Park Avenue

Route map:
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the avenue in Manhattan and the Bronx. For other uses, see Park Avenue (disambiguation).
Template:Attached KML/Park Avenue
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Park Avenue
Fourth Avenue, Union Square East, Park Avenue South
East Midtown
Harlem River Drive in East Harlem
North endThird Avenue in Fordham
EastLexington Avenue
WestMadison Avenue
Construction
CommissionedMarch 1811

Park Avenue is a

32nd Streets
.

History

Park Avenue on the Upper East Side
The railroad tunnel in 1941

Early years and railroad construction

Because of its designation as the widest avenue on Manhattan's East Side, Park Avenue originally carried the tracks of the New York and Harlem Railroad built in the 1830s, just a few years after the adoption of the Manhattan street grid.[7] The railroad's right-of-way at ground level forced foot and carriage traffic onto either side of the tracks. Later on, the railroad was run through an open cut tunnel under Murray Hill, which was then covered with grates and grass between 34th and 40th Street in the early 1850s. A section of this "park" was later renamed Park Avenue in 1860.[8] Park Avenue's original southern terminus was at 34th Street, and the newly renamed Park Avenue was given its own house-numbering system separate from that of Fourth Avenue. The address 1 Park Avenue was assigned to a house at 101 East 34th Street, at the northeast corner of Park Avenue and 34th Street.[9]

The Harlem Railroad was later incorporated into the

Grand Central Depot, opened in 1871.[10]: 3  But the tracks laid to the new terminal proved problematic. There were originally no grade-separated crossings of the railroads between 42nd and 59th Streets.[11] As such, they required railroad crossings along Fourth Avenue, which resulted in frequent accidents; seven people died within 12 days of the Hudson River Railroad's move to Grand Central.[12]

In 1872, shortly after the opening of Grand Central Depot, New York Central owner

Park Avenue Tunnel at 96th Street and continued underground into the new depot.[10] As part of the project, Fourth Avenue was transformed into a boulevard with a median strip that covered the railroad's ventilation grates.[15][16][10]: 4  Eight footbridges crossed the tracks between 45th and 56th Streets, and there were also vehicular overpasses at 45th and 48th Streets.[10]: 4  The boulevard north of Grand Central was renamed Park Avenue in 1888.[17]

Grand Central and Terminal City

A fatal collision between two trains occurred under Park Avenue in 1902, in part because the smoke coming from the steam trains obscured the signals.[18][19] The New York state legislature subsequently passed a law to ban all steam trains in Manhattan.[20] By December 1902, as part of an agreement with the city, New York Central agreed to put the approach to Grand Central Station from 46th to 59th Streets in an open cut under Park Avenue, and to upgrade the tracks to accommodate electric trains. Overpasses would be built across the open cut at most of the cross-streets.[21] The new electric-train terminal, Grand Central Terminal, was opened in 1913.[22]

After the electric trains were buried underground, the area around Park Avenue in the vicinity of Grand Central was developed into several blocks worth of prime real estate called

Marguery, Park Lane, and Waldorf Astoria.[23] In 1929, New York Central built its headquarters in a 34-story building (now called the Helmsley Building), straddling Park Avenue north of the terminal.[24]

The Park Avenue Viaduct reroutes Park Avenue around Grand Central Terminal between 40th and 46th Streets, allowing Park Avenue traffic to traverse around the building and over 42nd Street without encumbering nearby streets.[25] The western (now southbound) leg of the viaduct was completed in 1919,[26] but congestion developed soon after the viaduct's opening, so an eastern leg for northbound traffic was added in 1928.[25]

Later years

The developer Henry Mandel acquired the lots on the eastern side of Fourth Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Street in 1923 under the name "One Park Avenue Corporation". To ensure his corporate name was accurate, Mandel asked the

United States Supreme Court,[33] but she ultimately relented, changing her address to "Park Avenue at 34th" by 1930.[9]

In 1927, the medians on Park Avenue north of Grand Central were trimmed to add one lane of traffic in each direction. This project eliminated the pedestrian path on the medians, as they became much narrower. The median was extended by one block from 96th Street to 97th Street in 1941, creating the only remaining median on Park Avenue with a pedestrian path and seating.[34] In the 1920s the portion of Park Avenue from Grand Central to 96th Street saw extensive apartment building construction. This long stretch of the avenue contains some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Real estate at 740 Park Avenue, for example, sells for several thousand dollars per square foot.[35]

In October 1937, a part of the Murray Hill Tunnel was reopened for road traffic. Efforts to promote a Grand Park Avenue Expressway to Grand Concourse in the Bronx were unsuccessful.[36]

A tradition was introduced in 1945 as a memorial to American soldiers killed in action, whereby

Pan Am Building (now MetLife Building), in between the Park Avenue Viaduct's legs north of Grand Central Terminal, was opened in 1963.[39]

In September 2007, the Metro-North Railroad reached an agreement with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to install pedestrian traffic signals along Park Avenue between 46th Street and 56th Street. The two sides had feuded over the issue since 1982, when Penn Central controlled the Park Avenue Tunnel. In 1997, the NYCDOT commissioner stated that signals would be installed during an upcoming phase of reconstruction in the Grand Central area.[40] The $35 million project, whose cost was split between Metro-North and the city, was approved by the MTA Board later that month. It called for the installation of 12 pedestrian signals and 8 traffic signals at the eleven intersections and the renovation of the sidewalks and streets around Grand Central to prevent rainwater from seeping into the tunnel.[41] Car traffic in this area had been controlled by traffic lights on a pole at each intersection in the middle of the median, instead of the usual four from each direction, resulting in a relatively high rate of pedestrian injuries. Additional traffic lights and pedestrian signals had not been added because this area of Park Avenue was located directly atop the roof of the Park Avenue Tunnel, with the street being 8 inches (20 cm) above the roof in some locations. Because the roof was 18 to 24 inches (46 to 61 cm) thick, there was not enough room to provide a foundation for the traffic poles without puncturing the structure. Due to the high cost of making these upgrades, and the lack of cooperation between the New York City Department of Transportation and Metro-North, which had opposed any solution that would modify the tunnel roof, the project was delayed for several years.[41][42] The project had been estimated to cost $200,000 per intersection in 1994.[43] As part of the new agreement, Metro-North designed a way to anchor the traffic signals in the deck and tunnel roof.[44] Pedestrian signals and gantry-mounted traffic signals were installed at these intersections in July 2010.[45]

On March 12, 2014, two apartment buildings near 116th Street, 1644 and 1646 Park Avenue, were destroyed in a gas explosion. Eight people were killed and many others were injured.[46]

Route

Fordham Plaza
.

Manhattan

"Park Avenue South" redirects here. For the street of the same name in Buffalo, New York, see South Park Avenue.

The road that becomes Park Avenue originates at the

32nd Street, it is known as Park Avenue South.[3] Address numbers on Park Avenue South are a continuation of those on Fourth Avenue;[47] for example, 225 Park Avenue South was originally known as 225 Fourth Avenue.[48]

Above 32nd Street, for the remainder of its distance, it is known as Park Avenue, a 140-foot-wide (43 m) boulevard.

Lexington Avenue
.

Park Avenue northbound past 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan

As Park Avenue enters Midtown north of Grand Central Terminal, it is distinguished by many glass-box skyscrapers that serve as headquarters for corporations and investment banks such as Société Générale, JPMorgan Chase at 270 Park Avenue and 277 Park Avenue, UBS at 299 Park Avenue, Citigroup at 399 Park Avenue, Colgate-Palmolive, and MetLife at the MetLife Building.[3] From 47th to 97th Streets, the tracks for Metro-North Railroad's Park Avenue main line run in the Park Avenue Tunnel underneath Park Avenue. At 97th Street, the tracks come above ground, rising onto the other Manhattan structure known as the Park Avenue Viaduct. The first street to pass under the viaduct is 102nd Street; from there to the Harlem River the railroad viaduct runs down the middle of Park Avenue. Park Avenue in Manhattan ends north of 132nd Street, with connections to the Harlem River Drive.[3]

The flowers and greenery in the median of Manhattan's Park Avenue are privately maintained, by the Fund for Park Avenue. The begonia was specifically chosen by the Fund's gardeners because there is no automatic watering system and the floral variety is resilient under hot sun rays.[49]

The Bronx

The avenue is continued on the other side of the river in

Fordham Plaza where it ends.[4]

Businesses

Park Avenue Viaduct, during the 2008 Summer Streets event.

The following institutions are either headquartered or have significant business presences on Park Avenue:

Notable structures

In north-south order:[3]

Transportation

Rail transit

Tremont Avenue.[50]

The

<6>​, L​, N, ​Q, ​R, and ​W trains.[51]

Bus service

The southbound

Fordham Plaza Bus Terminal is located at the northern end of the road.[55]

In popular culture

  • The song "Puttin' On the Ritz", from the film Blue Skies (1946), refers to affluent people strutting "up and down Park Avenue".
  • The 1961 stage and film musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying takes place in the fictional "Park Avenue office building of World Wide Wicket Company, Inc."
  • In the intro to the mid 1960s – early 1970s TV show Green Acres, Eva Gabor's character sings "Darling I love you, but give me Park Avenue!", where she lived before moving to rural Hooterville with her husband, the lawyer-turned-farmer.[56]
  • In the TV series The Odd Couple, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison live at 1049 Park Avenue.
  • In the 1971 film Carnal Knowledge, the characters of Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel can be seen walking up Park Avenue, past the crossing with East 52nd Street.
  • In the TV series Diff'rent Strokes, Phillip Drummond, with his daughter, Kimberly and adopted sons, Willis and Arnold Jackson live at 697 Park Avenue.
  • In the 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities, WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy lives in an apartment on Park Avenue, signifying his financial success.
  • In the multi-platinum 1989 hit single "Youth Gone Wild" by American band Skid Row, Park Avenue is mentioned in the lyrics: "I said 'Hey man, there's something that you oughta know. / I tell ya Park Avenue leads to Skid Row.'"
  • In
    E-I-E-I-D'oh
    ", Homer is ridiculed by two farmers outside Sneed's Feed & Seed (Formerly Chuck's) for having a "Park Avenue manicure". Homer responds by saying "I'm sorry, I believe in good grooming".
  • The PBS documentary Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream sheds light on the gap between the impoverished people living on Park Avenue in the South Bronx and the extremely wealthy living at 740 Park Avenue in Manhattan.
  • General Motors borrowed the name of the street for the Buick Park Avenue, a large luxury sedan that was produced first as the premium trim line for the Buick Electra from 1977 to 1990, and as a standalone model from 1991 to 2005.
  • In the 2017 video game Sonic Forces, one of the main stage takes place on Park Avenue, the stage re-imagined as a war zone.
  • In the second season of
    Riverdale, one of the main characters from the show, Veronica Lodge
    is said to have lived on Park Avenue when she was back in New York City.
  • In an episode in the second season of Seinfeld, "The Chinese Restaurant", one character that cuts in front of the main characters Jerry, Elaine, and George at a restaurant in Manhattan is said to live there, implying that he is incredibly wealthy and deserving of the special treatment.
  • In the sixth season of Mad Men, Don Draper's address appears on an envelope as "783 Park Avenue, apt. 17B".
  • In the 2012 film The Avengers, the climax takes place on the Park Avenue Viaduct.
  • In the 2020 miniseries
    The Undoing

Gallery

  • 10 Park Avenue, at the corner of East 34th Street
    10 Park Avenue, at the corner of East 34th Street
  • The Adelaide L. Townsend Douglas House, currently the Guatemalan U.N. Mission at 57 Park Avenue, between East 37th and 38th Streets
    The Adelaide L. Townsend Douglas House, currently the Guatemalan U.N. Mission at 57 Park Avenue, between East 37th and 38th Streets

See also

References

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ The line entered fully enclosed brick tunnels between 67th and 71st Streets, and between 80th and 96th Streets. The remainder of this segment was located in a "beam tunnel" structure, which were mostly open-air, except where cross-streets traversed the cut on steel-beam bridges.[14]

Citations

  1. ^ Kuban, Adam (February 13, 2013). "Mean Streets: The Stories Behind NYC Street Names". NYCgo.com.
  2. ^ Google (September 10, 2015). "Fourth Avenue and Union Square East" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Google (September 10, 2015). "Park Avenue (Manhattan)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Google (September 10, 2015). "Park Avenue (The Bronx)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  5. ^ Gray, Christopher (May 12, 2002). "Streetscapes:903 Park Avenue, at 79th Street". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "NYCityMap". NYC.gov.
  7. ^ Gray, Christopher (March 3, 2013). "Before There Was a 'Grand' in Central". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  8. ^ Gray, Christopher (July 24, 2011). "Putting the Park in Park Avenue". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  9. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Fitch, James Marston; Waite, Diana S. (1974). Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center: A Historic-critical Estimate of Their Significance. Albany, New York: The Division.
  11. ^ "THE RAILROAD TRAP.; Another Day's Scenes at the Grand Central Depot". The New York Times. November 18, 1871. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  12. ^ "RAILROAD ABUSES.; Official Investigation into the Grand Central Depot Nuisance. Scenes and Incidents at the Crossings Yesterday.Search for the Missing Dead Only One Out of the Seven Said to be Killed Yet Found The Coroners and the PoliceUtterly in the Dark. The Dangers that Centre Around the New Vanderbilt Depot What the Officials Say Minor Inconveniences". The New York Times. October 1, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  13. ^ "The State Capital; Rapid Transit of Railroad Bills in the Assembly". New York Herald. April 24, 1872. p. 13. Retrieved December 6, 2018 – via newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ISBN 978-1-61312-387-4
    . Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  15. ISBN 978-1-134-81048-2
    . Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  16. ^ "Grand Central Terminal". East Side Access in New York, Queens, and Bronx Counties, New York, and Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York: Environmental Impact Statement. 2001. p. 3. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  17. ^ Gray, Christopher (March 17, 2002). "Streetscapes: 709 and 711 Park Avenue, Between 69th and 70th Streets; When Park Ave. Was 4th, and Not Socially Correct". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  18. ^ "FIFTEEN KILLED IN REAR END COLLISION; Trains Crash in Darkness of Park Avenue Tunnel. TWO SCORE ARE INJURED Engineer Disregards or Fails to See Signals. LOCOMOTIVE BURIED IN CAR Firemen Cut Their Way Into the Wreck and Climb Over the Hot Boiler to the Aid of the Wounded – Heroic Acts of Rescuers and Rescued – Survivors and Others Tell Thrilling Stories of Their Experiences". The New York Times. January 9, 1902. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  19. ^ "Fifteen Killed, Thirty-Six Hurt". New-York Tribune. January 9, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved December 10, 2018 – via newspapers.com. Open access icon
  20. S2CID 6729668
    .
  21. ^ "NEW YORK CENTRAL TO ACCEPT CITY'S PLANS; Station, Tunnel, and Other Improvements to Cost $25,000,000. Park Avenue to be Opened, Bridges Built at Cross Streets, Electricity Introduced, and Grade Crossings Abolished". The New York Times. December 27, 1902. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  22. ^ Maranzani, Barbara. "Grand Central Terminal: An American Icon". History.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  23. ^ Gray, Christopher (August 19, 2010). "Covering Its Tracks Paid Off Handsomely". The New York Times. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  24. ^ "Park Avenue, Interrupted". The New York Times. December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  25. ^ a b "New Viaduct Thoroughfare Relieves Park Avenue Traffic Congestion; Result of Many Years' Work" (PDF). The New York Times. September 2, 1928. p. Real Estate, Page 123. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  26. ^ "Link Up Park Av. to Ease Congestion". The New York Times. April 17, 1919. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  27. ^ a b "Appellate Court Scores Officials in Park Ave. Suit". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 4, 1927. p. 24. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  28. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  29. ^ "Hylan Veto Halts Park Ave. Change". The Yonkers Herald. April 23, 1925. p. 8. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  30. ^ "Bacon's Widow Blocks Trade on Park Avenue". Press and Sun-Bulletin. November 5, 1927. p. 16. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  31. ^ "Mrs. Bacon's Long Fight to Retain '1 Park Ave.' as Address Is Finally Lost". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 19, 1928. p. 7. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  32. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  33. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  34. ^ Kadinsky, Sergey (October 24, 2017). "Park Avenue's Hidden History". Forgotten-NY. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  35. ^ Rogers, Teri Karush (October 9, 2005). "Peeking Behind the Gilded Walls of 740 Park Ave". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  36. ^ "Park Avenue Express Highway (NY 22, unbuilt)". Nycroads.com. February 14, 1935. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  37. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (December 3, 2010). "Park Ave. Christmas Lights Go Up, and Xiao Ye Closes". The New York Times.
  38. ^ Bennett, Charles G. (May 6, 1959). "Sign Ban Is Voted on Two Avenues". The New York Times. p. 41. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  39. ^ Gray, Christopher (October 7, 2001). "Streetscapes/The MetLife Building, Originally the Pan Am Building; Critics Once Called It Ugly; Now They're Not Sure". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  40. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  41. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  42. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  43. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  44. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  45. ^ Goodman, Jillian; Rovzar, Chris (July 7, 2010), "City Finally Installs Crossing Signals on Park Avenue Above Grand Central", New York, retrieved February 24, 2012
  46. ^ Santora, Marc & Rashbaum, William K. (March 13, 2014). "Rescue Effort in East Harlem Yields Only More Victims". New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  47. ^
    New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications
    . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  48. ^ Records & Briefs New York State Appellate Division. p. 7. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  49. ^ Pollak, Michael (July 16, 2006). "Why Yellow Takes the Wheel". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  50. ^ "MNR Map". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  51. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  52. ^ "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  53. ^ "Staten Island Bus Service" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  54. ^ "Brooklyn Bus Service" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  55. ^ "Bronx Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  56. ^ Green Acres Intro, archived from the original on November 17, 2021, retrieved November 27, 2019

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Park Avenue.


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