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53rd Street is a
midtown cross street in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, that runs adjacent to buildings such as the
Citigroup building. It is 1.83 miles (2.94 km) long. The street runs westbound from
Sutton Place Sutton Place may refer to:
Canada
* Sutton Place Hotel, a former hotel in Toronto, Ontario
* The Sutton Place, a hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia
England
* Sutton Place, Hackney, a Georgian terrace in London
* Sutton Place, Surrey, a country ...
across most of the island's width, ending at
DeWitt Clinton Park
DeWitt Clinton Park is a New York City public park in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, between West 52nd and 54th Streets, and Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues.
The park, which was one of the first New York City parks ...
at
Eleventh Avenue.
The
Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street/
51st Street station complex, one of the busiest in the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
system, is accessible from this street, and is served by trains. The
Seventh Avenue station, serviced by the ( trains), is a similarly busy transfer station. The
53rd Street Tunnel
The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 ...
carries the
IND Queens Boulevard Line
The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 s ...
( trains) of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
under the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
between Manhattan and
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
.
Notable locations, east to west
*
312 and 314 East 53rd Street
312 and 314 East 53rd Street are two wooden row houses on 53rd Street, between First Avenue and Second Avenue, in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The row houses were designed by Robert and James Cunningham with Fre ...
, east of Second Avenue, are two of a few remaining wooden houses in Midtown and Upper Manhattan.
*303 East 53rd Street was
Muppet
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...
headquarters between 1963 and 1968 when
Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
rented space in the building.
*The
Lipstick Building
The Lipstick Building, also known as 885 Third Avenue and 53rd at Third, is a 453-foot (138 meter) tall skyscraper at Third Avenue between 53rd Street and 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was completed in 1 ...
stands at Third Avenue.
*
Citigroup Center
The Citigroup Center (formerly Citicorp Center and also known by its address, 601 Lexington Avenue) is an office skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1977 to house the headquarters of Citibank, it is tal ...
is a 59-story skyscraper located at 601
Lexington Avenue
Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along it ...
, at the corner of 53rd Street.
*The
Seagram Building
The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with minor assistance from Philip Johnson, Ely Jacques Kahn, ...
is a 38-story
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
located at 375
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
, between
52nd Street
52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Jazz center
Following the repeal of ...
and 53rd Street, designed by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
architect
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
, in collaboration with the American
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the pos ...
and completed in 1958.
*
Lever House
Lever House is a office building at 390 Park Avenue (Manhattan), Park Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building was designed in the International style (architecture), International Style by Gordon Bunshaft a ...
is a 21-story
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
located at 390
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
, between
54th Street
54th Street is a two-mile-long (3.2 km), one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.
Notable places, west to east
Twelfth Avenue
*The route begins at Twelfth Avenue (New York Route 9A). Opposite the intersection is the New ...
and 53rd Street, designed by
Gordon Bunshaft
Gordon Bunshaft, (May 9, 1909 – August 6, 1990), was an American architect, a leading proponent of modern design in the mid-twentieth century. A partner in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Bunshaft joined the firm in 1937 and remained with ...
of
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...
, and completed in 1952.
*
12 East 53rd Street
12 East 53rd Street, also the Fisk–Harkness House, is a building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is along the south side of 53rd Street between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue. The six-story building was designed b ...
, a townhouse used by
LIM College
LIM College is a private for-profit college in Midtown Manhattan focused on the business of fashion. LIM College offers master's, bachelor's, and associate degree programs in fashion-focused majors with an emphasis on the connection between rea ...
and a New York City designated landmark.
*The
Stork Club
Stork Club was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City. During its existence from 1929 to 1965, it was one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgirls, ...
was one of the more famous
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
s in New York City during the 1930s–1950s. It was located at 3 East 53rd Street, just off Fifth Avenue.
*
Paley Park
Paley Park is a pocket park located at 3 East 53rd Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on the former site of the Stork Club. Designed by the landscape architectural firm of Zion Breen Richardson Associate ...
, on the former site of the Stork Club, is a
pocket park that has been recognized as one of the finest urban spaces in the United States.
*
Saint Thomas Church is located at
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
.
*The block between Fifth and
Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...
s also contains the former
Donnell Library Center
The 53rd Street Library is a branch of the New York Public Library at 18 West 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street, just west of Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The library is composed of three floors, including two basement levels, and contai ...
, the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, the
American Folk Art Museum
The American Folk Art Museum is an art museum in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at 2, Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street. It is the premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of folk art and creative expressions of ...
, and the "
Black Rock" and "Brown Rock" (1330 Avenue of the Americas) buildings of CBS and (formerly) ABC, respectively. A skyscraper was topped out in 2018, at
53 West 53rd Street
53 West 53 (also known as 53W53 and formerly known as Tower Verre) is a supertall skyscraper at 53 West 53rd Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It was developed by the r ...
.
*The block between Sixth and Seventh Avenues has the
Calyon Building and the hotels
Hilton New York
The New York Hilton Midtown is the New York City hotels, largest hotel in New York City and List of tallest hotels in the world, world's 101st tallest hotel. The hotel is owned by Park Hotels & Resorts and managed by Hilton Worldwide. At 1,929 ...
and
Sheraton New York, separated by a
subway powerhouse. At the middle of this block, there is a crosswalk as part of a north-south pedestrian avenue named
Sixth and a Half Avenue
Sixth is the ordinal number, ordinal form of the number Six (number), six.
* The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution
* A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel
* The fraction
Mus ...
.
*A section of 53rd at
Eighth Avenue was named
Jerry Orbach
Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a " ...
Way in 2007 in honor of the actor, who had lived there for 25 years.
*The
Ed Sullivan Theater
The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3, and CBS Studio 50) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway, between 53rd and 54th Streets, in the Theater ...
is at Broadway, across the street from the back door of the
Roseland Ballroom
The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan.
The venue, according to its website, accommodated ...
and next to another subway powerhouse. The theater is the location for the ''
Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...
''. Colbert's predecessor, David Letterman, sometimes used the street for segments of the show.
* The ''
Wendy Williams Show
''The Wendy Williams Show'' (often shortened to ''Wendy'') is an American syndicated talk show created and hosted by Wendy Williams, and produced by Wendy Williams Productions, along with Perler Productions. The show is distributed by Debmar-Me ...
'' was taped at 433 West 53rd.
*
Power Station
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many p ...
is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd.
* A building at
811 Tenth Avenue
811 Tenth Avenue (also called the AT&T Switching Center) is a skyscraper in the Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by Kahn & Jacobs and completed in 1964, occupying the full b ...
, between 53rd & 54th Streets, houses the largest New York City exchange of
AT&T Long Lines
AT&T Communications, Inc., was a division of the AT&T Corporation that, through 23 subsidiaries, provided interexchange carrier and long-distance calling, long-distance telephone services.
History
AT&T Long Lines
The American Telephone & ...
. It extends about halfway to Eleventh Avenue and doesn't have windows; there are only two small rectangular openings located just above the two flagpoles on either side of the front door, giving access to the flags.
* The street ends at
DeWitt Clinton Park
DeWitt Clinton Park is a New York City public park in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, between West 52nd and 54th Streets, and Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues.
The park, which was one of the first New York City parks ...
at
Eleventh Avenue.
References
External links
53rd Street: A New York Songline– virtual walking tour
{{Manhattan streets, state=collapsed
053 53 may refer to:
* 53 (number)
* one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053
* FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking
* 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry
* 53rd Regiment ...
Midtown Manhattan