NYC:Manhattan hoods-Midtown

Heading westward brings us into the hood known as Midtown. It goes from 42nd to 59th Sts between 8th/3rd Aves. This hood is both commericial and residential. Originally this used to be nothing but a forest at the time when it was first discovered by the Dutch and later on the British. It wasn't until the early part of the 1800's that this area would become livable. The part in the lower 40's was known as Longacre Square, and it was known to be avoided for such a time. The area later on became full of country townhouses that were placed in by developers. Unfortunately, the draft riots lead to about half of them being demolished especially the Colored Orphan Assylum on 43rd St near 6th Ave. In 1860, Holy Cross decided to include its church up here as well. The construction of the 6th Ave El made the area flourish when they could get there faster. In 1871, Grand Central Station was built to be a hub for the NY & Harlem RR and later on the NY Central & Hudson River RR as well as the NY & New Haven RR. In 1873, the Russian Tea Room was founded, and has been located at 150 W 57th St since then. In 1875, the presbyterians followed with building their own church by having it on 5th Ave and 52nd St. In 1879, a group at St Patrick's Cathedral built their church to move their central parish uptown rather than making the area a cemmetery. In 1884, a mansion known as the Villard Houses were built along Madison Ave. In 1891, Carnegie Hall was errected for the most prestigous musicians. In 1903, the area began to see the construction of theaters that would be used for plays. In 1904, the NY Times decided to relocate from its old location from Park Row by errecting a new headquarters at 1 Times Sq, though they would move out in 1913. In 1907, John Jacob Astor, who immigrated from Germany, had the Astor Hotel, for the rich to stay when visiting for their plays. At the same time, the first ball would drop off from the top of 1 Time Sq on 12/31 of that year, and the celebration was held annually since then. In 1907, the Plaza Hotel was built by Grand Army Plaza as the city's prestigous hotel. In 1913, GCT was given an expansion job as the old station was demolished for the one that is here today. In the start of the 1920's more theaters were errected including the Winter Garden. The Bowery Savings Bank once located here by building its location in 1923 at 42nd St between Park and Lexington Aves. Throughout the rest of this decade Midtown became slated for skyscraper construction that included buildings such as 500 5th Ave, Fred F French Bldg, Lincoln Tower, etc. In 1921, Cornelius Vanderbuilt had the Helmsley Bldg errected for a major switching station for the NY Central RR. In 1930, this hood saw the WTB when William Van Allen errected the Chrysler Bldg for the corporation to surpass 40 Wall St, though they never actually stayed there that long, and it lost its title within months after the ESB beat it. Its lobby had models for the Chrysler Corperation despite that. Although the Great Depression hit hard on the US, it didn't stop Midtown from errected more skyscrapers. Its master project was the Rockefeller Center that was built in 1933, for the headquarters for John D Rockefeller with the GE Bldg as the centerpiece. Other parts of the complex included a skating rink as well as Radio City Music Hall, which for concerts. In 1939, architect Phillip Johnson helped build the Musuem of Modern Art, which allowed for seeing artwork that was considered futuristic in those days. Around that time, the Waldorf-Astoria was being built to replace the one that was demolished by the ESB. Even after WWII, this area was still building skyscrapers throughout the urban renewal peroid and in newer styles such as the Sony Bldg, Pan Am (later Met Life), IBM Bldg, Solow Bldg, W R Grace, etc. In 1977, Citicorp Center was built over St Peter's Church, though a smaller and newer version of the church was built near it. In 1983, business tycoon Donald Trump had the Trump Tower errected as his main place of business. Today, there are still building projects going here. Midtown is also home to a number of prestigous hotels and resturaunts. Just recently, the MOMA reoponed after its expansion project. Also, there are a number of shops located here as well. You can get here by taking the subway to Times Sq-42nd St (1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, S, W), 42nd St-PA Bus Terminal (A, C, E), 42nd St-5th Ave (7), 42nd St-GCT (4, 5, 6, 7, S), 51st St-Lexington Ave (6), 53rd St-Lexington Ave (E, V), 53rd St-5th Ave (E, V), 47th-50th Sts-Rockefeller Ctr (B, D, F, V), 49th St-7th Ave (N, R, W), 50th St-Broadway (1), 59th St-Columbus Circle (1, A, B, C, D), 57th St-7th Ave (N, R, Q, W), 57th St-6th Ave (F), 59th St-5th Ave (N, R, W), and 59th St-Lexington Ave (4, 5, 6, N, R, W). If you are taking Metro-North RR, all of them will stop at GCT. Here is what you will find in Midtown.




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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