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Sugar Hill – The Historical Section of Harlem

There is in Harlem a separate municipal district called Sugar Hill, and is part of the Hamilton Heights section. Founded in the 1920s, Sugar Hill was named for the so-called “sweet life” that many wealthy African-Americans enjoyed.

As a neighborhood, Sugar Hill achieved prominence and recognition, from the many notables of the Harlem Rennaissance who either lived in the neighborhood or frequently visited it, such as the famous jazz musician Duke Ellington, the writer and social commentator W. E. B. DuBois, the politician and State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and the famous poet and playwright Langston Hughes, who wrote about the affluence of the Hill in relation to the rest of Harlem in the essay, “Down and Under in Harlem” which was published in 1944 in The New Republic.

Over the years, this section of Harlem has emerged as a bustling commercial district, boasting a bed and breakfast, which was founded in 1906  in a Victorian townhouse, and several restaurants, such as  Sweet Chef, Real Pizza, One Stop, Jimbo's Hamburger, and Caridad Resturant.

Emerging out of the richness of this history was the hip hop group, Sugar Hill Gang,whose members, Wonder Mike, Big Bank and Master Gee were originally from Englewood, NJ, and became famous for their song, Rapper's Delight, and Sylvia Robinson, who was the producer and who with her husband, Joe and the owner of Roulette Records, Morris Levy, founded of Sugar Hill Records in 1979. Sugar Hill Gang had rap song which featured a track from the song Good Times, orginally performed by Chic. One of their tracks came from the song Good Times by Chic. Sugar Hill Gang's music  could be found on YouTube and other related music sites.

Examples of the historic nature of Sugar Hill is found in the many different buildings, including churches, apartment complexes, brownstones and townhouses.

A row of brownstone townhouses in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem.