Abstract: East Harlem Murals in New York City, USA reflect the historical changes of the East Harlem neighborhood and the shaping process of local community memory. In the study of historical metropolises, this is a rare illustration not only of the generation of collective memory, but also of the value of folk paintings as an urban cultural heritage. Based on a field investigation in East Harlem, NY., this paper finds that these murals have recorded the "memory of the community" of East Harlem and contributed the "narrative identity" of local people. The nature of this interaction makes the social memory of neighborhood to become a kind of autobiographic memory.

Key words: East Harlem Murals in New York City, narrative identity, autobiographic memory, becoming culture heritage