Both “Hamilton” and “In the Heights” were staged at Broadway’s Richard Rogers Theatre. (Theatre: John Lamparski/Getty Images, Miranda: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Before he made a splash on Broadway, and then in Hollywood, and then on Disney Plus, Lin-Manuel Miranda was taking the A train uptown. The creative genius behind “Hamilton” and “In the Heights” was born and raised in Manhattan, and he is as much a product of the city as his musicals are. Check out our guide to 22 places in NYC where Lin-Manuel Miranda left his mark.
Where Did Lin-Manuel Miranda Grow Up?
Don’t let “In the Heights” confuse you. Miranda’s childhood apartment wasn’t in Washington Heights — it was in Inwood. For decades, his parents, Luz Towns and Luis Miranda, owned a three-bedroom, duplex at 67 Park Terrace East. The property was listed in January 2018 for $949,000 and sold in April for $960,000. The apartment had a rooftop terrace with wraparound views of the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline — talk about inspiring.
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Where Lin-Manuel Miranda Hung Out in Inwood
The apartment was close to one of Miranda’s favorite writing retreats: Inwood Hill Park. Another neighborhood favorite was the Garden Café, a casual spot next to Church of the Good Shepherd, where he and his family went on Sundays.
It might not look like anything special from the outside, but Miranda is a fan of this local joint.
Miranda has said that one of the best parts of his Sunday routine was getting Garden Cafe’s sugar doughnuts and oatmeal, served in coffee cups.
Hunter College High School
This giant New York City public school was where the teenage Lin-Manuel Miranda spent his high school days.
For middle and high school, Miranda took the subway to the Hunter College Campus Schools, a magnet elementary and high school on East 94th Street. Active in the school’s theater scene, Miranda landed leading roles as Captain Hook in “Peter Pan” and Conrad in “Bye Bye Birdie.” At the time, he was also taking piano classes at 181st Street and Cabrini Boulevard in Washington Heights.
Miranda Was Once Busted for Busking!
Once a busker getting busted now on Broadway getting Tonys.
If Lin-Manuel Miranda started busking on the subway nowadays, he would create a media frenzy. But back when he was a teenager, Miranda got busted by the cops on the platform at 96th Street for busking. He was singing … Billy Joel’s “The Longest Time.”
The Drama Book Shop
As of 2018, Miranda can add bookseller to his resumé.
When Miranda wasn’t performing, he was reading about performing. A favorite spot of his remains the Drama Book Shop. Located at 250 W. 40th St., the store holds a huge collection of librettos, recordings and artist biographies. In recent years, the book shop struggled to stay afloat amid Midtown’s rising rents. After the store announced that it was closing, Miranda leapt to action.
He first launched a Twitter campaign two years back to rally support for the store to stay in business. In January 2018, he took his support to the next level and purchased the store with three collaborators from “Hamilton.”
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Miranda’s Post-College Pad in Inwood
Let’s hope Miranda was not on the sixth floor of this prewar walk-up.
After graduating from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Miranda shared an apartment in Inwood with roommates at 5000 Broadway (at 212 Street), in a six-story prewar co-op building. Though Lin’s time there was short, the location stuck with him. 5000 Broadway Productions became the name of his production company.
We kinda get why he called this his “angsty poetry spot.”
At the time while writing “In the Heights,” Lin would drive through Fort Tryon Park, a place he’s referred as his “angsty poetry spot.” And when he wasn’t working on “In the Heights,” Lin was back at his alma mater, Hunter College High School, as an English teacher.
Coogan’s, El Nuevo Caridad, and More Favorites in Washington Heights
In the opening song of “In the Heights,” Usnavi, one of the main characters, declares, “The whole hood is struggling, times are tight.” In those eight words, Usnavi sums up life in the neighborhood. Although places in the play like Daniela’s hair salon, the Rosario’s cab company, and Usnavi’s bodega are fictional, they’re based on actual places.
Coogan’s is a Washington Heights institution, where the Mirandas are regulars.
Just as Usnavi said, many of Miranda’s favorite spots in Washington Heights have suffered due to rising rents. This includes the Latin American and Asian Fusion spot Hispaniola on 181st and Cabrini, which closed in 2010. More recently, the Irish pub Coogan’s — both a neighborhood institution and favorite spot for the Miranda family — has struggled to stay afloat due to rising rents.
El Nuevo Caridad is a popular Dominican joint. People come for pollo guisado oand homestyle flavor.
Thankfully, many of Lin’s favorite spots in the Heights do remain. These include the Dominican restaurant Mamajuana Cafe on Dyckman Street and El Nuevo Caridad, a Latin café on Broadway and 172nd Street. He loves the morir soñando, a frothy beverage made from evaporated milk, orange juice, and sugar.
Where “In the Heights” Was Staged
“In the Heights” debuted at the Richard Rogers Theatre, an NYC location now synonymous with Miranda’s plays.
After years of revisions, “In the Heights” made it to the off-Broadway theater the BAC (Baryshnikov Arts Center) on 37th Street in 2007. The show then moved to the Richard Rodgers Theatre and officially opened on March 9, 2008 — fulfilling Miranda’s childhood dream of writing and starring in a Broadway musical. The Richard Rogers Theatre is now home to “Hamilton.”
The People’s Improv Theater
Perhaps not as classy as the Richard Rogers Theatre, the People’s Improv Theater was where Miranda mastered his freestyle skills.
After “In the Heights” closed, Miranda honed his freestyle skills, founding the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme. Among its members were Chris Jackson, who appeared in “In the Heights,” and played George Washington in “Hamilton.” The group performed frequently at the People’s Improv Theater, more colloquially called the PIT, on West 24th Street in the Flatiron District.
Real-Life “Hamilton” Locations in NYC
Alexander Hamilton, like Lin-Manuel Miranda, lived uptown.
Many of the places frequented by Alexander Hamilton and referenced by Miranda in the musical are real places in New York City. This includes the Hamilton Grange in Harlem at 414 W. 141st St., a house Alexander commissioned for his wife, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, and their eight children. Fraunces Tavern on Pearl Street was the site of an 1804 dinner attended by Hamilton and Aaron Burr just a week before their duel. Hamilton and his son Philip went to school at Columbia University (then King’s College), and he and his wife are buried at Trinity Church.
More than 200 years after Hamilton and Burr ate and drank there, Fraunces Tavern still stands on the corner of Pearl Street in the Financial District.
More importantly, perhaps, you can also visit the Public Theater on Lafayette Street, where Hamilton debuted in February 2015, as well as the Richard Rodgers Theatre, its current home. To get inside the latter, you’ll have to shell out upwards of $300 per ticket.
And here he is again at the Richard Rogers Theatre.
Where in NYC Does Lin-Manuel Miranda Live?
Miranda is clearly a sucker for those Hudson River views. Can you blame him?
Miranda, like Alexander Hamilton, has settled with his family uptown. In 2017, he and his wife, Vanessa Nadal, purchased a pair of co-op units at Castle Village at 141 Cabrini Boulevard, a mid-century, high-rise apartment complex. Although details on the interiors are scarce, the apartment is sure to have stunning Hudson River views, similar to his childhood home.
Fort Tryon Park, which Miranda has always loved for its fresh air, is now where he and his wife celebrate Valentine’s Day. For a few years now, the couple have enjoyed a low-key, romantic dinner at the park’s New Leaf restaurant.
Where Are You Mostly Like to Spot Miranda in NYC?
In an episode of “Billy on the Street,” Miranda and comedian Billy Eichner bombarded strangers with jokes near East 23rd Street and Madison Square Park. That could be you!
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[This post has been updated and republished.]
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