Fifth Avenue: From Washington Square to Marcus Garvey Park

Fifth Avenue: From Washington Square to Marcus Garvey Park presents an in-depth exploration of architecture along one of the world’s most iconic streets: New York City’s fabled Fifth Avenue. Through six fact-filled walking tours, this accessible illustrated guide takes readers along the entire length of Fifth Avenue, studying its architecture block by block, building by building, offering the chance to discover exceptional and unusual structures across Greenwich Village, Midtown, the Upper East Side, and Harlem. Heavily illustrated with more than 300 images and practical graphic maps that mark the stops along each route, Fifth Avenue spotlights hundreds of buildings, from familiar tourist destinations to lesser-known gems. Featured are, of course, major monuments including the Empire State Building, New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral; luxurious shops such as Tiffany’s, Cartier, and Bulgari; elegant hotels like the St. Regis and the Plaza; and the art treasures of Museum Mile on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the Jewish Museum, and the Museum of the City of New York. Each of the walks offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of architectural styles, from the Beaux-Arts mansions of the turn of the twentieth century to the striking contemporary structures such as the glass flagship stores of Nike, Armani, and the towering One Vanderbilt. Highlights also include works by distinguished architects such as Richard Morris Hunt, Stanford White, and Frank Lloyd Wright and contemporary leaders like Rem Koolhaas and Bjarke Ingels. Written as both a fireside and curbside read, this new book is essential for the curious architecture lover touring the New York streets, as well as anyone looking to gain a comprehensive understanding of the historic, social, and economic forces that shaped Fifth Avenue’s growth and character.
A compact architectural history of Manhattan with six walks that guide readers along New York’s most glamorous street
Fifth Avenue encapsulates the architectural and social history of New York's most elgant and glamorous street in six walks that guide readers from the Washington Square Arch in Greenwich Village to Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem.Fifth Avenue offers readers an architectural tour of Fifth Avenue, stopping at the city's major monuments—the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Saint Patrick's Cathedral--as well as the luxurious glamour of Tiffany's, Carier, and the Plaza Hotel and the art treasures of Museum Mile.  Through six structured walks, the book not only presents the history of New York's most famous avenue, but also explores its architecture in depth, block by block, building by building. This is a book about what can be seen and experienced on Fifth Avenue today. Buildings are chosen for discussion first and foremost because they are interesting to look at. In a relaxed and engaging style, the author presents the building's story, explores the reasons why it is there, and explains why it looks the way it does. Along the way, the reader not only has the chance to discover fascinating and unusual buildings, but also gains a comprehensive understanding of the historic, social, economic, and political forces which shaped Fifth Avenue's growth and character.