Located on West 122nd Street between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a world famous music conservatory. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition. Offering hundreds of concert presentations and community events each year, Manhattan School of Music is a vigorous contributor to the cultural fabric of New York City and an important player on the world stage. Now home to 900 students from over 40 countries, the School is a thriving international community of artists. As MSM continues to grow, its

Located next to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, the Peace Fountain was built in 1985 by Greg Wyatt to depict the struggle of good and evil, shown by the archangel Michael vanquishing Satan. The Peace Fountain was sculpted by Cathedral Artist-in-Residence Greg Wyatt to mark the 200th anniversary of the Diocese of New York in 1985. The 40 foot-high bronze sculpture weaves together several representations of the conflict between good and evil. Above, the Archangel Michael embraces one of nine giraffes (said to be the most peaceful of creatures) after his defeat of Satan. Below, the lion lies

After starting off at a prominent building at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, you may want to take a detour to appreciate the architecture of the residence buildings in the neighborhood. If you’re pressed for time, you can skip on to the third stop, by simply walking north to West 116th from the Cathedral to Columbia University. We recommend this stop if you’d love to view the neo-Renaissance apartment buildings Morningside Heights is home to. The buildings feature marble lobbies, town houses with stained-glass windows and elegant accouterments that were built to set the style for the homes

After taking in the magnificence of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and the buildings in the neighborhood, your next stop involves more artistic and creative appreciation. Continue north on Amsterdam Avenue until West 116th Street, and enter the Columbia University campus to turn your attention to the splendor and academia that permeates the air in Columbia University. Columbia University was founded in 1754 as King’s College by royal charter of King George II of England. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York and the fifth oldest in the United States. Today,

The gateway to Morningside Heights by public transportation is the Red line, Number 1 subway stop of 110th Street.  Upon arrival, you will find a treasured 24-hour grocery store, Westside Market, and a bustling intersection of residential, school, and retail activities. Here is where you begin your tour and your exploration of Morningside Heights. First stop: the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine.

On your visit to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, be sure to check out the oldest building in Morningside Heights: Ithiel Town Building. Named for its designer, Ithiel Town, the Town Building is the oldest existing structure in the neighborhood of Morningside Heights. Town was the architect of Federal Hall and St. Marks Church in-the-Bowery, both still standing in southern Manhattan. The Town Building predates the Cathedral—it began as the Leake & Watts Orphanage, which opened in 1847, when the area was largely rural and agricultural, separated from the urban crush. The Orphanage moved to Yonkers when the

Founded in 1913, the Maison Française of Columbia University is the oldest French cultural center established on an American university campus. It is a meeting place for students, scholars, business leaders, policy-makers and all persons seeking a better understanding of the French-speaking world. The Columbia Maison Française fosters intellectual and cultural exchange between the United States and France, Europe, and the French-speaking world. Its rich program of events stimulates debate, spotlights innovative scholarship, promotes dialogue across disciplines, and contributes to international and cross-cultural understanding. Jean-Paul Sartre, Edith Piaf, playwright Eugene Ionesco, French mime Marcel Marceau, Marshal Joseph Joffree (a French

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.

Moving on from the academic institutions in the neighborhood, head up to Riverside Drive along West 122nd to view International House and take in the greenery of Sakura Park. International House Situated at 500 Riverside Drive, north on Riverside Drive, International House is the first building to the north of the church adjacent to Sakura Park. International House or I-House is a private, non-profit residence and program center for graduate students, scholars engaging in research, trainees and interns. International House’s 700 resident members live in a diverse residential community that promotes mutual respect, friendship, and leadership skills across cultures and