Real Estate
Still something to Strive for in Harlem
BY MARTHA WILKIE
Strivers’ Row in Harlem (offi cial name: St. Nicholas
Historic District) is a late-19th-century set
of row houses famed for its elegant architecture
and unifi ed facades.
Located on 138th and 139th Sts., between Adam
Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass boulevards,
this enclave was home to notable African-
American fi gures, such as Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
— back when the adjacent boulevard was plain old
Seventh Ave. Famed architects such as Stanford
White designed the striking area in different architectural
styles.
The original developer restricted it to “whites only,”
but he went bankrupt, and by 1919, the Equitable Life
Insurance Company opened it up to people of color.
“Prevented from buying these houses made them
irresistibly attractive to African-Americans who had
been told the houses were too ‘good’ for them,” said
Michael Henry Adams, author of “Harlem: Lost and
Found, an Architectural and Social History.” “When
Robert Moses wanted to demolish Strivers’ Row in
the 1930s, the homeowners — mostly black by this
time — universally protested the destruction of their
homes.”
Michael Henry Adams knows Harlem. Trained in
historic preservation at Columbia, he conducts tours
in Harlem and writes; his next book will be “Homo
Harlem: Lesbian and Gay Life in the African-American
Cultural Capital.”
As lovely as Strivers’ Row is, it’s a challenge to
maintain the original level of unity.
“Strivers’ Row has been diminished in recent
years,” Adams said, “by ineffective regulation by the
Landmarks Preservation Commission to ensure that
the unifying elements are maintained, as opposed
to the natural impulse that many have to give their
homes individual character. Also important is how
it’s been misinterpreted. Signs refer to horses, implying
The elegant facade of 250 W. 139th St.
a stable once stood in the service alleys behind
the houses.”
Here are two listings on Strivers’ Row and two
more in Harlem:
A row house at 246 W. 139th St. is on the market,
featuring a nicely renovated kitchen and bathrooms,
roof deck and rare private garage. Four bedrooms,
four-and-a-half baths. $3 million.
Right nearby, at 250 W. 139th St., a sumptuously
renovated fi ve-bedroom, fi ve-bath row house with
windows on three sides is also up for sale. $4.25 million.
Also in Harlem, at 171 E. 117th St., a rental with
two decorative fi replaces, three bedrooms, and one
bath is asking $3,250 a month.
For sale in West Harlem, at 537 W. 133rd St., is
a two-bedroom, one-bath, with an affordable price
(and income restrictions) and a newly renovated
kitchen, for $269,000.
This sumptuously renovated Strivers’ Row
five-bedroom is on the market for $4.25 million.
26 August 15, 2019 TVG Schneps Media