4. Academic Acropolis

seminary row

Morningside Heights has been nicknamed the Academic Acropolis, for the vast amount of academic institutions in the area. Many of the academia in the area is founded on religious bases, especially the two giant institutions of religious leadership, the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and the Union Theological Seminary (UTS).

The two institutions are prominently located on your walk by continuing northeast on Broadway to West 122nd. There you will reach one of the most exciting corners of multi-disciplinary academic collaboration. West 122nd is also known as Seminary Row, and is home to eleven of the academic institutions in the neighborhood. On the western side of Broadway is Union Theological Seminary, the current stop of your tour.

Jewish Theological Seminary

On the western side lays the Jewish Theological Seminary, at 3080 Broadway, which houses more than 425,000 volumes, making it the largest and most extensive collection of Hebraic and Judaic material in the Western Hemisphere. The Seminary trains rabbis, cantors, scholars, educators, communal professionals, and lay activists that serve as leaders of Conservative Judaism, the vital religious center for North American Jewry, and society as a whole.

Corpus Christi School

Nearby Seminary Row lays Corpus Christi School, on West 121st between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade Catholic school that has served the families of its community and the diverse community of children of all faiths and beyond for over 100 years. The school celebrates Catholicism, and tries to model its conduct on the teachings of Jesus.

Teachers College of Columbia University

Further down south, on West 120th between Broadway and Amsterdam, resides the Teachers College of Columbia University, which has trained the world’s most accomplished educators. Teachers College, Columbia University, is the oldest and largest graduate school of education in the United States, and also perennially ranked among the nation’s best. Its name notwithstanding, the College is committed to a vision of education writ large, encompassing our four core areas of expertise: health, education, leadership and psychology. Teachers College sees its leadership role in two complementary arenas: One is as a major player in policy-making to ensure that schools are reformed and restructured to welcome all students regardless of their socio-economic circumstances. The other is in preparing educators who not only serve students directly but coordinate the educational, psychological, behavioral, technological, and health initiatives to remove barriers to learning at all ages.

Manhattan School of Music

Moving north to West 122nd and Claremont Avenue, one finds themselves at the Manhattan School of Music, a prestigious musical education institution. This school is the end of our tour, as in the evenings you might be able to catch a musical performance, and more can be read about it at our “Manhattan School of Music” blog post.

Bank Street College of Education

Directly north of the Manhattan School of Music is the equally prestigious Bank Street College of Education, an educational institute that includes a Graduate School, an on-site independent School for Children, professional development and social programs, and partnerships with school districts, colleges, museums and cultural institutions, hospitals, community service organizations, and educational media corporations.