Washington Heights, the narrow strip of high ground between the Harlem and Hudson Rivers, is named for the Revolutionary War Fort Washington. Fortifications aside, the area was rural, rocky, and sparsely populated until latter half of the 19th century; the extension of rapid transit to Upper Manhattan century helped spur development. Today, Washington Heights is a diverse, densely populated enclave including the massive Columbia University medical campus, historic sites like the Morris-Jumel mansion, and panoramic views of the Bronx, Lower Manhattan, and the New Jersey Palisades.

“St. Nicholas Avenue (Old Kingsbridge Road) at N.E. corner of 155th Street, showing houses numbered 906 to 918, adjoining the vacant corner. One of these, no. 906, antedates 1885; the others were built shortly after. Early in the 1920s 906 and 908, the two nearest to the camera, will be taken down and the block rebuild to the corner. About 1912.”