Upper Midtown NYC

Upper Midtown, New York City

Sights in Upper Midtown

Upper Midtown, on the eastern side of Manhattan, is an area with churches, synagogues, museums and grand hotels. You can find some cutting-edge skyscrapers here and pockets of expensive residences. It was once the home of the rich and famous, such as the Astor and Vanderbilt.

In the 1950’s, the first of many trend-setting skyscrapers was built in Upper Midtown. More was to follow, changing the neighborhood from a largely residential to one of upscale offices.

American Folk Art Museum

American Folk Art Museum is a museum in the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is the first free-standing museum to be built in New York City since 1966.

The building of the American Folk Art Museum was designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien & Associates. The museum was opened in 2001. The façade of the museum is covered with panels of white tombasil, a white bronze alloy.

The American Folk Art Museum is spread over eight stories totaling 30,000 square feet of exhibition space. In addition to its main galleries at West 53rd Street, the museum retains the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Lincoln Square.

How to reach the American Folk Art Museum

The American Folk Art Museum is at 45 West 53rd Street. Take the E or V train to the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station. Walk west along West 53rd Street. The American Folk Art Museum is located on the right side of the street right after the Museum of Modern Art.

Beekman Place


Beekman Place is a historical residential neighborhood in the Upper Midtown part of Manhattan, New York City. It is a two-block enclave developed into townhouses and small apartments in the 1920’s. This exclusive neighborhood was the home of several famous personalities including Gloria Vanderbilt, Rex Harrison, Irving Berlin and a number of the Rockefeller clan.

Among the developments at Beekman Place includes Turtle Bay Gardens, with its restored brownstone houses from the 1860’s behind a lovely Italianate garden. Film stars Tyrone Power and Katharine Hepburn had their homes here.

How to reach Beekman Place

Take the 6 train to the 51st Street subway station. Walk east along East 51st Street until you reach Beekman Place at the end of it.

Bloomingdale’s

Bloomingdale’s is a chain of upscale American department stores owned by Macy’s, Inc. Its Manhattan flagship store is located on 59th Street and Lexington Avenue. During Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to New York City in the 1970s, traffic had to be reversed on Lexington Avenue so the Queen could exit her vehicle on its right side and enter the store by its main entrance.

Bloomingdale's, New York City

Altogether, Bloomingdale’s presently has 36 stores across the United States. It is at the same average price level with Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom, and slightly below that of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Barneys New York.

Bloomingdale’s was started in 1861 by two brothers, Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale, selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions’ Shop on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. They were the sons of Benjamin Bloomingdale, a Bavarian-born salesman who had lived in North Carolina and Kansas, and settled in New York City. The Bloomingdales opened their East Side Bazaar in 1872, selling a variety of garments and European fashions. As the business grew, it moved in 1886 to 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, anticipating the northern movement of New York’s upper and middle classes. By the 1920s, the store covered the entire city block.

How to reach Bloomingdale’s

The store address is at 1000 3rd Avenue. You can enter it from both 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Take the 4, 5 or 6 train to the 59th Street – Lexington Avenue station. You emerge from the subway within a short walk to the entrance of Bloomingdales at Lexington Avenue.

Central Synagogue

The Central Synagogue, also called Congregation Ahavath Chesed, is the main place of worship for the Jewish community in the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It holds the distinction of being the oldest building continuously used as a synagogue in New York City.

Central Synagogue, New York City
Central Synagogue, New York City Author: Jim.henderson (public domain)

The Central Synagogue was built in 1872 in the Moorish Revival style. It was designed by Selesian-born Henry Fernbach, the first prominent Jewish architect in America. Fernbach based his design on the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary.

There were some opposition to the design of the synagogue when it was constructed, with the criticism coming from those who felt that its outlandish design would inspire envy and go against conformity. Nevertheless in later years it came to be well regarded, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on 15 May, 1975.

How to reach the Central Synagogue

The Central Synagogue is located at 652 Lexington Avenue. Take the E or V train to the Lexington Avenue/53rd Street subway station. Walk north along Lexington Avenue until you see the Central Synagogue on the left side, between 54th and 55th Streets. At time of writing (March 2010), there’s a Subway sandwiches restaurant right next to it.

Citigroup Center

The Citigroup Center, formerly called the Citicorp Center, is a distinctive and one of the tallest skyscrapers in New York City. It is located at 53rd Street between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue in midtown Manhattan. What makes the 59-floor, 915-foot (279 metre) skyscraper stand out in New York City is the 45° angled top and its unique stilt-style base. The 45-degree top was originally intended to contain solar panels to provide energy – an idea that was eventually dropped. The Citigroup center was designed by architect Hugh Stubbins Jr. for Citibank and was completed in 1977.

Citigroup Center, New York City
Citigroup Center, New York City Photo: Johan Burati, public domain

From the very beginning, the Citigroup Center was an engineering challenge. The northwest corner of the proposed building site was occupied by St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. Although the church allowed Citicorp to demolish the old church and build the skyscraper, it set one condition: a new church has to be built on the same corner, with no connection to the Citicorp building and no columns passing through it. the St Peter’s Lutheran Church wanted to remain on the site of the new development, near one of the intersections. Architects wondered at the time if this demand was too much, and if the proposal could even work.

To ensure the condition set by the church was met, the Citigroup Center was built on four massive 114-foot (35-metre) tall columns, positioned at the center of each side of the building, rather than at the corners. This allows the northwest corner of the tower to cantilever 75 feet over the new church.

While the skyscraper was under construction, the structural engineer William LeMessurier discovered a potentially fatal flaw in the building’s construction: the skyscraper’s bolted joints were too weak to withstand 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts at specific angles, making the building unstable in a hurricane. He decided to inform Citicorp of the problem, and convinced them to get a crew of welders to repair the problem without informing the public. It was only 20 years after the building was completed that the issue surfaced in the New York Times. Although LeMessurier was criticized for not revealing the problem to the public for two decades, his act of informing Citicorp is regarded today as an example of ethical behavior in several engineering textbooks. Today the Citigroup Center is considered one of the most structurally sound skyscrapers in the world.

How to reach the Citigroup Center

The Citigroup Center is located at 153 East 53rd Street.

Fuller Building

Fuller Building is a historical skyscraper in the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It belonged to the Fuller Construction Company which relocated here in 1929 after they moved out from the Flatiron Building, also known as the Fuller Building during their tenure there.

Fuller Buiding, New York City
Fuller Buiding, New York City. Author: Jim.henderson (public domain)

The Fuller Building is 40 stories tall and has a height of 150 meters. The exterior is decorated with Art Deco features which is fashionable during the time of its construction. Today the Fuller Building is home to several important New York galleries.

How to reach the Fuller Building

The Fuller Building is at 41-51 East 57th Street. Take the 4, 5 or 6 train to the 59th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station. Walk south along Lexington Avenue until intersection with East 57th Street. Turn right, walk west along East 57th Street until you reach the Fuller Building on your right.

General Electric Building

General Electric Building General Electric Building is a 50-storey skyscraper in Upper Midtown, Manhattan, New York City. The 640-feet-tall (195-meter) building is located at 570 Lexington Avenue, and should not be confused with the GE Building at Rockefeller Center.

General Electric Building
General Electric Building. Author: Eric E Yang (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

The General Electric Building was built in 1931, and was originally known as the RCA Victor Building. It was designed by architect John W. Cross of the architectural firm of Cross and Cross. The design complements the design of the St Bartholomew’s Church next to it. It has a spiky pinnacle that is supposed to symbolize electric waves.

How to reach the General Electric Building

Take the 6 train to the 51st Street subway station, and the General Electric Building is right above the subway station.

IBM Building

IBM Building is one of the modern architecture found in the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. This 41-storey skyscraper, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes & Associates, was completed in 1983. The building is 603 feet (183 meters) tall. It has a cantilevered corner facing the intersection of East 57th Street and Madison Avenue.

As with many of the New York City skyscrapers built after the 1961 Zoning Resolution came into effect, the IBM Building was permitted a square footage that exceeded legal limitation by providing for public open space. Its atrium, known as the Garden Plaza, has bamboo trees and chairs for the public.

The IBM Building was sold by IBM to E.J. Minskoff Equities in 1994. Today it is known simply as 590 Madison Avenue.

How to reach the IBM Building

Take the F train to the 57th Street subway station. Walk east along West 57th Street until it intersects 5th Avenue. Continue along East 57th Street past Tiffany, and you will arrive at the IBM Building on your right, at the intersection with Madison Avenue. At time of writing (March 2010), watch retailer Tourneau occupies the ground outlet facing East 57th Street. It has a row of clocks showing the local time of different cities.

Lever House

Lever House is a modern structure in Upper Midtown, Manhattan. It is one of the most famous glass-box skyscrapers in the city, breaking new architectural gound on Park Avenue with its glass walls that reflects the neighborhood skyscrapers.

Located at 390 Park Avenue, Lever House was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The 24-storey skyscraper stands at 92 meters and was completed in 1952.

Lever House, New York City
Lever House, New York City. Author: David Shankbone (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 Generic)

Lever House features a 24-storey blue-green heat resistant glass and stainless steel curtain-wall. The curtain-wall reduces the cost of operating and maintenance. As the curtain wall is completely sealed with no operating windows, it reduces dust coming in from the city into the building.

Lever House was designated an official landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1982. However, by then the blue-green glass façade has been dimmed by years of harsh weather conditions. Water seepage also caused the carbon steel to rust and expand. Conditions further deteriorated when Unilever – the parent company of Lever Brothers – moved much of its offices to Greenwich, Connecticut.

In 1998, Lever House was acquited by real estate magnates Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs. The new owners kicked off a restoration program, replacing the deteriorated steel subframe with concealed aluminum glazing channels. All the glass panels were replaced with new ones that match the original in color, yet conform to today’s energy codes.

How to reach Lever House

Take the E or V train to the Lexington Avenue/53rd Street subway station. Walk west along East 53rd Street until intersection with Park Avenue. Turn right, north north along Park Avenue until you see Lever House on your left, between 53rd and 54th Streets.

Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art, also referred to as MoMA, is an prominent art museum in Midtown Manhattan, in New York City. It is located on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. It is one of the most influential institutions in the development and collecting of modernist art. Its collection includes architectural works as well as designs, drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books, film and more. The MoMA library holds over 300,000 books as well as individual files of over 70,000 artists.

New York Times Building

The New York Times Building is a skyscraper in the Times Square area of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Planning for the building began in 2001. It was constructed from 2003 to 2007, with tenants began moving in around mid 2007.

Front facade of the New York Times Building
Front facade of the New York Times Building Author: Nightscream (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5)

The New York Times Building is cruciform in plan, and built with a steel frame occupying a 80,000 square foot site. It is 748 feet (228 meters) tall from street level to roof. However its exterior curtain wall extends a further 92 feet (28 meters) to make it appear 840 feet (256 meters) tall. In addition, it has a mast that brings its height to 1,046 feet (319 meters).

At time of writing (March 2010), the New York Times Building is still the third tallest building in New York City after the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, but will soon be overtaken by 1 World Trade Center.

The official website for the building is at newyorktimesbuilding.com

How to reach the New York Times Building

Take the A, C or E train to the 42nd Street / Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station. Walk south along Eighth Avenue, and you will reach the New York Times Building after the 41st Street intersection.

NY Paley Center for Media

NY Paley Center for Media is a media museum in Upper Midtown, Manhattan. It often holds exhibitions, screenings, live events and broadcasts. In this unique museum visitors get to listen to news and its wide collection of entertainment and sports documentaries, collected from the earliest days of radio and television to present time.

Whether you are a pop fan looking for early and obscure footage of the Beatles or Elvis Presley, or a sports fan looking for old footage of the Olympic Games ceremonies, you can find them at the NY Paley Center for Media. History students can find extensive footage on World War II. In all, the library has over 50,000 programs. There are private as well as large screening areas where retrospectives of artists, directors and topics are shown.

The NY Paley Center for Media was the idea of William S. Paley, former head of CBS TV network. It opened in 1975 as the Museum of Broadcasting, at East 53rd Street. It was so popular that it had to relocate into its present home, a high-tech $50 million building that looks like an antique radio, in 1991, and was given its present name.

How to reach the NY Paley Center for Media

The NY Paley Center for Media is now located at 25 West 52nd Street. Take the E or V train to the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station. Walk south along Fifth Avenue until intersection with 52nd Street. Turn right, walk west along West 52nd Street until you reach the NY Paley Center for Media on your right.

Olympic Tower

Olympic Tower is a 51-storey skyscraper in Upper Midtown, Manhattan. It is located between East 51st Street and East 52nd Street. The building is 620 feet (189 meters) tall. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and constructed in 1975. The Olympic Tower contains condominium apartments as well as office and retail space. The condominiums here are some of the most luxurious in the world. One of its occupants is Adnan Khashoggi, who even installed a swimming pool into his.

Photo of Olympic Tower
Olympic Tower, New York City Author: David Shankbone (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

How to reach Olympic Tower

Olympic Tower is at 645 Fifth Avenue. Take the E or V train to the Fifth Avenue-53rd Street subway station. Walk south along Fifth Avenue until you see Olympic Tower on the left, after the intersection with East 51st Street.

Paley Park

Paley Park is a small park in Upper Midtown, in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. It was created in memory of Samuel Paley, 1875-1963. The park was designed by the landscape architectural firm of Zion & Breen, and opened on 23 Mary, 1967.

Paley Park, New York City
Paley Park, New York City. Author: Jim.henderson (public domain)

Paley Park measures only 4,200 square feet. Much of it is paved over, with bots of flowering plants as the greenery. There are some furniture for people to take a rest. There is also a wheelchair ramp for the use of the disabled.

Paley Park used to be next next door to the Paley Center for Media before the center moved to its present location.

How to reach Paley Park

Paley Park is at 3 East 53rd Street.

Park Avenue Plaza

Park Avenue Plaza is a 45-storey skyscraper in the neighborhood of Upper Midtown in Manhattan, New York City. Located next to Lever House, it has a glass prism that houses a soaring atrium. It was designed by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

Park Avenue Plaza is 175 meters tall. The ground floor has a through-block glass-walled atrium. Just as with Lever House, Park Avenue Plaza has a glass façade. In fact, it appears like a more modern version of Lever House.

How to reach Park Avenue Plaza

Take the E or V train to the Lexington Avenue-53rd Street subway station. Walk east along East 52nd Street. Park Avenue Plaza is on the right side of East 52nd Street after the intersection with Park Avenue.

Plaza Hotel

The Plaza Hotel is a luxury hotel in Manhattan, New York City. It is a 19-storey building on the west side of Grand Army Plaza, from which it got its name. It extends along Central Park South. On the east side of Grand Army Plaza is Fifth Avenue. It was designed in the French Renaissance chateau-style by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, and built at a cost of $17 million. It opened on 1 October 1907.

The Plaza is renowned for groundbreaking events that took place there, including the September 1985 Plaza Accord, signed at The Plaza among the foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, West Germany, France and Britain, to lower the value of the US Dollar against the currencies of the other signataries. The Plaza was where The Beatles stayed on their first visit to the United States in 1964.

Numerous notable personalities have owned The Plaza. Conrad Hilton bought it for $7.4 million in 1943, and spent another $6 million to refurnish it. He sold it when he bought the Waldorf-Astoria. Donald Trump bought it for $407.5 million in 1988, comparing it to the Mona Lisa, and saying that he did it not for economical reasons. He sold it for $325 million in 1995. During his tenure, he appeared in a cameo of Home Alone 2, in 1992, shot in The Plaza.

The Plaza last changed hands in 2004, for $675 million. The new owner, El Ad Properties of Manhattan, closed it for renovations on 30 April 2005. The reopening is scheduled for 1 January 2008, when the Plaza will offer 130 hotel rooms and 152 private condo hotel units. In May 2007, one of those units sold for a record $50 million.

The Plaza was designated National Historic Landmark, in 1986, making it only one of the two hotels in New York City – the other being the Waldorf-Astoria, to receive such a recognition.

Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island is an island on the East River. It is counted as part of the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was formerly known as Welfare Island, from 1921 to 1973, and as Blackwell’s Island, after the Blackwell farmhouse, before that. Roosevelt Island is located near to Manhattan, and is part of the borough of Manhattan and New York County.

Roosevelt Island is roughly two miles long. It covers an area on only 0.279 square miles, and has a population of around 12,000. Most of the people living in Roosevelt Island stay in rental properties. The master plan for Roosevelt Island, drawn up in 1969 by the New York State Urban Development Corporation, forbade the use of automobiles on the island. Residents are to park their car in a large garage and use public transport.

Although located directly under Queensboro Bridge, it is not accessible from the bridge itself. It is connected to Manhattan via the Roosevelt Island Tramway and the New York City subway. The Roosevelt Island station, served by the F train, is 100 feet below ground, one of the deepest station in the New York City subway system.

Today much of Roosevelt Island remains car free although the MTA Bus operates a network of buses on the island.

How to reach Roosevelt Island

Take the F train to the Roosevelt Island subway station. From there, you can take the bus anywhere on the island.

Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury specialty store in Upper Midtown, Manhattan, New York City. It was originally founded as Saks & Company by Andrew Saks in 1902. The present entity is the result of a merger with Gimbel Brothers, Inc. in 1923.

Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue. Author: David Shankbone (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 Generic)

The Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store is located 611 5th Avenue. The store is open Mondays to Saturdays from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, and on Sundays from noon to 7:00 pm.

How to reach Saks Fifth Avenue

Take the E or V train to the 5th Avenue/53rd Street subway station. Walk south along Fifth Avenue until you reach Saks Fifth Avenue on your left.

Seagram Building

Seagram Building is a Modernist skyscraper in the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It has 38 stories and stands at 516 feet (157 meters) tall. Completed in 1958, the Seagram Building is regarded as a masterpiece of corporate modernism. The International style in which it was built had tremendous impact on American architecture.

Seagram Building, New York City
Seagram Building, New York City. Author: Max Hermus (public domain

The owner of the Seagram Building was Samuel Bronfman, the late head of Seagram distillers. He had intended to erect an ordinary commercial building when his daughter Phyllis Lambert, persuaded him to use Mies van der Rohe, to design the most modern building of its time. The result is a skyscraper that consists of two rectangles of bronze and glass.

Within the Seagram Building is the Four Seasons Restaurant, another New York City landmark. Its interiors have been maintained unchanged since it opened in 1959.

How to reach the Seagram Building

Take the 6 train to the 51st Street subway station. Walk west along East 51st Street and you will see the Seagram Building on your right.

Sony Building

Sony Building is a skyscraper in Upper Midtown, New York City. Its address is 550 Madison Avenue, and it is located between 55th Street and 56th Street.

Sony Building, New York City
Sony Building, New York City. Author: Jim.henderson (public domain)

The Sony Building is 197 meters (647 feet) tall, and has 37 stories. The building has an enormous arched entranceway that is seven stories tall. But most famous of all, is its ornamental roof, often compared to a Chippendale cupboard.

The Sony Building originally belonged to AT&T;, which built in between 1978 and 1984. It was leased to Sony 1992, and then in 2002 Sony bought it from AT&T; for US$236 million, equivalent to $315 per square foot.

How to reach the Sony Building

Take the E or V subway trains to the 5th Avenue/53rd Street Station. Walk east along East 53rd Street until intersection with Madison Avenue. Turn left, walk north along Madison Avenue until you see the Sony Building on your left, after the intersection with East 55th Street.

St. Bartholomew’s Church

St Bartholomew’s Church , which is popularly known as St Bart’s, is an Episcopal Church in the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is housed in a Byzantine structure of pinkish brick with ornate details. The church, located at 109 East 50th Street, has an open terrace and a polychromed gold dome.

St Bartholomew's Church, New York City
St Bartholomew’s Church, New York City. Author: FlickrLickr (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

St Bartholomew’s Church was built in 1919. The original design was done by Bertram Goodhue. The design had to be modified so as to accommodate the French Romaneque entrance portico brought over from the previous church which was on Madison Avenue. The entrance portico were paid for by the family of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, and was designed by Stanford White of the firm of McKim, Mead and White in 1902-03.

St Bartholomew’s Church is well known for its concert programs and its theater group. Three productions are mounted every year.

How to reach St Bartholomew’s Church

St Bart’s is located at the corner of East 50th Street and Park Avenue. Take the 6 train to the 51st Street subway station. Walk west along East 51st Street until intersection with Park Avenue. Turn left, walk south down Park Avenue, and you will see St Bart’s on your left.

St Patrick’s Cathedral

The St Patrick’s Cathedral, at 50th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, is the largest decorated Neo-Gothic style Catholic cathedral in North America. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. The St Patrick’s Cathedral is located just across from Rockefeller Center.

St Patrick's Cathedral
Interior of St Patrick’s Cathedral Photo: hereiam_now, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License

The Diocese of New York was created in 1808. It was made an Archdiocese by Pope Pius IX on 19 July 1850. Following that, Archbishop John Joseph Hughes announced his intention to build a new cathedral, to replace the old St Patrick’s at Prince and Mott Streets. Work started on the new cathedral in 1858. It was designed by James Renwick Jr in the Gothic Revival Style.

The American Civil War interrupted construction of the cathedral, but work resumed in 1865 and it was completed in 1878. The towers on the west facade were added in 1888. Work on Lady Chapel began in 1901. Its stained glass windows were made in England between 1912 and 1930, when the great organ was installed.

St Patrick’s Cathedral and its associated buildings were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

How to reach St Patrick’s Cathedral

Take the E or V train to the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street Station. Walk south along 5th Avenue until intersection with East 51st Street. You will see St Patrick’s Cathedral on the left side of 5th Avenue right after the intersection.

St. Thomas Church

St Thomas Church is an Episcopal parish church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is located at the corner of 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue, in the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan. The carvings inside it were the work of sculptor Lee Lawrie.

St Thomas Church, New York City
St Thomas Church, New York City Author: Jim.henderson (Creative Commons CC0)

The present St Thomas Church is the fourth building of this parish and the second one on the same site. The present structure was erected between 1909 and 1914 to replace the one which burned down in 1905. The previous building was the setting for many glittering high-society weddings, the most lavish of which was the wedding of heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt to the English Duke of Marlborough.

The present St Thomas Church building is of limestone. It was built in the French-Gothic style, with a single asymmetrical church tower and an off-center nave. These are the architectural solutions to fit the church into the awkward corner position over which it was constructed.

Inside the St Thomas Church are richly carved shimmering white screens located behind the alter. They were the work of Bertram Goodhue and sculptor Lee Lawrie. The carvings in the choir stalls date to the 1920’s. The carvings depict modern inventions such as the telephone, and the likeness of Presidents Roosevelt, Wilson and sculptor Lee Lawrie himself.

How to reach the St Thomas Church

St Thomas Church is located at 1 West 53rd Street. Take the E or V train to the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station. You will see the church at the intersection of West 53rd Street with Fifth Avenue.

Sutton Place

Sutton Place is a posh neighborhood within the Upper Midtown of Manhattan, New York City. It comprises elegant low-rise apartments and townhouses by noted architects. Until the rich and famous descended on this area, Sutton Place used to be filled with factories and tenements.

Photo of Sutton Place
Apartments lining the south side of East 57th Street, between 1st Avenue and Sutton Place, New York City Author: Roy Googin (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Today 3 Sutton Square is the residence of the secretary-general of the United Nations. The neighborhood also includes Riverview Terrace, a private street with brownstone houses. There is a small park at 55th Street which goes all the way to 57th Street. From here, you can get views of the Queensboro Bridge.

Despite neighborhood protest, Bridgemarket opened here in 2000. It is located under the vaults of the Queensboro Bridge. It includes a Terence Conran Shop and a Food Emporium.

How to reach Sutton Place

Sutton Place is a distance from the nearest subway station, which is the 59th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station served by the 4, 5 and 6 trains. Walk east along East 58th Street and you will eventually reach Sutton Place before the East River.

Tiffany

Tiffany & Co. is an upscale jewelry and silverware company with its flagship store along Fifth Avenue, in Upper Midtown, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young, and was originally known as Tiffany & Young, and operated as a stationery goods store. It got the present name in 1853 when Charles Tiffany took control, and moved the company’s emphasis to jewelry.

Tiffany, New York City
Tiffany, New York City Author: Dmadeo (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5)

The flagship store at 727 Fifth Avenue opened in 1940. It is at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. The Tiffany blue, as shown in the company name above, is a registered trademark used on all its boxes.

How to reach Tiffany

Take the F train to the 57th Street subway station. Walk east along West 57th Street until it intersects 5th Avenue. Tiffany is on the other side of Fifth Avenue, on the right side of East 57th Street.

Trump Tower

Trump Tower is a 58-storey skyscraper in Upper Midtown, Manhattan, New York City. The 664-foot (202-meter) skyscraper houses a mix of upscale apartments and offices. It was designed by Der Scutt of the architectural firm of Swanke, Hayden, Connel & Partners, and was the tallest reinforced concrete shear-wall/core structure at the time of its completion in 1983.

Photo of Trump Tower
Trump Tower, New York City Author: Martin Dürrschnabel (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5)

Trump Tower is a flamboyant monument to the lofty ego of its owner, the developer Donald Trump. In normal circumstances, a building of such a height would not have been permitted for such a small site. However, by constructing a through-block arcade, making use of the air space of upscale jewelry store Tiffany next door, and designing an atrium which is a public space, Trump was able to add to the permitted height.

Trump Tower has a five-story atrium which includes a waterfall and a pedestrian bridge over the waterfall’s pool. The skyscraper is the setting for the NBC television reality show, The Apprentice, and the famous boardroom where one participant is fired in each episode is also located in the building.

Trump Tower is also the official residence of the winners of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants, all of which are co-owned by Donald Trump.

How to reach Trump Tower

Trump Tower is at 725 Fifth Avenue. Take the F train to the 57th Street subway station. Walk west along West 57th Street until you reach 5th Avenue. Cross the road, turn right, walk along 5th Avenue past Tiffany, and you will see Trump Tower on your left.

Villard Houses

Villard Houses are townhouses located opposite St Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. They were built by Henry Villard, the owner of New York Evening Post and founder of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Villard engaged the services of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White to design the townhouses, one of which for himself, and the rest put for sale.

Villard Houses comprise six four-story houses set around a central courtyard facing the street and the church. Villard took the house on the south wing, but financial problems besetting him eventually forced him to sell that house even before it was completed.

Villard Houses were owned by the Roman Catholic Church. When the church outgrew its space, the houses were very nearly demolished, if not for the rescue provided by the Helmsley chain which purchased air rights for the 51-storey Helmsley Palace Hotel (now the New York Palace Hotel). The center wing of Villard Houses is now the formal entrance of the hotel.

How to reach Villard Houses

Villard Houses are at 457 Madison Avenue. Take the E or V train to the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station. Walk east along East 53rd Street until intersection with Madison Avenue. Turn right, walk south along Madison Avenue until you reach Villard Houses on your left. They are located across from St Patrick’s Cathedral on your right.

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is one of the most famous luxury hotel in New York. since it began operation in 1893, it has moved once. Its original site on Fifth Avenue is now occupied by the Empire State Building.

How to reach the Waldorf-Astoria

The Waldorf-Astoria is located at 301 Park Avenue. Take the 6 train to the 51st Street subway station. Walk west along East 51st Street until intersection with Park Avenue. Turn left, walk south along Park Avenue until you see the Waldorf Astoria on your left, at the corner of Park Avenue and East 50th Street.

Queensboro Bridge

Queensboro Bridge Queensboro Bridge is a cantilever bridge across the East River in New York City. It connects to 59th Street on the Manhattan end (hence its other name, the 59th Street Bridge), to Queens Boulevard, in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. The bridge passes over Roosevelt Island. It carries New York State Route 25.

Photos of Queensboro Bridge
Queensboro Bridge, New York City Author: M/O/ Tillema (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Construction of the Queensboro Bridge began in 1903, but the bridge was only completed in 1909. It has a total length of 3,724 feet (1,135.2 meters). The bridge has a width of 100 feet (30 meters). It has a maximum clearance of 130 feet (40 meters) above the river. The clearance is 12 feet from road level.

After years of use, the Queensboro Bridge had suffered from tremendous decay and corrosion, requiring a renovation work that began in 1987, and is still in progress. So far, the renovation work has cost US$300 million.

How to reach the Queensboro Bridge

Take the 4, 5 or 6 train to the 59th Street – Lexington Avenue subway station. Walk east along East 59th Stret until you reach the Queensboro Bridge.

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