Vinegar Hill, Manhattan

Harlem
Neighborhood of Manhattan
Stately Harlem apartment buildings adjacent to Morningside Park
Nickname(s): "Heaven", "Black mecca"
Motto(s): "Making It!"
Coordinates: 40°48′33″N 73°56′54″W / 40.80917°N 73.94833°W / 40.80917; -73.94833Coordinates: 40°48′33″N 73°56′54″W / 40.80917°N 73.94833°W / 40.80917; -73.94833
Country	United States
State	New York
County	New York
City	New York
Founded	1658
Named for	Haarlem, Netherlands
Area
• Total	10.03 km2 (3.871 sq mi)
Population (2000)
• Total	335,109
• Density	33,000/km2 (87,000/sq mi)
Economics
ZIP Codes	10026–10027, 10029–10031, 10035, 10037, 10039
Area codes	212, 917, 646, 347

Harlem is a large neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Since the 1920s, Harlem has been known as a major African American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Harlem's history has been defined by a series of economic boom-and-bust cycles, with significant population shifts accompanying each cycle.

Following the Civil War, poor Jews and poor Italians were the predominant demographics in Harlem. African-American residents began to arrive in large numbers in 1905 as part of the Great Migration. In the 1920s and 1930s, Central and West Harlem were the focus of the "Harlem Renaissance", an outpouring of artistic work without precedent in the American black community. However, with job losses in the time of the Great Depression and the deindustrialization of New York City after World War II, rates of crime and poverty increased significantly. Harlem's African-American population peaked in the 1950s. In the second half of the 20th century, Harlem became a major hub of African-American businesses. In 2008, the United States Census found that, for the first time since the 1930s, less than half of the residents were black, comprising only 40% of the population.

Since New York City's revival in the late 20th century, Harlem has been experiencing the effects of gentrification and new wealth.

Harlem is located in Upper Manhattan, often referred to as Uptown by locals. It stretches from the Harlem River and East River in the east, to the Hudson River to the west; and between 155th Street in the north, where it meets Washington Heights, and an uneven boundary along the south that runs along either 96th Street east of Fifth Avenue or 110th Street west of Fifth Avenue.