West 24th St, Chelsea

I don't particularly like Chelsea, but the really West part of it has some spectacular old stuff. And, it is a little bit quieter and a little bit windier (thanks to the Hudson). So, some of the streets actually feel somewhat like a real neighborhood. 24th street has a little bit of that . . . for one whole block.
The block of 24th between 9th and 10th is interesting because it used to be all giant townhouses with actual yards. It was called Millionaires Row. The north side of the street landmarked and saved 10 or so of the houses and they are definitely worth checking out. I've done it a few times despite the current residents thinking I was some crazy lurker. The homes, themselves, are exquisite and the fact that there is one entire side of a block that has actual front yards is a total oddity in Manhattan. The opposite side of the street has a massive apartment building where the mansions used to be. And, when I say massive, I mean massive: the building has like 1,500 units. That's more apartments than two college dorm buildings. Once you get into the upper floors of the building, I'm sure the view of the Hudson is great. But, I don't think any view can make up for demolishing an entire block of actual houses from the early 19th century.
Most of the street is big buildings now -- like much of New York. The original YMCA is right at the corner of 7th and 24th. Apparently, this is where Merril met Lynch (in the swimming pool), YMCA's get a bad rap but most of them in the city are quite nice. There is a beautiful old building at 6th that used to be the most exclusive hotel in the city -- people like Boss Tweed would hang out here. Now, it's a toy store -- go figure. The infamous Stanford White's house was at 22 West 24th. And, it is now a carpet store.
There isn't much history on this street anymore, alas. Most of Chelsea -- particular as you get closer to 5th Ave is all skyscraper now. Most of the old world buildings have been torn down to make room for things such as Whole Foods. But, as far as convenience, there isn't really anywhere else in the city that you can run all of your errands in an hour other than the West 20's.