125th Street, co-namedMartin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is atwo-way street that runs east–west in the New York Cityborough ofManhattan, fromFirst Avenue on the east to Marginal Street, a service road for theHenry Hudson Parkway along theHudson River in the west. It is often considered to be the "Main Street" ofHarlem.

Notable buildings along 125th Street include theApollo Theater, theAdam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, theHotel Theresa, theStudio Museum in Harlem, theMount Morris Bank Building, Harlem Commonwealth Council, theHarlem Children's Zone, theChurch of St. Joseph of the Holy Family, and the formerWest End Theatre, now home to the La Gree Baptist Church.

The street was designated by theCommissioners' Plan of 1811 that established the Manhattanstreet grid as one of 15 east–west streets that would be 100 feet (30 m) in width (while other streets were designated as 60 feet (18 m) in width).^[1]

The western part of the street runs diagonally between the neighborhoods ofManhattanville andMorningside Heights from the northwest from theWest Harlem Piers and an interchange with theHenry Hudson Parkway at130th Street. East of Morningside Avenue it runs east–west through central Harlem toSecond Avenue, where a ramp connects it to theRobert F. Kennedy (Triborough) Bridge. However, 125th Street continues toFirst Avenue, where it connects to the southboundFDR Drive and theWillis Avenue Bridge.

West of Convent Avenue, 125th Street was rerouted onto what was, prior to 1920, called Manhattan Street. What remains of the original alignment of 125th Street was renamed La Salle Street at that time. The remaining blocks run betweenAmsterdam Avenue andClaremont Avenue.The New York Times lamented the name changes, noting that the new names had "somewhat doubtful nomenclature", and that the City's "Aldermen like French names" but gave no rationale for the moves otherwise.^[2] A block of the original 125th Street in this area was de-mapped to make the super-blocks where theGrant Houses projects now exist.

A proposal to convert the street into a Trans-Harlem Expressway died when funds were diverted from the proposed125th Street Hudson River bridge at the street's western end.

Beginning in the late 1990s, many sections of 125th Street have beengentrified and developed with such stores asMAC Cosmetics,Old Navy,H&M,CVS/pharmacy, andMagic Johnson Theaters. In collaboration with the community, the city has developed a plan for the 125th Street corridor focusing on reinforcing and building upon its strengths as an arts and cultural corridor.^[3]

Arift in thecrust runs along underneath this street from theEast River toNew Jersey and is known as the125th Street Fault or theManhattanville Fault.^[4][5][6] It is suspected to have caused a magnitude-5.2earthquake in 1737, two smaller ones in 1981,^[7] and a 2.4 magnitude quake in 2001.^[6] Thefault line skims across the top ofCentral Park and runs toRoosevelt Island to the southeast. It creates a fault valley deep enough to require theIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (1 train) to use atrestle between 122nd and 135th Streets, even though the line goes underground at either end and remains at the same elevation above sea level throughout.^[8]Riverside Drive also crosses over the fault valley on a high viaduct.

The followingNew York City Subway stations are located at 125th Street (west to east):^[9]

• 125th Street atBroadway, served by the1 train
• 125th Street atSt. Nicholas Avenue, served by theA, ​B, ​C, and ​D trains
• 125th Street atLenox Avenue, served by the2 and ​3 trains
• 125th Street atLexington Avenue, served by the4, ​5, ​6, and <6> trains

The followingNYC Bus lines serve 125th Street:^[10]

• TheM125 is the corridor's main server, running between Saint Clair Place and either First Avenue (eastbound) or Second Avenue (westbound), with the latter continuing out of service to 12th Avenue and looping around.
• TheM60 SBS makes specific stops east of Amsterdam Avenue.
• Additional local service is provided by theM101 between Amsterdam and Lexington (eastbound) or Third Avenues (westbound).
• TheM104 runs between Broadway and Amsterdam (eastbound) or Morningside Avenues (westbound).
• TheM100 runs between Amsterdam and Saint Nicholas Avenues, where it terminates.

And these bus routes cross the street:

• M5 atRiverside Drive
• M4 atBroadway
• M3 atSt. Nicholas Avenue
• M10 atFrederick Douglass Boulevard
• M2 atAdam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (7th Avenue)
• M7 andM102 atLenox Avenue
• M1 atMadison Avenue (northbound) andFifth Avenue (southbound)
• M98 atPark Avenue (southbound) andThird Avenue (northbound)
• M103 atLexington Avenue (southbound) andThird Avenue (northbound)
• M35 atLexington Avenue (eastbound)
• M15 andM15 SBS atSecond Avenue (southbound) andFirst Avenue (northbound)

Metro-North Railroad'sHarlem–125th Street station is located at the street's intersection withPark Avenue.^[11]

The planned second phase of theSecond Avenue Subway, continuing north from the116th Street station, will turn westward onto 125th Street, terminating at a station at Lexington Avenue. The new station would connect to the Metro-North and preexisting Lexington Avenue subway stations there.^[12]

• 
  TheStudio Museum in Harlem
  (144 West 125th St.)
• 
  Harlem Savings Bank, listed on the
  National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)
  (123 East 125th St.)
• 
  St. Joseph of the Holy Family Church
  the oldest existing church in Harlem and above 44th Street^[13]
  (401 West 125th St.)
• 
  Sydenham Hospital Clinic
  formerly the Commonwealth Building^[14]
  (215 West 125th St.)

• 
  Hotel Theresa, now Theresa Towers,
  a NYC landmark and on the NRHP
  (West 125th St. and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.)
• 
  Victoria Theater, now being renovated into a mixed-use building^[15]
  (237 West 125th St)
• 
  Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building
  (163 West 125th Street)
• 
  55 West 125th Street
  whereBill Clinton has his office

• As of 2011, former presidentBill Clinton maintains an office on 125th Street.^[16][17]

• The intersection of 125th andLexington Avenue is the location whereLou Reed buys heroin on theVelvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man" from their seminal 1967 debut album,The Velvet Underground & Nico.^[18]
• Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970) is an album byGil Scott-Heron.
• In 1978'sThe Wiz (film), Aunt Em says to Dorothy: "Girl, do you know that you're 24 years old, and you've never been south of 125th Street? Well, you haven't!"

Notes

• Media related to125th Street (Manhattan) at Wikimedia Commons

40°48′39″N73°57′09″W / 40.8108°N 73.9526°W /40.8108; -73.9526

• Harlem
• Streets in Manhattan

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