Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City
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Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War at the highest point on Manhattan island to defend the area from the British forces. During the Battle of Fort Washington, on November 16, 1776, the fort was captured by the British at great cost to the American forces; 130 soldiers were killed or wounded, and an additional 2,700 captured and held as prisoners, many of whom died on prison ships anchored in New York Harbor. The progress of the battle is marked by a series of bronze plaques along Broadway.
Noted sites
Among the Heights' now-vanished riverfront estates was "Minnie's Land," the home of artist John James Audubon, who is buried in Trinity Church Cemetery churchyard of the neighborhood's Church of the Intercession (1915), a masterpiece by architect Bertram Goodhue. At Audubon Terrace is a cluster of five underused Beaux Arts museum buildings of distinguished architecture. Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, across the street is the New balance Track and Field center. This is the nation's premier indoor track and is home to the Track and field hall of fame. The most widely known institution in the neighborhood, occupies the former site of Hilltop Park, the home of the New York Highlanders (now known as the New York Yankees) from 1903 to 1912.
The best known cultural site and tourist attraction in Washington Heights is The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park at the northern end of the neighborhood, with spectacular views across the Hudson to the New Jersey Palisades. This branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is devoted to Medieval art and culture, and is located in a medieval-style building, portions of which were purchased in Europe, brought to the United States, and reassembled. Another major museum, though little visited, is The Hispanic Society of America, which has the largest collection of works from El Greco and Goya outside of the Museo del Prado, including one of Goya's famous paintings of Cayetana, Duchess of Alba.
Manhattan's oldest remaining house, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, is located in the landmarked Jumel Terrace Historic District, located between West 160th and West 162nd Street, just east of St. Nicholas Avenue. An AAM-accredited historic house museum, the Mansion interprets the colonial era, the period when General George Washington occupied it during the American Revolutionary War, and the early 19th century in New York.
The Little Red Lighthouse, a small lighthouse located on the Hudson River at the base of the eastern pillar of the George Washington Bridge, was made famous by a 1942 children's book.
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