Few Manhattan neighborhoods are as iconic or as profoundly a part of the greater idea of New York City than Harlem. Harlem is a real neighborhood in Manhattan, of course, stretching from river to river between 158th Street and a border that no one can quite agree upon on the south. But Harlem is also more than that -- a vibrant piece of living history, a place somehow just as real in the imagination as it is in real life. Seemingly every block in Harlem is packed with New York City history, and national landmarks abound, ranging from John D. Rockefeller's sprawling Dunbar Apartments to The Apollo Theater to the historic townhouses of Striver's Row.
After a series of down decades, Harlem property values soared 300 percent in the 1990s, and a host of new construction residential buildings and hundreds of luxury rental apartments rose alongside the neighborhood's historic brownstones. While Harlem retains its distinctive character thanks to its world-famous soul food restaurants and the jazz clubs and lounges that highlight its booming nightlife scene, Harlem is also home to some rather straightforward Manhattan luxury brands -- witness the neighborhood's Citarella and Fairway markets, for instance, or Harlem's numerous high-end boutiques. Harlem's luxury rental apartments, too, measure up to the standards of even the most demanding NYC dwellers.
The apartments for rent at The Hub have a classically Harlem red-brick look, but offer amenities and spacious floor plans that rank them in the top tier of rental apartments in Manhattan. Stunning Central Park views are one of the main attractions at 1481 Fifth Avenue, but the condo-quality finishes and sleek modern lines of the rental apartments are dazzling in their own right. There's more to Harlem than history, and the neighborhood's ongoing revitalization suggests that Harlem is not done making Manhattan history yet.
