Home to such famous sites as Columbia University, St. John the Divine, Riverside Park and, and the General Grant National Memorial, the Morningside Heights Neighborhood in New York City features some great shops, bookstores, cafes, and bars that will have you feeling like a local by the end of the day.
With Columbia University in the area, Morningside Heights is a community of students and intellectuals and is located far from the heavily populated touristy areas of the city. Columbia Universities Campus was designed in the 1890's by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White, which are the most famous architects of there time. The campus features neoclassical buildings reminiscent of Renaissance Italy and wide green lawns that will make you forget that you are in modern day Manhattan. This campus also features the Low Library. This is the place of Columbia's infamous "student uprising" in 1968, which was protesting the Vietnam War. Feel free to join one of the student led tours of the campus that starts in the Low Library
The Riverside Church is also located in the Morningside Heights Neighborhood. This is one of the best known religious structures in New York City. This is a neo-Gothic style structure that was modeled after the 13th Century Gothic Cathedral in Chartres, France. Completed in 1930, the mid-block 22-story tower can be seen for miles and overlooks the Hudson River. This tower contains the second largest, and heaviest, carillon tower in the world with 74 bells ranging from 10- 40,000 pounds.
The following tours drive by Morningside Heights and the Riverside Church in New York City:
