Langston Hughes was a renowned poet and writer who was a major influence on the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He lived in a reddish stone house in downtown Harlem for the last 20 years of his life, from 1947 to 1967. The house is located on East 127th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues, a block that was renamed Langston Hughes Place. The Harlem neighborhood, which Langston Hughes praised in 1944, remains one of New York's best-kept secrets. Visitors can easily access the house from subway lines 2 and 3 at the 125th Street stop.
Hughes arrived in New York to study at Columbia University in 1921, but after a year he left due to racial prejudice. He then focused his attention on Harlem, becoming a major influence on the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. In 1950, Langston Hughes attended the opening of the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection of Black Arts and Letters at Yale University. He was also invited to a breakfast party hosted by Regina Anderson and Ethel Ray on the roof of their apartment building at 580 St.
Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent figures in the Harlem Renaissance and his house is a reminder of his legacy. Visitors can explore this historic site to learn more about his life and work.