West 39 St, Garment District

West 39th used to be all mansions in the Garment District. But, those days, sadly, are over. Now, it's a really commercial street with some apartment buildings in the mix and about zero in the neighborhood feel region. It's not a street that people aspire to live on.
The Lord and Taylor shop is right on the corner at the start of 39th's run through the Garment District. It was quite the to do department store when it opened (about 100 years ago). Now, it's definitely a lower tier store, trailing far behind nearby Saks, Barneys, etc. But, they do still have a great holiday window display every year. The store shares the block with little stores and restaurants but nothing people are really dying to get into. The building on the other side of the street used to be PT Barnum's home. And, Sinclair Lewis lived two buildings over from that. I highly doubt any one in that vicinity of renown is living on the street these days.
The block at 6th is equally unimpressive with a coffee shop, a big commercial high rise, and the back entrance to the Marriott Hotel as its only landmarks. And, the block at Broadway is only impressive to people that work in the garment industry. The World Apparel Center takes up nearly the entire block and boasts a million square feet of showrooms and other garment related businesses. It's a pretty massive building that stands on the site of two former arts giants. The two buildings it replaced were the Maxine Elliott theatre and the Metropolitan Opera House. The theatre was a big time draw that saw plays written by Shaw, Maugham and Gregory. The Met Opera House was the home to the Met from the late 19th century until they moved to Lincoln Center. When it moved, they demanded the building be torn down so no rival companies could use the space. Both were demolished in the '60's which I think is such a shame.
39th's run through the neighborhood ends at 8th Avenue with a very appropriate block at 7th. There are two massive buildings on the block. One houses wholesale fabrics and textiles offices. And, the other is the building where Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan are all headquartered. It's not a block you'd want to live on (none of the blocks on this street are). But, if you work in fashion, this is probably the spot to be. There's no neighborhood vibe here and no bars or restaurants so it's a depressing place to live. But, at least it's a part of the garment district that's actually responsible for good garments.