12 West 72ND ST

The Oliver Cromwell, Upper West Side, Manhattan, NY 10023

Although geographically it sits between Central Park and the Hudson River, the Upper West Side is arguably an attitude as much as it is a place. Many of its residents have a passion for embracing all the cultural riches that New York offers, and it’s been a favorite neighborhood of people who produce much of that culture — actors, writers, professors, musicians, and others. Much of the bookish quality of the Upper West Side is due to some of the institutions that call it home (or sit on its edges) — Columbia and Barnard (just north, in Morningside Heights), Fordham Law School, Juilliard, and other smaller schools.