85th Street is a westbound-running street, running from
East End Avenue
Avenue B is a north–south avenue located in the Alphabet City area of the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, east of Avenue A and west of Avenue C. It runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a ...
to
Riverside Drive in the
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 A ...
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 ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
At Fifth Avenue, the street feeds into the 86th Street transverse, which runs east–west through
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
and heads from the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
(where it is known as East 85th Street) to West 86th Street on the
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
. West 85th Street resumes one block south of the transverse's western end. It includes landmarks such as the
Lewis Gouverneur and Nathalie Bailey Morris House at 100 East 85th Street, the sidewalk clock at East 85th Street and
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
, the
Yorkville Bank Building
The Yorkville Bank Building at 201–203 East 85th Street, 1511–1515 Third Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, was designed by Robert Maynicke. An example of Renaissance Revival architecture, it was built for the Yorkville Bank in 1905 and was des ...
at 201–203 East 85th Street,
Red House at 350 West 85th Street, and
Regis High School.
History
In 1837, the
Board of Aldermen of New York City initially voted not to approve, but subsequently approved, the opening of East 85th Street between
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
and
Fifth Avenue, which the Committee on Roads and Canals had offered up as a resolution on the petition of owners of property on the street. In 1839, the Board of Aldermen approved the opening of West 85th Street between Fifth Avenue and
Ninth Avenue.
By the 1840s, a short length designated as West 85th Street had been created as a narrow lane east of
Eighth Avenue.
Most of West 85th Street was laid out following the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
However, until the 1880s the rate of development on the street was slow.
At that time, following an improvement in public transportation, people began to speculate on the property on the street.
In 1971, John Corry of the ''Times'' wrote a series of stories about life on West 85th Street between Central Park and
Columbus Avenue.
Transportation
No
New York City Subway stations are located on the street itself. Several are on nearby
86th Street, however:
*
86th Street on the at
Second Avenue
*
86th Street on the at
Lexington Avenue
*
86th Street on the at
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
*
86th Street on the at
Central Park West
Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...
Notable places and residents
There are several significant landmarks on 85th Street.
East Side
![Morris-house-100e85](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Morris-house-100e85.jpg)
The building at 100 East 85th Street, originally known as
Lewis Gouverneur and Nathalie Bailey Morris House, is a large brick red townhouse that was built in 1913–14 in a neo-
Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
style. Its architect was
Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg (February 6, 1857 – April 10, 1947) was an American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility.
Early life and education
Flagg was born in Brooklyn, New ...
.
It was designated a landmark by the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
in 1973, and added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1977.
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (originally "Anshe Jeshurun"), a
Modern Orthodox
Modern may refer to:
History
*Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Philosoph ...
synagogue founded by Russian Jewish immigrants in 1872, is located at 125 East 85th Street, between
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 Av ...
and
Lexington Avenue, in a building built in 1902. The lower division of the
Ramaz School
The Ramaz School is an elite American coeducational Jewish Modern Orthodox day school which offers a dual curriculum of general studies taught in English and Judaic studies taught in Hebrew. The school is located on the Upper East Side of Manh ...
, a coeducational, private Modern Orthodox Jewish prep school, shares a building with the congregation.
The
German American Bund
The German American Bund, or the German American Federation (german: Amerikadeutscher Bund; Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, AV), was a German-American Nazi organization which was established in 1936 as a successor to the Friends of New Germany (FoN ...
, an American
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
organization, had its national headquarters at 178 East 85th Street from 1936 through the early 1940s, and occasionally paraded in the neighborhood in
Nazi uniforms.
![Street clock 1501 3d Av jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Street_clock_1501_3d_Av_jeh.JPG)
Park Lane Tower, the 35-story L-shaped high-rise apartment building shown in the opening credits of the television show ''
The Jeffersons
''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...
'' (1975-1985), is located at 185 East 85th Street and
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
. Designed by architect
Hyman Isaac Feldman and completed in 1967, the beige-brick structure features distinctive rounded balconies at its corners and angled balconies on its sides.
The
sidewalk clock at East 85th Street and
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
, dating from the late 1800s and likely produced by
E. Howard & Co., was designated a landmark in 1981.
Constructed to resemble a pocket watch, it is high including its base.
![MMPU hall 209 E85 jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/MMPU_hall_209_E85_jeh.JPG)
At 201–203 East 85th Street, the
Yorkville Bank Building
The Yorkville Bank Building at 201–203 East 85th Street, 1511–1515 Third Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, was designed by Robert Maynicke. An example of Renaissance Revival architecture, it was built for the Yorkville Bank in 1905 and was des ...
(1905), a four-story building designed by
Robert Maynicke, was designated a landmark in 2012.
Instrument maker
Vincent Bach manufactured trumpets and trumpet mouthpieces at 204 East 85th Street in the early 20th century.
The building at 209 East 85th Street was constructed in 1919 aS the union hall of the
Musical Mutual Protective Union.
Minnie Marx
Minnie Marx (born Miene Schönberg, 9 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was the mother and manager of the Marx Brothers, a family of vaudevillains, Broadway and film actors and was also the sister of comedian and vaudeville star Al Shean.
Ear ...
and
Sam Marx
Samuel Marx (born Simon Marx; October 23, 1859 – May 10, 1933) was the father of American entertainment group (the) Marx Brothers, stars of vaudeville, Broadway and film, and the husband of Minnie Marx, who served as the group's manager.
Lif ...
, the parents and manager of the
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
, lived at 330 East 85th Street.
The
clapboard
Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping.
''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...
shingle house at 412 East 85th Street was built around 1855. It was restored in 1988 by architect
Alfredo De Vido.
Author
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...
, who wrote ''
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted tow ...
'', was born in 1891 on the top floor of and lived at 450 East 85th Street.
Author
Louise Fitzhugh
Louise Fitzhugh (October 5, 1928 – November 19, 1974) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books, known best for the novel ''Harriet the Spy'' and its sequels, '' The Long Secret'' and ''Sport''.
Biography
Early life
Fitzhugh ...
lived at 524 East 85th Street, between East End and
York Avenue
York Avenue and Sutton Place are the names of a relatively short north-south thoroughfare in the Yorkville, Lenox Hill, and Sutton Place neighborhoods of the East Side of Manhattan, in New York City. York Avenue runs from 59th to 92nd Streets ...
s, and her heroine "Harriet" in ''
Harriet the Spy
''Harriet the Spy'' is a children's novel written and illustrated by Louise Fitzhugh that was published in 1964. It has been called "a milestone in children's literature" and a "classic". In the U.S., it ranked number 12 in the 50 Best Books fo ...
'' lived in the area.
The glassy
Modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
building at 525 East 85th Street was built in 1958.
Its architect was Paul Mitarachi.
Central Park
The 86th Street transverse cuts through
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
, and is directly below the
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir
The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, also known as Central Park Reservoir, is a decommissioned reservoir in Central Park in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, stretching from 86th to 96th Streets. It covers and holds over 10⁹ US ...
. In the early 1880s, most of the cross-town traffic in the area traveled on it.
In 1917,
New York Railways
The New York Railways Company operated street railways in Manhattan, New York City, United States between 1911 and 1925. The company went into receivership in 1919 and control was passed to the New York Railways Corporation in 1925 after which a ...
ran across the traverse road on 85th Street, from Eighth Avenue through Central Park to
Madison Avenue.
![SW Reservoir Bridge 27 CP jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/SW_Reservoir_Bridge_27_CP_jeh.jpg)
Southwest Reservoir Bridge, at 85th Street in Central Park, was designed by
Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...
and is decorated with elegant iron floral scroll ornamentation along its of railings and
spandrel
A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...
s.
![Seneca Village-Central Park-Nyc](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Seneca_Village-Central_Park-Nyc.gif)
The site of
Seneca Village
Seneca Village was a 19th-century settlement of mostly African American landowners in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, within what would become present-day Central Park. The settlement was located near the current Upper West Side ne ...
is in Central Park near West 85th Street. The three lots on which the village was established were purchased in 1825 by Andrew Williams for $125 ($ in current dollar terms), and sold by him to the City of New York three decades later for $2,335 ($ in current dollar terms). In the mid-19th century it was a shanty-town, and it may have been populated by
free blacks in the early 1800s.
The
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was at this location.
The Spector Playground is located in Central Park near West 85th Street.
Mariners' Gate is at Central Park and West 85th Street, at an entrance to the park. The name for the gate was chosen as reflecting one of the types of people it was expected would be enjoying the park, at the time the park was built.
West Side
Rossleigh Court at 1 West 85th Street, constructed between 1906 and 1907, was designed by
Mulliken and
Moeller
Moeller and Möller are closely related surnames of German origin.
People bearing one of them include the following:
People
* Adolph Moeller, American politician
* Alfred Alphonse Moeller (1889–1971), governor of Orientale Province in the Bel ...
and built by Gotham Building and Construction. It followed the popular "French Flat" model in a
Beaux-Arts style
Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpor ...
. Novelist
Ellen Glasgow
Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow (April 22, 1873 – November 21, 1945) was an American novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1942 for her novel ''In This Our Life''. She published 20 novels, as well as short stories, to critical ac ...
lived in the building for a few months every year in the early 20th century.
44 West 85th Street was the location of the
Nippon Club of New York City, a private social club founded in 1905 by
Jōkichi Takamine for Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals, in the early 20th century.
![Red-house-nyc](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Red-house-nyc.jpg)
At 140 West 85th Street, a
Dawn Redwood
''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus ''Metasequoia'', one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. It now ...
(''metasequoia glyptostroboides'') endangered
coniferous tree can be seen.
Mannes College of Music
Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School ca ...
is a
music school
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
located at 150 West 85th Street, which moved there in 1984 seeking larger quarters.
329, 331, 333, 335, and 337 West 85th Street were built in 1890–91.
They are
brownstone and brick
Queen Anne-
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
architecture.
Journalist
Heywood Broun and feminist
Ruth Hale lived at 333 West 85th Street.
On the corner of West 85th Street and
West End Avenue
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
, a
Japanese Maple
''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russi ...
(''acer palmatum'') species of woody plant can be seen.
Red House at 350 West 85th Street, between West End Avenue and
Riverside Drive, was built in 1903–04, and the six-story
French Renaissance
The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define th ...
/
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
building was designated a landmark in 1982.
It was one of the first
apartment buildings in the area, supplanting the earlier
row houses.
Writer
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
lived here at one time.
See also
*
References
{{Avenues of Manhattan
085
Upper West Side
Upper East Side