East 54 St, Midtown

East 54th starts off in Midtown at Lexington with a chainapalooza. There are chains pretty much taking over this entire block though a couple of them aren't so bad. The Citibank building is the massive ugly guy on the west corner. And, the rest of the buildings are pretty much all commercial though nothing as noteworthy as a bank headquarter, I suppose. Hale and Hearty Soups is on this block as well, and I must admit that they do really have great soup and you are hard pressed to not find at least one you want to try. Goodburger is also here which I've never tried outside of the shakes (which are delicious). And, Bobby Van's Steakhouse is here which I have also never tried because it's just too much of a chain for me to brave attempting a steak.
Across Park, you run into the Lever House Building which is a landmark building that went up in the '50's. It was said to be a pioneer of modern architecture and it is pretty impressive considering the glass building was so unheard of when construction began. The block is very commercial now with a deli, a liquor store (hard to find in the city),a Papyrus store, etc. But, it's still Park Avenue, after all. Georgia O'Keefe and Lillian Russel both lived on this block. The Hotel Elysee Building is next door to the Lever House and it used to be a very grand, artsy hotel. It's a real pity it isn't anymore. Tallulah Bankhead, Joe Dimaggio, Marlon Brando and Ava Gardner were all frequent guests. And, Tennessee Williams died at this hotel. This must have been quite a block to be on sixty some odd years ago!
The block between Madison and 5th Avenue is a commercial block but it's a nice one, at least. There are a few cute Italian restaurants, a steakhouse, Hugo Boss and the Elizabeth Arden Salon all within a few feet of each other which really makes the commercial business buildings bearable. There's also a museum on this block which makes it pretty dang well rounded, in my opinion.
54th isn't too bad for a midtown street. It has some good restaurants, a little bit of culture, shopping and architecture. It doesn't have any night life at all and I think it's a little too busy and business like during the day for me to ever want to live here. . . but, it's not bad.