Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Day Around
Chelsea
Morning
Wind your way through
Chelsea, starting with the
megastores now occupy-
ing former “Fashion Row,”
on
6th Avenue
(
p117
)
between 18th and 23rd
streets. Walk west on 16th
Street to 9th Avenue and
Chelsea Market, a one-
time Nabisco factory
where the first Oreo
cookies were made, now
a block-long line of stalls
offering all manner of food.
The Food Network tapes
its TV shows in a street-
level studio here.
34th Street entrance, Macy's
leading stores and designers. Of
greatest interest to the public is
the gallery, which has changing
exhibits, often from their collec-
tion of clothing and textiles.
d
7th
Avenue at West 27th St
•
Map L3
•
Open
noon-8pm Tue-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat
•
Free
Continue up 9th Avenue
to 20th Street, for the
Chelsea Historic District
and
General Theological
Seminary
. Then head for
the ever-expanding “Gallery
Row,” from 21st to 24th
streets, 10th to 11th ave-
nues. A good lunch bet in
the neighborhood is
The
Red Cat
, offering Mediter-
ranean fare (
see p121
).
Herald Square
The center of a rowdy theater
district known as the Tenderloin in
the 1870s and 80s, until it was
reformed. The Manhattan Opera
House was razed in 1901 to make
way for Macy's, and other stores
soon followed. The clock on the
island where Broadway meets 6th
Avenue is all that is left of the
building occupied by the
New
York Herald
until 1921.
d
Broadway
at 6th Av
•
Map K3
Afternoon
Walk east on 23rd Street
to the
Chelsea Hotel
(see
p117)
, and when you get
to 6th Avenue, turn up-
town for the big antiques
market and the colorful
Flower District
(see
p117)
. A stroll for one
block further west on 27th
brings you to the
Fashion
Institute of Technology
,
where the gallery usually
has interesting displays.
Macy's
Former whaler R. H. Macy
founded the store in 1858 on 6th
Avenue and 14th Street; the red
star logo was from his tattoo, a
souvenir of sailing days. Innova-
tions included pricing goods a
few cents below a full dollar and
offering a money-back guarantee.
The store was sold in 1888 and
moved to the present building
(see p64)
.
d
151 West 34th Street at
6th Av
•
Map K3
•
www.macys.com
Head for one of the great
hidden treasures in this
area, St. John the Baptist
Church, at 210 East 31st
Street, whose dingy
façade belies a glowing
Gothic interior. Continue
to 34th Street for
Herald
Square
and
Macy's
.
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