Self Guided Tours

Focus On Fifth

Latino Lexington

Latino Lexington

This tour samples some of the cultural riches of El Barrio, centering on Lexington Avenue, East 103rd to East 106th Streets. The focus is on Latino culture, but in East Harlem one always encounters reminders of the great variety of ethnic groups who have called–and continue to call–the neighborhood home.

As you exit the subway station on Lexington Avenue and East 103rd Street, look to the left at the church of the Greek Orthodox Community of St. George & St. Demetrious, erected c. 1910, at 140 East 103rd Street. Built originally as a Lutheran church, it was purchased in the 1940s by a Greek congregation, which it continues to serve.

If you need some sustenance before starting your tour, stop at one of the Mexican restaurants that bookend the block on the west side of Lexington Avenue between East 103rd and East 104th Streets, Santa Clarita Restaurant (212.987.2429) and El Paso Taqueria (212.831.9831). Or, buy delicious pastries at Valencia Bakery, 162 East 104th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues (212.996.1191).

Then head for Exotic Fragrances, 1645 Lexington Avenue, corner of 104th Street (212.410.0600), purveyors of fine fragrances from around the world. Painted on the side of the building that houses Exotic Fragrances is one of East Harlem’s most famous murals, “Spirit of East Harlem.” It was created between 1973 and 1978 at the behest of Hope Community, a local housing group, by Hank Prussing assisted by Manuel Vega, who recently restored it. In fact, this area is called Mural Row. Here and there are smaller murals by East Harlem artist James de la Vega, whose storefront gallery is located at 1651 Lexington Avenue between East 104th and East 105th Streets (212.876.8649).

Right next door to de la Vega’s shop is the Modesto Flores garden, created by Hope Community in 1978. In warm weather, this garden is the site of open-air poetry jams, Poetas Con Café (212.860.8821). Just west of Lexington Avenue, at 134 East 104th Street, is Justo Botanica. Established in 1930, it is one of the neighborhood’s oldest emporiums for religious and spiritual articles for practitioners of Afro-Cuban Santeria and Brazilian Candoble (212.534.9140).

Now, head north to the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center, 1680 Lexington Avenue between East 105th and East 106th Streets. Named for a Puerto Rican journalist and poet who died in East Harlem, the Center is housed in a former school building–the first full-block school building in the city. Its conversion to a cultural center in 1994-95 by East Harlem architects Lee Borero and Raymond Plumey won high praise and awards from preservation organizations. Call 212.831.4333 for a schedule of exhibitions in the Center’s Taller Boricua (Puerto Rican Workshop) galleries.

East 106th Street and Lexington Avenue is at the heart of an East Harlem Cultural Corridor, which includes, among many other galleries and artists spaces, Media Noche (161 East 106th Street, 212.828.0401). This gallery, operated by Puerto Rico and the American Dream, provides residencies and exhibition space for artists working in new media. Offering food for both spirit and stomach are Terra Link, a cyber café and gallery at 1697 Lexington Avenue (212.828.0084) associated with Terra Nova, an artists collective, and Carlito’s Café and Galeria (1701 Lexington Avenue, 212.348.7044), operated by Art for Change, which features changing exhibitions as well as music, comedy, theater, poetry, and spoken word offerings.

A few steps east at 169 East 106th Street is La Fonda Boricua, the neighborhood’s star purveyor of Puerto Rican cuisine (212. 410.7292).

On your way back to the subway, if it’s late afternoon Wednesday–Sunday, stop at Jake’s Saloon, a friendly neighborhood spot that serves up beer, wine, and good conversation (143 East 103rd Street, 212.348.5629).

Please come back soon for another unique tour of a very special neighborhood—East Harlem. It’s closer than you think!