36th St Between 5th Ave and 6th Ave

   

Smack-dab in the middle of midtown, this block is ripe with stores catering to the garment industry. For someone with no business here, it's not terribly welcoming. Visiting on a cloudy day as I did only added to the depressed feeling.

High rise apartment building flank the block on either end, though neither bring any charm to the street. It's as-if everything was done to suck the character and hospitality away. Approaching 6th Avenue you can get a glimpse of The Haier Building, formally the Greenwich Savings Bank. Haier is a Chinese manufacture of appliances which in only the last decade or so decided to take on the American market. They're certainly giving it a good attempt with a building like this.

31st St Between 9th Ave and 8th Ave

This is a street of extremes. On one side you have a handful of utterly unremarkable structures, while on the other you have the imposing, history, and record-breaking James Farley Post Office building. Taking up two entire blocks, the city's largest post office claims to have one of the longest rows of Corinthian colonnade in the world – though I've found some sources that claim otherwise. Either way, it's an impressive building. Built by the same architects who designed the original Penn Station, which sat across 8th Avenue, it was intended to be as imposing and beautiful as the original train station. Now days, it isn't even a contest as it faces the utterly pathetic Madison Square Garden. 

While the 8th Avenue facade is the most visible and impressive front of the landmark, the longer sides which sit between this street and 33rd are something to behold. While the western side of the building is lined with loading docks, as you move eastward, it's taken over by an impressively strange dry moat, which acts as a barrier between the sidewalk and the building. I wasn't able to get a good shot of it, but Wikipedia has a nice view from 33rd St. 

The southern half of the block wouldn't even pass as impressive on a block without an 8-acre masterpiece facing it. So you'll pardon me if I didn't pay it much bother as I walked around here.

29th St Between 7th Ave and 8th Ave

Absolutely lousy with fur wholesalers, there's practically nothing else on this block save for a newish Holiday Inn Express and some parking. OK, that may be a bit of a lie since there's also a Fencing supply store. Narrow and industrial, it's not the most welcoming place to stroll around.

This feels like an area whose buildings aren't going to make it another 10 years. The potential value of the real estate here must be staggering, I can't imagine the owners continuing with beaten-up fur storefronts when they could be looking at 45-story condos. I'm not saying I hope for that, but it really feels close-at-hand. 
 

8th Ave Between 28th St and 26th St

It may have been the weather, or the time of day, but an overwhelming wave of depression and apathy overcame me as I walked down this block – and I'm not necessarily inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. With towering public housing to the west and short tenement apartments to the east, you're able to experience low-income housing spanning five decades. 

Just block from Madison Square Garden, I can't imagine the proximity is a good selling point for many rental agents in the area. I can say that I like the curvy detour that 28th Street takes as it meanders its way through the megablock. The bubbled dome of the Midtown Tennis Club sits atop a Gristedes, a building which also holds the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. In addition to the large FIT building, which also takes over a street, there's a handful of other shops that line the block.

31st St Between 6th Ave and 7th Ave

In between the conflicting worlds of the garment district, Harold Square and Madison Square Garden; this block is ripe with similar conflict. With a myriad of older buildings lending a sense of warmth to the block, a handful of newer, taller buildings strip that warmth away. Perhaps the standout feature on the block are the cluster of buildings belonging to the Franciscan Friars. In stark comparison to the new hotels springing up all around, the short churches and houses of the Friars are beautifully detailed and stunningly well-preserved.

Coming up on 7th Avenue, don't be surprised if you're overtake by a wave of nausea. This is a normal reaction to entering into the world of Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. The universally-hated duo sit amongst lineups of cheap stores and cab stands. I'll be very interested to see what happens to this area once the East Side Access project begins bringing LIRR trains into Grand Central Terminal.

35th St Between 8th Ave and 7th Ave

Just one block north of the insanity of 34th street, this relatively calm stretch doesn't look like it's changed much in the past few decades. Lined with dress shops and small stores, there's a noticeable layer of grime on everything – it's quintessential New York City. Even Starbucks has vestiges of its past: a night deposit box right next to the door.

But despite all this character, let's not forget that we're in midtown. With that, comes the inevitable crowds. People clamoring to get down these narrow blocks as if there's some sort of tourist attraction they can't see. And it's clear the neighborhood is beginning to finally catch up to these trends – a Wingate hotel sits in the middle of the street, alongside all the dirt and noise.