Jane’s Walk returns to NYC with in-person tours and focus on four Harlem historic districts
Courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission
For the first time since 2019, Jane’s Walk NYC will offer in-person tours next month. Presented by the Municipal Art Society of New York, Jane’s Walk is a three-day festival of free guided walking tours through iconic New York City neighborhoods. This year, the volunteer-led event, which runs May 6-8, includes walks through four historic districts in Harlem: the Mount Morris Park Historic District, the Central Harlem Historic District, Striver’s Row, and the Dorrance Brooks Historic District, designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission last June.
“We are thrilled about the LPC’s recent designation of the Dorrance Brooks Square Historic District, the first in NYC to be named for an African American,” Kakuna Kerina, Outreach Director, Dorrance Brooks Property Owners & Residents Association, said.
“Our partnership with MAS/Jane’s Walk will expose NYC residents and tourists to our Harlem Renaissance luminaries who lived in our community and had a lasting impact nationally and worldwide.”
The walk of the Central Harlem Historic District will take place on Friday, May 6 at 1 p.m., meeting at the North corner of 130th Street and Lenox Avenue. The Central Harlem district gained landmark status in 2018. Guests will learn about Black organizations and entertainers who once called the district their home.
The tour of Striver’s Row will take place on Friday, May 6 at 3 p.m., meeting at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (135th Street). Striver’s Row is known for its rows of homes built between 1891 and 1893 that were empty until after the end of World War I. Black families were able to purchase these homes after many years of pushback and became known as Strivers.
The walk of Mount Morris Park Historic District will take place on Saturday, May 7 at 3 p.m., meeting at the Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church on 101 West 123rd Street. On the walk, participants will learn about the people who have lived in Harlem and the historic events that have made the neighborhood so important.
On Saturday, May 7, and Sunday, May 8 at 11 a.m., a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance will take place. Meeting at Dorrance Brooks Square Park on West 136th Street at Edgecomb and Saint Nicholas Avenues, the tour will bring participants through the newly designated Dorrance Brooks Square Historic District, showcasing architectural styles and the residences of notable residents like Langston Hughes, W. E. B. DuBois, and Walter White.
For the last two festivals, Jane’s Walk, named after famed urbanist and New Yorker Jane Jacobs, hosted virtual-only activities because of the pandemic. This year’s event will be the first time in-person experiences are offered since 2019, but virtual events will also be available.
Stay tuned for more events to be announced this month.
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