79th Street (Manhattan)
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79th Street is a major
two-way street A two-way street is a street that allows vehicles to travel in both directions. On most two-way streets, especially main streets, a line is painted down the middle of the road to remind drivers to stay on their side of the road. Sometimes one por ...
on 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 ...
and
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 ...
of the
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 ...
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 ...
. It runs in two major sections: between East End and Fifth Avenues on the Upper East Side, and between Columbus Avenue and
Henry Hudson Parkway The Henry Hudson Parkway is a parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is in Manhattan at 72nd Street, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout i ...
on the Upper West Side. The two segments are connected by the 79th Street transverse across
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 ...
, as well as one block of 81st Street. On the West Side, the street is entirely within the boundaries of ZIP Code 10024; on the East Side, the street is part of ZIP Code 10075.


Description

On 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 ...
, East 79th Street stretches 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 ...
, passing the
New York Public Library Yorkville Branch The Yorkville Branch of the New York Public Library was built in 1902. ''See also:'' It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Stree ...
to Fifth Avenue. where the entrance to the 79th Street Transverse is flanked by The 79th Street transverse crosses
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 ...
between Children's Gate at Fifth Avenue, and Hunter's Gate at Central Park West and 81st 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 ...
. 79th Street does not exist between
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, ...
and Columbus Avenue, due to the superblock of Manhattan Square, largely occupied by the American Museum of Natural History. West of Columbus Avenue, 79th Street continues and terminates in Riverside Park at a traffic circle directly after the exit/entrance ramps for the
Henry Hudson Parkway The Henry Hudson Parkway is a parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is in Manhattan at 72nd Street, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout i ...
, under which sit the 79th Street Boat Basin and its cafe.


History

The street was designated by the
Commissioners' Plan of 1811 The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan on its march uptown ...
that established the Manhattan street grid as one of 15 east-west streets that would be in width (while other streets were designated as in width). The interchange on the Hudson River and the boat basin was first proposed in 1934 and was constructed by 1937 during the tenure of Robert Moses as Parks Commissioner. It was part of the "79th Street Grade Crossing Elimination Structure" which created a grand architectural multi-level entry and exit from the
Henry Hudson Parkway The Henry Hudson Parkway is a parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is in Manhattan at 72nd Street, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout i ...
while eliminating a grade crossing of the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
's
West Side Line The West Side Line, also called the West Side Freight Line, is a railroad line on the west side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Penn Station, from 34th Street, the line is used by Amtrak passenger service heading north via ...
by covering it over and creating the
Freedom Tunnel The Freedom Tunnel is the name given to the railroad tunnel on the West Side Line under Riverside Park in Manhattan, New York City. Used by Amtrak trains to and from Pennsylvania Station, it got its name because the graffiti artist Chris "Fre ...
. Designed by
Gilmore David Clarke Gilmore David Clarke (July 12, 1892 – August 8, 1982''New York Times'', August 10, 1982, p. B19: Gilmore D. Clarke, 90, is dead; designed major public works'.) was an American civil engineer and landscape architect who designed many park ...
, the
Works Projects Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
provided $5.1 million for the project, which also included an underground parking garage, a restaurant, and the marina.


Transportation

On the west side, the 79th Street station on the New York City Subway's
IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (also known as the IRT Seventh Avenue Line or the IRT West Side Line) is a New York City Subway line. It is one of several lines that serves the A Division, stretching from South Ferry in Lower Manhatta ...
is located at the intersection of 79th Street and
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 ...
, it is served by during the daytime and during late nights. The 81st Street-Museum of Natural History station of the IND Eighth Avenue Line is located at 81st Street and Central Park West, and is served by trains that are local at all times. On the east side, the 77th Street station on the
IRT Lexington Avenue Line The IRT Lexington Avenue Line (also known as the IRT East Side Line and the IRT Lexington–Fourth Avenue Line) is one of the lines of the A Division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in Eas ...
, two blocks south, is served by during the daytime and during late nights. The M79 SBS crosstown bus route runs from between the 79th Street Boat Basin and East End Avenue at all times.


Notable locations

*At Broadway stands
The Apthorp The Apthorp is a historic condominium apartment building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The Italian Renaissance Revival building designed by architects Clinton & Russell for William Waldorf Astor, was built between 1906 and ...
( Clinton and Russell, architects, 1908), one of the West Side's classic apartment blocks, and the First Baptist Church in the City of New York (George M. Kaiser, architect, 1891). *Between 6th and 7th Avenues, on the line of West 79th Street as it was drawn through what became
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 ...
was the south end of the Receiving Reservoir, a vital storage part of the
Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity fro ...
of 1842. Water was piped down from
Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
, over the
Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyt ...
and down the west side to the Receiving Reservoir, located between 79th and 86th Streets and Sixth and
Seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...
Avenues in an area then known as Yorkville. The Reservoir was a fortress-like building long and wide, and held up to of water, flowed into it daily from northern Westchester. * Former mayor Michael Bloomberg lives in a five-story townhouse on East 79th Street, between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue. Other notable residents of 79th Street include or have included;
Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...
,
Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...
and Eliot Spitzer. Socialite
Nan Kempner Nan Kempner (July 24, 1930 – July 3, 2005) was a New York City socialite, reputed for her fashion sense and her philanthropy. Biography Born Nan Field Schlesinger in San Francisco, Kempner was the only child in a wealthy family. Her father, A ...
lived on 79th Street at Park Avenue. *The south side of the block between Fifth and Madison is protected as a rare unbroken row of townhouses. It begins at the corner of Fifth with the French Renaissance Harry F. Sinclair House (1897–98), now housing the Ukrainian Institute. *Four landmarked townhouses exist on the north side of 79th Street between Madison and Park Avenues: ** 53 East 79th Street ( Trowbridge & Livingston, 1916–1918), built for John S. and Catherine Dodge Rogers. It houses the New York Society Library, the city's oldest circulating library, founded in 1754.Christopher Gray, "The New York Society Library: The John S. Rogers House"
2008 **
59 East 79th Street 59 may refer to: * 59 (number) * one of the years 59 BC, AD 59, 1959, 2059 * ''59'' (album), by Puffy AmiYumi * 59 (golf), a round of 59 in golf * "Fifty Nine", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Arch Stanton ''Arch Stanton'' is the sixth ...
(Foster, Gade & Graham, 1908–1909), built for John H. and Caroline Iselin **
63 East 79th Street 63 may refer to: * 63 (number) * one of the years 63 BC, AD 63, 1963, 2063 * +63, telephone country code in the Philippines * Flight 63 (disambiguation) * 63 (album), ''63'' (album), by Tree63 * 63 (mixtape), ''63'' (mixtape), by Kool A.D. * "Sixty ...
(Adams & Warren, 1902–1903), built for Thatcher and Frances Adams **
69 East 79th Street 69 may refer to: * 69 (number) * A year, primarily 69 BC, AD 69, 1969, or 2069 *69 (sex position) Arts and media Music * ''69'', a 1988 album by A.R. Kane * "'69", a song by Deep Purple from ''Abandon'' * Major 6 add 9, a jazz chord * "Summer ...
(
Carrère & Hastings Carrère (; oc, Carrèra) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ...
, 1907–1908), built for George and Sarah Rives *On the street grid, East 79th Street leads to an unnumbered southbound-only entrance to the FDR Drive at East 78th Street. East 79th Street is also the southern end of
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 ...
, which runs north-south to 90th Street.


References

Notes


External links

* {{Streets of Manhattan, state=collapsed 079 Upper East Side Upper West Side