Vanderbilt Ave Between 45th St and 43rd St

Running a short five blocks between 47th and 42nd Streets, Vanderbilt Avenue is a strange little canyon amongst much larger avenues. With the main attraction being Grand Central Terminal on the southern half of the street. Named after Cornelius Vanderbilt (who built Grand Central - though not all on his own, that'd be ridiculous.)

Recently renovated, The Metlife Building is well-known to most locals as the big, obnoxious office tower that prevents a clear view all the way down Park Avenue. Standing for almost 50 years, it has often been called the least-liked building in New York. For over 20 years I had family working on various floors of this building, so I've become quite familiar with it over time. Regarding its history there's quite a bit one can talk about- ranging from its destruction in several disaster movies, to the helicopter pad that used to sit on its roof until a tragic accident in 1977. If one's ever interested, the building offers a public arcade of shops that are accessible from both Grand Central, and 45th Street. It's not a terrible space.

Wrapping around both MetLife and Grand Central (and eventually cutting directly through the Helmsley Building) is the Park Avenue viaduct which allows continuous traffic down the namesake avenue. While the viaduct goes around both sides of the buildings, there is no equivalent to Vanderbilt on the east side of Grand Central.