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79th Street (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
79th Street is a major two-way street
in the Upper East Side
and Upper West Side
of the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. East 79th Street stretches from East End Avenue to Fifth Avenue
on the Upper East Side, where it enters Central Park through Miners' Gate. The 79th Street Transverse crosses Central Park
, connecting Hunters Gate at West 81st Street on the Upper West Side to Children's Gate on East 79th. 79th Street does not exist between Central Park West
and Columbus Avenue, due to the superblock occupied by the American Museum of Natural History
. West of Columbus Avenue, 79th Street continues and terminates at an exit/entrance ramp for the West Side Highway
, under which sit the Boat Basin Cafe and 79th Street Boat Basin
.
On the west side, the street is entirely within the boundaries of ZIP Code
10024; on the east side, as of July 1, 2007, the ZIP Code for this part of the Lenox Hill Post Office Branch changed from 10021 to 10075.
as Parks Commissioner. It was part of the "79th Street Grade Crossing Elimination Structure" which created a grand architectural multi-level entry and exit from the Henry Hudson Parkway
while eliminating a grade crossing of the New York Central Railroad
's West Side Line
by covering it over and creating the Freedom Tunnel
. Designed by Gilmore David Clarke
, the Works Projects Administration provided $5.1 million for the project, which also included an underground parking garage, a restaurant, and the marina.
train at all times and 2
train during late nights.
The M79 79th Street crosstown bus route runs from between the 79th Street Boat Basin and East End Avenue at all times.
Two-way street
A two-way street is a street that allows vehicles to travel in both directions. On most two-way streets, especially main streets, a line is painted down the middle of the road to remind drivers to stay on their side of the road. Sometimes one portion of a street is two-way, the other portion one-way...
in the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
and Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. East 79th Street stretches from East End Avenue to Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...
on the Upper East Side, where it enters Central Park through Miners' Gate. The 79th Street Transverse crosses Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, connecting Hunters Gate at West 81st Street on the Upper West Side to Children's Gate on East 79th. 79th Street does not exist between Central Park West
Central Park West
Central Park West is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States....
and Columbus Avenue, due to the superblock occupied by the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. West of Columbus Avenue, 79th Street continues and terminates at an exit/entrance ramp for the West Side Highway
West Side Highway
The West Side Highway is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan. It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway, built between 1929 and 1951, which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of...
, under which sit the Boat Basin Cafe and 79th Street Boat Basin
79th Street Boat Basin
The 79th Street Boat Basin is a marina located in the Hudson River on the Upper West Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, on Riverside Park at the foot of West 79th Street...
.
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
10024; on the east side, as of July 1, 2007, the ZIP Code for this part of the Lenox Hill Post Office Branch changed from 10021 to 10075.
History
The interchange on the Hudson River and the boat basin was first proposed in 1934 and was constructed by 1937 during the tenure of Robert MosesRobert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
as Parks Commissioner. It was part of the "79th Street Grade Crossing Elimination Structure" which created a grand architectural multi-level entry and exit from the Henry Hudson Parkway
Henry Hudson Parkway
The Henry Hudson Parkway is an long parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is at West 72nd Street in Manhattan, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout its entire course in Manhattan...
while eliminating a grade crossing of the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
's West Side Line
West Side Line (NYCRR)
The West Side Line, also called the West Side Freight Line, is a railroad line on the west side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Penn Station, from 34th Street, the line is used by Amtrak passenger service heading north via Albany to Toronto, Montreal and Chicago...
by covering it over and creating the Freedom Tunnel
Freedom Tunnel
The Freedom Tunnel is the name given to the Amtrak tunnel under Riverside Park in Manhattan, New York City. It got its name because the graffiti artist Chris "Freedom" Pape used the tunnel walls to create some of his most notable artwork...
. Designed by Gilmore David Clarke
Gilmore David Clarke
Gilmore David Clarke was an American civil engineer and landscape architect who designed many parks and public spaces in New York City....
, the Works Projects Administration provided $5.1 million for the project, which also included an underground parking garage, a restaurant, and the marina.
Transportation
The 79th Street station on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line is located at the intersection of 79th Street and Broadway, it is served by the 11 (New York City Subway service)
The 1 Broadway – Seventh Avenue Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored red on station signs, route signs and the official subway map, since it uses the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line for its entire route....
train at all times and 2
2 (New York City Subway service)
The 2 Seventh Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored red on station signs, route signs, and the official subway map, since it uses the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line through most of Manhattan....
train during late nights.
The M79 79th Street crosstown bus route runs from between the 79th Street Boat Basin and East End Avenue at all times.
Notable locations
- At Broadway stands The ApthorpThe ApthorpThe Apthorp is a historic condominium apartment building in New York City, New York. The Renaissance Revival building designed by architects Clinton & Russell for absentee landowner William Waldorf Astor was built between 1906 and 1908; it occupies the full block between Broadway and West End...
(Clinton and RussellClinton and RussellClinton and Russell was a well-known architecture firm founded in 1894 in New York City, U.S.A. The firm was responsible for scores of notable New York City buildings, downtown and throughout the city.- Biography :...
, architects, 1908), one of the West Side's classic apartment blocks, and the First Baptist Church in the City of New YorkFirst Baptist Church in the City of New YorkThe First Baptist Church in the City of New York is a Christian congregation based in a sanctuary built in 1891 at the intersection of Broadway and West 79th Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York at the 79th Street subway station...
(George M. Kaiser, architect, 1891). - Between 6th and 7th Avenues, on the line of West 79th Street as it was drawn through what became Central ParkCentral ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
was the south end of the Receiving Reservoir, a vital storage part of the Croton AqueductCroton AqueductThe Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842...
of 1842. Water was piped down from Westchester CountyWestchester County, New YorkWestchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, over the Harlem RiverHarlem RiverThe Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
and down the west side to the Receiving Reservoir, located between 79th and 86th86th Street (Manhattan)86th Street is a major two-way street in the Upper East Side and Upper West Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan.On the West Side its continuous cliff-wall of apartment blocks includng The Belnord is broken by two contrasting landmarked churches at prominent corner sites, the Tuscan...
Streets and SixthSixth Avenue (Manhattan)Sixth Avenue – officially Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown"...
and SeventhSeventh Avenue (Manhattan)Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
Avenues in an area then known as Yorkville. The Reservoir was a fortress-like building 1826 feet (556.6 m) long and 836 feet (254.8 m) wide, and held up to 180 million USgals (681,374.2 m³) of water, 35 million USgals (132,489.4 m³) flowed into it daily from northern Westchester.
- Mayor Michael BloombergMichael BloombergMichael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
lives in a five-story townhouse at 17 East 79th Street, between Madison AvenueMadison Avenue (Manhattan)Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square to the Madison Avenue Bridge at 138th Street. In doing so, it passes through Midtown, the Upper East Side , Spanish Harlem, and...
and Fifth Avenue. Other notable residents of 79th Street include Tom WolfeTom WolfeThomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
, Art GarfunkelArt GarfunkelArthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...
and Eliot SpitzerEliot SpitzerEliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
. Socialite Nan KempnerNan KempnerNan Kempner was a New York City socialite, famous for dominating society events, shopping, charity work and fashion.She was born as Nan Field Schlesinger in San Francisco, an only child from a wealthy family...
lived on 79th Street at Park Avenue.
- The south side of the block between Fifth and Madison is protected as a rare unbroken row of townhouses. It begins at the corner of Fifth with the French Renaissance Harry F. Sinclair HouseHarry F. Sinclair HouseThe Harry F. Sinclair House is a mansion at 2 East 79th Street at Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City that houses the Ukrainian Institute of America, which promotes art and literature by hosting exhibitions open to public, among other means.- History :...
(1897-98), now housing the Ukrainian Institute.
- The New York Society LibraryNew York Society LibraryThe New York Society Library is the oldest cultural institution in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the New York Society as a subscription library. During the time when New York was the capital of the United States, it was the de facto Library of Congress. Until the establishment of the...
, at 53 East 79th street, is the city's oldest (1754) circulating library; it occupies a double-width townhouse built for John S. and Catherine Dodge Rogers, (Trowbridge & LivingstonTrowbridge & LivingstonTrowbridge & Livingston was an architectural practice based in New York City in the early 20th century. The firm's partners were Samuel Beck Parkman Trowbridge and Goodhue Livingston ....
, 1916-18).Christopher Gray, "The New York Society Library: The John S. Rogers House", 2008 - East 79th Street is an unnumbered southbound only entrance to the FDR DriveFranklin D. Roosevelt East River DriveThe Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive is a freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
. - East 79th Street is the southern end of East End Avenue, which runs north-south to 90th Street.