Harlem gospel concert: plan your visit

Getting there by subway

The closest subway stop is 145th Street, on the A, B, C and D lines, where entrances sit at each corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 145th Street. The concert address is 420 West 145th Street, a short walk west along the same street. Expect stairs between the street and the platforms. Come up at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 145th Street and walk west, away from the avenue. If you arrive with a map app open, search for the street address rather than a church name.

Which trains stop there

The A and D stop at 145th Street at all times, the C stops there except late at night, and the B runs on weekdays only. Wednesday is a weekday, so all four lines should serve the station, though planned work can change that. Don't confuse it with the separate 145th Street station on Broadway, which the 1 train serves. Check the MTA's trip planner on the day and leave a margin for delays, because an hour-long concert with a 25-minute early arrival leaves little slack. If a train is cancelled, take the next one or switch to a taxi for the last stretch rather than arriving late.

• A and D: all times
• C: all times except late nights
• B: weekdays only

The address and the meeting point

The concert location is 420 West 145th Street, New York, NY 10031. That is the address of Convent Avenue Baptist Church, whose entrance is on Convent Avenue, according to the church's own website, and it lies inside the Hamilton Heights Historic District, a New York City landmark district. Guests are asked to be at the meeting point no later than 25 minutes before the concert starts. Your confirmation carries that point, so read it the night before rather than relying on the street address alone, and save it to your phone.

Timing: Wednesdays and the start time

The concert takes place on Wednesdays and lasts 60 minutes. Each date on the booking calendar lists its start time, and your confirmation repeats it. Plan for the whole outing to take well over an hour once you add the walk, the 25-minute early arrival and the trip back. You can cancel for free until 24 hours before, so book as soon as your Wednesday is settled and still change your mind. Reserve now, pay later means you pay nothing when you book. If the date you want is unavailable, try the following Wednesday, because the concert runs every Wednesday.

Access and wheelchair users

The concert is marked wheelchair accessible. Getting to it is the harder part. When last checked, the 145th Street A, B, C and D station did not appear on the MTA's list of accessible stations, and the MTA asks riders to check its elevator and escalator status page before they travel. A taxi or ride-hail to the church door avoids the stairs. If you have specific access needs, ask the operator through your booking before you go, and do it well ahead rather than on the day. Arriving by taxi also removes the walk from the station and the stairs at the platform, which matters in bad weather as well as for access.

What to wear

Formal clothes are not expected, but remember where you are. Neat, comfortable clothes and shoes you can walk in suit the day. The Sunday service tour described on this site bans sandals and flip-flops, and following the same standard is a safe rule for any church visit. Layers help: you will walk from the subway in whatever the weather is doing and then sit still for an hour. Take a bag small enough to keep on your lap or at your feet, and leave bulky luggage at your hotel, since seating in a place of worship has little room for it.

Phones, photos and manners

Treat the hour as you would a service. Silence your phone, keep cameras away unless the singers or ushers invite photos, and stay in your seat through the programme. NBC New York reported that at one Harlem church visitors are not allowed to take photos or leave during the sermon. A concert has no sermon, but the principle holds: you are a guest in someone else's place of worship, and the congregation's rules come before your pictures. Greet the ushers, follow their directions and keep conversation low before the music begins.

Cash and the collection

Guests mention that a collection is taken during the hour and suggest bringing a little cash. Giving is your choice. Small notes are easier than a card at a church, and a gift helps keep a historic building running, a point NBC New York's report made about visitors in general: they fill pews and help churches stay afloat. Decide in advance how much you are comfortable giving, so that you are not searching your wallet while the choir sings.

Planning the whole outing

Work backwards from the start time on your booking calendar. Allow for the subway ride, the walk from 145th Street, an arrival at least 25 minutes before the music and the 60 minutes of the concert itself. After the hour, allow time to walk back to the station and to check the MTA's live service for your return trip. Because the sequence is fixed and the start time is not, build your day around the concert rather than squeezing it in between other bookings.

Before the concert: Hamilton Grange

If you reach Hamilton Heights with time to spare, Hamilton Grange National Memorial is close by at 414 West 141st Street. It is the house Alexander Hamilton commissioned in 1800, and the National Park Service runs it. All visits, including tours, are free, and the site is open Wednesday to Sunday during the day. Its hours are daytime hours, so check the NPS page against your concert start time before you plan to fit it in, and keep the visit short so that you are not hurrying to the church.

Read next: Hamilton Heights around the concert

Who this isn't for

Anyone who wants to photograph the singers should pick something else. If you need step-free travel all the way to the door, the subway leg is a problem and you will want a taxi. And if you want a full church service with a sermon, this concert isn't one; the buyer's guide covers the Sunday option, which ends in a real service. If you can't be there 25 minutes early on a Wednesday, pick another date.

Read next: Harlem gospel concert: which to book