Strivers' Row is three rows of townhouses in western Harlem, in the New York City borough of Manhattan on West 138th and West 139th between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Originally called the "King Model Houses" after developer David King, they were designed for upper middle class whites and constructed between 1891 and 1893. Different architects worked on each of the three rows, and they are collectively recognized as a gem of New York City architecture.

The northern part of the 139th street group was completed by McKim, Mead and White in neo-Italian style. Designers who contributed to the complex on 138th street include James Lord Brown, Bruce Price, and Clarence S. Luce.

The houses sit back-to-back with each other, which allowed King to specify that they would share rear courtyards. The alleyways between them are gated off (some entrance gates still have signs that read "Walk Your Horses"). At one time, these alleys allowed discreet stabling of horses and delivery of supplies without disrupting the goings-on in the main houses. Today, the back areas are used almost exclusively for the parking of cars. Strivers' Row houses are among the few private homes in Manhattan with space for parking, but also among the few townhouses that do not have gardens in the rear.

David King's speculative development failed, and most of the houses were soon owned by the Equitable Life Assurance Society, which had financed the project. By this time, Harlem was being abandoned by white New Yorkers, and the company would not sell the King houses to blacks. As a result, they sat empty. When they were finally made available to black residents, for US$8000 each, they attracted hard-working professionals, or "strivers," who gave the houses their current name.

"Between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, is 139th Street, known among Harlemites as "strivers' row." It is the most aristocratic street in Harlem. Stanford White designed the houses for a wealthy white clientèle. Moneyed African-Americans now own and inhabit them. When one lives on "strivers' row" one has supposedly arrived. Harry Rills resides there, as do a number of the leading Babbitts and professional folk of Harlem."

Among those who lived in Strivers' Row were Eubie Blake, Fletcher Henderson, Vertner Tandy, W. C. Handy, Dr. Louis T. Wright, Henry Pace, heavyweight boxer Harry Wills, comedian Stepin Fetchit, actor/singer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and preacher/congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

By the 1940s, many of the houses had decayed and were converted to single room occupancies (SROs). Much of the original decorative detail inside the houses was lost at this time, though the exteriors generally remained unaltered. With the post-1995 real estate boom in Harlem, many of these buildings are being restored to something resembling their original condition.

Time Out New York, a New York publication, ran a cover story where they ranked "The 50 Best Blocks in New York City." All 5 boroughs were included in the ranking that was based on seven criteria: aesthetics, amenities, "green factor," noise and traffic, public transit, "New York-ocity," and affordability. Strivers' Row ranked 16th on this list.[citation needed]

Every one of the Strivers' Row houses is a designated landmark. The buildings afford a view of the City College of New York, atop the hill to the west.

Jazz Saxophonist Sonny Rollins, a Harlem native, named a contrafact of Charlie Parker's "Confirmation" after Striver's Row. This performance is available on the 1958 Album "A Night At The Village Vanguard".

Abram Hill's 1940 satirical comedy of manners, "On Strivers Row", produced with the American Negro Theatre (ANT), concerns "the follies of both social climbing and subtle racism among African Americans during Harlem's Renaissance".

Alphabet City  Astor Row  Battery Park City  Bowery  Carnegie Hill  Chelsea  Chinatown  Civic Center  Columbus Circle  Cooperative Village  Diamond District  East Village  Ellis Island  Financial District  Five Points  Flatiron District  Garment District  Governors Island  Gramercy  Gramercy Park  Greenwich Village  Hamilton Heights  Harlem  Hell's Kitchen  Herald Square  Hudson Heights  Hudson Yards  Inwood  Italian Harlem  Kips Bay  Koreatown  Lenox Hill  Le Petit Senegal  Liberty Island  Lincoln Square  Little Germany  Little Italy  Loisaida  Lower East Side  Lower Manhattan  Madison Square  Manhattan Valley  Manhattanville  Marble Hill  Marcus Garvey Park  Meatpacking District  Midtown Manhattan  Morningside Heights  Murray Hill  NoHo  Nolita  Peter Cooper Village  Polo Grounds  Radio Row  Randall's Island  Roosevelt Island  Rose Hill  San Juan Hill  SoHo  South Street Seaport  South Village  Spanish Harlem  Strivers' Row  Stuyvesant Town  Sugar Hill  Sutton Place  Tenderloin  Theatre District  Times Square  TriBeCa  Tudor City  Turtle Bay  Two Bridges  Union Square  Upper East Side  Upper Manhattan  Upper West Side  Ward's Island  Washington Heights  Waterside Plaza  West Village  Yorkville

Alphabet City - Astor Row - Battery Park City - Bowery - Carnegie Hill - Chinatown - Civic Center - Columbus Circle - Cooperative Village - Diamond District - East Harlem - East Village - Ellis Island - Five Points - Fort George - Garment District - Governors Island - Greenwich Village - Hamilton Heights - Harlem - Hell's Kitchen - Herald Square - Hudson Heights - Hudson Yards - Inwood - Koreatown - Le Petit Senegal - Liberty Island - Lincoln Square - Little Brazil - Little Germany - Little Italy - Lower East Side - Lower Manhattan - Madison Square - Manhattan Valley - Manhattanville - Marble Hill - Marcus Garvey Park - Midtown - Midtown West - Morningside Heights - Murray Hill - NoHo - NoLIta - Radio Row - Randall's Island - Rockefeller Center - Roosevelt Island - SoHo - South Street Seaport - Spanish Harlem - Strivers' Row - Sugar Hill - Sutton Place - Tenderloin - Theater District - Times Square - TriBeCa - Tudor City - Turtle Bay - Two Bridges - Upper East Side - Upper Manhattan - Upper West Side - Ward's Island - Washington Heights - West Harlem - West Village - Yorkville -