47th St Between 8th Ave and 7th Ave

    

After much hemming and hawing on the corner of 47th and 8th, I finally made the bold decision to walk towards Times Square. Anyone who lives in the city knows that making such a choice usually involves either a chore of necessity or some sort of masochistic death wish. Either way, before long I found myself willfully walking towards the most aggravating place in all of New York.

With a handful of Broadway theaters lining the block, this part of the street is mostly dead in the morning (when I visited), but it's safe to assume it's nothing but madness come showtime. The W Hotel near Broadway has an interesting facade, but it stands in stark contrast to some of the more classic buildings in the area. I guess that's the nature of this always-evolving neighborhood, though. The saving grace of taking 47th Street across to 7th Ave is that you're near the northern end of Times Square which isn't nearly as crowded as the middle of southern parts can be. 

Having lived here for several years and walked through this part of town more times than I wish to remember, the spectacle of the billboards and lights numbed me long ago. However, if I step back I can sometimes, for a brief moment, remember the sheer joy the first time I noticed that Hershey's had a gigantic store just for candy.

46th St Between 6th Ave and 7th Ave

This street has a dual nature which serves as a prime example of how quickly Times Square can sneak up on you. While I'm certainly no flag-bearer for the starch-pressed, glass-clad atmosphere of midtown, I prefer it anytime to the sheer sensory overload that is the crossroads of the world. It's interesting how from just a block away, the crowds and madness of Times Square are completely masked by the narrow streets. The corner on 6th Avenue is pleasant enough, with wide-open spaces and interesting architecture on the north side – at the very least it's not completely offensive.

Halfway down the block an anomaly appears in the form of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School. It's not that the architecture is strange (though it is very nice) But just, if you could, imagine for one minute going to grade school less than 100 yards from the world's largest Toys R Us? It boggles my mind.

As you get closer to 7th Avenue (which is also known as "the one place in the world I'd just like to see them install people mover conveyer belts and be done with it") the buildings get shorter and tighter-packed. Cheap gift shops spill over onto the otherwise quiet corner while quaint statues sit neglected one story above the sidewalk. It's all truly a sad sight. 

 

7th Ave Between 50th St and 52nd St

Venturing dangerously close to Times Square, these few blocks still retain some of the nauseating sparkle from The Crossroads of the World. Featuring "America's Largest T.G.I Friday's" (which seems to imply that there are larger "Friday's" out there, just not in the United States), you shouldn't expect much to enjoy from this neck of the woods. Some older buildings remain, but their unique features are either neglected, hidden, or so high up as to not warrant noticing.

When I can, I avoid this part of town entirely – not due to any new-found fear of SUV terrorism (though, it's a nice excuse), but like any level-headed New Yorker avoiding tourists is like a game; a game you automatically lose if you set foot in Times Square. 

41st St Between 6th Ave and 7th Ave

Fresh off a reprieve from existence thanks to Bryant Park and the New York Public Library, 41st St continues it's midtown march as you walk west from 6th Avenue. While the block is lined with plenty of throwaway stores, if you turn your attention upward you can see some really great architectural goodies floating around.

Making your trek past Broadway, you can catch glimpses of Times Square to the north, and the looming Port Authority Bus Terminal to the west. This being midtown, there aren't really and buildings under 10 stories, so there isn't much sunlight to go around. You're more likely to get a tan from one of the illuminated billboards in the area.

Broadway Between 49th St and 51st St

With the echos of Times Square still very clear, things start to calm down a bit up around here. The relentless big-name stores and restaurants start to make way for smaller, local places even as the massive billboards and flashy signs remain. Of course, this area still has many of the hallmarks of Times Square: Ruby Foo's, Mars 2112, Stardust - all places where you can buy food for 400x it's actual value.

When I visited here a few weeks ago, work was well under way at converting broadway into a pedestrian utopia, with construction sitting smack dab in the middle of the street. Since then, the temporary car-free broadway setup has been introduced, as further work is needed to finalize it's implementation.

42nd St Between 7th Ave and 8th Ave

Just as no brand is safe from the glitz and glow of Times Square, it seems the same can be said for all the surrounding side streets. In the few years I've lived here, I've watched as more and more neon has spread out from the center of Times Square onto every street in all directions.

In many ways this particular block is less about advertising (like the center of Times Square) and more about actual storefronts and brand presence. In a weird way, it's far more pracitcal and useful - there are actually places to go, and stores to enter. The area between Broadway and 7th Avenue on the other hand only has a handful of places to enter. In a strange way, this makes it a far more practical area. This is also where many street artists set up shop to sell you caricatures, signs, photos and anything else they can make in under 15 minutes. With all that, it wouldn't surprise me if tourists coming from Grand Central continued walking towards 8th Avenue rather than north on Broadway/7th Ave to enter Times Square, it can certainly be hard to get ones bearings here if you're unfamiliar with the area.

With the new building going up on the corner of 8th and 42nd, I wonder just how far Times Square can spread from it's center.  The seemingly official end is the Port Authority Bus Terminal with it's hoplessly pathetic digital screen - which just never seems to work anymore.  I remember a time when that screen lit up all of the intersection, now the Duane Reade across the street seems brighter.