Known locally as the “castle,” A late Gothic Revival building with a façade of roughhewn stone and terra-cotta trim was built for Saint Walburga’s Academy of the Holy Child of Jesus. Founded in 1904 to educate and house orphans, the convent and school were originally located in the two ornate mid-19th century mansions shown here. In their place rose an imposing, five-story, nine-bay structure with a crenellated tower puncturing its gable roof. Similar in appearance to the nearby City College campus, both institutions were constructed of schist excavated during the construction of the IRT subway. In 1957, the academy relocated to Rye, New York, and rechristened itself as the School of the Holy Child. After numerous failed attempts to repurpose the abandoned school, the Fortune Society purchased the building in 1998 and utilized historic tax credits to restore the exterior. It was converted into emergency and longterm housing for the formerly incarcerated

Although European settlers had begun farming the area now known as West Harlem in 1625, the community was not formally incorporated as the village of New Harlem (or “Nieuw Haarlem” in Dutch) until 1658. The development of New York City and the introduction of rail and transport allowed Harlem to become a thriving neighborhood over the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, local organizations continue to fight to preserve West Harlem and promote its unique identity as increased development threatens this dynamic community and its architectural beauty.