East 23 St, Gramercy Park

Whereas 5th Ave is the pillar of fancy shopping and apartments buildings in New York City, Madison Avenue has become synonymous with white collar pursuits and big business. I think Madison has definitely gained in notoriety since Mad Men premiered. And, all of the advertising agencies with the exception of one are still on Madison Avenue (although they definitely don't dress as dapper as they used to). There are a lot of business oriented hotels on Madison Avenue as well. While they are still nice for the most part, they don't have the cache of some of the 5th Avenue Hotels. You get the feeling that the Madison Hotels are more catered to people working in the area than tourists.
New York Magazine Headquarters are on Madison and 50th. Oxford University Press is located on Madison at 34th. The New York Life Building is at 26th. There is definitely a theme to this street. The thing I love about New York, though, is that even though there may be a specific street or part of town that dictates one kind of personality or livelihood, there are always other things that pop up that would indicate otherwise. In the midst of all of these agencies and publishing houses, there are buildings like the American Academy of Dramatic Arts at 30th and Andy Warhol's Factory at 32nd.
Once you get down to Madison Square Park, the area becomes much more neighborhoody. The park is lovely and always has a bustle thanks to Shake Shack. Speaking of Shake Shack, pretty much all of Madison Ave and Madison Square Park's restaurant scene is thanks to Danny Meyer. It seems as if he just completely took over the area. And, now that Eleven Madison Park just won the James Beard Award, the area is just going to be crawling with Meyer admirers.
Madison ends at 23rd so there's no downtown to this street. It will forever remain an uptown street where men in tophats go to the office for me. .. . . even if a lot of them wear jeans with holes in them now.

If you're into looking at the architecture of skyscrapers or living in a massive building, 23rd is the spot for you. The entire street is comprised of giants. It's definitely a New York street in the way that it is depicted in the movies. But, there's not much of a vibe around here. Whatever the street lacks in energy, though, it makes up in wind. The buildings create a pretty severe wind tunnel.
The Flatiron building is one of the most famous buildings in NYC. It's in the old school style of skyscraper and its sort of a rounded triangular shape. The thing that I think is cool about it (besides the odd architecture) is that it has always been a publishing house. There are still publishing companies in it . . .even if all they pretty much do now is publish e-books for a kindle. Madison Square Park is directly across the street and it starts at 23rd and Broadway. The place is always packed but it's still one of my favorite parks in the city. It doesn't have the nature feel that Central Park does but as far as urban parks go, it's one of the nicest. There's a huge statue of Seward at 23rd in the park. I hate statues of humans because they creep me out. But, I do kinda like that there is one of Seward here. Apparently, he was a huge and very outspoken supporter of the abolitionist movement and that's why he was commemorated here -- the first NAACP march was down 23rd. But, this fact about him is next to forgotten. I feel like most people see the statue and think "why is there a huge sculpture of the man who purchased Alaska for a ridiculous amount of money?"
There's a huge luxury building on the southeast side of 23rd and Broadway that was built on the site of what was the worst fire in New York history. I guess fire and destruction is an acceptable reason to replace an old, cool building with a massive ugly one. And, it is ugly. It looks like a steel version of a tenement home (why do all tenements look alike?).
The Met Life building is on the corner of 23rd and Madison. It's an old building that reminds me of the Back to the Future clock tower for some bizarre reason. It's quite pretty though.
The corner of 23rd and Park Ave houses the monster modeling agency IMG. Actually all of the big modeling agencies are within 5 blocks of this one, so if you want to modelize, this is the spot to hang out. Isadora Duncan lived at the opposite corner of this intersection while she was teaching in America. Sadly, the presence of her is probably overshadowed to most by the potential presence of Gisele Bundchen.
There are a number of Gramercy bars and restaurants here which I'm sure are good but they are kind of lost because of the volume of them, the size of all of the buildings and the fact that many famous restaurants are within a couple of blocks. East 23rd is overwhelmingly skyscrapers so it's kind of hard to consider it a neighborhood kind of place. But, it does have one thing that other streets don't have: a beach. There is a tiny beach at 23rd and FDR park although swimming in the East River would be about half a step up from swimming in the sewer.

Now indelibly associated with Don Draper's elegant fedora in AMC's retro-hit series "Mad Men," Madison Avenue is nevertheless far more than womanizing ad men and Grand Central Station. From the businesslike district near Union Square to the elegant promenade marking the Upper East Side, Madison Avenue has it all. It's quite a multifarious street, with a character that shifts with the street number. Downtown and midtown Manhattan is slick and businesslike, while the uptown stretch is achingly fashionable - both the mannequins inside the windows and the real-life models trodding the pavement. North of 86th Street the neighborhood takes a more family-friendly feel, as it becomes the nexus of the Carnegie Hill area, and Yves St. Laurent gives way to open-air cafes like Bistro du Nord and Table D'Hote, and Furla bags are replaced by prams. North of 97th Street the area changes again, centering around Mount Sinai Hospital - with a wealth of quick-and-cheap eateries and bars that cater to the hospital/doctor nightlife scene. The variety of Madison Avenue is inspiring, reflecting the fascinating and diverse nature of New York.

Dolce, Dolce, Dolce! High end designers are in no short supply on Madison Avenue and even if you can't afford to shop at the high end stores it's always nice to take a peek at what you are missing. Dolce and Gabbana, Christian Dior and Armani all have stores on Madison Avenue and if anything it's fun to watch people shop away as yo walk by. The entire Avenue has a rich cultural vibe to it that should not be missed.

For high-end shopping, there is no place like it. You can find all the designer stores here. Even if you can’t afford them, it is fun to see Hermes, Dolce and Gabbana, Armani, Christian Dior, just to name a few. You have to be buzzed in to some of them. From the 57th Street to the 80’s, we were in shopping heaven. Madison isn’t known for places to eat. Our suggestion is the have a hot chocolate (the best I have ever had) and a little something at Mirabelle’s in the low-sixties.

This street is New York City. It is filled with all of the things people come here to see: fashion, restaraunts, and the gritty culture that defines this tiny island on the East Coast. It is completely PACKED with stores, restaraunts, and people, so I don't think it would be the best place to live... unless you have an addiction to shopping and eating, which most of us do.

In terms of fashion, you'll find the all too amazing PRADA! Go in and have a peek, even if you can't afford anything. If you can, you'll be given champagne as you shop, which of course, helps to loosen up those wallet strings! You'll also find Calvin Klein, Cesare Pasciotti, Christian Louboutin (one of the most amazing shoe designers on Earth!) and many others.

For food, if you can still afford it, try Istana Restaraunt and Bar for some high end drinks.

All in all, Madison Avenue is for those who came to shop!

Madison Avenue is close to several metro stations and is close to many buses. Foot traffic is heavy and I recommend the street to EVERYONE!

East 23rd street is a cool street with lots of young people and things to do. You’ll find lots of nightlife venues (Grand Saloon— good drink prices) and plenty of good eats (Viang Ping Palace— decent Chinese/Vietnamese place & Kool Bloo Express Eats, which boasts American food). I liked the coolness of the people on the street, someone for everyone I think. As I walked this street, I saw a young man dressed in clothes fresh out of 1980s and thought how wonderful it is to live in a city where freedom of expression is not only encouraged but expected.


East street is close to the following metro station: 6 at 23rd st, R/W at 23rd st , and is accessible to many buses. Foot traffic is and it is a good neighborhood for .