7th Avenue Between 40th St and 38th St

Just south of Times Square, the commercial grandeur that is the theater district subsides into simply commercial pollution. Rows of low-end stores and chain banks line Fashion Avenue while anonymous offices sit on top, looking over the gray street. As far as midtown goes, this is about as midtown-y as you can get.

On the corner of 39th Street is the Fashion Center Information Kiosk, which to me seems perpetually empty and lacking any information. Famous for its giant button and needle, it's not unusual to see it sitting in the dark with a few ads hung inside. Of a bit more interest is the garment worker sculpture just north of the booth. 

38th St Between 6th Ave and 5th Ave

A mostly industrial block, dedicated to serving the fashion designers in the area, this stretch of 38th St is dark, and foreboding. The beginning of the block on 6th Avenue finds a short, stout apartment building directly across from a towering condo development named The Atlast (my, my). It's almost laughable how much these two buildings don't fit in together. But such is New York.

By the time you near Fifth Avenue, things begin the lighten up, especially with the massive Lord & Taylor flagship store taking up the majority of the block. This time of year is particularly crowded as people wrap around the block to view their various window displays running along the avenue. It can get so out of hand that the store seasonally has ropes lining the sidewalk so people can file by one-by-one.