When you are in the mood to see a plethora of urban delights
, Harlem tours are meant for you. This large neighborhood of the New York City is jam packed with many historical buildings and a living and breathing culture. From lush green parks to elite class art galleries and shows in the famous Apollo Theater, a tour of this neighborhood can reveal many things which you have never happened to see before.
While the neighborhood was settled by the Dutch in 1658 by the then governor of Denmark, Harlem place was founded as a village. The fertile lands prospered profusely and it soon became a place where the rich settled down. As time passed it expanded and took a very small shape of a town. Unfortunately some decades later the first economic calamity struck it broke the entire structure. The rich farms were ripe with their crops but there was no market to sell it and the entire village was burdened under heavy debts. Unable to pay them back the entire village was put up for public auction. It was sold in small pieces of land and as the new owners took charge of it, they started dividing it. Many fields were destroyed in the process and many great buildings were brought down too.
The auction had a great effect on its condition and the once prospering Harlem place where influential people desired to live turned into a shanty town. This became a place fit for the African American refugees to settle down. The once majority of the Dutch population was soon converted into a minority and were overridden by the new immigrants. Time passed and nothing changed until in the 19th century the authorities took notice of its poor state started to make reforms in it. The first rebirth took place with the construction of hundred single family homes. This brought many investors to the place and signs of betterment started to show here. As it started to get more populated with new residents the pathways and roads began to develop. This brought in many new changes and improvements to this neighborhood.
Today after many decades later, in fact a century later this neighborhood has become like a backbone of the city. It holds many community centers and the most popular street known as the 5th avenue. You can find stores of every famous brand in the world such as Gucci. Prada, D&G, Armani and the list go on. When you are new here and are out for sightseeing then ask the Harlem tour company to guide you. You can see the great preserved buildings and the churches of the past which have been restored to show the history. This place is lively with the most amazing culture which has been formed by the different people who took residence here over the years. Today we can see the busy and lively Harlem in full flow with the rest of the city while it took many decades for it to blend in well.