Fifth Avenue; glances at the vicissitudes and romance of a world-renowned thoroughfare

(New York :  Printed for the Fifth Avenue Bank of New York,  1915.)

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6
 

FIFTH    AVENUE
 

aspect of the Avenue as it now is, sketch its rural aspect a century ago,
and then traverse it leisurely, stopping here and there to catch a
glimpse of its interesting past.
 

Early

Residential

Section
 

Trade In¬
vasion
 

Most

Valuable

Residential

Section in

the World
 

Tenements

and Open

Lots
 

PRESENT ASPECT

The earliest residential part of Fifth Avenue, below 12th Street,
is to-day much as it was between 1830 and 1840, when the square,
homelike, brownstone and brick houses—the first Fifth Avenue resi¬
dences—were built. Trade has left this section untouched, because
the descendants of the old families, some of whom still live in this
locality, have refused to sell; but it has laid an iconoclastic hand upon
the rest of the Avenue below 59th Street. Between 12th and 23rd
Streets the wholesale trade and makers of wearing apparel are en¬
trenched; no less than 491 garment factories, employing 51,476
hands, were estimated to be on Fifth Avenue in April 1915.

The Avenue from 23rd to 34th Streets is mainly devoted to retail
specialty shops; while from 34th to 59th Streets, department stores
and exclusive shops now predominate, having either swept away or
flowed around churches, clubs, hotels and residences. Jewelry
shops rivalling those of the famous Rue de la Paix; art galleries which
exhibit wonderful collections of world-famous pictures by old and
modern masters; antique and furniture shops, department stores and
other establishments wherein may be found products of the greatest
ancient and modern artisans make this part of Fifth Avenue one of
the most magnificent streets in the world.

From 60th to 90th Streets is the line of beautiful residences
popularly known as "Millionaires' Row." This mile and a half of
Avenue—probably the most valuable residential section on the globe
—has a total assessed valuation of $71,319,000. Protected here on
one side by Central Park, the Avenue seems to offer effectual resistance
to business.

Onward from Carnegie Hill, at 91st Street, the Avenue rapidly
degenerates into a tenement section with many open lots, fenced with
billboards, and with saloons and refreshment stands on some of the
corners. Beyond Mount Morris Park (120th to 124th Streets) for
several blocks it rises to the dignity of small brownstone or brick dwell¬
ings, but quickly drops to the tenement level again. From 127th to
139th Streets it swarms with foreigners and negroes. Beyond, the
Avenue loses its identity in a rutted dirt road bordered by unsightly
open lots, until, at 143rd Street, it comes to a degenerate end in the
slimy waters of the Harlem River.
 

FIFTH AVENUE A CENTURY AGO

We need turn back the hands of time less than a hundred years to
find almost virgin country where this wonderful Avenue now extends.
Prior to 1824 Fifth Avenue had no existence save upon the Commis-
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