Striver's Row

Neighborhood tours

Fill your heart with joy on an incredible tour of Harlem and discover New York City's most exciting neighborhood. Learn its origins as a rural Dutch farming community to its transformation into a summer retreat for the city's most prominent families.  Get an insight into how urban black culture developed following the Great Migration of the early 20th century by African Americans from the southern states. Hear how artists and writers flocked to the area to create the rich cultural landscape of the Harlem Renaissance.  See iconic sights, such as the Apollo Theatre, legendary Cotton Club, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Duke Ellington's former apartment. Visit some of Manhattan's oldest homes such as the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Lastly, listen to the beautiful sounds of the Harlem Ensemble Gospel Choir at their mid-week concert and be inspired by their powerful songs of praise.

Journey through present-day Harlem to discover the people and places that helped create the Harlem Renaissance on a guided walking tour. Learn why this period in American history was so important for African-American culture and tuck into a Harlem lunch. Meet your guide and embark on your walking tour of the Harlem Renaissance. Learn about where Jungle Alley was and why 135th Street was such a crucial area during the Harlem Renaissance. Along the way, see the theaters, ballrooms, and churches that played a starring role in the Renaissance. Relive this exciting era as your guide tells stories of the most influential individuals, from the writers Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston, to jazz legends such as Duke Ellington. Hear about the cook Lillian Harris Dean and why she took the name “Pig Foot Mary.” Uncover how Madame CJ Walker made her millions, and explore Harlem in art form via the artist Jacob Lawrence and photographer James Van Der Zee. Once the walking tour comes to a close, tuck into a delicious lunch at a local restaurant and experience a slice of daily life in Harlem.

Make your way to the heart of Harlem, NYC’s most diverse neighborhood and visit the renowned Apollo Theater, a legendary live music venue famous for its Amateur Night contests. Many famous artists began their road to stardom on the Apollo stage (think Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis Jr. and James Brown). You’ll wander along the St. Nicholas Historic District and pass by red, yellow and dark brick buildings that are considered the magnificent examples of late 19th-Century urban design. Next, you’ll walk by the Harlem YMCA and proceed to the City College of New York campus to eye up to the renowned Shepard Hall. Afterwards, you’ll catch a glimpse of Studio Museum in Harlem, a contemporary art museum devoted to artists of African descent. Combine cultural delights with delectable bites at one of the area’s most prominent restaurants: Sylvia’s Soul Food, a culinary must-visit. Indulge in one of the country’s popular gastronomic pleasures and experience why Presidents, celebrities and Harlemites alike call Sylvia’s home. You will also admire the Abyssinian Baptist Church and Hamilton Grange National Memorial before your tour ends.