Midtown Manhattan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Dogma5 (talk | contribs) at 17:43, 31 May 2008 (→‎Neighborhoods). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Midtown Manhattan with the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, MetLife Building, and Bank of America Tower under construction visible.

Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square. Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the United States and is home to the city's tallest and most famous buildings such as the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building.

Midtown, along with "Uptown" and "Downtown", is one of the three major subdivisions of Manhattan (though "Uptown" and "Downtown" can also be used as adjectives or prepositions, and can take on completely different meanings in the other boroughs, whereas the term "Midtown" cannot) and can be understood as those parts of Manhattan in neither of these two other regions - that is, all areas between 14th Street and 59th Street, from the Hudson River to the East River, about five square miles. The core of Midtown Manhattan is from about 31st Street to 59th Street between Third and Ninth avenues, about two square miles (this is the area most commonly referred to as "Midtown.") The "Plaza District", a term used by Manhattan real estate professionals to denote the most expensive area of midtown from a commercial real estate perspective, lies between 42nd Street and 59th Street, from Third Avenue to Seventh Avenue, about half a square mile.

As New York's largest central business district, Midtown Manhattan is indisputably the busiest single commercial district in the United States, and among the most intensely and diversely used pieces of real estate in the world. The great majority of New York City's skyscrapers, including its tallest hotels and apartment towers, lie within Midtown. More than 700,000 commuters work in its offices, hotels, and retail establishments; the area also hosts many tourists, visiting residents, and students. Some areas, especially Times Square and Fifth Avenue, have massive clusters of retail establishments. Sixth Avenue in Midtown holds the headquarters of all four major television networks, and is one of a few global centers of news and entertainment, and Madison Avenue the major advertising agencies. It is also a growing center of finance, second in importance within the United States only to Downtown Manhattan's Financial District. Times Square is also the epicenter of American theatre.

Cityscape

A panoramic view of the Midtown Manhattan skyline

Neighborhoods

Rockefeller Center's vicinity contains some of the city's most recognizable landmarks, including the GE Building.
Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Times Square is one of the busiest intersections in the world.
Columbus Circle subway station is one of the city's busiest.
The Diamond District.
Skyscrapers line Sixth Avenue, which cuts through the heart of midtown.

Midtown encompasses many neighborhoods including Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea on the West Side, and Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Turtle Bay, and Gramercy on the East Side. It is also sometimes broken into "Midtown East" and "Midtown West", or north and south as in the New York City Police Department's Midtown North and Midtown South precincts.

A simplistic and by no means comprehensive but general list of the neighborhoods in the greater Midtown Manhattan is as follows:

Midtown also contains historical but defunct neighborhoods, such as the Ladie's Mile, along Fifth Avenue from 14th Street to 23rd Street and the Tenderloin, from 23rd Street to 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue.

Other important sights in Midtown:

Important streets and thoroughfares in Midtown:

See also

External links