can not make the meeting, sign the online petition which has over 280 signature: LINK. The Hamilton Grange Library is at 503 West 145th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam. The closest trains are the 1 or the A,B,C,D at 145th Street. Photo by Ulysses

☞ ARCHITECTURE: The Hamilton Grange

It's been a couple of years since the historic Hamilton Grange building was moved to its new location on the north most hill of St. Nicholas Park (at 141st Street) but the inevitable delays have still prevented it from opening to the public.  The last date announced was Fall 2010 but an update from the Friends of St. Nicholas Park site now has a Spring 2011 debut planned for the future.  Both the interior and exterior are getting a complete restoration, so these things do take their time. From the top photos, one can see the original color and the primer that recently has gone up on the facade.  More interior restorations can be found at the Friends of St. Nicholas Park site: LINK.  Read more about the famous house that named the Heights and its last location in our past post: LINK

☞ CELEBRATE: Alexander Hamilton's Birthday

Saturday, January 12th, 12:00 Noon-5:00 PM, Alexander Hamilton Birthday Celebration at Hamilton Grange, 414 West 141st Street, west of Convent Avenue. Much of West Harlem was named after Alexander Hamilton and the park's department will be celebrating Mr. Hamilton's birthday this weekend at his historic estate located on the north side of St. Nicholas Park.  There will also be a lecture at 12:30PM called Hamilton's Caribbean since Harlem resident was the only Founding Father who was born in the islands: LINK

☞ WALK: Hamilton Heights

The Hamilton Heights neighborhood was named after Alexander Hamilton for he had an estate within this northern region of Manhattan during the last couple of years of his life. Hamilton's estate, Hamilton Grange, is a historic landmark and still lies within the heights. Tree lined streets with blocks of turn of the century brownstone represent a large stock in this area of Harlem. Another distinct characteristic of the regions brownstones can be found in the gabled roof construction which alludes more to the architecture found in Amsterdam. The bounderies of Hamilton Heights begin at 135th street to the south, 155th street to the north, the Hudson river to the west and St. Nicholas avenue to the east. Most of the housing stock tranformed from farmland estates to brownstones and flats once the subway system was built at the turn of the century. The original community of white middle class was replaced by mostly African Americans by the 1930's and by the mid 1980's the majority shifted to a large hispanic community. As of 2005, fleeing the exorbitant cost of living downtown, many artist and young professionals of all backgrounds are rediscovering the beauty of living in this neighborhood. Take the B, C, D train to 145th street.