Avenues of Manhattan

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 

 The Commissioners Grid Plan of 1811 called for 12 avenues running north-south, and 214 numbered streets running east-west. The City's growth and development since 1811 has given Manhattan 42 actual avenues with 61 names, and 220 east-west streets. 

Image: The Commissioners Map of the City of New York, 1807. Redrawn by James S. Kemp, 1893.

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 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗔, 0.6 mile. It runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a loop road in Stuyvesant Town, connecting to Avenue B. Below Houston Street, Avenue A continues as 𝗘𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁. 

𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗕, 0.6 mile. It runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a loop road in Stuyvesant Town, connecting with Avenue A. Below Houston Street, Avenue B continues as Clinton Street to South Street. 

𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗖, 1.1 mile. It is also known as 𝗟𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗮 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲. It starts at South Street, proceeding north as Montgomery Street and Pitt Street, before intersecting East Houston Street and assuming its proper name. Avenue C ends at 23rd Street, running nearly underneath the FDR Drive from 18th Street. 

𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗗, 0.9 mile. It runs through East 13th and Houston Streets, and continues south of Houston Street as Columbia Street until Delancey Street and Abraham E. Kazan Street until its end at Grand Street. 

𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 0.6 mile, the avenue furthest East on Manhattan, parallel with FDR Drive. 

𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 𝗦𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲, and 𝗦𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 *, 2.0 miles, are the names of segments of a north–south thoroughfare in the Yorkville, Lenox Hill, and Sutton Place neighborhoods of the East Side of Manhattan, in New York City. York Avenue runs from 59th to 92nd Streets through eastern Lenox Hill and Yorkville on the Upper East Side. Sutton Place and Sutton Place South run through their namesake neighborhood along the East River and south of the Queensboro Bridge. Sutton Place South runs from 57th to 53rd Streets. 

* Unlike the rest of the avenues in Manhattan, address numbers along Sutton Place South increase when headed south. 

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 runs 6.3 miles northbound from Houston Street to 127th Street in Harlem. 

𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 flows 6.4 miles southbound to Houston Street from Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its northern end. 

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 is 10.7 miles from its southern end at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square, and further south, the Bowery, Chatham Square, and Park Row. The Manhattan length ends at East 128th Street. The street leaves Manhattan and continues into the Bronx across the Harlem River over the Third Avenue Bridge north of East 129th Street to East Fordham Road at Fordham Center, where it intersects with U.S. 1. 

𝗟𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along its 5.5-mile, 110-block route, Lexington Avenue runs through Harlem, Carnegie Hill, the Upper East Side, Midtown, and Murray Hill to a point of origin that is centered on Gramercy Park. South of Gramercy Park, the axis continues as 

𝗜𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 from 20th Street to East 14th Street. Namesake: Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775. 

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 runs northwest from Cooper Square (approximately East 8th Street) to Union Square (approximately East 14th Street) where it becomes 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵. Then it runs north to East 32nd Street where it becomes 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, the whole is 10.9 miles. 

𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 is 6.0 miles and runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Street, passing through Midtown, the Upper East Side (including Carnegie Hill), East Harlem, and Harlem. Namesake: James Madison (1751–1836), forth U.S. President. 

𝗙𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 is 6.197 miles and it carries southbound traffic between 143rd Street at Harlem River Drive to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Fifth Avenue divides Manhattan into east and west, with all crosstown addresses marked #1 east & #1 west beginning at Fifth. It marks Central Park's eastern boundary. 

𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 (𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘀) runs north 3.7 miles from Franklin / Church Streets in Tribeca to Central Park South at 59th St. 

𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘅 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 1.9 miles, also named 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗺 𝗫 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱; both names are officially recognized–is the primary north-south route through Harlem in the upper portion of Manhattan. This two-way street runs from Farmers' Gate at Central Park North (110th Street) to 147th Street. It is Sixth Ave. continued. 

𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘆 begins at State Street near Bowling Green in lower Manhattan and goes on for 13.8 miles within Manhattan, and continues in the Bronx for another 2.5 miles, and an additional 18 miles through the municipalities of Yonkers, Hastings-On-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, and Tarrytown, and terminating north of Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County, for a total of 33 miles. Broadway expands to four lanes at the trumpet intersection with NY 117, where it finally ends and U.S. 9 becomes Albany Post Road (and Highland Avenue) at the northern border of Sleepy Hollow, New York. 

𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 co-named 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 in the Garment District and known as 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗝𝗿. 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱 north of Central Park. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park. It runs 5.3 miles between Varick / Clarkson Streets in the West Village to W.59th, and 2.3 miles between 110th Street and 155th Street at Harlem River Drive. 

𝗘𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 7.8 miles. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, though today the name changes twice: At 59th Street/Columbus Circle, it becomes 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁, where it forms the western boundary of Central Park, and north of 110th Street/Frederick Douglass Circle, it is known as 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱 before merging onto Harlem River Drive north of 155th Street. 

𝗡𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 is 5.7 miles and known as 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗯𝘂𝘀 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 between West 59th and 110th Streets. Traffic runs downtown (southbound) along the full stretch from Chelsea to the Upper West Side, except for the lowermost three blocks (from Gansevoort Street to 14th Street) where traffic runs northbound carrying traffic from Greenwich Street. 

𝗧𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 is 10.5 miles and known as 𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 (1890) between 59th Street and 193rd Street. It carries uptown (northbound) traffic as far as West 110th Street (also known as Cathedral Parkway), after which it continues as a two-way street. The total runs between West Street (south) and Fort George Avenue (north). 

𝗘𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 6.1 miles. It originates in the Meatpacking District in the Greenwich Village and West Village neighborhoods at Gansevoort Street, where Eleventh Avenue, Tenth Avenue, and West Street intersect. It is considered part of the West Side Highway between 22nd and Gansevoort Streets. Between 59th and 107th Streets, the avenue is known as West End Avenue. Both 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 and Eleventh Avenue are considered to be part of the same road. 

 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗳𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 12 miles, named 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗗𝗿. above 59th St., and 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁. below Gansevoort St. It runs down the west side of Manhattan along the Hudson. It starts around 181st St., just north of the George Washington Bridge in Washington Heights and ends at Battery Park in lower Manhattan. 

𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱, 0.7 mile, between 59th & 72nd Sts. 

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 2.2 miles, is a major north-south street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. It runs from Fort Tryon Park to 159th Street, where it intersects with Broadway. It goes past Bennett Park, the highest natural point in Manhattan. 

𝗦𝘁. 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 4.5 miles, is a major street that runs obliquely north-south through several blocks between 111th and 193rd Streets. The intersection of St. Nicholas with Broadway at 167th Street forms Mitchell Square Park. Below 169th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue cuts at a diagonal to much of the Manhattan street grid, crossing Amsterdam Avenue at 162nd Street and continuing against the grain to West 148th Street. Below 148th, St. Nicholas returns to a rough alignment with the grid, with Convent Avenue one block west and Edgecombe Avenue to the east, down to 124th Street. Below 124th, St. Nicholas Avenue takes a sharp diagonal, crossing Frederick Douglass Boulevard at 121st Street, and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard at 116th Street, ending at Lenox Avenue, just north of Central Park. 

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 0.2 mile, is a north-south street in the East Harlem neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It begins at E. 114th Street and ends at E. 120th Street. The street was the northernmost section of Avenue A, which stretched from Alphabet City northward, and was added to the grid wherever space allowed between First Avenue and the East River. This stretch was renamed "Pleasant Avenue" in 1879. Unlike York Avenue, however, the addresses on Pleasant Avenue are not continuous with that on Avenue A (which would be in the 2000-series if they were continuous). 

𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗲 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 1.1 miles, co-named 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱, goes north from W.135th St. to 155th St. & Harlem River Drive. 

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 1.3 miles, is a street in the Manhattan Valley neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, extending from 100th Street to 124th Street. 

𝟲½ 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 is a north-south pedestrian passageway in Midtown Manhattan, running from West 51st to West 57th Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. 

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 0.5 mile, is a north-south stretch in Battery Park that loops on itself at the south end, beginning and ending at Liberty St. 13th Avenue: NYC’s Shortest Avenue https://www.citysignal.com/nyc-shortest-avenue/ The following avenues are all in the Heights and Inwood in Upper Manhattan: 

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 1.3 miles, between 127th and 152nd Streets. 

𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱, 1.3 miles, spans the Manhattan neighborhood of Hudson Heights, running from West 177th Street in the south, near the George Washington Bridge, to Fort Tryon Park in the north. 

𝗡𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 0.4 mile, runs from Dyckman Street to West 206th Street.

𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 0.9 mile, runs from Riverside Drive to West 218th St.

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝘂𝗯𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 1.4 miles, is an avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan that runs north-south, west of and parallel to Amsterdam Avenue. Its southern terminus is at West 165th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, and its northern terminus is at Fort George Avenue, just north of West 193rd Street.

𝗪𝗮𝗱𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 1.2 miles, runs from W.173rd to St. Nicholas Ave.

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆𝗲𝗮 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 0.5 mile, runs from Dyckman St. to W.211th St.

𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 0.7 miles, runs from Ellwood St. to Tenth Avenue.

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 3.4 miles, connects St. Nicholas Ave. to Amsterdam Ave.

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 1.1 mile, runs from 141st. to 155th St.

𝗣𝗮𝘆𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 Riverside Drive to Seaman Avenue.

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 Dyckman Street to Tenth Avenue.

𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 0.4 mile, Broadway to Nagle Avenue. 

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Avenues & Boulevards run perpendicular to Streets. In NYC crosstown streets are 60 feet wide while avenues and boulevards average 100 feet wide with a few exceptions. A boulevard is a wide street or avenue with a median through the middle: examples are Park Avenue and upper Broadway in Manhattan, Grand Concourse in thr Bronx. In general, one long block between the avenues equals three short blocks, but the distance varies, with some avenues as far apart as 920 feet. John Tauranac, in the “Manhattan Block by Block” street atlas, gives the average distance between avenues as 750 feet, or about seven avenues to a mile. All east-west streets are 60 feet wide, except the following, which are 100 feet: 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, 57th, 72nd, 79th, 86th, 96th, 106th, 116th, 125th, 135th, 145th, 155th, 165th, 175th, 195th, 205th, 215th 110th St., west of 8th Avenue, 80 feet. 122nd street, west of 9th Avenue, 80 feet. 127th, west of 11th Avenue, 100 feet. 185th St. is 80 feet. 

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𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 (points where Broadway crosses another avenue): 

Broadway & Fifth Ave. @ 24th St. 

Broadway & Sixth Ave. @ 33rd St. 

Broadway & Seventh Ave. @ 43rd St. 

Broadway & Eighth Ave. / Central Park West @ 59th St. 

 Broadway & Columbus Ave. @ 65th St. Broadway & Amsterdam Ave. @ 71st 

(Broadway becomes a boulevard @ 73rd to 169th St.) 

Broadway & 125th St. 

Broadway & St. Nicholas Ave. @ 169th St. 

Throughout the Manhattan grid there are 51 squares (15 plazas) and 4 circles: Columbus Circle, Frederick Douglass Circle, Duke Ellington Memorial Circle, Grand Army Plaza Circle (this Plaza is adjacent to the main entrance to Central Park).