42nd St Between 5th Ave and 6th Ave

An incredibly crowded block, this is one of the main stretches of 42nd Street that is absolutely packed with tourists. Sitting comfortably between Grand Central Terminal and Times Square, it's easily one of the most traveled stretches in the city. Part of its popularity is perhaps due to the presence of the main branch of the New York Public Library as well as Bryant Park. Taking up the entire block, they're a welcome oasis in the middle of the endless march of midtown high rises.

The north side of the block is a row of conflicting buildings - ranging from older office buildings, to the sloping Grace Building. As one of the more noticeable sky scrapers in the area, it bears a striking resemblance to the Solow Building on 57th St – which makes sense since they were both designed by the same guy.

At the end of the block (across the street) is the recently-topped-out Bank of America Tower. Surpassing the nearby Chrysler Building, it is now the second tallest building in the city. It's also the fourth tallest in the country. One of the building's big features, besides being a tad strange looking, is it's environmental record. Apparently it's the first skyscaper to attain Platinum LEED Certification.