125th Street (Manhattan)



125th Street is a two-way street that runs east-west in the New York City borough of Manhattan, considered the "Main Street" of Harlem; It is also called Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

Neighborhoods
The western part of the street runs diagonally between the neighborhoods of Manhattanville and Morningside Heights from the north-west from an interchange with the Henry Hudson Parkway at 130th Street. East of Morningside Avenue it runs east-west through central Harlem to an interchange with F.D.R. Drive by the East River, where it becomes the Manhattan leg of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly the Triborough Bridge). Many sections of the street have been gentrified and developed with such stores as MAC Cosmetics, Old Navy, H&M, CVS/pharmacy, and Magic Johnson Theaters. The historic Apollo Theater is here. 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.

West of Convent Avenue, 125th Street was re-routed onto the old Manhattan Avenue. The original 125th Street west of Convent Avenue was swallowed up to make the super-blocks where the low income housing projects now exist. What remains of the original alignment of 125th Street is called La Salle Street, which runs between Amsterdam Avenue and Claremont Avenue.

A proposal to convert the street into a Trans-Harlem Expressway died when funds were diverted from the proposed 125th Street Hudson River bridge.

Fault Line
A rift in the crust runs along underneath this street and is known as the 125th Street Fault. The fault line creates a fault valley deep enough to require the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line to become a trestle bridge between 122nd and 135th Streets. The street in the 18th century was called The Hollow Way.

Public transportation
The following subway stations are located at 125th Street (west to east):
 * 125th Street at Broadway serving the train
 * 125th Street at St. Nicholas Avenue serving the trains
 * 125th Street at Lenox Avenue serving the trains
 * 125th Street at Lexington Avenue serving the trains

The Metro-North Railroad Harlem-125th Street station is also on 125th Street, at Park Avenue.

Notable Occupants
As of 2008, former president Bill Clinton maintains an office on 125th Street.
 * The intersection of 125th and Lexington Avenue is the location where Lou Reed buys heroin on the Velvet Underground's I'm Waiting for the Man from their seminal 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.