From
the Plaza Hotel at the edge of Central Park at 59th Street to the top
of Museum Mile at El Museo del Barrio at 105th Street, this is the city's
Gold Coast. The neighborhood air is perfumed with the scent of old money,
conservative values, and glamorous sophistication, with Champagne corks
popping and high society puttin' on the Ritz. On the corner of Lexington
and 59th Street is Bloomingdale's - one of the NYC shopping icons, a
beloved
sanctuary for stylish consumers. On Madison
Avenue,
window shopping can be intoxicating: so many tempting boutiques, so many famous
names to flaunt on everything from socks to shoes to satin sheets to chocolates.
Between Lexington and Madison Avenues, Park Avenue is an oasis of calm
with
wide streets meant for strolling, lovely architecture, and a median
strip that sprouts tulips in season and sculptures at other times
of the year. Railroad tracks ran in this median before World War I. This
grand street stretching down to midtown is one of our city's most
coveted
residential addresses.
