19th St Between 3rd Ave and Park Ave

   

The blocks which surround Irving Place feature some of the most expensive apartments in the city. Their exteriors range from cute to fortress-like, while the sidewalks remain narrow and covered in trees. While both 3rd Avenue and Park Avenue are bustling commercial roads, Irving is a quiet neighborhood-centric lane, which mostly caters to the residents.

The eastern-half of this segment is a bit more quaint and residential than those to the west of Irving, but I attribute this mostly to the proximity to Union Square. Approaching Park Avenue, restaurants like Maxie's, Dukes and City Crab all take hold…thus ending the terrible reign of beautiful residential buildings.