Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fifth Avenue
Midtown Fifth Avenue is New York's best-known boulevard and home to three
of its most famous buildings. In the late 1800s, it was lined with mansions
belonging to prominent families, but as retailers moved north in the 1900s,
society fled uptown. The one remaining mansion is the Cartier building,
reputedly acquired from banker Morton F. Plant in 1917 in exchange for a
string of pearls. Although commercial enterprises now share the avenue, it
has remained a mecca for luxury goods. Fifth Avenue is
at its best on Easter Sunday when traffic is barred and
the street is filled with New Yorkers in elaborate hats.
Top 10 Exhibits
1 Grand Army Plaza
2 Bergdorf Goodman
3 General Motors Building
4 Tiffany and Company
5 Trump Tower
6 Cartier
7 St. Patrick's Cathedral
8 Saks Fifth Avenue
9 New York Public Library
0 Lord and Taylor
Cartier façade, decorated
for Christmas
Free tours of the
New York Public
Library: 11am and
2pm Tue-Sat, and
2pm on Sun; there's
no need to book.
Grand Army Plaza
This ornamented
plaza is presided over by
the 1907 Plaza Hotel and
Augustus Saint-Gaudens'
statue of General William
T. Sherman. Hansom cab
rides through Central Park
can be boarded here.
St. Patrick's
Cathedral is open
to visitors 7:30am-
8:30pm daily.
• The heart of Fifth
Avenue is from the
Empire State Building
(see pp8-9) on 34th
Street, to the Grand
Army Plaza, 59th
Street, an easily
walkable stretch of
just over one mile
(1.6 km)
• Map H3-K3
• Tourist Information:
212 484 1200
• New York Public
Library: 212 930 0800
General Motors
Building
Edward Durrell Stone's 1968
marble skyscraper is of in-
terest not for its architecture
but for the CBS studio in the
plaza area and the F.A.O.
Schwarz toy store adjacent.
Bergdorf Goodman
Founded in 1894 as a
small ladies' tailoring and
fur shop, the most élite
department store has
been here since 1928.
A separate shop for men
was opened in 1990
across Fifth Avenue.
Tiffany and Company
Truman Capote's 1958
Breakfast at Tiffany's
made
this the most famous jewelry
store in New York. The wind-
ow displays are works of art.
10
