Sugar Hill is a National Historic District in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

and

Hamilton Heights Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is the northernmost part of the West Harlem area, along with Manhattanville and Morningside Heights to its south, and it contains the sub-neighborhood an ...

neighborhoods of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, bounded by West 155th Street to the north, West 145th Street to the south, Edgecombe Avenue to the east, and Amsterdam Avenue to the west. The equivalent New York City Historic Districts are: *Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District and Extension: roughly West 145th to West 150th Street, Edgecombe Avenue to between Convent and Amsterdam Avenues *Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Northeast Historic District: roughly West 151st to West 155th Street, west of St. Nicholas Avenue to between Convent and Amsterdam Avenues *Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Northwest Historic District: roughly West 151st to West 155th Street, east of St. Nicholas Avenue to Edgecombe Avenue The Federal district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2002. The Federal district has 414 contributing buildings, two contributing sites, three contributing structures, and one contributing object. ''See also:''

History

Sugar Hill got its name in the 1920s when the neighborhood became a popular place for wealthy African Americans to live during the Harlem Renaissance. Reflective of the "sweet life" there, Sugar Hill featured rowhouses in which lived such prominent African Americans as W. E. B. Du Bois,

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway,

Walter Francis White Walter Francis White (July 1, 1893 – March 21, 1955) was an American civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for a quarter of a century, 1929–1955, after joining the organi ...

Roy Wilkins Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was a prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the ...

and Afro-Puerto Rican Arturo Schomburg. Langston Hughes wrote about the relative affluence of the neighborhood in his essay "Down Under in Harlem" published in ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'' in 1944:

Don't take it for granted that all Harlem is a slum. It isn't. There are big apartment houses up on the hill, Sugar Hill, and up by City College -- nice high-rent-houses with elevators and doormen, where Canada Lee lives, and W. C. Handy, and the
George S. Schuyler George Samuel Schuyler (; February 25, 1895 – August 31, 1977) was an American writer, journalist, and social commentator known for his conservatism after he had initially supported socialism. Early life George Samuel Schuyler was born in ...
s, and the
Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...
s, where colored families send their babies to private kindergartens and their youngsters to
Ethical Culture School Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), also referred to as Fieldston, is a private independent school in New York City. The school is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. The school serves approximately 1,700 students with 480 facul ...
.

Terry Mulligan's 2012 memoir "Sugar Hill, Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem" is a chronicle of the writer's experiences growing up in the 1950s and '60s in the neighborhood, where her neighbors included future United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, early rock n' roll legend

Frankie Lymon Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group Th ...

, and New York baseball great

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

Notable buildings

Among the many notable buildings in the Sugar Hill area are: *Nicholas C. and Agnes Benziger House, 345 Edgecombe Avenue ( William Schickel, 1890–91) - has also been used as a hospital, nursery and housing for the homeless * James A. and Ruth M. Bailey House, 10 St. Nicholas Place ( Samuel B. Reed, 1886–88) - A

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

residence built for James A. Bailey of the

Barnum & Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

*14 and 16 St. Nicholas Place (William Grinnell, 1883–84) - Queen Anne style detached frame houses clad in wood shingles *Fink House, 8 St. Nicholas Place (Richard S. Rosenstock, 1885) - Queen Anne style house, would later be combined with... *Baiter House, 6 St. Nicholas Place (Theodore G. Stein, 1893–94) - ...and used as a sanitarium, a hospital, a hotel, and a group home *713-721 St. Nicholas Avenue (Hugh M. Reynolds, 1890–1891) - Row houses in the Victorian Romanesque Revival style *718-730 St. Nicholas Avenue ( Arthur Bates Jennings, 1889–1890) - A Romanesque Revival row *729 and 731 St. Nicholas Avenue (Theodore Minot Clark, 1886–1886) - two houses faced in

Manhattan schist Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and shingles *757-775 St. Nicholas Avenue ( Frederick P. Dinkelberg, 1894–1895) - A Renaissance Revival style row which is said to be "among the finest in the district." *409 Edgecombe Avenue Apartments (

Schwartz & Gross Schwartz & Gross was a New York City architectural firm active from at least 1901 to 1963,Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

as an infant, Aaron Douglas,

, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Marvel Cooke.Elaine Woo, "Marvel Cooke; Pioneering Black Journalist, Political Activist", ''Los Angeles Times'', December 6, 2000.
/ref> *555 Edgecombe Avenue. Several noted big band leaders lived here in the 1940s including Count Basie, Andy Kirk, Don Redman, Erskine Hawkins, Benny Carter and Cootie Williams.

Gallery

File:Benziger House 345 Edgecombe Avenue from south.jpg, Benziger House File:Bailey House 10 St. Nicholas Place from west.jpg, Bailey House File:14 and 16 St. Nicholas Place from southwest.jpg, 14 (right) and 16 (left) St. Nicholas Place File:Fink House 8 St. Nicholas Place from northwest.jpg, Fink House File:Baiter House 6 St. Nicholas Place.jpg, Baiter House File:715-721 St. Nicholas Avenue.jpg, 715 (left) - 721 (right) St. Nicholas Avenue File:729 and 731 St. Nicholas Avenue.jpg, 729 and 731 St. Nicholas Avenue File:409 Edgecomb Av jeh.JPG, 409 Edgecombe Avenue Apartments

In popular culture

* The Sugarhill Gang, the first rap group with a single in the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

, took their name from the neighborhood; the band members were actually all from Englewood, New Jersey. * The 1974 film ''

Claudine Claudine may refer to: Name * Claudine (given name), a feminine given name of French origin Culture * ''Claudine'' (film), a 1974 American film by John Berry ** ''Claudine'' (soundtrack), its soundtrack album. Music by Curtis Mayfield and Gladis ...

'', starring Diahann Carroll and

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

was filmed in the Sugar Hill neighborhood. *The 1994 film '' Sugar Hill'', about drug dealers in Harlem, stars

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. His prominent film roles include '' Major League'' (1989), ''New Jack City'' (1991), '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), '' Passenger 57'' (1992), '' ...

. *Sugar Hill is mentioned in the lyrics to the jazz standard "

Take the 'A' Train A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

" by Billy Strayhorn. *It is also referred to by rapper AZ's "Sugar Hill" on his album ''

Doe or Die ''Doe or Die'' is the debut studio album by rapper AZ, released October 10, 1995 by EMI Records. The album features guest appearances by artists such as Nas and Miss Jones, and production from N.O. Joe, Pete Rock, L.E.S., and Buckwild, among o ...

''. *

Henry "Red" Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armst ...

recorded "Sugar Hill Function", written by

Charlie Holmes Charlie Holmes (January 27, 1910 near Boston, Massachusetts – September 19, 1985 in Stoughton, Massachusetts) was an American alto jazz saxophonist of the swing era. He also played clarinet and oboe for the Boston Civic Symphony Orchestra in ...

, on February 18, 1930. *There is also a song by

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

and his Fifty-Second Street Stompers – one of the four Duke Ellington small groups – called "Sugar Hill Shim-Sham", which was recorded on July 7, 1937. *The 1978 film '' Cindy'', a modern retelling of Cinderella set in Harlem, includes a scene at the Sugar Hill Ball.O'Connor, John J
"TV: Harlem Setting for Cinderella"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', March 24, 1978. Accessed December 28, 2022. "With the story's setting switched to Harlem during World War II, Cinderella is transformed into an ebullient, naive country girl brought to the big city by her father.... She finally gets to go to the famous Sugar Hill Ball only with the help of Michael, who lives on a fire escape of the tenement next door."

References

Notes

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in New York, state=collapsed Neighborhoods in Manhattan Harlem Hamilton Heights, Manhattan Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Historic districts in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan New York City designated historic districts