ARCHITECTURE: CHERRY BLOSSOMS AND BROWNSTONES

Harlem Bespoke:  One of the most holistic and complete brownstone block reclamation developments in Harlem can be found on West 119th Street just west of Frederick Douglass Boulevard.  Some might think that the classic row houses are at least a century old but everything was finished up back in 2003 which is more recent history.

When most of the middle of the portion of the block was demolished by the time the early 80s rolled around, there was basically a blank slate to build on but the former tenements were replaced by beautiful brownstones.  Not only was the decision made to not build vertically, but also to plant a small arbor of cherry trees out front.  We took the above photos this week and it really shows this complete vision that came together almost two decades ago.  Nowadays density and height are kind of taking over the neighborhood so it is nice to see an alternative that actually works with uptown's architectural history.

HarlemBespoke.com 2022