Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue

Museum Mile
Fifth Avenue spanning Museum Mile on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in March 2008
Owner	City of New York
Maintained by	NYCDOT
Length	6.197 mi (9.973 km)[1][2]
Location	Manhattan, New York City
South end	Washington Square North in Greenwich Village
Major junctions	Madison Square in Flatiron Grand Army Plaza in Midtown Duke Ellington Circle in East Harlem Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem Madison Avenue Bridge in Harlem Harlem River Drive in Harlem
North end	Harlem River Drive / 143rd Street in Harlem
East	University Place (south of 14th) Broadway (14th to 23rd) Madison Avenue (north of 23rd)
West	Sixth Avenue (south of 59th) Central Park-East Drive (59th to 110th) Lenox Avenue (north of 110th)
Construction
Commissioned	March 1811

Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The section in Midtown Manhattan is one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world.

Fifth Avenue carries two-way traffic between 143rd and 135th Streets, and one-way traffic southbound for the rest of its route. The entire avenue carried two-way traffic until 1966. From 124th to 120th Streets, Fifth Avenue is interrupted by Marcus Garvey Park, with southbound traffic diverted around the park via Mount Morris Park West and northbound to Madison Avenue. Most of the avenue has a bus lane, but no bike lane. Fifth Avenue is the traditional route for many celebratory parades in New York City and is closed to automobile traffic on several Sundays each year.

Fifth Avenue was originally a narrower thoroughfare, but the section south of Central Park was widened in 1908. The Midtown blocks between 34th and 59th Streets were mostly residential until the early 20th century, when they were developed for commercial use. The section of Fifth Avenue in the 50s is consistently ranked among the most expensive shopping streets in the world. The stretch between 59th and 96th Streets along Central Park was once known as "Millionaire's Row" because of its high concentration of mansions. The portion between 82nd and 110th Streets, also along Central Park, is nicknamed Museum Mile for its many museums.