Upper Manhattan, Manhattan : NYC Tourist Guide

Upper Manhattan

Upper Manhattan denotes the more northerly region of the New York City Borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary may be defined anywhere between 59th Street and 155th Street. Between these two extremes lies the most common definitions of Upper Manhattan as Manhattan above 96th Street (the southern boundary of Manhattan Valley in the west and Spanish Harlem in the east), 100th Street, that portion of the borough in which the numbered streets are three-digit numbers (e.g. "West 181st Street"), or above Central Park, north of 110th Street. This definition of Upper Manhattan takes in the neighborhoods of Marble Hill, Inwood, Washington Heights, Harlem, and parts of the Upper West Side (Morningside Heights and Manhattan Valley) and Upper East Side (the portion of Spanish Harlem south of 110th Street).

Upper Manhattan could be described as the "non-tourist" section of Manhattan. Until the late 20th century it was less influenced by the gentrification that had taken place in other parts of New York over the previous 30 years. Not only do New York tourist maps not normally acknowledge the outer boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island (and if so, only in the most rudimentary way), but they also regularly neglect Upper Manhattan as well. This is likely due to perceptions that it is less glitzy, less tourist-friendly, less distinctively New York, and more crime-ridden. Even many native New Yorkers tend to treat Upper Manhattan like an outer borough, its distance from Midtown Manhattan and comparatively lower rents leading many to exclude this northern neck from the area New Yorkers call "The City".

The Upper West Side is a relatively affluent neighborhood unlike the other neighborhoods listed above. Its northern end has long been regarded as less notable and often associated with Harlem, though Morningside Heights and Manhattan Valley actually bear little resemblance to Harlem. Manhattan Valley has not quite gentrified, fitting the mold of other Upper Manhattan neighborhoods, but Morningside Heights boasts one of the borough's lowest crime rates, as well as the world-renowned Columbia University.