I used to live in Riverdale and years later in Inwood. Marble Hill was always this strange in between place I know and don't know, always passed through it, had friends there, rented from the U-Haul center countless times, so on and so on. I rarely looked at the history of areas I lived in at a young age. So interesting to read and see this. Excited for the next one as always. Looking forward to seeing you cover Sugar Hill at some point.
It definitely feels like it's in a limbo of sorts, not quite belonging to either borough, one foot in the past and one in the present. I think it would be kind of cool to live there. An exploration of Harlem neighborhoods is overdue!
I grew up on 228th St. & Broadway and left a long time ago. I was feeling nostalgic this morning and googled my old address and this came up. Thank you so much ❤️ They were some good times back then, much simpler until it wasn’t, way way back then …
Thanks Daniel! What did you find out? In the Power Broker, Robert Caro describes Marble Hill in the 30s as a shantytown, which I assume refers to the area around the former rail yard.
I was looking at some old photos of the big warehouse which occupied the building that is currently U-haul at 230th and Marble Hill Ave and saw it was served by rail. At first I thought it would have been accessed from the Putnam line to the east, but then I found that there was a yard extending from what we would call the Hudson Line tracks where JFK is now. Good photo here, maybe you ran across it already: https://kingsbridgehistoricalsociety.org/forums/topic/uhaul-building/
Also, as the link explains, the yard tracks followed the original route of the main line around Mable Hill prior the canal being dug. After the canal was created, the main line moved to follow the canal as it does today, but the western half of the old line around Marble Hill became the rail yard.
This was incredible. What a strange obsession with the history of a piece of land that should, logically, be reclassified as belonging to its new landmass. Just goes to show that roots run deeper than sense sometimes.
Even the prying away of the prized 212 area code did nothing to diminish the neighborhood's allegiance to its former motherland. I imagine the younger generation might prefer to belong to the borough they’re geographically connected to, but now that the lines have been officially drawn, it's not worth the fight.
interesting. I love this city. It gives you the feeling that you're exactly where you're supposed to be, even when you're bleeding out. Just wrote something about this, I’d love for you to read.
Knowing that the King's Bridge is still under Marble Hill Ave between 228th and 230th Streets just kills me! Every time I've walked that block, I've had the urge to bring a shovel and start digging.
This is my favourite series on Substack. Terrific!
Thanks Jakub!
I used to live in Riverdale and years later in Inwood. Marble Hill was always this strange in between place I know and don't know, always passed through it, had friends there, rented from the U-Haul center countless times, so on and so on. I rarely looked at the history of areas I lived in at a young age. So interesting to read and see this. Excited for the next one as always. Looking forward to seeing you cover Sugar Hill at some point.
It definitely feels like it's in a limbo of sorts, not quite belonging to either borough, one foot in the past and one in the present. I think it would be kind of cool to live there. An exploration of Harlem neighborhoods is overdue!
I grew up on 228th St. & Broadway and left a long time ago. I was feeling nostalgic this morning and googled my old address and this came up. Thank you so much ❤️ They were some good times back then, much simpler until it wasn’t, way way back then …
I learn so much every week from this newsletter! Thank you!
I learn so much writing it! Thanks Megan!
Really interesting, as usual. Great shots!
Thank you!
Another great report. I recently was reading a bit about the history of the JFK high school campus, the space apparently once occupied by a rail yard.
Thanks Daniel! What did you find out? In the Power Broker, Robert Caro describes Marble Hill in the 30s as a shantytown, which I assume refers to the area around the former rail yard.
I was looking at some old photos of the big warehouse which occupied the building that is currently U-haul at 230th and Marble Hill Ave and saw it was served by rail. At first I thought it would have been accessed from the Putnam line to the east, but then I found that there was a yard extending from what we would call the Hudson Line tracks where JFK is now. Good photo here, maybe you ran across it already: https://kingsbridgehistoricalsociety.org/forums/topic/uhaul-building/
Also, as the link explains, the yard tracks followed the original route of the main line around Mable Hill prior the canal being dug. After the canal was created, the main line moved to follow the canal as it does today, but the western half of the old line around Marble Hill became the rail yard.
The guys on that site really know their stuff! Love that old picture of the U-Haul/car storage warehouse.
This was incredible. What a strange obsession with the history of a piece of land that should, logically, be reclassified as belonging to its new landmass. Just goes to show that roots run deeper than sense sometimes.
Even the prying away of the prized 212 area code did nothing to diminish the neighborhood's allegiance to its former motherland. I imagine the younger generation might prefer to belong to the borough they’re geographically connected to, but now that the lines have been officially drawn, it's not worth the fight.
Yeah, I'd imagine keeping things as-are is cheaper and less hassle, which usually wins out in the end.
Absolutely fascinating, I had no idea!
Neither did I!
interesting. I love this city. It gives you the feeling that you're exactly where you're supposed to be, even when you're bleeding out. Just wrote something about this, I’d love for you to read.
https://open.substack.com/pub/beachesinmanhattan/p/manhattan-the-slow-bleed?r=6zm6ne&utm_medium=ios
Do one on Middle Village, Queens! (Juniper Valley Park)
Queens is next, maybe I will write about Middle Village.
Knowing that the King's Bridge is still under Marble Hill Ave between 228th and 230th Streets just kills me! Every time I've walked that block, I've had the urge to bring a shovel and start digging.
Brilliant. Thanks so much.
Thank you 🙏