Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
area with
Whole Foods, Filene's Basement,
and
DSW (Designer
Shoe Warehouse).
On the north side,
Barnes & Noble
is situated in
a beautifully restored 1880 cast iron building. Of course, the beating
heart of Union Square is the 4-days-a-week
Greenmarket,
the biggest
farmers' market in the city.
On Broadway, a few blocks north of Union Square, is the amaz-
ing emporium
ABC Carpet & Home,
where the loft-size floors hold
brilliantly decadent displays of furniture, housewares, linens (thread
counts off the charts), and tchotchkes of all sizes and shapes.
Upscale retailers who have rediscovered the architectural majesty
of
lower Fifth Avenue
include
Banana Republic, Victoria's Secret,
and
Kenneth Cole.
You won't find much that's new along here, but
it's a pleasing stretch nonetheless.
When 23rd Street was the epitome of New York uptown fashion
more than 100 years ago, the major department stores stretched
along
Sixth Avenue
for about a mile from 14th Street up. These ele-
gant stores stood in huge cast iron buildings that were long ago aban-
doned and left to rust. In the last several years, however, the area has
become the city's discount shopping center, with superstores and off-
pricers filling up the renovated spaces:
Filene's Basement, TJ Maxx,
and
Bed Bath & Beyond
are all at 620 Sixth Ave., while
Old Navy
is next door, and
Barnes & Noble
is just a couple of blocks away, at
Sixth Avenue near 22nd Street.
HERALD SQUARE & THE GARMENT DISTRICT
Herald Square—where 34th Street, Sixth Avenue, and Broadway
converge—is dominated by
Macy's
(
&
212/695-4400
) the “world's
biggest department store.” At Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street is the
Manhattan Mall
(
&
212/465-0500;
www.manhattanmallny.com),
which is just that (a mall), with mostly chain stores (apparel, house-
wares, electronics) and a food court.
TIMES SQUARE & THE THEATER DISTRICT
You won't find much in the heart of Times Square to entice the seri-
ous shopper, since you can find most of the goods sold here back
home. Among the exceptions is the fabulous
Toys “R” Us
flagship
on Broadway and 44th Street, which even has its own full-scale Fer-
ris wheel.
West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues is the city's
famous
Diamond District.
The street is lined shoulder-to-shoulder
with showrooms; and you'll be wheeling and dealing with the largely
Hasidic dealers, who offer quite a juxtaposition to the crowds.
