The neighborhood
Notable residents & history
Residents and historic events tied to the neighborhood, grouped by how they connect to it. Each note cites a source.
23 notes
Current residentsFormer residentsWorked hereHistoric events
Current residents
1People who live in the neighborhood now.
Steve Jurvetson (opens in a new tab)CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) Current residentCastle Village since 2017
Lin-Manuel Miranda
The creator of In the Heights lives in Hudson Heights: in 2017 he and his wife, Vanessa Nadal, bought co-op units at Castle Village on Cabrini Boulevard. He grew up just north in Inwood and wrote parts of Hamilton at the Morris-Jumel Mansion.
Castle Village, Cabrini BlvdHudson Heights
Former residents
11People who lived here and later left.
While provided by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, it is a Federal Reserve image. (opens in a new tab)Public domain Former residentBorn 1926; high school 1940–43
Alan Greenspan
Greenspan was born in Washington Heights in 1926, grew up there with his mother and grandparents, and attended George Washington High School.
George Washington High School
D. Benjamin Miller (opens in a new tab)CC0 (opens in a new tab) Former residentBorn 1975; family left in 1979
Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod was born in Washington Heights in 1975 to Dominican immigrants and moved with his family to the Dominican Republic when he was four, then to Miami.
Washington Heights, Manhattan
James J. Kriegsmann (opens in a new tab)Public domain Count Basie
Basie lived at 555 Edgecombe Avenue, and the corner of Edgecombe Ave and W 160th St is co-named Count Basie Place for him.
555 Edgecombe AvenueJumel Terrace & Edgecombe Ave
Rhododendrites (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) Former residentDecades, until her death in 2024
Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Dr. Ruth lived in Washington Heights for decades, raising her family there and staying in the same apartment until her death in 2024.
Scan by NYPL (opens in a new tab)Public domain Former resident1810–1865
Eliza Jumel
Eliza Jumel and her husband Stephen bought the Morris-Jumel Mansion in 1810; she married Aaron Burr there in 1833 and made it her primary home until her death in 1865.
Morris-Jumel Mansion, 65 Jumel TerraceJumel Terrace & Edgecombe Ave
U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)Public domain Former resident1938 to the early 1940s
Henry Kissinger
Kissinger's family reached New York in September 1938, and he spent his high-school years in Washington Heights' German-Jewish community, attending George Washington High School.
George Washington High School, Audubon Ave and W 192nd–193rd StsFort George
John Syme (opens in a new tab)Public domain Former resident1842–1851
John James Audubon
Audubon bought land near W 155th St in 1841, moved his family into the house he called Minnie's Land in 1842, and lived there until he died in 1851.
Minnie's Land, near W 155th St and Riverside Drive
Harris & Ewing (opens in a new tab)Public domain Former residentFrom about 1908, through his school years
Lou Gehrig
Born in Yorkville, Gehrig grew up in Washington Heights from about age five, near Hilltop Park and the Polo Grounds, and attended P.S. 132 before Commerce High School.
Near Hilltop Park (now NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia)Audubon / W 165th St
Andrew Malone (opens in a new tab)CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) Former resident1985–1991
Manny Ramirez
Born in Santo Domingo, Ramirez moved to Washington Heights in 1985 and led George Washington High School's Dominican-heavy baseball team to three straight division titles.
George Washington High School, Audubon Ave and W 192nd–193rd StsFort George
CBS Television (opens in a new tab)Public domain Former residentChildhood and youth
Maria Callas
Callas grew up on 192nd Street in Washington Heights after her father opened a pharmacy in Manhattan.
W 192nd StHudson Heights
Gordon Parks, Office of War Information (cropped by Beyond My Ken) (opens in a new tab)Public domain Former resident1939–1941
Paul Robeson
Robeson and his family lived at 555 Edgecombe Avenue from 1939 to 1941, in a building that is now a National Historic Landmark.
555 Edgecombe AvenueJumel Terrace & Edgecombe Ave
Worked here
2People connected by work they did here.
Worked hereFrom 1969
Reverend Ike
Reverend Ike bought the former Loew's 175th Street Theatre in 1969 and made the United Palace the base of his United Church ministry.
United Palace, 4140 BroadwayBroadway at 175th St (United Palace)
Unknown author (opens in a new tab)Public domain Worked hereProperty bought in 1899
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
Mother Cabrini bought the land for what is now her shrine on Fort Washington Avenue in 1899.
Fort Washington AvenueHudson Heights
Historic events
9Events that took place in the neighborhood.
Unknown author (opens in a new tab)Public domain Historic event1904–1930
Archer M. Huntington
Huntington founded the Hispanic Society in 1904 and planned Audubon Terrace as a cluster of cultural institutions on John James Audubon's old estate.
Audubon Terrace
Star Mississippi (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) Historic event1985–2020
Coogan's
Coogan's was an Irish bar and restaurant at 4015 Broadway that opened in 1985, closed in March 2020, and was honored with a co-named Coogan's Way in 2022.
4015 Broadway
Jim.henderson (opens in a new tab)CC0 (opens in a new tab) Historic event1930s–1940s
Frankfurt on the Hudson: Washington Heights' German-Jewish refugees
Thousands of German Jews escaped Nazism in the 1930s and 1940s and settled in Washington Heights, earning it a nickname from a book by Steven Lowenstein.
Claude Joseph Sauthier (opens in a new tab)Public domain Historic event1776
George Washington and the Battle of Fort Washington
George Washington based his operations at Fort Washington in 1776; its fall in November was a pivotal American defeat, and the neighborhood later took its name from the fort.
Bennett Park, Fort Washington Ave and W 183rd StHudson Heights
Jet Lowe (opens in a new tab)Public domain Historic event1927–1931
George Washington Bridge opening, 1931
The George Washington Bridge was dedicated on October 24, 1931 and opened to traffic the next day, anchored in Washington Heights at about W 178th St.
George Washington Bridge, W 178th St
Bain News Service (opens in a new tab)Public domain Historic event1903–1912
Hilltop Park and the New York Highlanders
Hilltop Park stood on Broadway between W 165th and W 168th Sts from 1903 to 1912. A plaque on the medical center grounds marks where home plate was.
Broadway between W 165th and W 168th StsAudubon / W 165th St
Historic eventJuly 1992
July 1992 Washington Heights unrest
After plainclothes officer Michael O'Keefe shot José "Kiko" García on July 3, 1992, the neighborhood saw days of unrest, and a grand jury later declined to indict the officer.
W 162nd St
Herman Hitler, World Telegram staff photographer (opens in a new tab)Public domain Historic event1965
Malcolm X and the Audubon Ballroom
Malcolm X was assassinated at a rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom, 3940 Broadway. The restored building now houses a memorial center.
Audubon Ballroom, 3940 BroadwayAudubon / W 165th St
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) Historic event1776
Margaret Corbin
Margaret Corbin was wounded on November 16, 1776, when she took over her husband's artillery post during the British-Hessian attack on Fort Washington, near today's Fort Tryon Park.
Margaret Corbin Circle, W 190th St & Fort Washington AveHudson Heights