Central Harlem & Morningside Heights

This weekend, with the weather a little on the warm side (for January), I opted to explore outside a bit. Plus, I thought it might be nice to stay close to home and get to know my own neighborhood. I live in a different part of Harlem, but you have to start somewhere.

We started at the northern side Central Park (also known as the North Woods), at 103 St. near The Pool. There were quite a few people out and about as we strolled along the paths. I got excited about the plethora of ducks relaxing in the water (I'll spare you the pictures), and then we stumbled across the Ravine. 

We also stumbled across some downed trees, which I tried to look like I conquered.

We realized when we first moved in that our area of Manhattan was pretty hilly, and this part of the park was no exception. It made for a good excuse to get our "exercise" in for the day - no need for the gym! 

We passed through the Huddlestone Arch on the way to the Harlem Meer. According to many, this is one of the most picturesque arches in the park. It has been there since 1866 and - just found this online - is held together by gravity alone. Pretty nifty. 

Huddlestone Arch, which I imagine looks much prettier in the spring and summer when  the plants are more lively

The Harlem Meer and a bit of East Harlem

Conservatory Garden
(I'm pointing to our dream villa on top of the building behind) 

After winding our way around the Meer (which is really just a mini lake or large pond), we found ourselves at the northeast corner of Central Park on 5th Ave. Since we'd worked up an appetite, we wandered up to 116th and over to Harlem's own Make My Cake.

Red Velvet, Vanilla Cupcake with Strawberry Frosting, and Carrot Cake

We enjoyed our delicious cupcakes and had some drinks to warm up (even though it was nicer outside, it wasn't that nice). The atmosphere was cute and casual. I'd say Make My Cake is definitely worth a trip or two for more cupcakes. 

Last on the agenda for the afternoon was a 2:00 Vertical Tour at St. John the Divine. So, we walked further west through a slightly mountainous Morningside Park to get to the cathedral. 

Lots of stairs

St. John's as seen from the park

East Harlem from the top of the park

St. John's the Divine is the largest gothic cathedral in the United States, with construction beginning before 1900 and the very last installation ending in the 90s. The Vertical Tour ($15) took us up on the roof and above the the arches. While it was mainly focused on the architecture of the building, the behind-the-scenes feel was very cool. 

The building reminded me of so many of the cathedrals and churches I'd visited in Europe, and I was probably a little too giddy to be taking this tour. Our trusty tour guide, Bill, started by telling us some themes present in the building. One of them: sevens. There are 7 bays in the nave, the arches are 124' tall (add them together 1+2+4 and get 7), and the length of the cathedral was 601', and the property has 7 chapels, to name a few. 

This picture is taken from the ground floor.
Our first stop was the dark windows on the right; after a trip to the roof, our second stop was the archway on the left;
third stop inside was the floral-shaped opening up at the top of the photo.

View from first level up

Each of the banisters had different sets of flowers on them;
all were hand-carved, as were the banisters themselves - you could feel the ridges

Up to the roof!

Looking down from the second level, called the Clear Story Level

On the Clear Story Level, we stopped to talk about the stained glass windows throughout the cathedral. Bill told us that each bay had a different theme dedicated to human endeavors. The two we looked at closely, for example, were dedicated to medicine and to communication. The themes were 3 levels high. The Bay Level, or ground floor, had a human representation of each theme. The Clear Story Level had a saint representing the theme. The highest level used Jesus to represent the bay's theme. 

Communication (St. Mark on the left, St. Matthew on the right)

Medicine (St. Luke on the left, Hippocrates on the right, Jesus on the top performing healing)

You may wonder why Hippocrates was featured on the medicine-themed window, being that he's not a saint and was actually around before Christianity. Bill said that the windows, and the cathedral itself, has quite a bit of secular imagery. For example, on the communication-themed bay level window, you can see a TV featured. This was pretty futuristic for the time period (the window was completed in the 1930s) but is definitely relevant to today's visitors. 

Looking out through the top-most level

View of Manhattan from the roof - on a clearer day you can see the Empire State Building

Tour guide Bill, explaining different aspects of the grounds to us

Up on the highest level of the roof, Bill told us that the property (about a dozen acres) was originally bought for $885,000 before the turn of the 20th Century. New York City real estate prices were through the roof even back then! After a brief sojourn on the roof, we ventured back inside to check out what's above the grand arches in the cathedral below.

The arches from the top

We stood on some (totally secure but still wobbly) metal platforms (that started freaking me out after about two minutes) while Bill explained some interesting facts about the arches below and the modern roof overhead. Not quickly enough, we climbed down the 200-odd stairs to get back to ground level. And, I will say, you don't realize how many stairs you go up until you're forced to go back down them. Such teeny tiny spiral stairs ...I might have had a better time with smaller feet.

We checked out the lower level of the cathedral a bit before stopping in the courtyard and heading home. 

Just some of the organ pipes - there are over 8,000 total

Statue in the courtyard: The archangel Michael is featured on top;
the devil's head is severed and dangling from the crab's claw on the bottom

Later that evening, after a bit of relaxing at home, it was time for dinner. Now, for some reason, I have had it in my head for the past couple of weeks that I wanted to try chicken and waffles. (Truthfully, the reason we spent the day in Harlem was so that we could have some really good chicken and waffles as part of the day.) 

Chicken and waffles became popular during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s - 1940s, when jazz was also flourishing. Wells Supper Club in Harlem began offering the dish as a way to cut down on food waste. They could pair the leftover fried chicken from dinner with a sweet waffle on the late night/early morning menu for those who were looking for something to eat after leaving the jazz clubs. It was a hit and other restaurants started offering it on their menus as well.

I picked Sylvia's for my first foray into chicken and waffles. Though she passed away last summer, her recipe remains. Sylvia began the restaurant after moving here from South Carolina and it has become a Harlem staple. 

                                                                   

I, of course, ordered the Harlem Style Chicken & Waffles (white meat only) with a side of collard greens. I was happy with both choices! The chicken was delicious - tasty breading, perfect crispiness, and the chicken was moist and flavorful as well. I wasn't exactly sure how to delve into such a meal, but I did my best and tried the chicken with a little syrup. Maybe I'll have to try it for breakfast some time.