East 33 St, Murray Hill

There's not a whole lot in the way of neighborhood energy at the start of 33rd's run through Murray Hill, but the block at 3rd is very much what I expect of a New York City block which makes it great (even if I wouldn't want to live on it). There are two delis right next to each other on the corner which is really weird but I guess it doesn't hurt business much seeing as neither have yet to close. There are also a couple of little home stores and quite a few good little restaurants considering what neighborhood this is. There's a place called Trio that has excellent little snacks, a cool French place, a sushi spot (if you're into that) and a curry joint. So, there's pretty much something for every kind of mood on this one little block. That's one of the things I love about this city. There's a school on this block as well which is in a beautiful Greek revival looking building. It makes all of my schools seem really shabby.
The block at Lex has a massive design center for all things related to interior design and an equally massive high school. This school is particularly interesting because it's more like a commercial skyscraper than what you would imagine a kid's school to be. I feel like that must be a daunting place to walk into every day. Midwesterners must gasp when they see this building and realize that thirteen year olds learn in there. It's very futuristic and surreal.
Speaking of buildings, the block at Park has some really interesting ones. There's an art deco building from the 20's on the south side of the street that Ayn Rand worked at before she wrote The Fountainhead. And, across the street there's a sort of three tower looking building from the early 20th century that used to be the Vanderbilt Hotel. It was one of the more fashionable hotels in its day - -as all things Vanderbilt were. And, though it has long since been converted into quite expensive apartments, the famous vaulted entryway remains intact. There's a really popular steak house on the ground floor called Wolfgang's which was started by the former head waiter of Peter Luger (one of the most famous steakhouses in the city).
The block after Madison begins to take on more of a midtown feel with sort of shapeless buildings with bizarre stores and little hole in the wall takeout places. But, there are some great buildings such as the one on the west corner with the massive, gorgeous arched windows. And, there is a, though, touristy, fun beer bar with an insane amount of beers just across the street. The kitsch starts to slither in around this block but the street isn't entirely midtown just yet . . which is a good thing.
I wouldn't want to live on 33rd because it's just too anonymous city for me. I need a neighborhood feel and this doesn't have it. But, it is one of the better streets in the neighborhood and it's not an unlivable street by any standard.