katiec

What’s nice about W 110th st is that it’s near a 1 train subway stop. The M6, M104, and M4 bus lines also stop here. This street is busier and slightly larger than the other streets nearby. This street is more detached from Columbia University than streets slightly to the north of it, but there is one Columbia undergraduate dorm on the street. There are some nice businesses near W 110th st and Broadway, including Chipotle which has the best burritos and the drug store Rite Aid, which sometimes has cheaper stuff than the ubiquitous New York, Duane Reade which is also located nearby.

Although W 111th st is a few blocks away from Columbia University’s main campus, it still bustles with Columbia kids who live near the street. One of the highlights of W 111th st and Broadway is Koronet Pizzeria. They sell the largest slice of pizza you’ve ever seen for less than $5. It’s open late at night and it’s full of drunk Columbia kids who are hungry after they went bar hopping. There’s also some nice grocery stores in the area, including Westside Market. I wouldn’t recommend living on this street unless you’re young and near college aged.

On W 114th st, between Broadway and Amsterdam is Columbia University’s frat row. The whole street is basically filled with houses of Columbia fraternities and sororities so you really don’t want to live in the area unless you like being near annoying and noisy college kids who hold lots of parties. There’s also a couple Columbia dorms located on the street. W 114th st borders Columbia University and one of the nice buildings it borders is Butler Library. It looks pretty gorgeous from the outside and unfortunately, you need a Columbia ID to go inside, but if you go on a Columbia University tour, the tour guides will probably walk you through.

W 117th st, west of the Morningside Park is the heart of Columbia University and Barnard College. If you’re in the area, a notable Columbia building to see is St. Paul’s Chapel, which is utterly gorgeous. If you’re there during the weekends, you’ll probably see a wedding going on in the chapel, since it’s a popular place for affiliates of Columbia to get married. The Columbia Law school is located on W 117th and Amsterdam.

On W 116th st between Broadway and Amsterdam lies Columbia University and in between those avenues, the street is closed to traffic. Instead, it’s the heart of the Columbia campus, called College Walk. There are beautiful trees surrounding College Walk and during the winter, Columbia puts Christmas lights on the trees, which makes it a gorgeous urban oasis. W 116th st also borders Barnard College and has a few businesses, including FedEx Kinko’s and a sketchy Chinese restaurant, Ollie’s.

I’ve lived on W 113th st for a few years. It consists of three Columbia dorms and a few Columbia frat houses. It does get noisy at times, especially during weekend nights when lots of frat kids are partying. There isn’t that many local businesses on W 113th st. The notable ones include Symposium Greek Restaurant, which is visited by a lot of locals due to convenience, but I personally don’t like it. There’s also Nussbaum and Wu, a bakery and café which is fairly overpriced, but has decent food.

W 118th st is smack dab in the middle of the Columbia University and Barnard College campus. I would recommend getting on Columbia’s campus and taking a look at some of buildings, including Low Library which has a beautiful rotunda. You should definitely take a visit to Havemeyer where Spiderman filmed in the large lecture hall. Otherwise, west of Morningside Park, there aren’t any local businesses on W 118th st, just a large university.

W 122nd st borders Union Theological Seminary and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Considering the area west of Morningside Park, it’s fairly quiet with not that much foot traffic as compared to streets a few blocks down. I think the architecture of the university buildings in the area looks nice and there are a few kind of decent restaurants near W 122nd st and Broadway, including Saga which has great lunch specials and Kitchenette which is a favorite for a lot of students in the area.

Part of W 120th st borders Columbia University. There is a street entrance to Mudd, the engineering building where you’ll find bathrooms you can use and a few vending machines on the first floor, even one for ice cream. If you need to use a computer, go to the fourth floor and there’s computers in the lobby area that you can use without needing to log in. There’s also stairs that lead to campus if you’re interested in touring Columbia. The other side of W 120th st between Broadway and Amsterdam borders Teachers College. If you consider the part of W 120th st that is west of Morningside Park, you’ll find it busy with a lot of students bustling around.

If you live in the area, then you’ll mostly only go to the W 112th st for the post office and Book Culture. Book Culture is a great independent bookstore and the staff is really friendly and helpful. Tom’s Restaurant is also located on the corner of Broadway and W 112th st, which is the diner shown in Seinfeld. If you walk by, you’ll always see some tourists taking their pictures in front of it. The food isn’t that great but at least it’s greasy and open late. St. John the Divine Cathedral is located near W 112th st and Amsterdam and it’s a beautiful church and worth a visit.