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*Start the tour at 57th Street and Ninth Avenue, which is a few blocks from the Columbus Circle subway station. *Click on the map numbers or stars for each location along the way. *Links to starred locations show a photo of the location; links to numbered locations contain descriptions and photos.
1. The Windemere, built in 1881, is an early luxury apartment house or "French flat." 2. The television studio where some of the big talk shows are broadcast.  Looking west down 55th Street, there's a converted church that is now
an off-Broadway theater.
[Cross to the east side of Ninth Avenue for the best view of the next locations]
3. The unusual shape of the Bar 9 building tells a story of Hell's Kitchen's past.  Julian's and Mangia e Beve are two popular
restaurants. Julian's has transformed a narrow cart road, a vestige of
the time when Hell's Kitchen was farmland, into a dining patio.
4. 787 Ninth Avenue is a remarkable and beautiful "old-law" tenement. [Cross back to the west side of Ninth Avenue and notice the loading dock on 52nd Street for Location #5.] 5. A paint and decorating store currently occupies old nickelodeon building, an early movie house that charged five cents a show.  At the
corner of 51st Street, look downtown (or south) and notice how the 1980s World Wide
Plaza building was designed to match the low-rise scale of Ninth Avenue,
with window lines echoing the older buildings. |
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6. Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, erected 1885 in the Victorian Romanesque style, has an elegant terra-cotta facade.  Azuri, a tiny and charming cafe, features an
Israeli menu with vegetarian specialties.
7. Turn south on Tenth Avenue to the Columbus Branch Library, a neoclassical building, one 65 branches endowed by Andrew Carnegie. 8. Turn east on 49th Street where the High School of Graphic Communication Arts is an outstanding example of the International Style of architecture. 9. The Clinton Community Garden on 48th Street, a verdant oasis in an urban setting, was reclaimed from a vacant lot. 10. 412-414 West 47th Street was once the home of Harold Ross, legendary editor of The New Yorker; townhouses along West 47th Street are a legacy of the Astor family.  The Wanaque, 349 West 47th Street, was built in 1888-87
and designed by the prestigious architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and
White, to accommodate comfortably-off New Yorkers.
11. World Wide Plaza, completed in 1988, comprises an entire city block and contains an open-air plaza with a star-shaped fountain called "The Seasons." Now that you've completed the tour, how about taking a break? If the weather's fine, head over to World Wide Plaza (conveniently located near the Eighth Avenue Subway Station) and relax near the fountain. Or you might want to check out one of the many restaurants or cafes that dot the avenues and streets of Hell's Kitchen. We hope you enjoy your visit to Hell's Kitchen and look forward to seeing you around the neighborhood again soon! |
