Irving Place | |
Namesake | Battle of Lexington [1] |
---|---|
Maintained by | NYCDOT |
Length | 5.8 mi (9.3 km) [2] [3] |
Location | Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
South end | 14th Street in Gramercy Park |
Major junctions | Third Avenue Bridge in East Harlem |
North end | 131st Street in East Harlem |
East | Third Avenue |
West | Park Avenue |
Construction | |
Commissioned | 1832 |
Completion | 1836 |
Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along its 5.5-mile (8.9-kilometer), 110-block route, Lexington Avenue runs through Harlem, Carnegie Hill, the Upper East Side, Midtown, and Murray Hill to a point of origin that is centered on Gramercy Park. South of Gramercy Park, the axis continues as Irving Place from 20th Street to East 14th Street.
Lexington Avenue was not one of the streets included in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 street grid, so the addresses for cross streets do not start at an even hundred number, as they do with avenues that were originally part of the plan.
Both Lexington Avenue and Irving Place began in 1832 when Samuel Ruggles, a lawyer and real-estate developer, petitioned the New York State Legislature to approve the creation of a new north–south avenue between the existing Third and Fourth Avenues, between 14th and 30th Streets. Ruggles purchased land in the area and was developing it as a planned community of townhouses around a private park, which he called Gramercy Park. He was also developing property around Union Square and wanted the new road to improve the value of these tracts. The legislation was approved, and, as the owner of most of the land along the route of the new street, Ruggles was assessed for the majority of its cost. Ruggles named the southern section, below 20th Street, which opened in 1833, after his friend Washington Irving. The northern section, which opened three years later, in 1836, was named after the Battle of Lexington in the American Revolutionary War. [4] [5]
In 1899, Lexington Avenue was the location of the first arrest in New York City for speeding when a bicycle patrolman overtook cabdriver Jacob German, who had been racing down the avenue at the "reckless" speed of 12 mph (19 km/h). [6] The portion of Lexington Avenue above East 42nd Street was reconstructed at the same time as the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. The widened street and the subway line both opened on July 17, 1918. [7]
Portions of the avenue were widened in 1955, which required eminent domain takings of the facades of some structures along Lexington. [8]
Lexington Avenue has carried one-way (downtown) traffic since July 17, 1960. [9]
The 2007 New York City steam explosion sent a geyser of hot steam up from beneath the avenue at 41st Street, resulting in one death and more than 40 injuries.
Lexington Avenue runs one-way southbound for its entire length from 131st Street to 21st Street. Parallel to Lexington Avenue lies Park Avenue to its west and Third Avenue to its east. The avenue is largely commercial at ground level, with offices above. There are clusters of hotels in the 30s and 40s, roughly from the avenue's intersection with 30th Street through to its intersection with 49th Street, and apartment buildings farther north.
There are numerous structures designated as New York City Landmarks (NYCL), National Historic Landmarks (NHL), and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on Lexington Avenue. From south to north (in increasing address order), they include: [10] [11]
In contrast to Lexington Avenue, the six-block stretch of Irving Place from 14th to 20th Street at Gramercy Park carries two-way traffic and is decidedly local in nature. After the opening of Union Square in 1839, the Irving Place area became one of the most sought-after residential neighborhoods in the city, a situation which was only enhanced by the development of Gramercy Park to the north and Stuyvesant Square to the east. [5]
An assortment of restaurants and bars line Irving Place, including Pete's Tavern, New York's oldest surviving saloon, where O. Henry supposedly conceived of his short story "The Gift of the Magi", and which survived Prohibition disguised as a flower shop. Irving Plaza, on East 15th Street and Irving, hosts numerous concerts for both well-known and indie bands and draws a crowd almost every night. Another component of the avenue are the large apartment buildings which line the street from Gramercy Park to 17th Street. Also at 17th, a small bed-and-breakfast, the Inn at Irving Place, occupies two Greek Revival architecture townhouses built in 1840–1841 and renovated between 1991 and 1995.
Historically and architecturally significant are 47 and 49 Irving Place—the latter where Washington Irving is said to have lived, but did not [5] —which are part of the East 17th Street/Irving Place Historic District, and 19 Gramercy Park on the corner of 20th Street, part of the Gramercy Park Historic District.
Offices located on Irving Place include those of The Nation magazine, the New York branch of AMORC and the Seafarers and International House mission. [12] There are also a number of clinics and official city buildings along the street, including Washington Irving High School and the headquarters of the New York City Human Resources Administration. [12] The bottom of the street is anchored by the rear of the Zeckendorf Towers condominium apartment complex on the west side, and the Consolidated Edison Building on the east. [12]
The following buses use Lexington Avenue between the following streets (northbound buses run along Third Avenue): [13] [14] [15]
The IRT Lexington Avenue Line ( 4 , 5 , 6 , and <6> trains) of the New York City Subway runs under Lexington Avenue north of 42nd Street (at Grand Central–42nd Street station) to 125th Street. South of Grand Central, this subway line runs under Park Avenue, Park Avenue South, and Fourth Avenue until Astor Place. The line interchanges with the E , F , and <F> trains at Lexington Avenue/51st Street station and with the N , R , and W trains at Lexington Avenue/59th Street station. The Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station of the F and Q trains also has a stop at Lexington Avenue, but does not have a direct interchange with the Lexington Avenue Line. [16]
Lexington Avenue became part of a classic American cinematic moment in the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch in which Marilyn Monroe shot what would become her most famous scene. While standing on a subway grating outside the Loew's Lexington Theatre, her skirt billowed up from the wind underneath. While the footage showing the theatre in the background appeared in the finished film, the footage featuring the subway grate shot on September 15, 1954, on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 51st Street, was more of a publicity stunt; retakes were shot on a studio soundstage, and shots from both are seen in the film. [17]
This street was also featured in the film 1408 .
The street is referenced in the Elton John song "Island Girl", the first single from the album Rock of the Westies in 1976.
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, spanning the entire breadth of Midtown Manhattan, from Turtle Bay at the East River, to Hell's Kitchen at the Hudson River on the West Side. The street hosts some of New York's best known landmarks, including the headquarters of the United Nations, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, the New York Public Library Main Branch, Times Square, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Street, passing through Midtown, the Upper East Side, East Harlem, and Harlem. It is named after and arises from Madison Square, which is itself named after James Madison, the fourth President of the United States.
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world.
The Financial District of Lower Manhattan, also known as FiDi, is a neighborhood located on the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the West Side Highway on the west, Chambers Street and City Hall Park on the north, Brooklyn Bridge on the northeast, the East River to the southeast, and South Ferry and the Battery on the south.
The 96th Street station is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 96th Street in the Carnegie Hill and East Harlem neighborhoods of Manhattan, it is served by the 6 train at all times, the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction, and the 4 train during late nights.
The 103rd Street station is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 103rd Street in East Harlem, it is served by the 6 train at all times, the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction, and the 4 train during late nights.
The 116th Street station is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 116th Street in East Harlem, it is served by the 6 train at all times, the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction, and the 4 train during late nights.
Union Square is a historic intersection and surrounding neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City, United States, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century. Its name denotes that "here was the union of the two principal thoroughfares of the island". The current Union Square Park is bounded by 14th Street on the south, 17th Street on the north, and Union Square West and Union Square East to the west and east respectively. 17th Street links together Broadway and Park Avenue South on the north end of the park, while Union Square East connects Park Avenue South to Fourth Avenue and the continuation of Broadway on the park's south side. The park is maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Grand Central–42nd Street station is a major station complex of the New York City Subway. Located in Midtown Manhattan at 42nd Street between Madison and Lexington Avenues, it serves trains on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, the IRT Flushing Line and the 42nd Street Shuttle. The complex is served by the 4, 6, and 7 trains at all times; the 5 and 42nd Street Shuttle (S) trains at all times except late nights; the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction; and the <7> train during rush hours and early evenings in the peak direction.
The IRT Lexington Avenue Line is one of the lines of the A Division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in East Harlem. The line is served by the 4, 5, 6, and <6> trains.
Gramercy Park is the name of both a small, fenced-in private park and the surrounding neighborhood that is referred to also as Gramercy, in Manhattan in New York City.
The 23rd Street station is a local station on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 23rd Street, Broadway, and Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, it is served by the R train at all times except late nights, the W train on weekdays, the N train during late nights and weekends, and the Q train during late nights.
The Fifth Avenue–59th Street station is a station on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. Located under Grand Army Plaza near the intersection of 5th Avenue and 60th Street in Manhattan, it is served by the N train at all times, the W train on weekdays during the day, and the R train at all times except late nights.
50th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street runs eastbound from 12th Avenue, across the full width of the island, ending at Beekman Place and carries the M50 bus line, which returns on 49th Street. The following subway stations serve the street, west to east:
51st Street is a 1.9-mile (3.1 km) long one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, traveling between Eleventh Avenue on Manhattan's West Side and Avenue C on Manhattan's East Side. It forms a boundary between several neighborhoods and is sometimes considered the border between Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan.
18 Gramercy Park is a 19-story residential building in Manhattan, New York City, United States. Built as a hotel in 1927 and designed by the architectural firm Murgatroyd & Ogden, it was a women's temporary residence owned by The Salvation Army from 1963 to 2008. It was then known as the Parkside Evangeline. In 2010, The Salvation Army sold the building to Eastgate Realty for US$60 million. The investors were the Zeckendorf family and Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. In 2012, the building was redesigned by Robert A.M. Stern Architects as a luxury 16-unit condominium building.
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Further reading