Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, as well as in the center portion of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. Its southern end is at

Astor Place Astor Place is a street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is divided into two sections: One segment runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street, an ...

and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into

Cooper Square Cooper Square is a junction of streets in Lower Manhattan in New York City located at the confluence of the neighborhoods of Bowery to the south, NoHo to the west and southwest, Greenwich Village to the west and northwest, the East Village ...

, and further south, the

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...

Chatham Square Chatham Square is a major intersection in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City. The square lies at the confluence of eight streets: the Bowery, Doyers Street, East Broadway, St. James Place, Mott Street, Oliver Street, Worth Street and Park ...

, and Park Row. The Manhattan side ends at East 128th Street. Third Avenue is two-way from Cooper Square to 24th Street, but carries only northbound (uptown) traffic while in Manhattan above 24th Street; in

, it is again two-way. However, the Third Avenue Bridge carries vehicular traffic in the opposite direction, allowing only southbound vehicular traffic, rendering the avenue essentially non-continuous to motor vehicles between the boroughs. The street leaves Manhattan and continues into the Bronx across the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York City, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the United States mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyten Duyvi ...

over the Third Avenue Bridge north of East 129th Street to East

Fordham Road Fordham Road is a major thoroughfare in the Bronx, New York City, that runs west-east from the Harlem River to Bronx Park. Fordham Road houses the borough's largest and most diverse shopping district. It geographically separates the geopoli ...

at Fordham Center, where it intersects with U.S. 1. It is one of the four streets that form

The Hub The Hub may refer to: Places * The Hub, Bronx, an area of the South Bronx, New York, known for its convergence of subway and bus lines * The Hub (Edinburgh), former church in Edinburgh that is now home to the Edinburgh International Festival * T ...

, a site of both maximum traffic and architectural density in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

History

Third Avenue was unpaved like most urban streets until the late 19th century. In May 1861, according to a letter to the editor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the street was the scene of practice marching for the poorly equipped troops in the

7th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 7th New York Infantry Regiment, later reorganized at the 7th Veteran Infantry Regiment, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was composed almost entirely of German immigrants and is also kn ...

: "The men were not in uniform, but very poorly dressed, — in many cases with flip-flap shoes. The business-like air with which they marched rapidly through the deep mud of Third Avenue was the more remarkable." On July 17, 1960, the section of Third Avenue in Manhattan north of 24th Street was converted into a one-way road. Starting in July 2023, a bus lane and a protected bike lane were installed on Third Avenue between 59th and 96th Streets, and that section of the avenue was narrowed from five to three vehicular travel lanes. A double-width, bike lane was added between 64th and 66th Streets, and between 80th and 82nd Streets, where the avenue slopes uphill. To improve safety, traffic signals along the length of the bike lane were also retimed, allowing cyclists to pass through a "

green wave A green wave occurs when a series of traffic lights (usually three or more) are coordinated to allow continuous traffic flow over several Intersection (road), intersections in one main direction. Any vehicle traveling along with the green wave ( ...

" of traffic lights if they traveled at .

Public transportation

Buses

In Manhattan, Third Avenue is covered by the Third and Lexington (or Amsterdam) Avenues buses, which are the , running it south of East 126th Street but terminating at East 125th Street, and the , running it from Astor Place to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and East 116th Street, respectively. The Limited also joins in north of East 65th Street, originates service at East 67th Street, and continues until East 127th Street. Where Third Avenue is one-way uptown, downtown buses use the parallel Lexington Avenue. Several bus routes also run on Third Avenue in the Bronx: * At East 138th Street, the Mott Haven-bound terminates, then runs out of service to Lincoln Avenue, changing direction to Riverdale. * The Bx2 runs between East 138th Street and either East 149th Street (Kingsbridge Heights) or Courtlandt Avenue (Mott Haven). * The Bx15 runs between Westchester Avenue and East Fordham Road. Fordham Plaza service begins at East 148th Street out of service. * The Bx21 runs to/from Boston Road with the south of East 139th Street. Both head either to East 136th Street (Mott Haven), or from East 138th Street (opposite terminals). * The Williamsbridge-bound local & Select Bus Service run from East 148th to East 150th Streets. The Manhattanville-bound runs on three portions: from Westchester to Willis Avenues, from East 138th to East 137th Streets, and from Lincoln Avenue in the Bronx to East 128th Street in Manhattan, via the Third Avenue Bridge.

Subway

Third Avenue was the location of the

Third Avenue Railroad The Third Avenue Railway System (TARS), founded 1852, was a streetcar system serving the New York City Borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx along with lower Westchester County. For a brief period of time, TARS also oper ...

, a horsecar line established in 1853 that evolved into one of the most extensive streetcar systems in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester County. Later, it was served by the Third Avenue elevated line, which operated from 1878 until 1955 in Manhattan and 1973 in the Bronx. The Bx55 replaced the Third Avenue Line in the Bronx in 1973. When the El was being torn down in Manhattan, there was a movement to rename the whole of Third Avenue in Manhattan "the Bouwerie" (but not the portion in the Bronx). However, it had never been part of the

.Nevius, p.171 Today, the Third Avenue – 149th Street station () and Third Avenue – 138th Street station () are served by the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

. In Manhattan, several crosstown subway routes have entrances on Third Avenue: * : Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station * :

Lexington Avenue–59th Street station The Lexington Avenue/59th Street station (signed as 59th Street–Lexington Avenue) is a New York City Subway station complex shared by the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and the BMT Broadway Line. It is located at Lexington Avenue between 59th and ...

* :

Lexington Avenue–53rd Street station The Lexington Avenue/51st Street station is a New York City Subway station complex on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and IND Queens Boulevard Line. The station is located on Lexington Avenue and stretches from 51st Street to 53rd Street in Midto ...

* : Third Avenue station

References

Notes Bibliography *

External links