Inwood, the northernmost neighborhood of Manhattan, has a rich yet
little-known history.
For centuries, the region remained practically unchanged - a quaint,
country village known to early Dutch settlers as Tubby Hook. The
subway's arrival in the early 1900s transformed the area, once scorned
as ten miles from a beefsteak, from farm to city virtually overnight.
The same construction boom sparked an age of neighborhood
self-discovery, when vestiges of the past - in the form of mastodon
bones, arrowheads, colonial pottery, Revolutionary War cannonballs, and
forgotten cemeteries - emerged from the earth. Waves of German, Irish,
and Dominican immigrants subsequently produced a vibrant urban oasis
with a big-city/small-town feel. Inwood has also been home to wealthy
country estates, pre-integration sports arenas, and a lively waterfront
culture. Famous residents have included NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
Basketball Diaries author Jim Carroll, and Hamilton creator/star
Lin-Manuel Miranda.