New York Songlines: 30th Street

South:

604: Mike's Auto Electrics

Corner: One of Manhattan's rare gas stations—a Mobil.

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John D. Carmmerer Westside Yard

Train yards for the LIRR and MTA. Named for a New York state senator who headed the transportation committee. Plans for a new Jets football stadium envisioned putting it here, with the train yard remaining underneath.

The plan now is to roof over these tracks and put Phase 2 of Hudson Yards atop them, with seven residential buildings, another office tower and a new school.

The High Line

The final section of the High Line, opened in 2014, stretches along the southern edge of this block, then curves northward toward 34th Street. Phase 3 of the park has fewer bells and whistles, with the main attractions being the unobstructed views of the Hudson and Hudson Yards.

South:

Corner (312 11th Ave): Ohm, a 34-story residence built in 2010. Darryl Strawberry was an early tenant. The liquor store Winebook is on the ground floor.

530: One Hudson Yards, a 33-story building by Davis Brody Bond, angled to follow the bend in the High Line. Opened in 2017.

518: This used to be the location of Trapeze School New York, a place to work on your circus act. My five-year-old daughter swung on the trapeze here.

High Line Park

Bridging the street here is a disused elevated railroad that was used to transport freight along the Westside waterfront, replacing the street-level tracks at 10th and 11th avenues that earned those roads the nickname "Death Avenue." Built in 1929 at a cost of $150 million (more than $2 billion in today's dollars), it originally stretched from 35th Street to St. John's Park Terminal, now the Holland Tunnel rotary.

Partially torn down in 1960 and abandoned in 1980, it now stretches from Gansevoort to 34th—mostly running mid-block, so built to avoid dominating an avenue with an elevated platform. In its abandonment, the High Line became something of a natural wonder, overgrown with weeds and even trees, accessible only to those who risked trespassing on CSX Railroad property.

In 2009 it was opened to the public as New York City's newest park; it truly transforms its neighborhood and hence the city. The section of the park opened to visitors in 2011 ended here, with an elevator and staircase leading to street level.

500 (corner): Abington House, a 33-story residential building completed in 2013. Abingdon Square in Greenwich Village is named for the Earl of Abingdon, a British aristocrat who defended the rights of Colonials during the Revolutionary War.

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North:

Hudson Yards

The High Line continues along the entire southern edge of this block.

Corner (15 Hudson Yards): A 71-story residential building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and completed in 2019. Has a distinctive apex that evokes four conjoined cylinders.

The Shed

545: Hudson Yard's cultural center features a 4,000-ton retractable shell, pulled by eight six-foot wheels, that resembles a giant quilt.

Corner (10 Hudson Yards): A 52-story office tower, distinguished by its off-kilter triangular roofline. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, who are also architects for the project as a whole. Started in 2012, it was completed in 2016—the first building of Hudson Yards to be finished, because it was the only one not built on a platform over the railyards. Known as the Coach Building after its anchor tenant, the handbag company.

The building's other tenants include Sidewalk Labs, Google's "urban innovation" project.

At the base of the building is Mercado Little Spain, a sprawling Spanish-themed market/food court on the Eataly model.

South:

Morgan Processing and Distribution Center

Twenty million pieces of mail for Manhattan and the Bronx are processed at this Postal Service facility every day. During the anthrax attacks of 2001, spores were discovered in barcoding machines here; despite a lawsuit from the postal union, the building was never shut down for cleaning.

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North:

Lincoln Tunnel

These on-ramps and off-ramps connect to the busiest vehicular tunnel in the world, handling 120,000 vehicles a day. Opened in 1937, it was the first major tunnel project to be completed without a single worker fatality.

Corner (450 W 31st): The building houses the office of architect Steven Holl, as well as the One Club for Creativity, a society of advertisers.

DYER AVE         ===> N

(406 W 31st): Kaufman Hall, dorm for Fashion Institute of Technology. Built 1915, formerly known as the Printerion Building/ American Book Bindery Building.

South:

350 (corner): 9th Avenue Gourmet Deli; Roma Bono Pizza

342: Sefton apartments

330: French Apartments, formerly French Hospital, opened 1928 by the Societe Francaise de Bienfaisance. Baseball legend Babe Ruth was operated on here for cancer in December 1946. Don Corleone was taken here after he was shot in the novel The Godfather.

320: Chelsea Town House, a seven-story red-brick building from the 1940s.

308: The Irvin, condo opened in 1925 as the Irvin Hotel for Women. Named for its benefactor, Mary Irwin, it was originally intended for "women of small incomes," but by the time it opened—shortly after Irvin's death—it was instead "for exclusive occupancy by business women." It's unclear whether Irvin's plan to allow guests to "go and return as they please at any hour of the night" was implemented. By the early 1940s, the hotel was admitting men as well as women.

300 (corner): Riff Chelsea is a hotel that evokes strong feelings. Kiwi Market is on the ground floor.

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North:

341: Paula House, a four-story 19th Century building of red-brick

327: Herbert Towers, a seven-story white-brick building from the 1940s

307: Headquarters of the Lithuanian Society of America, founded in 1886 by secular Lithuanian nationalists.

303 (corner): Manhattan Inn was above the 8th Avenue Gourmet Deli—Yelp reports that it's closed.

South:

260 (corner): Human Resources Administration. Building has lions, sign that says "RF London Paris New York."

242: Stone dogs guard the entrance to a building that houses Versailles Lighting and Apex Air Freight Systems.

240: Fire Patrol No. 1; erected in 1874 by the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, an insurance group, to protect goods from smoke and water damage while the FDNY puts out fires.

236: 30th Street Guitars opened in 1995 across the street.

234: The Modern Drum Shop was opened in 1977 by jazz drummer Joe Cusatis, who played with Chet Baker, among others.

218: Klondike International Furs Ltd.

216A: The Fur Studio Inc.

214: Furs by Paul

212: USA Furs by George--since 1966.

210: Megaris Furs

208: Holistic Studies Institute; trains people to become more aware of their psychic abilities.

200: Ruslan Custom Shoes Boutique (since 1959).

Corner: New Pizza Town II

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North:

Corner (402 8th Ave): 1226 (corner): Molly Wee Pub, opened in 1980, gets its name from Mullagh Bui ("Yellow Hill"), a farm in County Cavan where the Reilly family that runs the pub hails from.

265: DP Cigard (formerly Sanchez Cigars), handmade

263: Purple Rice Korean Kitchen. Was Was America's Hobby Center, selling model planes, boats etc. since 1931—moved to Jersey c. 2006.

259: Urban Stages, a theater troupe that prides itself on its ethnically diverse playwrights, has been around for 20 years but has only had a permanent home here since 2001.

257: Joseph P. Cuomo Building

Recording & Rehearsal Arts Building

251: Downtime, a multilevel goth/industrial club, in 2006 was turned into the multilevel club Rebel NYC by the folks who run Webster Hall, which was renamed The Wall and then in 2013 became Slake. The ground floor became American Beauty, a Grateful Dead–themed bar that offered free pizza. Closed at the end of 2017. Also in the building were The Studio, a rehearsal space, and Waves, one of Manhattan's last radio repair shops.

247: American Whiskey

243: The Brenley Bvilding

241: St. Vincents Chelsea Clinic includes the American Dental Centers, which is known by its anthropomorphic neon tooth.

213: Cool gothic church annex.

211: St. John the Baptist, a beautiful Catholic church designed in 1872 by Napoleon LeBrun. Congregation dates to 1840.

Corner (362 7th Ave): Bagel Maven Cafe is in the building unhelpfully known as 7 Penn Plaza.

South:

154: Furshur International

150: United States Fur Exchange; Sam Levine Fur Trading

140: Julia's Furs

Tenderloin Station House

134-138: This medieval-looking fortress is the HQ of the NYPD's Traffic Control Division; it was built in 1907 as the 23rd Precinct Station House, and is now a designated landmark.

130: SJM Building, designed 1927 by Cass Gilbert of Woolworth Tower fame; note Mesopotamian motifs. Yours and Mine Jewelry, since 1950; Dimitrios Furs, since 1937.

124: This building, owned by the national bank of Afghanistan, houses the offices of the media watch group FAIR. On the ground floor: Nanjing Acupuncture & Herbs; Galaxy Army & Navy

120: Honda Martial Arts Supply Co.










835 (corner): A 54-story hotel that went up in 2009, designed by Perkins Eastman. The apartments also in the building are called The Eastman. It's already gone through a number of restaurants, including FoodParc and Bar Basque—at last notice, the eateries were called Brighton and Humphries. The block used to be a strip-mall like row of undistinguished retail outlets, such as Tootsies, a sock outlet. They were all torn down in 2007 to make way for the hotel.

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North:

151: A to Z Bohemian Glass Inc., glass beads and stones

145: Pars International Products, globalized grocery

143: Irene of New York, hats

137: Former 23rd Precinct Police Station. When police captain Alexander "Clubber" Williams was transferred to this station in 1876, he remarked on the opportunities for graft provided by its location in the midst of the vice district: "I've been living on chuck steak for a long time, and now I'm going to get a little of the tenderloin"—thus giving The Tenderloin its name. Oscar Wilde came here in 1882 to report being swindled by crooked gamblers out of $1,000.

135: Frathaus and Son, Inc.; Global Mink Corp.

127: Greeley Arcade Building; named for Greeley Square, where Broadway and Sixth Avenue meet. Was G.J. Fuerth, now part of Chase banks.

115: Transportation Alternatives, an important advocacy group working for a less car-dominated New York.

103: Image Anime; Japanese animation collectibles

Corner: Broadway National Bank

South:

Corner (850 6th): Jewelria. I used to think that The Haymarket, the Tenderloin's most famous dance hall, was here, but I now think it was a block to the south.

46: Joia Corp, fashion jewelry

44: Fashion Sox Inc.

42 (corner): Was Yurim Trading Co., hats. In 1893, Stephen Crane often stayed in this building, where an artist friend had a studio. He worked on The Red Badge of Courage and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets here. Torn down to make room for...

Virgin Hotel

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North:

Corner (856 6th): Novelty Candy Store

59: Argentino Neckties Scarves

51: Manhattan Silver

49: Pro-American Trading

Corner (1231 Broadway): Sandaga Beads, trimming & craft supplies

South:

Corner (1216 Broadway): Perfume America

38: Fair & Lovely Inc., wholesale scarves

28: Global Time, wholesale watches

18: The African Village, imports

Holland House

Gainesborough's Duchess of Devonshire, the most famous stolen painting of its day, spent the night here in 1901 after being recovered after being stolen for 25 years by criminal mastermind Adam Worth.

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North:

Corner (1220 Broadway): Kashmir Perfumes

35: Silver Galore

29: Was Nara Bank, Korean-American

11: Dimple, all-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian. I used to love this place, but I stopped eating here after it was accused of not paying its workers.

Also H.M. Nabavian Oriental Rug Supplies. The building was designed by William I. Hohauser.

7: U & I Fantasia Fina

5: J. Levine Co., Judaica and books since 1890.

Corner (284 Fifth): Shalom Brothers Oriental Rug Gallery is in the Wilbraham Building, 1890 Belle Epoque apartments built for bachelors. Spookily charming. On the second floor is Kyokushin Karate.

South:

Corner (281 5th): Chez Gourmet deli; upstairs is Topalian Trading Co. (oriental rugs).

2: Carpet World Inc.

4: R. Anavian & Sons oriental rugs

6: Was Mecca, 1930s Syrian restaurant.

20: A.R.T. Rugs of Persia; Chatalbash Rug Co. of New York

Corner (112 Madison): Galerie Shabab rugs

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North:

Corner (295 Fifth): Merchants Bank is on this corner of the Textile Building. On this block, at 291 Fifth Avenue, was the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, also known as 291, where Alfred Steiglitz showcased such new artists as Henri Matisse (1908), Henri Rousseau and Paul Cezanne (both 1910), and Pablo Picasso (1911).

7: Romero's Restaurant, Spanish & Italian

11: Ravagh Persian Grill; once was Mrs. Caterina, old-time Italian.

13: Kashee Brothers rugs

15: The Irvington Building houses Mastour Galleries (rugs since 1890), Ali Oriental Rugs; Royalton Rug Gallery; Iraj Fine Oriental Rugs

Corner (118 Madison): Miss K's Deli & Grocery

South:

28 (corner): Bo Concept, Danish designer furniture

The Redbury

ThirtyThirty Hotel

30: Designed by Robert Gibson. Originally the Women's Hotel and then long known as the Martha Washington, it opened in 1903 as a residence for women only, which it remained for almost a hundred years. Poet Sara Teasdale lived here, as did actor Louise Brooks after being kicked out of the Algonquin. A down-on-her-luck Veronica Lake worked here as a barmaid in 1952. Also the home of author Jacqueline Susann, the hotel was where the opening scenes of the film version of her Valley of the Dolls was shot.

From 1989-92, the hotel housed the third incarnation of Danceteria,

The hotel began admitting men in 1998, and went through a series of name changes: Hotel Thirty Thirty (2003), Hotel Lola (2011), King & Grove (2012) and, most recently in 2016, the Redbury New York.

Zana is the hotel's cafe/bar/lounge. There's a florist shop here, Irene Hayes Wadley & Smythe LeMoult; when it was just Irene Hayes, they provided the flowers for Lincoln's funeral cortege.

36: Penumbra Foundation, a center for alternative photography

44: Parkmed Eastern Women's Center

Corner (440 Park Ave S): Design & Comfort furniture

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North:

Corner (121 Madison): Rugs as Art is in a great red brick building.

29: Lasaro's

35: The Nottingham, a 9-story building designed by Stanford White; sources differ on whether it was built in 1879 (the year McKim Mead & White was formed) or 1906 (the year White was shot by a jealous husband).

41: Log-On Cafe

47: Murray Hill Animal Hospital

Corner (444 Park Ave S): Susie's Kitchen, deli

South:

Corner (441 Park Ave S): John's Deli

102: Meridian Medical Institute of East-West Medicine

104: Atomix, a "Korean restaurant overflowing with ideas" ( New York Times)

110: JBI Library of the Jewish Braille Institute of America

122: One of several houses on this block that make me think, "Aw... I wish I lived here."

First Moravian Church

Corner (154 Lexington): The Moravians trace their denom- ination back to Jon Hus, burned at the stake for heresy in 1415. The New York congregation was established in 1748, and claims to have the oldest uninterrupted services (as they met throughout the Revolution). This church was built c. 1845 as the Baptist Church of the Mediator; the Moravians moved here in 1869.

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North:

Corner (443 Park Ave S): Kalaty oriental rugs, "tradition for today."

111: The Pierpont apartments, built 1984

121: Henry George School of Social Science; promotes the economic philosophy of Henry George, who advocated social reform through a single tax on land-owners.

127: Lexington-Parc apartments

139: The Nevada apartments, red brick and stone built c. 1890.

Touro College Lexington Campus

Corner (160 Lexington): Built in 1909 as the New York School of Applied Design for Women; later the Pratt-New York Phoenix School of Design for Women. The AIA Guide calls the building, by Harvey Wiley Corbett, "a great tour de force of neo-Roman design."

South:

Corner (159 Lexington): Penelope Cafe, opened 2003

138-140: A pair of Italianate townhouses built in 1863, with splendid brickwork and striking cast-iron railings.

148: A five-story building called Smithsonian

Corner (430 3rd): Was Barlovento, Latin bistro; before that La Cocina, Mexican

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North:

Corner (161 Lexington): Ramada Inn New York New York, formerly the Rutledge Hotel for Women. Built 1914, started admitting men in 1930s, kept the Rutledge name until the 1990s. A sharp-looking old building. Lallisse, Mediterranean on the ground floor, was Cafe Vienna.

In 1887 this was the address of Maison Tortoni, a "disorderly house" used principally for the purpose of assignation and acts of the grossest immorality and licentiousness."

143: Murray Hill Inn. "The friendly, multi-lingual staff and semi-private bathrooms are reminiscent of the quaint hotels of Europe."

155: Detective novelist Dashiell Hammett lived here in 1929–30, working on The Glass Key.

159 (corner): Bentley Apartments, a 23-story apartment building from 1986, with striking rounded corners. Sybele fashions on ground floor.

South:

Corner (429 3rd): Bagel Cafe Was Bagelry, which some say had the best bagels in New York.

208: Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. Has kind of a Le Carre feel. There's a plaque honoring Cyprian Norwid, a prominent Polish romantic poet who lived in New York City from 1852–54.

232: Concorde Medical Group

250 (corner): The Sycamore condominiums.The developer of this $35 million project is a working firefighter, James P. Kennelly.

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North:

Corner (431 3rd): Banc was Billy's Bank Cafe, housed in a former bank.

201: Megantic apartments are apparently named for a lake in Quebec, though it sounds like it means "mega-gigantic."

207: The 9-story Wilshire apartments were built in 1985 on the site of Columbia Records' 30th Street Studio, where such landmark albums as Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story and Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations were recorded. The Studio was originally the Adams Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1875; it was adapted for recording in 1949.

223: Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York; here since 1957.

227: NYU Langone's Translational Research Building

245: The Leonard apartments, built early in the 20th Century

South:

Corner (540 2nd): Waterfront Ale House. It's easy to forget that this is only two blocks from the East River--which is technically a branch of the ocean. An NYU med school hangout. "Great Food, Great Beer."

310: Churchill School and Center; a private school for children with learning disabilities. The main building is on 29th Street.

316: Ivy 30, an 18-story apartment building from 1986.

332: Repro Lab

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North:

Kips Bay Plaza

335: This 21-story exposed-concrete slab was built in 1960 to an I.M. Pei design. Kind of scary.

One of the addresses it replaced, No. 323, was home to sculptor Louise Nevelson from 1943-59; her garden was an art installation she called "the Farm."

South:

30th Street Men's Shelter

400 (block): An intake shelter for the Department of Homeless Services. Built in 1931 in the Italian Renaissance style, this was originally the Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, basically synonymous with mental health treatment. "They're waiting for you a Bellevue with their oxygen masks," Bruce Springsteen sings. Norman Mailer was taken here after stabbing his wife, William Burroughs after cutting off part of his pinky finger, Mark David Chapman after murdering John Lennon. Other famous patients include Sylvia Plath, Charlie Parker and Edie Sedgwick. It was phased out as a psychiatric hospital in 1984 and became a men's shelter in 1999.

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North:

The Morgue

Corner (520 1st Ave): Offices of the New York Medical Examiner. John Lennon, Andy Warhol and the Son of Sam victims all came here after their deaths.

NYU Medical Center

Built from 1950 to 1977 to a Skidmore Owings & Merrill design. Entrance on First Avenue.