Adopt A Neighborhood - The Heights

This month I ran an ambitious Adopt A Neighborhood combining both Washington Heights (named for Fort Washington at the highest point on Manhattan island) and Morningside Heights.

My first stop (I was flying solo at this point) was the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Built in 1765 for Colonel Roger Morris and his wife Mary Philipse as their summer residence, this mansion changed hands numerous times. Because of the strategic location overlooking central Manhattan, George Washington used it as headquarters during the autumn 1776 Battle of Harlem Heights. Eventually the house was saved from neglect by the wealthy French-Caribbean wine merchant Stephen Jumel and his controversial wife Eliza "Betsey" Bowen.

Out front was the super cool double row of wooden two-story houses on a cobble stoned street called Sylvan Terrace. It was once the carriage drive for the mansion.

After Rob caught up, we walked over to Audubon Terrace. Here's the history courtesy of the interwebs. "Audubon Terrace, the block between 155th and 156th Streets west of Broadway in upper Manhattan was originally part of a farm belonging to the painter and naturalist, John James Audubon. Beginning in 1094, Archer Milton Huntington developed Audubon Terrace as a cultural center, offering land to the other cultural institutions and frequently subsidizing the construction of their buildings. Today they house the Hispanic Society of America, The American Academy of Arts and Letter and Borica College."

In addition to the sculptures by Anna Hyatt Huntington outside, The Hispanic Society was totally amazing inside. It was an old fashioned cabinet of curiosities with Hispanic flair.

We also did a quick walk through the hills of Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum.

On our way downtown I got my first look at the historic buildings of City College. I'm so happy to have seen all these treasures in my own backyard.

The rest of my troops joined up later in the afternoon for a special "vertical" tour of St. John The Devine cathedral.

The tour allowed us to get up close and personal with the numerous stained glass windows.

It also offered some killer eagle eye views of the interior of the church and all of lower Manhattan.

The reason I run AAN events is for things like... a group shot on the roof of a church!

After the tour we revived ourselves with coffee and pastries from the Hungarian Pastry shop in the cathedral gardens.

The fresh troops were eager for more so we pushed forward with a stroll past the "Seinfeld Diner".

We also got across town just in time to peek into Grant's Tomb before it closed.

We had a bizarre adventure (too complicated to explain) while searching for bathrooms inside Riverside Church. And since today was partially his birthday celebration, I made Rob pause for this hilarious mug shot in the hallway. (I'm just jealous that he's 26.)

Our day concluded with a trek over to Dinosaur BBQ. The Big Ass Pork Plate with the best mac and cheese in the world was the perfect end to a perfect day. Click here for my full set of photos.