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Park Avenue - wikipedia Park Avenue This article is about the avenue in Manhattan and the Bronx . For other uses , see Park Avenue ( disambiguation ) . Route map : Google Template : Attached KML / Park Avenue KML is from Wikidata Park Avenue <Td_colspan="2"> A view down Park Avenue , facing the MetLife Building and with the Waldorf Astoria hotel to the left Other name ( s ) Fourth Avenue , Union Square East , Park Avenue South Former name ( s ) Fourth Avenue Owner City of New York Maintained by NYCDOT Length 10.9 mi ( 17.5 km ) Location Manhattan and The Bronx , New York City South end Astor Place in Cooper Square Major junctions Park Avenue Tunnel and Viaduct in East Midtown Harlem River Drive in East Harlem North end Third Avenue in Fordham East Lexington Avenue West Madison Avenue <Th_colspan="2"> Construction Commissioned March 1811 Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the borough of Manhattan . For most of the road 's length in Manhattan , it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east . Park Avenue 's entire length was formerly called Fourth Avenue ; the title still applies to the section between the Bowery and 14th Street . Meanwhile , the section between 14th and 17th Street is called Union Square East , and between 17th and 32nd Streets , the name Park Avenue South is used . Contents 1 History 2 Route 3 Businesses 4 Notable structures 5 In popular culture 6 Gallery 7 See also 8 References 9 External links History ( edit ) Park Avenue on the Upper East Side The railroad tunnel in 1941 Park Avenue was originally known as Fourth Avenue and carried the tracks of the New York and Harlem Railroad starting in the 1830s . The railroad originally ran through an open cut through Murray Hill , which was covered with grates and grass between 34th and 40th Street in the early 1850s . A section of this `` park '' was later renamed Park Avenue in 1860 , which was afterwards applied to the area leading up to 42nd Street . When Grand Central Depot was opened in the 1870s , the railroad tracks between 56th and 93rd Streets were sunk out of sight and , in 1888 , Park Avenue was extended to north of Grand Central . In 1927 , the medians on Park Avenue north of Grand Central were trimmed to add one lane of traffic in each direction . This project eliminated the pedestrian path on the medians as they became much narrower . In 1941 , the median was extended by one block from 96th Street to 97th Street , creating the only median on Park Avenue with a pedestrian path and seating . The elevated Park Avenue Viaduct was built in 1936 around the station to allow automobile traffic to pass unimpeded . In October 1937 , a part of the Murray Hill Tunnel was reopened for road traffic . Efforts to promote a Grand Park Avenue Expressway to Grand Concourse in the Bronx were unavailing . A tradition was introduced in 1945 as a memorial to American soldiers killed in action , whereby Christmas trees are placed in the median section each December . On May 5 , 1959 , the New York City Council voted 20 -- 1 to change the name of Fourth Avenue between 17th and 32nd Streets to Park Avenue South . In 1963 , the Pan Am Building , straddling Park Avenue atop Grand Central Terminal , was built between the automotive viaducts . On March 12 , 2014 , two apartment buildings near 116th Street , 1644 and 1646 Park Avenue , were destroyed in a gas explosion . Eight people were killed and many others were injured . Route ( edit ) Park Avenue in Fordham , The Bronx near Fordham Plaza . The road that becomes Park Avenue originates as the Bowery . From Cooper Square at 8th Street to Union Square at 14th Street , it is known as Fourth Avenue , a 70 - foot - wide ( 21 m ) road carrying northbound traffic . At 14th Street , it turns slightly northeast to align with other avenues drawn up in the Commissioners ' Plan of 1811 . From 14th Street to 17th Street , it forms the eastern boundary of Union Square and is known as Union Square East ; its southbound lanes merge with Broadway south of 15th Street , and the thoroughfare divides into two distinct portions in the one - block section between 14th and 15th Streets . From 17th Street to 32nd Street , it is known as Park Avenue South . Above 32nd Street , for the remainder of its distance , it is known as Park Avenue , a 140 - foot - wide boulevard . Between 33rd Street and 40th Street , the left - hand northbound lane descends into the Murray Hill Tunnel . Immediately across from 40th Street , the center lanes of Park Avenue rise onto an elevated structure that goes around Grand Central Terminal and the MetLife Building ( formerly the PanAm Building ) , carrying each direction of traffic on opposite sides of the buildings . The bridge , one of two structures in Manhattan known as the Park Avenue Viaduct , returns to ground level at 46th Street after going through the Helmsley Building ( also referred to as the New York Central Building or 230 Park Avenue ) . The IRT Lexington Avenue Line runs under this portion of the street . Once the line reaches Grand Central -- 42nd Street , it shifts east to Lexington Avenue . As Park Avenue enters Midtown north of Grand Central Terminal , it is distinguished by many glass - box skyscrapers that serve as headquarters for corporations and investment banks such as Societe Generale , JPMorgan Chase at 270 Park Avenue and 277 Park Avenue , UBS at 299 Park Avenue , Citigroup , Colgate - Palmolive , and MetLife at the MetLife Building . Prior to July 2010 , the eleven intersections between 46th Street and 56th Street lacked the city 's usual pedestrian crossing signals and overhead gantry - mounted traffic lights , because the railroad tunnel ceiling , which is also the street , was not thick enough for their poles ' foundations . ( These intersections did , however , have upright pole - mounted traffic lights prior to 2010 , but there were no pedestrian signals . After 2010 , standard gantry - mounted traffic lights and pedestrian `` countdown '' signals were installed . ) From 47th to 97th Streets , Metro - North Railroad tracks run in a tunnel underneath Park Avenue ( the Park Avenue Tunnel ) . In the 1920s the portion of Park Avenue from Grand Central Terminal to 96th Street saw extensive apartment building construction . This long stretch of the avenue contains some of the most expensive real estate in the world . Real estate at 740 Park Avenue , for example , sells for several thousand dollars per square foot . Current and former residents in this stretch of the thoroughfare include Blackstone Group co-founder Stephen Schwarzman , former Morgan Stanley executive Zoe Cruz , private equity investor Ronald O. Perelman , John D. Rockefeller Jr. , Vera Wang , and others . James Cash Penney lived at 888 and Leonard Bernstein at 898 . At 97th Street , the tracks come above ground , rising onto the other Manhattan structure known as the Park Avenue Viaduct . The first street to pass under the viaduct is 102nd Street ; from there to the Harlem River the railroad viaduct runs down the middle of Park Avenue . Park Avenue in Manhattan ends north of 132nd Street , with connections to the Harlem River Drive . The avenue is continued on the other side of the river in the Bronx . In the Bronx , Park Avenue begins at East 135th Street in the Mott Haven neighborhood . The entire avenue is divided by Metro - North 's own right of way in the borough . Between East 135th Street to East 173rd Street , Park Avenue is one way only in ether direction in most sections . North of East 173rd Street it is a two way avenue continuing to Fordham Plaza where it ends . The flowers and greenery in the median of Manhattan 's Park Avenue are privately maintained , by the Fund for Park Avenue . The begonia was specifically chosen by the Fund 's gardeners because there is no automatic watering system and the floral variety is resilient under hot sun rays . Businesses ( edit ) Park Avenue Viaduct , 2008 The following institutions are either headquartered or have significant business presences on Park Avenue : Arconic American Airlines at 2 Park Ave . Americas Society Asia Society Bankers Trust The Blackstone Group at 345 Park Ave . Boston Consulting Group Bristol Myers Squibb British Airways at 2 Park Ave . Cantor Fitzgerald at 499 Park Ave . Citigroup at 399 Park Ave . Colgate - Palmolive at 300 Park Ave . Council on Foreign Relations C.V. Starr at 90 Park Ave . Deutsche Bank Digitas Environmental Defense Fund Ferrari Heineken International Hilb , Rogal & Hobbs Co . Hachette Book Group USA at 237 Park Ave . Houlihan Lokey at 245 Park Ave . Hunter College JPMorgan Chase & Co. at 270 Park Ave . KPMG Leucadia National Major League Baseball Maserati Mercedes - Benz MetLife at 200 Park Ave . M&T Bank Mutual of America at 320 Park Ave . The National Football League Needham & Company New York Life Oneworld at 2 Park Ave . Piper Jaffray at 345 Park Ave . Reed Elsevier Sanofi - Aventis Seligman Societe Generale Tata Consultancy Services Vivendi SA UBS at 299 Park Ave . The Waldorf - Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Ave . Notable structures ( edit ) In numerical order : 2 Park Avenue - designed by Ely Jacques Kahn 3 Park Avenue 38 Park Avenue Scandinavia House , 58 Park Avenue Pershing Square Building , 125 Park Avenue Grand Central Terminal ( actually in Park Avenue , between the Park Avenue Viaduct 's two roadways ) MetLife Building , 200 Park Avenue Helmsley Building , 230 Park Avenue 245 Park Avenue 270 Park Avenue 277 Park Avenue 299 Park Avenue Waldorf Astoria New York , 301 Park Avenue 345 Park Avenue 375 Park Avenue , Seagram Building - designed by Mies van der Rohe 390 Park Avenue , Lever House - designed by Gordon Bunshaft 399 Park Avenue 432 Park Avenue Halstead Property , 499 Park Avenue Central Presbyterian Church , 593 Park Avenue 620 Park Avenue 655 Park Avenue Harold Pratt House , 58 East 68th Street ( corner of Park Avenue ) Park Avenue Houses Percy R. Pyne House , 680 Park Avenue ( now the Americas Society ) Oliver D. Filley House , 684 Park Avenue ( now the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute ) William Sloane House , 686 Park Avenue ( now the Italian Cultural Institute of New York ) Henry P. Davison House , 690 Park Avenue ( now the Italian Consulate General ) Asia Society , 725 Park Avenue 740 Park Avenue 970 Park Avenue Church of St. Ignatius Loyola ( New York City ) , 980 Park Avenue 1000 Park Avenue Park Avenue Christian Church , 1010 Park Avenue St. Bartholomew 's Episcopal Church In popular culture ( edit ) Will Smith , as a policeman , pursues a criminal by jumping off the Park Avenue Viaduct in the 1997 film Men in Black . In the 1988 film Cocktail , Tom Cruise visits the wealthy father of Elizabeth Shue 's character , Jordan , who lives on Park Avenue at 67th street . In the 2007 film I Am Legend , Will Smith again appears on the Park Avenue Viaduct , where his character is captured by a vampire 's snare . In the 2012 film The Avengers , the climax takes place on the Park Avenue Viaduct . In the TV series The Odd Couple , Felix Unger and Oscar Madison live at 1049 Park Avenue . In the TV series Diff'rent Strokes , Phillip Drummond , with his daughter , Kimberly and adopted sons , Willis and Arnold Jackson live at 697 Park Avenue . The PBS documentary Park Avenue : Money , Power and the American Dream sheds light on the gap between the impoverished people living on Park Avenue in the South Bronx and the extremely wealthy living at 740 Park Avenue in Manhattan . In the song `` Youth Gone Wild '' by American band Skid Row , Park Avenue is mentioned in the lyrics : `` I said ' Hey man , there 's something that you oughta know . / I tell ya Park Avenue leads to Skid Row . ' '' The stage and film musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying takes place in the fictional `` Park Avenue office building of World Wide Wicket Company , Inc . '' General Motors borrowed the name of the street for the Buick Park Avenue , a large luxury sedan that was produced first as the premium trim line for the Buick Electra from 1977 to 1990 , and as a standalone model from 1991 to 2005 . In the intro to the late 1960s - early 1970s TV show Green Acres , Eva Gabor 's character sings `` Darling I love you , but give me Park Avenue ! '' , where she lived before moving to rural Hooterville with her husband , the lawyer - turned - farmer . The song `` Puttin ' on the Ritz , '' from the film Blue Skies ( 1946 ) , refers to affluent people strutting `` up and down Park Avenue '' . In the 2017 video game Sonic Forces , one of the main stage takes place on Park Avenue , the stage re-imagined as a war zone . Gallery ( edit ) Henry P. Davison House , Percy Rivington Pyne House , Oliver D. Filley House and William Sloane House is one of the original house ensembles left on Park Avenue The Adelaide L. Townsend Douglas House , currently the Guatemalan U.N. Mission at 57 Park Avenue , between East 37th and 38th Streets 10 Park Avenue , at the corner of East 34th Street 230 Park Avenue , the Helmsley Building See also ( edit ) New York City portal List of most expensive streets by city References ( edit ) Notes Jump up ^ Google ( September 10 , 2015 ) . `` Fourth Avenue and Union Square East '' ( Map ) . Google Maps . Google . Retrieved September 10 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Google ( September 10 , 2015 ) . `` Park Avenue ( Manhattan ) '' ( Map ) . Google Maps . Google . Retrieved September 10 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Google ( September 10 , 2015 ) . `` Park Avenue ( The Bronx ) '' ( Map ) . Google Maps . Google . Retrieved September 10 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Gray , Christopher ( May 12 , 2002 ) . `` Streetscapes : 903 Park Avenue , at 79th Street '' . The New York Times . Jump up ^ New York City Geographic Information Systems map Jump up ^ Gray , Christopher ( March 3 , 2013 ) . `` Before There Was a ' Grand ' in Central '' . The New York Times . Retrieved October 15 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Gray , Christopher ( July 24 , 2011 ) . `` Putting the Park in Park Avenue '' . The New York Times . Retrieved October 15 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Gray , Christopher ( March 17 , 2002 ) . `` Streetscapes : 709 and 711 Park Avenue , Between 69th and 70th Streets ; When Park Ave . Was 4th , and Not Socially Correct '' . The New York Times . Retrieved October 15 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Kadinsky , Sergey ( October 24 , 2017 ) . `` Park Avenue 's Hidden History '' . Forgotten - NY . Retrieved October 25 , 2017 . Jump up ^ `` Park Avenue Express Highway ( NY 22 , unbuilt ) '' . Nycroads.com . February 14 , 1935 . Retrieved October 8 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Kilgannon , Corey ( December 3 , 2010 ) . `` Park Ave . Christmas Lights Go Up , and Xiao Ye Closes '' . The New York Times . Jump up ^ Charles G. , Bennett ( May 6 , 1959 ) . `` Sign Ban Is Voted on Two Avenues '' . The New York Times . p. 41 . Retrieved July 31 , 2010 . Jump up ^ Santora , Marc & Rashbaum , William K. `` Rescue Effort in East Harlem Yields Only More Victims '' . New York Times . Retrieved 13 March 2014 . Jump up ^ Neuman , William ( September 22 , 2007 ) . `` It 's a Deal : Help for Park Ave . Pedestrians '' . The New York Times . Retrieved February 24 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Goodman , Jillian ; Rovzar , Chris ( July 7 , 2010 ) , `` City Finally Installs Crossing Signals on Park Avenue Above Grand Central '' , New York , retrieved February 24 , 2012 Jump up ^ Rogers , Teri Karush ( October 9 , 2005 ) . `` Peeking Behind the Gilded Walls of 740 Park Ave '' . The New York Times . Retrieved August 15 , 2007 . Jump up ^ Pollak , Michael ( July 16 , 2006 ) . `` Why Yellow Takes the Wheel '' . The New York Times . Retrieved July 31 , 2010 . Jump up ^ ( video url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrbPAt1_vc4 ) External links ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Park Avenue . New York Songlines : Fourth Avenue with The Bowery and Park Avenue , a virtual walking tour Classic Apartments Buildings and Architecture of Park Avenue Images & History <Th_colspan="2"> Streets of Manhattan <Td_colspan="2"> Commissioners ' Plan of 1811 List of eponymous streets in New York City North -- South Major Avenues 1st Ave 2nd Ave 3rd Ave Lexington Ave Park Ave Broadway Madison Ave 5th Ave 6th Ave ( Ave of the Americas ) 7th Ave ( Fashion Ave ) 8th Ave 9th Ave 10th Ave Broadway 11th Ave 12th Ave Financial District South Pearl Broad Gold William Nassau Theatre Alley Whitehall State Lower East Side Allen Pike Baxter Centre Market Pl Bowery Centre Division Chrystie Coenties Slip Eldridge Elizabeth Essex Forsyth Lafayette Doyers Rivington Ludlow Mott Mulberry Orchard Park Row Spring Lower West Side Trinity Pl Church Greenwich Hudson Jones Macdougal Patchin Pl Sullivan Gay Thompson Varick Washington W Broadway LaGuardia Pl Weehawken West Bank 13th Ave East Village / Gramercy Ave D Ave C Ave B Ave A Asser Levy Pl Beekman Pl Shevchenko Pl Irving Pl University Pl 4th Ave Park Ave S Midtown Sutton Pl Vanderbilt Ave Rockefeller Plz 61⁄2 Ave Shubert Aly Dyer Ave Hudson Blvd Upper East / Upper West East End Ave York Ave Museum Mile Central Park W Columbus Ave Amsterdam Ave West End Ave Riverside Dr Harlem / Wash . Hts . Pleasant Ave Lenox Ave ( Malcolm X Blvd ) Powell Blvd Douglass Blvd Morningside Dr Audubon Ave St. Nicholas Ave ( Duarte Blvd ) Claremont Ave Ft . Washington Ave Cabrini Blvd Sylvan Pl East -- West Financial District Bridge Stone Marketfield Wall Albany Liberty Cortlandt Maiden Dey Fulton Vesey Ann Downtown Roosevelt Chambers E Broadway Henry Madison Cherry Worth N Moore Beach Broome Canal Hester Grand Delancey Stanton Houston Vandam Bleecker Bond Great Jones 4th Waverly Pl Washington Square N Astor Pl Washington Mews Stuyvesant Macdougal Aly 8th St. Mark 's Pl Greenwich Ave Christopher Charles 14th Midtown 23rd 34th 42nd 45th ( George Abbott Way ) 47th 50th 51st 52nd ( Swing Alley / St of Jazz ) 53rd 54th 55th 57th 59th ( Central Park S ) Uptown 66th / Peter Jennings Way 72nd 74th 79th 85th 86th 89th 93rd 95th 96th 110th ( Cathedral Pkwy / Central Park N ) 112th 116th 120th 122nd ( Seminary Row ) 125th ( Martin Luther King Jr . Blvd ) 130th ( Astor Row ) 132nd 135th 139th ( Strivers ' Row ) 145th 155th 181st 187th Bogardus Pl Dyckman Plaza Lafayette Intersections Circles Columbus Duke Ellington Frederick Douglass Squares Chatham Cooper Duarte Duffy Foley Gramercy Grand Army Hanover Herald Hudson Jackson Lincoln Madison Mulry Pershing Petrosino Sherman Stuyvesant Times Tompkins Union Verdi Washington Zuccotti <Td_colspan="2"> Italics indicate streets no longer in existence . All entries are streets unless otherwise noted See also : Manhattan address algorithm <Th_colspan="2"> Major streets of the Bronx North -- south Arthur Av Broadway Boston Rd Esplanade Grand Concourse Jerome Av Park Av Mosholu Pkwy Sedgwick Av Southern Blvd Third Av Webster Av White Plains Rd East -- west Fordham Rd Gun Hill Rd Pelham Pkwy Shore Rd Tremont Av Westchester Av 133rd St 161st St 233rd St <Td_colspan="2"> List of eponymous streets in New York City Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Park_Avenue&oldid=853289611 '' Categories : Park Avenue Streets in Manhattan Streets in the Bronx Hidden categories : Articles using KML from Wikidata Use mdy dates from April 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk پنجابی Português Русский Slovenčina Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 17 more Edit links This page was last edited on 3 August 2018 , at 18 : 06 ( UTC ) . 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