Upper West Side

The Upper West Side is an affluent, primarily residential neighborhood located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north, the area sits at an elevation of 27 meters and has a population of 226,989.

A major historical turning point arrived with a revolution in building techniques, low relative land costs compared to Lower Manhattan, the arrival of the subway, and the popularization of the elevator. These factors made it possible to construct large apartment buildings for the middle class during the pre-Great Depression years of the twentieth century. Stately tall apartment blocks on West End Avenue and townhouses between Amsterdam Avenue and Riverside Drive were established during this era of rapid growth.

As the neighborhood evolved from the 1930s to the 1950s, transportation networks shifted. The IND Eighth Avenue Line opened under Central Park West in 1932, and the elevated IRT Ninth Avenue Line over Columbus Avenue closed in 1940. Immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Caribbean moved into the area during the 1950s and 1960s. Simultaneously, an influx of white gay men during the 1950s and 1960s is frequently credited with accelerating the gentrification of the Upper West Side.

Recognized as one of Manhattan's cultural and intellectual hubs, the neighborhood features the American Museum of Natural History near its center and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts at its south end. Portions of the area are patrolled by the 20th and 24th Precincts of the New York City Police Department. Additional details can be found on the Upper West Side Wikipedia page and via the GeoNames record for Upper West Side.