Harlem is known for being the center of New York‘s African-Americans life. The neighborhood is located in upper Manhattan, bordered to the east by the Harlem River, to the north by 155th Street and to the west by the Hudson River, which also marks the border between the city and the State of New Jersey.

Originally founded by the Dutch in the 1600’s who named it after the Dutch city of Harleem, Harlem was inhabited by farmers who managed several farmhouses. From the late 1800’s to the beginning of the 1900’s, African Americans began to migrate from the southern states to the northern part of the country due to financial problems and settled in Harlem, also thanks to the neighborhood’s low rents.

During the 1920’s Harlem was the center of the black cultural movement, known as the Harlem Reinaissance, and a time of artistic productions such as jazz. The Cotton Club was a notorious Harlem nightclub, which had its heyday during and after prohibition. Although it derived its fame from such African-Americans performers as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway who often played at the club, blacks were denied admission.