59th Street (Manhattan)

Coordinates: 40°45′51″N 73°58′23″W / 40.7642908724°N 73.9730390°W / 40.7642908724; -73.9730390
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

40°45′51″N 73°58′23″W / 40.7642908724°N 73.9730390°W / 40.7642908724; -73.9730390

59th Street
Sutton Place

59th Street is a crosstown street in the

Columbus Avenue and Columbus Circle, where the Deutsche Bank Center
is located. While Central Park South is a bidirectional street, most of 59th Street carries one-way traffic.

59th Street forms the border between Midtown Manhattan and Upper Manhattan. North of 59th Street, the neighborhoods of the Upper West Side and Upper East Side continue on either side of Central Park. On the West Side, Manhattan's numbered avenues are renamed north of 59th Street: Eighth Avenue (at Columbus Circle) becomes Central Park West; Ninth Avenue is renamed Columbus Avenue; Tenth Avenue is renamed Amsterdam Avenue; and Eleventh Avenue becomes West End Avenue.

Description

59th Street forms the border between Midtown Manhattan and Upper Manhattan. The New York Times stated in 2004 that "Fifty-ninth Street stretches across Manhattan like a belt, with Central Park South as its fancy buckle."[1] As with numbered streets in Manhattan, Fifth Avenue separates 59th Street into "east" and "west" sections.[2]

59th Street is one-way westbound between the

Time Warner Center.[2]

The portion of the street forming the southern boundary of

Sixth Avenue, the Artisans' Gate at Seventh Avenue, and the Merchants' Gate at Columbus Circle.[2]

The section between

59th Street Bridge.[4] 59th Street continues east to York Avenue and Sutton Place, just short of the East River. The remaining two and a half blocks are bidirectional traffic; the westbound lane of 59th Street is funneled onto the Queensboro Bridge just east of the intersection with Second Avenue.[2]

History

59th Street was created under the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 as one of the minor east-west streets across Manhattan.[5] The "59th Street" name initially applied to the entirety of the street between the Hudson and East Rivers. The addresses on Central Park South follow those of what had been West 59th Street.[6]

The construction of Central Park in the 1860s and 1870s led to the development of upscale hotels, apartments, and other institutions on this section of 59th Street in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Barbizon Plaza, Hampshire House, Essex House, Hotel St. Moritz, and 240 Central Park South between World Wars I and II.[7]: 4 [8]
: 13 

Historically, West 59th Street ran from Ninth/Columbus Avenues to Columbus Circle as well. In 1954, that city block of 59th Street was decommissioned to make way for the New York Coliseum complex.[9] The Coliseum, in turn, was demolished and replaced with Time Warner Center in the early 2000s.[10]

Transportation

59th Street is served by the following New York City Subway stations:

The Roosevelt Island Tramway terminates at Second Avenue near 59th Street and extends eastward to Roosevelt Island.

The

Park Avenue, which now carries the Park Avenue main line of the Metro-North Railroad.[12] Currently, the station is used as an emergency exit for the Metro-North Railroad in the Park Avenue Tunnel.[13]

Notable buildings

GM Building
face each other across 59th Street

See also

References

Notes

  1. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  2. ^
    New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications
    . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "Central Park South, Grand Army Plaza, 5th Ave" (PDF). June 2020. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  4. ^ 59th Street:A New York Songline- Virtual walking tour
  5. ^ Morris, Gouverneur, De Witt, Simeon, and Rutherford, John [sic] (March 1811) "Remarks Of The Commissioners For Laying Out Streets And Roads In The City Of New York, Under The Act Of April 3, 1807", Cornell University Library. Accessed June 27, 2016.
  6. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  7. ^ a b c "240 Central Park South" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. June 25, 2002. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  8. ^ a b c "Historic Structures Report: 240 Central Park South" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. April 3, 2009. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  9. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  10. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  11. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Scientific American (1875). "THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY, NEW YORK CITY". www.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  13. ^ Hudson, Edward (February 23, 1984). "FIRE POSTSCRIPT: 2,000 STUCK IN TUNNEL". The New York Times. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
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