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.

A collection of schools across New York City.

Yeshiva College, 1928. Designed by Charles B. Meyers Associates in 1928, the style of this Orthodox Jewish education institution is a mix of Art Deco touches with prominent Moorish/Byzantine/Near Eastern Romanesque elements such as colored stone blocks and ceramic tiles; and towers, turrets, and domes. Today the building is mostly occupied by the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, also known as Yeshiva University High School for Boys. It was the first academic Jewish high school when it was organized in 1916 downtown with the rest of the Yeshiva University. Though this uptown building was designed for the high school specifically, for many years it shared the space with Yeshiva College, the undergrad institution which began in 1928 in this location with 31 students.

Yeshiva University, founded as "Yeshiva College of America" in 1928 has historically provided a seminary level Jewish education alongside a modern academic one. Like many Jewish educational institutions, as it grew, Yeshiva College, whose class of male students are seen here in this image, moved on up from the Lower East Side to Washington Heights where its campus is still located. "YU" as it's known by its legions of fans, emerged out of the merging of two historically important orthodox Jewish educational facilities: the Eitz Chaim elementary type traditional Jewish school known as a "cheder" founded in 1886 and a rabbinic seminary was known as Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) established a decade later in 1896. Both located on the Lower East Side and founded by Eastern European Jewish immigrants.