:Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue between 42nd Street and Central Park South (59th Street) was relatively undeveloped through the late 19th century.{{cite web|date=June 23, 2009|title=John Peirce Residence|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2327.pdf|access-date=April 28, 2021|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission}}{{Rp|2}} The surrounding area was once part of the common lands of the city of New York, which was allocated "all the waste, vacant, unpatented, and unappropriated lands" as a result of the 1686 Dongan Charter.{{cite web |last=Stokes |first=Isaac Newton Phelps |year=1915 |title=The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498–1909 |url=https://archive.org/details/iconographyofman06stok |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415060518/http://archive.org:80/details/iconographyofman06stok |archive-date=April 15, 2012 |volume=6 |publisher=Robert H. Dodd |page=67 |via=Internet Archive}} The city's Common Council came to own a large amount of land, primarily in the middle of the island away from the Hudson and East Rivers, as a result of grants by the Dutch provincial government to the colony of New Amsterdam. Although originally more extensive, by 1785 the council held approximately {{convert|1300|acres|ha}}, or about 9 percent of the island.{{cite citygrid|pages=17–28}}

The lots along what is now Fifth Avenue were laid out in the late 18th century following the American Revolutionary War.{{Rp|2}} The city's Common Council had, starting in June 1785, attempted to raise money by selling property. The land that the Council owned was not suitable for farming or residential estates, and it was also far away from any roads or waterways. To divide the common lands into sellable lots, and to lay out roads to service them, the Council hired Casimir Goerck to survey them. Goerck was instructed to make lots of about {{convert|5|acre|ha}} each and to lay out roads to access the lots. He completed his task in December 1785, creating 140 lots of varying sizes, oriented with the east–west axis longer than the north–south axis. As part of the plan, Goerck drew up a street called Middle Road, which eventually became Fifth Avenue.{{cite book|last=Bridges|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GJjKOwTS1sC|title=Map of the City of New York and Island of Manhattan: With Explanatory Remarks and References|publisher=author|year=1811|page=|access-date=May 12, 2021}}{{cite web|last=Reps|first=John W.|title=1811 COMMISSIONERS PLAN FOR NEW YORK|url=http://urbanplanning.library.cornell.edu/DOCS/nyc1811.htm|access-date=May 12, 2021|website=URBAN PLANNING, 1794–1918}}

The topography of the lots contributed to the public's reluctance to buy the lots. By 1794, with the city growing ever more populated and the inhabited area constantly moving north towards the Common Lands, the Council decided to try again, hiring Goerck once more to re-survey and map the area. He was instructed to make the lots more uniform and rectangular and to lay out roads to the west and east of Middle Road, as well as to lay out east–west streets of {{convert|60|ft|m}} each. Goerck's East and West Roads later became Fourth and Sixth Avenues, while Goerck's cross streets became the modern-day numbered east–west streets. Goerck took two years to survey the 212 lots which encompassed the entire Common Lands. The Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which prescribed the street plan for Manhattan, was heavily inspired from Goerck's two surveys.{{Rp|9}}

File:Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street by Robert L. Bracklow.jpg

From the early 19th century, some plots on Fifth Avenue in Midtown were acquired by the wealthy and by institutions. In the mid-19th century, Fifth Avenue between 40th and 59th Streets was home to several institutions such as the Colored Orphan Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, and St. Luke's Hospital.{{Rp|2}}{{cite book|last=Maurice|first=Arthur Bartlett|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZFuAAAAMAAJ|title=Fifth Avenue|publisher=Dodd, Mead|year=1918|page=|isbn=9781421962672 |access-date=May 12, 2021}}{{Rp|282–283}} Other uses such as a cattle farm remained until the 1860s.{{Rp|2}} One of the first large houses to be built on Fifth Avenue was Henry J. Brevoort's three-story residence at Ninth Street, which was completed in 1834. Subsequently, other farm owners decided to build houses along Fifth Avenue and its cross-streets.{{cite web |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=November 5, 2024 |title=Fifth Avenue: The 'Street of Dreams' for Over a Century |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/05/realestate/millionaires-mile-fifth-avenue-gilded-age.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}

The portion of Fifth Avenue in Midtown became an upscale residential area following the American Civil War.{{Rp|2}}{{Rp|578}} Among the first people to develop such structures was Mary Mason Jones, who built the "Marble Row" on the eastern side of Fifth Avenue from 57th to 58th Streets between 1868 and 1870.{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=July 6, 2012|title=A Woman With an Architectural Appetite|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/realestate/streetscapes-a-woman-with-an-architectural-appetite.html|access-date=November 20, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite NY1880}}{{Rp|578}} Her sister Rebecca Colford Jones erected ornate houses of her own one block south.{{Rp|2}}{{Rp|578}} Further development came in the late 1870s with the construction of three Vanderbilt family residences along Fifth Avenue between 51st and 59th Streets (the William H., William K., and Cornelius II mansions).{{Rp|578, 580}}{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=April 9, 1995|title=Streetscapes/647 Fifth Avenue; A Versace Restoration for a Vanderbilt Town House|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/09/realestate/streetscapes-647-fifth-avenue-a-versace-restoration-for-a-vanderbilt-town-house.html|access-date=May 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} In the 1880s and 1890s, the ten blocks of Fifth Avenue south of Central Park (at 59th Street) were known as "Vanderbilt Row".{{Rp|3}}

The Vanderbilts' relocation prompted many business owners on Fifth Avenue between Madison Square and 34th Street to move uptown.{{Rp|581}} The upper section of Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, facing the newly created Central Park, was not developed at that time because of what the Real Estate Record and Guide described as the presence of "no opposite neighbors", as the Upper West Side was not yet developed.{{Rp|580–581}}{{cite magazine|date=November 18, 1876|title=Central Park Lots|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031128_018&page=ldpd_7031128_018_00000347&no=1|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=18|pages=851|via=columbia.edu|number=453}} Wealthy New Yorkers were buying land between 50th and 80th Streets and developing houses there in the 1880s. By 1915, the mansions on Fifth Avenue stretched all the way to 96th Street.

File:Fifth Avenue after a snow storm.jpg

The midtown blocks were largely a residential area until the turn of the 20th century, when they were developed as commercial areas.{{cite book|last=Wist|first=Ronda|title=On Fifth Avenue : then and now|publisher=Carol Pub. Group|year=1992|isbn=978-1-55972-155-4|publication-place=New York|oclc=26852090}}{{cite magazine|date=April 6, 1907|title=Mr. Edward Harriman...|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_15.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=79|pages=296|via=columbia.edu|number=2038}} As early as 1900, rising traffic led to proposals to restrict traffic on the avenue.{{Cite news|date=February 9, 1900|title=Fifth Avenue Traffic Bill; Mr. Weekes Introduces the Bill to Bar Wagons During Certain Hours|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/02/09/archives/fifth-avenue-traffic-bill-mr-weekes-introduces-the-bill-to-bar.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} The section south of Central Park was widened starting in 1908, sacrificing wide sidewalks to accommodate the increasing traffic. As part of the widening project, the New York City government ordered the removal of stoops and other "encroachments" onto the sidewalk in February 1908.{{Cite news|date=February 7, 1908|title=Fifth Av. Buildings Must Be Trimmed; City Orders the Removal of Stoops and Vaults That Are Encroachments|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/02/07/archives/fifth-av-buildings-must-be-trimmed-city-orders-the-removal-of.html|access-date=June 18, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} The buildings that needed to be trimmed included the Waldorf–Astoria hotel. By early 1911, the avenue had been widened south of 47th Street.{{Cite news|date=March 26, 1911|title=Thoroughfares Are Now Being Widened; The Waldorf-Astoria's Fancy Entrance at 34th Street Will Soon Be Torn Down.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/03/26/archives/thoroughfares-are-now-being-widened-the-waldorfastorias-fancy.html|access-date=June 18, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Later that year, when widening commenced on the section between 47th and 59th Streets, many of the mansions on that stretch of Fifth Avenue were truncated or demolished. In addition, the front facades of St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church were relocated, and the gardens in front of the St. Regis and Gotham hotels had to be destroyed.{{Cite news|date=August 13, 1911|title=Upper Fifth Avenue in Wreckers' Hands; New York's Most Famous Mansions Have Their Facades Cut Back to Widen Thoroughfare.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/08/13/archives/upper-fifth-avenue-in-wreckers-hands-new-yorks-most-famous-mansions.html|access-date=June 18, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

The first commercial building on Fifth Avenue was erected by Benjamin Altman, who bought the corner lot on the northeast corner of 34th Street in 1896.{{Cite news|date=December 11, 1904|title=Altman Firm to Build a Fifth Avenue Store; New Establishment to Be Opposite Waldorf-Astoria.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/11/archives/altman-firm-to-build-a-fifth-avenue-store-new-establishment-to-be.html|access-date=September 10, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} The B. Altman and Company Building was erected between 1906 and 1914, occupying the whole of its block front. The result was the creation of a high-end shopping district that attracted fashionable women and the upscale stores that wished to serve them.{{cite aia5}}{{rp|266}} The Lord & Taylor Building, formerly Lord & Taylor's flagship store and now an Amazon.com office, was built at Fifth Avenue and 38th Street in 1914.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/22/archives/fifth-avenues-wonderful-evolution-as-shopping-centre.html|title=Fifth Avenue's Wonderful Evolution as Shopping Centre|date=February 22, 1914|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 11, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The Saks Fifth Avenue Building, serving as Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship, opened between 49th and 50th Streets in 1924.{{Cite news|date=September 7, 1924|title=Saks New Store Opens Tomorrow; Marks Another Milestone in the Development of Fifth Avenue|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/09/07/archives/saks-new-store-opens-tomorrow-marks-another-milestone-in-the.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} The Bergdorf Goodman Building between 57th and 58th Streets, the flagship of Bergdorf Goodman, opened in stages between 1928 and 1929.{{rp|2}}

By the 1920s, Fifth Avenue was the most active area for development in Midtown, and developers were starting to build north of 45th Street, which had previously been considered the boundary for profitable developments.{{rp|2–3}}{{cite web|date=December 19, 2003|title=Fred F. French Building|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/03001514.pdf|publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service|access-date=October 7, 2020}}{{rp|14–15}}{{cite news|date=July 25, 1926|title=Millions of Dollars for New Buildings Invested in the Fifth Avenue Area: Steady Increase Shown in Real Estate Values|page=RE1|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/103796193/9335A1A67FEB4160PQ/|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest}} The most active year for construction in that decade was 1926, when thirty office buildings were constructed on Fifth Avenue.{{rp|2}}{{rp|14}}{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Cervin|title=Skyscraper style : art deco, New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1975|isbn=978-0-19-502112-7|publication-place=New York|page=12|language=en|oclc=1266717}} The two-block-wide area between Fifth and Park Avenues, which represented eight percent of Manhattan's land area, contained 25% of developments that commenced between 1924 and 1926. On the Upper East Side, many of the mansions on Fifth Avenue were replaced with luxury apartment buildings beginning in the 1920s. In many cases, these mansion owners could no longer afford the upkeep or staffing costs of these mansions.

In the 1920s, traffic towers controlled important intersections along the lower portion of Fifth Avenue.{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=May 16, 2014|title=A History of New York Traffic Lights|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/realestate/a-history-of-new-york-traffic-lights.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} The idea of using patrolmen to control traffic at busy Fifth Avenue intersections was introduced as early as 1914.{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=S. W.|date=August 3, 1914|title=Fifth Avenue Traffic; Plan for Policeman in "Crow's Nest" Is Proposed|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/08/03/archives/fifth-avenue-traffic-plan-for-policeman-in-crows-nest-is-proposed.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} The first such towers were installed in 1920 upon a gift by Dr. John A. Harriss, who paid for patrolmen's sheds in the middle of Fifth Avenue at 34th, 38th, 42nd, 50th and 57th Streets.{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=February 2, 1997|title=Mystery of 104 Bronze Statues of Mercury|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/02/realestate/mystery-of-104-bronze-statues-of-mercury.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} Two years later, the Fifth Avenue Association gave seven {{convert|23|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} bronze traffic towers, designed by Joseph H. Freedlander, at important intersections between 14th and 57th Streets for a total cost of $126,000.{{Cite news|date=June 20, 1922|title=Start New Towers for 5th Av. Traffic|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/06/20/archives/start-new-towers-for-5th-av-traffic-city-and-civic-leaders-break.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} The traffic signals reduced travel time along Fifth Avenue between 34th and 57th Streets, from 40 minutes before the installation of the traffic towers to 15 minutes afterward. Freedlander's towers were removed in 1929 after they were deemed to be obstacles to the movement of traffic.{{Cite news|date=February 2, 1929|title=Signal Towers to Go as 5th Av. Obstacles|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/02/02/archives/signal-towers-to-go-as-5th-av-obstacles-whalen-and-merchants-agree.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} He was commissioned to design bronze traffic signals at the corners of these intersections, with statues of Mercury atop the signals. The Mercury signals survived through 1964, and some of the statues were restored in 1971.{{Cite news|date=May 13, 1971|title=Statuettes of Mercury Restored to Fifth Ave|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/13/archives/statuettes-of-mercury-restored-to-fifth-ave.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}

In 1954, rising traffic led to a proposal to limit use of the avenue to buses and taxis only.{{Cite news|last=Sershen|first=John|date=December 22, 1954|title=Restricted Fifth Avenue Traffic|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/12/22/archives/restricted-fifth-avenue-traffic.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} On January 14, 1966, Fifth Avenue below 135th Street was changed to carry only one-way traffic southbound, and Madison Avenue was changed to one-way northbound. Both avenues had previously carried bidirectional traffic.

Through the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of the upscale retailers that once lined Fifth Avenue's midtown section moved away or closed altogether.{{cite NY1960}}{{rp|390}}{{Cite news|last=Barmash|first=Isadore|date=October 3, 1970|title=Best & Co. Is Expected to Close, Speeding Evolution of fifth Ave.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/03/archives/best-co-is-expected-to-close-speeding-evolution-of-5th-ave.html|access-date=June 21, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} According to a 1971 survey of the avenue, conducted by the Office of Midtown Planning under the leadership of Jaquelin T. Robertson, only 57 percent of building frontages between 34th and 57th Street were used as stores. The remaining frontage, including was used for companies such as banks and airline ticket offices. The section between 34th and 42nd Street, once the main shopping district on Fifth Avenue, was identified in the survey as being in decline. The section between 42nd and 50th Street was characterized as having almost no ground-level retail. The section between 50th Street and Grand Army Plaza was identified as having a robust retail corridor that was starting to decay.{{rp|390}}

In February 1971, New York City mayor John Lindsay proposed a special zoning district to preserve the retail character of Fifth Avenue's midtown section. The legislation prescribed a minimum percentage of retail space for new buildings on Fifth Avenue, but it also provided "bonuses", such as additional floor area, for buildings that had more than the minimum amount of retail. The legislation also encouraged the construction of several mixed-use buildings with retail at the lowest stories, offices at the middle stories, and apartments at the top stories.{{cite news|date=February 10, 1971|title=New York Proposes Zoning Law to Save Fifth Avenue Shops: Special Zoning District Would Require Ground-Floor Retail Outlets in All New Buildings|page=30|work=The Wall Street Journal|issn=0099-9660|id={{ProQuest|133625773}}}}{{Cite news|last=Stern|first=Michael|date=February 10, 1971|title=A Plan to 'Save' 5th Ave.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/10/archives/a-plan-to-save-5th-ave-5th-ave-zoning-plan-calls-for-stores-and.html|access-date=June 21, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} The types of retail included in this legislation were strictly defined; for example, airline ticket offices and banks did not count toward the retail space. Furthermore, new skyscrapers on the eastern side of the avenue were allowed to be built up to the boundary of the sidewalk. To align with the buildings of Rockefeller Center, new buildings on the western side had to contain a setback at least {{Convert|50|ft}} deep at a height of {{Convert|85|ft}} or lower.{{Rp|390, 392}} The New York City Planning Commission approved this legislation in March 1971.{{Cite news|last=Weisman|first=Steven B.|date=March 4, 1971|title=Planners Vote Zone Plan To Save Fifth Ave. Stores|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/04/archives/planners-vote-zone-plan-to-save-fifth-ave-stores.html|access-date=June 21, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} The legislation was adopted that April.{{cite news|last=Scott|first=Gil|date=April 20, 1971|title=New York's 'Fifth' may glow at night, too: Bonuses offered Restrictions seen Gallery-like setting? Apartments valued|page=B7|work=The Hartford Courant|id={{ProQuest|511211737}}}} Just before the legislation was enacted, American Airlines leased a ground-level storefront on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street; Robertson initially disputed the move, even though it had been finalized before the legislation was proposed.{{Rp|392}}{{Cite news|last=Whitehouse|first=Franklin|date=April 4, 1971|title=City and American Airlines at Odds Over Ticket Office in Old Georg Jensen Building on Fifth Avenue|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/04/archives/city-and-american-airlines-at-odds-over-ticket-office-in-old-georg.html|access-date=June 21, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} As part of an experiment in 1970, Lindsay closed Fifth Avenue between 42nd and 57th Street to vehicular traffic for seven hours on Saturdays.{{Cite news|last=Schumach|first=Murray|date=July 12, 1970|title=Crowds Stroll in Fifth Avenue|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/12/archives/crowds-stroll-in-fifth-avenue-traffic-barred-for-day-pollution.html|access-date=December 5, 2022|issn=0362-4331}}

In 1997, a midblock crosswalk was installed south of the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 50th Street, part of an experiment to allow vehicular traffic to turn without conflicting with pedestrians.{{cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=December 31, 1997 |title=Another Week For Barriers In Midtown |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/31/nyregion/another-week-for-barriers-in-midtown.html |access-date=October 18, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} The former southern crosswalk at Fifth Avenue and 50th Street was fenced off;{{Cite news|last=Haberman|first=Clyde|date=April 14, 1998|title=NYC; If Barricades Help Traffic, Proof Is Secret|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/14/nyregion/nyc-if-barricades-help-traffic-proof-is-secret.html|access-date=May 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite web |last=Bonanos |first=Christopher |date=October 17, 2024 |title=It'll Be a Whole New Fifth Avenue |url=https://www.curbed.com/article/fifth-avenue-city-plan-redesign-cars-pedestrian-sidewalks.html |access-date=October 18, 2024 |website=Curbed}} the relocated crosswalk was one of a few midblock crosswalks in the city.{{Cite news |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=April 11, 1998 |title=Barricade-Weary Pedestrians Welcome New Midblock Crosswalks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/11/nyregion/barricade-weary-pedestrians-welcome-new-midblock-crosswalks.html |access-date=October 13, 2020 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} A similar crosswalk was later installed south of 49th Street.{{cite news |last=Gardner |first=Ralph Jr |date=May 14, 2010 |title=New York City's Great Barrier Grief |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704635204575242480554455468 |access-date=October 18, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660}} Both of the recessed crosswalks were removed in 2018.

In June 2020, mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would test out busways on Fifth Avenue from 57th to 34th Street, banning through traffic from private vehicles.{{cite web |last=Gartland |first=Michael |date=June 8, 2020 |title=De Blasio announces 20 miles of new express MTA busways as NYC begins to reopen |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-de-blasio-nyc-transit-mta-busways-phase-one-20200608-b2ybwetkqfg5lapewbzw3xy67i-story.html |access-date=June 8, 2020 |website=New York Daily News}}{{cite web |date=June 8, 2020 |title=Better Buses Restart: Mayor de Blasio Announces Major Projects to Speed Buses During City's Phased Reopening |url=http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/417-20/better-buses-restart-mayor-de-blasio-major-projects-speed-buses-during-city-s-phased |access-date=June 8, 2020 |website=The official website of the City of New York}} Despite an October 2020 deadline, the Fifth Avenue busway was not in place at that time.{{cite web |last=Guse |first=Clayton |date=December 7, 2020 |title=De Blasio's plan to add new 'busways' in NYC for essential workers falls short |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-busways-nyc-pandemic-dot-20201207-gbrtdidmozcbtbj6246rgpnbdu-story.html |access-date=February 21, 2021 |website=New York Daily News}} Due to opposition from local business owners,{{cite web |last=Rubinstein |first=Dana |last2=Hu |first2=Winnie |date=October 26, 2021 |title=Faster Buses on 5th Avenue? Not if Business Leaders Get Their Way. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/nyregion/fifth-ave-bus-deblasio.html |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} the busway was ultimately downsized.{{cite web |last=Duggan |first=Kevin |date=August 4, 2021 |title=DOT rolls back traffic restrictions on delayed Fifth Avenue busway after backlash |url=https://www.amny.com/transit/city-rolls-back-fifth-ave-busway/ |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=amNewYork}}{{cite web |last=Hu |first=Winnie |date=October 17, 2024 |title=Can a $350 Million Plan Transform 5th Avenue Into a Grand Boulevard? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/17/nyregion/fifth-avenue-redesign-pedestrians.html |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}

In December 2022, Mayor Eric Adams proposed rebuilding the midtown section of Fifth Avenue,{{cite web |last=Re |first=Justine |last2=Garcia |first2=Deanna |date=December 18, 2022 |title=Adams unveils plan to reimagine Bryant Park, Central Park |url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2022/12/18/adams-unveils-plan-to-reimagine-bryant-park--central-park |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=Spectrum News NY1}}{{cite web |last=Wachs |first=Audrey |date=December 20, 2022 |title=Fifth Avenue redesign gives pedestrians free reign[sic] over one of the city's busiest streets |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2022/12/fifth-avenue-redesign-pedestrians-free-reign-city-busiest-streets/ |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=The Architect's Newspaper}} and the NYCDOT temporarily closed Fifth Avenue between 48th and 57th Streets to all vehicular traffic for three weekends.{{cite web | title=Iconic 5th Avenue Stretch Is Only for Pedestrians This Month | website=NBC New York | date=December 2, 2022 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/holidays/5th-avenue-is-only-for-pedestrians-this-december/3981273/ | access-date=December 5, 2022}}{{cite web | last=Manna | first=Victoria | title=Fifth Avenue closed to traffic for the first time | website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City | date=December 4, 2022 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/queens/news/2022/12/04/fifth-avenue-closed-to-traffic-for-the-first-time | access-date=December 5, 2022}} Excluding special events such as parades, this was the first time since the 1970s that the midtown section of Fifth Avenue was closed to vehicular traffic.{{cite web | last=Lazar | first=David | title=Fifth Avenue will go car-free for three December Sundays | website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City | date=November 22, 2022 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/traffic/2022/11/22/fifth-avenue-will-go-car-free-for-three-december-sundays | access-date=December 5, 2022}}{{cite web |last=Adcroft |first=Patrick |date=October 17, 2024 |title=City unveils pedestrian-centered redesign of Fifth Avenue corridor |url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2024/10/17/city-unveils-pedestrian-centered-redesign-of-fifth-avenue-corridor |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=Spectrum News NY1}} In October 2024, Adams and the Future of Fifth Partnership proposed redesigning Fifth Avenue between 60th and 40th Streets.{{cite web |date=October 17, 2024 |title=NYC's 5th Avenue is about to be transformed. See the renderings |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/manhattan/5th-avenue-redesign-renderings/5897329/ |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=NBC New York}} The proposal would cost $230 million and would include widening sidewalks from {{convert|23|to|33.5|ft}}; removing two of the five traffic lanes; and adding benches, planters, and 230 trees. The plans did not include a bike lane for the avenue, as previous proposals had entailed; instead, an existing bike lane on Sixth Avenue would be widened for two-way bike traffic.{{cite web |last=Lane |first=Charles |date=October 17, 2024 |title=NYC reaches deal with 5th Avenue merchants to redesign busy shopping corridor |url=https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-reaches-deal-with-fifth-avenue-merchants-to-redesign-busy-shopping-corridor |access-date=October 18, 2024 |website=Gothamist}} If the plans received final approval, the avenue could be rebuilt starting in 2028. Adams announced in December 2024 that the city government would spend at least $150 million rebuilding Fifth Avenue in midtown.{{cite web |last=Russo-Lennon |first=Barbara |date=December 8, 2024 |title=Walk this way: Fifth Avenue to become a pedestrian paradise in $150 million+ redesign plan |url=https://www.amny.com/new-york/manhattan/fifth-avenue-pedestrian-redesign-plan-2024/ |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=amNewYork}}{{cite web |last=Corso |first=Phil |date=December 9, 2024 |title=Mayor Adams unveils $150M plan to transform 5th Avenue into pedestrian-centered boulevard |url=https://gothamist.com/news/mayor-adams-unveils-150m-plan-to-transform-5th-avenue-into-pedestrian-centered-boulevard |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=Gothamist}}

Fifth Avenue originates at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village and runs northwards through the heart of Midtown, along the eastern side of Central Park, where it forms the boundary of the Upper East Side and through Harlem, where it terminates at the Harlem River at 142nd Street. Traffic crosses the river on the Madison Avenue Bridge.

Fifth Avenue serves as the dividing line for house numbering and west–east streets in Manhattan; for example, it separates East 59th Street from West 59th Street. Higher-numbered avenues such as Sixth Avenue are to the west of Fifth Avenue, while lower-numbered avenues such as Third Avenue are to the east. Address numbers on west–east streets increase in both directions as one moves away from Fifth Avenue. A hundred street address numbers were provided for every block to the east or west of Fifth Avenue; for instance, the addresses on West 50th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues were numbered 1–99 West 50th Street, and between Sixth and Seventh Avenues 100–199 West 50th Street.{{Cite news|last=Williams|first=Keith|date=September 15, 2017|title=Manhattan's Confusing Avenue Addresses (Published 2017)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/nyregion/manhattans-confusing-avenue-addresses.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} The building lot numbering system worked similarly on the East Side before Madison and Lexington Avenues were added to the street grid laid out in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. Unlike at other avenues, west–east street addresses do not increment to the next hundred to the east of Madison and Lexington Avenues.

The "most expensive street in the world" moniker changes depending on currency fluctuations and local economic conditions from year to year. For several years starting in the mid-1990s, the shopping district between 49th and 57th Streets was ranked as having the world's most expensive retail spaces on a cost per square foot basis.Foderaro, Lisa W. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01EEDF1331F93AA15757C0A961958260 "Survey Reaffirms 5th Ave. at Top of the Retail Rent Heap"], The New York Times, April 29, 1997. Retrieved February 5, 2008. In 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Fifth Avenue as being the most expensive street in the world. Some of the most coveted real estate on Fifth Avenue are the penthouses perched atop the buildings.{{cite web|url=http://www.NYCPenthouses.com|title=- Manhattan NYC New York Penthouses for Sale and Rent. Manhattan Penthouse Apartments|website=www.nycpenthouses.com}}

The American Planning Association (APA) compiled a list of "2012 Great Places in America" and declared Fifth Avenue to be one of the greatest streets to visit in America. This historic street has many world-renowned museums, businesses and stores, parks, luxury apartments, and historical landmarks that are reminiscent of its history and vision for the future.[http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/ Great Places in America]. Planning.org (February 24, 2011). Retrieved July 19, 2013.

File:US Navy 050317-N-5637H-001 Members of Naval Reserve Center Bronx's color guard march up Fifth Avenue in New York City (NYC), at the 244th Annual NYC St. Patrick's Day parade.jpg

Fifth Avenue from 142nd Street to 135th Street carries two-way traffic. Fifth Avenue carries one-way traffic southbound from 143rd Street to 142nd Street and from 135th Street to Washington Square North. The changeover to one-way traffic south of 135th Street took place on January 14, 1966, at which time Madison Avenue was changed to one way uptown (northbound).{{Cite news|last=Kihss|first=Peter|date=January 12, 1966|title=5th and Madison Avenues Become One-Way Friday; Change to Come 7 Weeks Ahead of Schedule to Ease Strike Traffic 5th and Madison to Be Made One-Way Friday|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/01/12/archives/5th-and-madison-avenues-become-oneway-friday-change-to-come-7-weeks.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} From 124th Street to 120th Street, Fifth Avenue is cut off by Marcus Garvey Park, with southbound traffic diverted around the park via Mount Morris Park West.

Fifth Avenue is the traditional route for many celebratory parades in New York City; thus, it is closed to traffic on numerous Sundays in warm weather. The longest running parade is the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. Parades held are distinct from the ticker-tape parades held on the "Canyon of Heroes" on lower Broadway, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held on Broadway from the Upper West Side downtown to Herald Square. Fifth Avenue parades usually proceed from south to north, with the exception of the LGBT Pride March, which goes north to south to end in Greenwich Village. The Latino literary classic by New Yorker Giannina Braschi, entitled "Empire of Dreams", takes place on the Puerto Rican Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/bookfest/author/giannina_braschi|title=Giannina Braschi|work=National Book Festival|publisher=Library of Congress|year=2012|quote='Braschi, one of the most revolutionary voices in Latin America today' is the author of Empire of Dreams.}}{{Citation|last1=Marting|first1=Diane|title= New/Nueva York in Giannina Braschi's 'Poetic Egg': Fragile Identity, Postmodernism, and Globalization|place=Indiana|publisher=The Global South|pages=167–182|date=2010}}.

Bicycling on Fifth Avenue ranges from segregated with a bike lane south of 23rd Street, to scenic along Central Park, to dangerous through Midtown with very heavy traffic during rush hours. There is no dedicated bike lane along most of Fifth Avenue.{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bikemap-2019.pdf|title=NYC DOT – Bicycle Maps|date=2019|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Transportation|access-date=May 14, 2019}} A protected bike lane south of 23rd Street was added in 2017,{{Cite web|date=July 13, 2017|title=Here Are The Changes Coming To The Fifth Avenue Bike Lane|url=https://patch.com/new-york/gramercy-murray-hill/here-are-changes-coming-fifth-avenue-bike-lane|access-date=October 13, 2020|website=Gramercy-Murray Hill, NY Patch|language=en}} and another protected lane for bidirectional bike traffic between 110th and 120th Streets was announced in 2020.{{Cite web|first=Jake|last=Offenhartz|date=February 19, 2020|title=Here Are The New Protected Bike Lanes Coming To Manhattan In 2020|url=http://gothamist.com/news/here-are-new-protected-bike-lanes-coming-manhattan-year|access-date=October 13, 2020|website=Gothamist|language=en}}

In July 1987, New York City Mayor Ed Koch proposed banning bicycling on Fifth, Park, and Madison Avenues during weekdays, but many bicyclists protested and had the ban overturned.{{cite web |last=Dunham |first=Mary Frances |url=http://www.transalt.org/files/resources/blueprint/features/parkandmad.html |title=Bicycle Blueprint – Fifth, Park and Madison |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023623/http://www.transalt.org/files/resources/blueprint/features/parkandmad.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |website=Transportation Alternatives |access-date=April 27, 2009}}{{cite web|last=Komanoff|first=Charles|date=August 7, 2012|title=The Bicycle Uprising: Remembering the Midtown Bike Ban 25 Years Later|url=https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2012/08/07/the-bicycle-uprising-remembering-the-midtown-bike-ban-25-years-later/|access-date=May 12, 2021|website=Streetsblog New York City}} When the trial was started on August 24, 1987, for 90 days to ban bicyclists from these three avenues from 31st Street to 59th Street between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, mopeds would not be banned.{{Cite news|date=August 25, 1987|title=Ban on Bikes Could Bring More Mopeds|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/25/nyregion/ban-on-bikes-could-bring-more-mopeds.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} On August 31, 1987, a state appeals court judge halted the ban for at least a week pending a ruling after opponents against the ban brought a lawsuit.{{Cite news|date=September 4, 1987|title=Bike Messengers: Life in Tight Lane|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/04/nyregion/bike-messengers-life-in-tight-lane.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} A bike lane on Fifth Avenue between 59th and 42nd Streets was proposed in late 2022.{{cite web | last=Chang | first=Rachel | title=NYC's Famed Fifth Avenue to Get a Major Revamp | website=Travel + Leisure | date=December 20, 2022 | url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/nyc-fifth-avenue-pedestrian-friendly-plan-6944792 | access-date=December 30, 2023}}

Fifth Avenue is one of the few major streets in Manhattan along which streetcars did not operate. Instead, transportation along Fifth Avenue was initially provided by the Fifth Avenue Transportation Company, which provided horse-drawn service from 1885 to 1896. It was replaced by Fifth Avenue Coach, which continued to offer bus service.{{cite web|last=Reale|first=Nicholas|date=July 14, 2014|title=Where the Subway Won't Go: A Brief Transit History of Fifth Avenue, New York City|url=https://untappedcities.com/2014/07/14/where-the-subway-wont-go-a-brief-transit-history-of-fifth-avenue-new-york-city/|access-date=May 12, 2021|website=Untapped New York}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qS4_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA778|title=Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York|publisher=J.B. Lyon Company, printers|year=1910|page=778|access-date=May 12, 2021}} Double-decker buses were operated by the Fifth Avenue Coach Company until 1953 and again by MTA Regional Bus Operations from 1976 to 1978.{{Cite news|last=Neuman|first=William|date=May 23, 2008|title=Step to the Rear of the Bus, Please, or Take a Seat Upstairs|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/nyregion/23buses.html|access-date=April 14, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

A bus lane for Fifth Avenue within Midtown was announced in 1982.{{Cite news|last=Goldman|first=Ari L.|date=September 7, 1982|title=5th Ave. To Get Bus Lane Along Midtown Stretch|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/07/nyregion/5th-ave-to-get-bus-lane-along-midtown-stretch.html|access-date=May 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Initially it ran from 59th to 34th Streets. The bus lane opened in June 1983 and was restricted to buses on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.{{Cite news|last=Blair|first=William G.|date=June 17, 1983|title=Koch Opens Bus Lane on 5th and Hails City Traffic Efforts|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/17/nyregion/koch-opens-bus-lane-on-5th-and-hails-city-traffic-efforts.html|access-date=May 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Today, local bus service along Fifth Avenue is provided by the following routes downtown. Uptown service runs on the parallel Madison Avenue unless specified below. All crosstown service is westbound:

• The M1, M2 and M3 buses run from the Duke Ellington Circle to East 8th Street. M1 service originates at West 139th Street, runs in both directions north of West 135th Street, and uses Mount Morris Park West to get around Marcus Garvey Park.
• The M4 and Q32 run to East 32nd Street in Midtown from West 110th and East 60th Streets, respectively.
• The {{NYC bus link|M5}} runs from West 59th to West 31st Streets and the M55 from West 44th to East 8th Streets. Uptown buses use 6th Avenue.
• The {{NYC bus link|M106}} runs from East 106th Street to the 97th Street Transverse.
• The {{NYC bus link|M86 SBS}} runs from East 86th to East 85th Streets.
• The {{NYC bus link|M66|M72|prose=y}} run to East 66th Street from East 72nd and East 67th Streets, respectively.{{cite NYC bus map|M}}

Numerous express buses from Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island also run along Fifth Avenue.See: {{bulleted list|{{cite NYC bus map|B}}|{{cite NYC bus map|Bx2}}|{{cite NYC bus map|S}}}}

The New York City Subway has never built a line underneath Fifth Avenue, likely because wealthy Fifth Avenue residents would have objected to any such line. However, there are several subway stations along streets that cross Fifth Avenue:{{NYCS const|map}}

• {{NYCS Broadway 60th}} at {{stn|Fifth Avenue–59th Street}}
• {{NYCS Queens 53rd}} at {{stn|Fifth Avenue/53rd Street}}
• {{NYCS Flushing}} at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street
• {{NYCS Broadway local weekday}} at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street

File:Pratt Mansions 001.JPG

File:Museum Mile Sign.jpg

File:Metropolitan Museum of Art entrance NYC.JPG on Fifth Avenue]]

In the late 19th century, the very rich of New York began building mansions along the stretch of Fifth Avenue between 59th Street and 96th Street, looking onto Central Park. By the early 20th century, the portion of Fifth Avenue between 59th and 96th Streets had been nicknamed "Millionaire's Row", with mansions such as the Mrs. William B. Astor House and William A. Clark House. Entries to Central Park along this stretch include Inventor's Gate at 72nd Street, which gave access to the park's carriage drives, and Engineers' Gate at 90th Street, used by equestrians.

A milestone change for Fifth Avenue came in 1916, when the grand corner mansion at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue that James A. Burden Jr. had erected in 1893 became the first private mansion on Fifth Avenue above 59th Street to be demolished to make way for a grand apartment house. The building at 907 Fifth Avenue began a trend, with its 12 stories around a central court, with two apartments to a floor.The smallest apartment was a half-floor, of 12 rooms; [http://www.thecityreview.com/ues/fifave/fif907.htm 907 Fifth Avenue]. Its strong cornice above the fourth floor, just at the eaves height of its neighbors, was intended to soften its presence.

In January 1922, the city reacted to complaints about the ongoing replacement of Fifth Avenue's mansions by apartment buildings by restricting the height of future structures to {{convert|75|ft|m}}, about half the height of a ten-story apartment building.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/realestate/26scap.html |title=J. E. R. Carpenter, The Architect Who Shaped Upper Fifth Avenue |work=The New York Times |date=August 26, 2007 |last=Gray |first=Cristopher |author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian)}} Architect J. E. R. Carpenter brought suit, and won a verdict overturning the height restriction in 1923. Carpenter argued that "the avenue would be greatly improved in appearance when deluxe apartments would replace the old-style mansions." Led by real estate investors Benjamin Winter, Sr. and Frederick Brown, the old mansions were quickly torn down and replaced with apartment buildings.{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Donald |date=November 3, 2014 |url=http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239257 |website=Entrepreneur Magazine |title=Built for Business: Midtown Manhattan in the 1920s |access-date=November 11, 2014}}

This area contains many notable apartment buildings, including 810 Fifth Avenue and the Park Cinq, many of them built in the 1920s by architects such as Rosario Candela and J. E. R. Carpenter. A very few post-World War II structures break the unified limestone frontage, notably the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum between 88th and 89th Streets.

Museum Mile is the name for a section of Fifth Avenue running from 82nd to 110th streets on the Upper East Side,Ng, Diana. "Museum Mile" in {{cite enc-nyc2}}, p.867Street signs saying "Museum Mile" actually extend to 80th Street. [https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7776203,-73.9632579,3a,37.5y,107.57h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7GYgDe4LxlZ8GGacHsNuhA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 "Street View: 80th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York"] Google Maps in an area sometimes called Upper Carnegie Hill.{{cite news | title = Reaching High on Upper 5th Avenue | date = October 21, 2011 | first = Laura | last = Kusisto | work = The Wall Street Journal | access-date = February 22, 2013 |url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204618704576643022038133998 | archive-date = October 23, 2011 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111023171126/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204618704576643022038133998.html}} The Mile, which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world, is actually three blocks longer than one mile (1.6 km). Nine museums occupy the length of this section of Fifth Avenue.{{cite web|url=http://www.museummilefestival.org/museums/|title=Museums on the Mile|website=The Museum Mile Festival|access-date=June 24, 2011 | archive-date = January 1, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120101013336/http://www.museummilefestival.org/museums/ }} A ninth museum, the Museum for African Art, joined the ensemble in 2009; its museum at 110th Street, the first new museum constructed on the Mile since the Guggenheim in 1959,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/arts/design/09muse.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1171034919-Ngcv5cZscyaXSLcM4mrzXw&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin|title=Museum for African Art Finds its Place|access-date=July 15, 2008|date=February 9, 2007|first=Sewell|last=Chan|newspaper=The New York Times}} opened in late 2012.

In addition to other programming, the museums collaborate for the annual Museum Mile Festival to promote the museums and increase visitation.{{cite web|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0F1FFA395D12728DDDAE0A94DE405B898BF1D3|title=New Drive Promoting 5th Ave.'s 'Museum Mile'|access-date=July 15, 2008|date=June 27, 1979|work=The New York Times}} The Museum Mile Festival traditionally takes place here on the second Tuesday in June from 6 – 9 p.m. It was established in 1979 by Lisa Taylor to increase public awareness of its member institutions and promote public support of the arts in New York City."Museum Mile Festival held in New York" UPI NewsTrack (June 8, 2004.){{Cite web|date=April 27, 1991|title=Lisa Taylor, former museum head, dies|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/04/27/Lisa-Taylor-former-museum-head-dies/1701672724800/|access-date=January 9, 2021|website=UPI|language=en}} The first festival was held on June 26, 1979.New drive promoting Fifth Avenue's 'Museum Mile', The New York Times, June 27, 1979. The nine museums are open free that evening to the public. Several of the participating museums offer outdoor art activities for children, live music and street performers.{{cite news |last1=Fass |first1=Allison |last2=Murray |first2=Liz |title=Talking to the Streets for Art |work=The New York Times |date=June 11, 2000 |at=p. 17, col. 2}} During the event, Fifth Avenue is closed to traffic.

Museums on the mile include:

• 110th Street – The Africa Center{{cite news|last=Catton|first=Pia|title=Another Delay for Museum of African Art|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/06/14/another-delay-for-museum-of-african-art/|access-date=June 24, 2011|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 14, 2011}}
• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio
• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York
• 92nd Street – The Jewish Museum
• 91st Street – Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (part of the Smithsonian Institution)
• 89th Street – National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts
• 88th Street – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
• 86th Street – Neue Galerie New York
• 82nd Street – The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Further south, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 70th Street, lies the Henry Clay Frick House, which houses the Frick Collection.{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1783439269&ResourceType=Building |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130729154452/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1783439269&ResourceType=Building |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 29, 2013 |title=The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library Building |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=November 8, 2013 }}

{{See also|List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan|List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City|National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan}}

Buildings on Fifth Avenue can have one of several types of official landmark designations:

• The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency that is responsible for identifying and designating the city's landmarks and the buildings in the city's historic districts. New York City landmarks (NYCL) can be categorized into one of several groups: individual (exterior), interior, and scenic landmarks.{{cite web | title=Landmark Types and Criteria – LPC | website=Welcome to NYC.gov | url=https://www1.nyc.gov/site/lpc/designations/landmark-types-criteria.page | access-date=December 22, 2019}}
• The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance.{{cite web | title=How to List a Property | website=National Register of Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service) | date=November 26, 2019 | url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/how-to-list-a-property.htm | access-date=December 22, 2019}}
• The National Historic Landmark (NHL) focuses on places of significance in American history, architecture, engineering, or culture; all NHL sites are also on the NRHP.{{cite web | title=Eligibility | website=National Historic Landmarks (U.S. National Park Service) | date=August 29, 2018 | url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/eligibility.htm | access-date=December 22, 2019}}
• World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO as having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance, and are legally protected by international treaties.{{cite web | last=UNESCO World Heritage Centre | title=The Criteria for Selection | website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre | date=October 11, 2017 | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/ | access-date=December 22, 2019}}

Below is a list of historic sites on Fifth Avenue, from north to south.{{cite web|url=https://nyclpc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=93a88691cace4067828b1eede432022b|title=Discover New York City Landmarks |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |via=ArcGIS |access-date= December 21, 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/NY01.pdf |title= National Historic Landmarks Program |access-date=February 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124220051/http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/NY01.pdf |archive-date=January 24, 2011 }} Historic districts are not included in this table, but are mentioned in {{section link||Historic districts}}. Buildings within historic districts, but no individual landmark designation, are not included in this table.

There are numerous historic districts through which Fifth Avenue passes. Buildings in these districts with individual landmark designations are described in {{section link||Individual landmarks}}. From north to south, the districts are:

• The Carnegie Hill Historic District, a city landmark district, which covers 400 buildings, primarily along Fifth Avenue from 86th to 98th Street, as well as on side streets extending east to Madison, Park, and Lexington Avenues.{{cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1834.pdf|title=Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District|date=December 21, 1993|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=December 6, 2019}}{{Rp|3}}
• The Metropolitan Museum Historic District, a city landmark district, which consists of properties on Fifth Avenue between 79th and 86th Streets, outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as properties on several side streets.{{cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0955.pdf|title=Metropolitan Museum Historic District|date=September 20, 1977|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=December 6, 2019}}{{Rp|2}}
• The Upper East Side Historic District, a city and NRHP district. The city district runs from 59th to 78th Streets along Fifth Avenue, and up to Third Avenue at some points.{{cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1051.pdf|title=Upper East Side Historic District|date=May 19, 1981|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=December 6, 2019}}{{Rp|3}}{{cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2373.pdf|title=Upper East Side Historic District Extension|date=March 23, 2010|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=December 6, 2019}}{{Rp|4}}
• The Madison Square North Historic District, a city landmark district, which covers 96 buildings from 25th to 29th Streets around Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and side streets.{{cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2097.pdf|title=Madison Square North Historic District|date=June 26, 2001|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=December 6, 2019}}
• The Ladies' Mile Historic District, a city landmark district, which covers 440 buildings from roughly 15th Street to 24th Street and from Park Avenue South to west of Sixth Avenue.{{cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1609.pdf|title=Ladies' Mile Historic District|date=May 2, 1989|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=December 6, 2019}}
• The Greenwich Village Historic District, a city landmark district, which covers much of Greenwich Village and includes almost all buildings on Fifth Avenue south of 12th Street.{{cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0489.pdf|title=Greenwich Village Historic District|date=April 29, 1969|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=December 6, 2019}}

In the 1980s, there was also a proposal for a historic district on Fifth Avenue between 48th and 58th Streets. At the time, St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Thomas Church, the Cartier Building at number 651, the University Club, the Rizzoli Building at number 712, and the Coty Building at number 714 were official city landmarks. However, other structures on that strip had no protection yet, including Rockefeller Center, the Elizabeth Arden Building at 689 Fifth Avenue, the St. Regis Hotel, the Peninsula Hotel, and the Bergdorf Goodman Building.{{Cite news|last=Shepard|first=Joan|date=February 13, 1985|title=Developers' lust decried|pages=119|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79056117/developers-lust-decried/|access-date=June 6, 2021|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}

In addition, the cooperative apartment building at 2 Fifth Avenue was named a New York cultural landmark on December 12, 2013, by the Historic Landmark Preservation Center, as the last residence of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.{{cite news| title=Koch's Last Residence Is Named a Cultural Landmark| url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/kochs-last-residence-is-named-a-cultural-landmark/ | last=Roberts| first=Sam| work=The New York Times| date=December 12, 2013| access-date=May 14, 2015}}

File:5th Avenue 9304.JPG, the most expensive shopping street in the world and home to many boutiques and flagship stores]]

Between 49th Street and 60th Street, Fifth Avenue is lined with prestigious boutiques and flagship stores and is consistently ranked the most expensive shopping street in the world.

Many luxury goods, fashion, and sport brand boutiques are located on Fifth Avenue, including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. (whose flagship is at 57th Street), Gucci, Prada, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, Cartier, Omega, Chanel, Harry Winston, Salvatore Ferragamo, Nike, Escada, Rolex, Bvlgari, Emilio Pucci, Ermenegildo Zegna, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister Co., De Beers, Emanuel Ungaro, Gap, Versace, Lindt Chocolate Shop, Henri Bendel, NBA Store, Oxxford Clothes, Microsoft Store, Sephora, Tourneau, and Wempe. Luxury department stores include Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. Fifth Avenue also is home to an Apple Store.

Many airlines in the pre-internet era at one time had ticketing offices along Fifth Avenue. With the advent of the internet and online ticketing, these ticketing offices were ultimately replaced by other businesses on Fifth Avenue. Pan American World Airways went out of business, while Air France, Finnair, and KLM moved their ticket offices to other areas in Midtown Manhattan."[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/24/realestate/postings-air-france-takes-flight-au-revoir-fifth-avenue.html?pagewanted=1 POSTINGS: Air France Takes Flight; Au Revoir, Fifth Avenue]." The New York Times. May 24, 1992. Page 101, New York Edition. Retrieved February 13, 2010.

File:(King1893NYC) pg319 BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF FIFTH AVENUE; NORTH OF 51ST STREET.jpg|Bird's-eye view looking north from 51st St. {{Circa|1893}}

File:New York NY 5th Ave Presby PHS821.jpg|Street view looking north from 51st St. c. 1895

File:5 Av 51 St North March 2015b jeh.jpg|The same shot in March 2015

File:Christmasonfifthavenue 1896.jpg|Christmas on Fifth Avenue in 1896

File:5thavenue1.jpg|Fifth Avenue, 1918

File:Washington Square by Matthew Bisanz.JPG|Fifth Avenue begins at the Washington Square Arch in Washington Square Park

File:Manhattan Central Park Richard Morris Hunt Memorial.JPG|Memorial to New York architect Richard Morris Hunt, Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets

File:Plaza Hotel.jpg| The Plaza Hotel, c. 1907

{{portal|New York City}}

• List of shopping streets and districts by city
• Jerome Avenue, a shopping street and major thoroughfare in the Bronx
• Fifth Avenue Mile, annual road race

Notes

{{reflist}}

Further reading

• {{cite book|last=Gaines|first=Steven|title=The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan|year=2005|publisher=Little, Brown|location=New York|isbn=0-316-60851-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/skyslimitpassion00gain}}
• {{cite web | url = http://www.ny.com/museums/mile.html | title = Museum Mile | publisher = NY.com | access-date = February 22, 2013}}
• {{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2003/04/13/AR2005041501248_pf.html|title=Museum Mile High|access-date=July 15, 2008|date=April 13, 2003|first=Sean| last = Daly|newspaper=The Washington Post}} (Note: Erroneously states the northern boundary of Museum Mile is East 104th Street.)

{{attached KML|display=inline,title}}

{{commons category|5th Avenue (Manhattan)}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170107163507/http://www.newyorkimage.us/New-York-5-Ave-NYC/index.htm Fifth Avenue Photos]
• [http://www.visit5thavenue.com Fifth Avenue Directory and Images]
• [http://www.paradeonfifth.org Greek Independence Day Parade, Fifth Avenue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227163513/http://paradeonfifth.org/ |date=December 27, 2018 }}
• [http://www.nysonglines.com/5av.htm New York Songlines: Fifth Avenue]
• [http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/ APA Great Places in America]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110124220051/http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/NY01.pdf National Historic Landmarks in New York State]

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