Union Square East Between 17th St and 14th St

   

It seems that not a year goes by without this short stretch undergoing drastic changes. Case-in-point, the past few months have seen the addition of a T.G.I. Friday's, a new bike lane, a Duane Reade and a Best Buy. Granted, the commercialization is nothing new – that's been a steadfast feature of Union Square for many years – but the turnover of retail is a bit troublesome.

Union Square East, as a name, only exists for the three short blocks between 14th St and 17th St – connecting Park Avenue with 4th Avenue (and eventually Lafayette Street) – and it lives up to its unique moniker; feeling very little like the blocks that come before or after it. There's a good mixture of local businesses and chains, all juxtaposed with the park on the west side of the street. Starting on 17th Street you have the stately home of the New York Film Academy. While I can never quite tell if this place is for-real or not, they do seem to have enough cash to stake a claim to the old Tammany Hall building, having been there since 1994. Following that you have a series of small local stores as well as The Children's Place. The following block is mostly commercial with the aforementioned T.G.I. Friday's and a Babies 'R' Us taking up the majority here.

After walking south of 15th Street, pedestrians need to be careful while wandering since it can be very easy to end up stranded on the large island that sits between the north and south-bound lanes of Union Square East as it funnels traffic to and from 4th Avenue and Broadway. To be fair, you're not actually stranded, but I often get a bit ticked off when I have to walk half a block out of the way only to double-back to get to where I was originally going.

Broadway Between 19th St and 17th St

   

This represents yet another stretch of Broadway that has been completely transformed in the years that I've lived in New York. Broadway used to be a grand avenue which ran further than any other in New York. I suppose it still is, but when you restrict vehicular access to the extent that it has, is there a limit at which it can no longer be considered useful? In the past few years, it's gotten to the point where cars should consider themselves lucky if they can stumble upon a segment of Broadway they can drive down. This summer half of the street north of Union Square was transformed into another bland, directionless pedestrian plaza…one which carries over and around to 17th Street. I really feel bad for any drivers that need to get around…it just seems impossible.

13th St Between 4th Ave and University Pl

With the formidable rear-end of Best Buy and the Union Square Regal Cinema taking up the entire northern side of this street, there isn't much to observe here. However thanks to the aforementioned theater, many people spend plenty of time mulling around this block. I know I've probably spent several hours of my life here either waiting for a movie, or hanging around after a show while the crowds empty out into the night. The surrounding blocks have plenty to offer in terms of food and drink, but none of them appear to have discovered this segment.

The corner of Broadway is home to Forbidden Planet – a veritable mecca for comic book fans. Though, from what I've heard it's apparently nothing when compared to its UK-based cousin. Continuing down the street you're still faced with an unwaveringly bland wall (this time belonging to Whole Foods) followed by a few small storefronts before University Place.

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.

15th St Between 5th Ave and Union Square West

   

Leading into Union Square and ending at a impassable wall of trees and park space, 15th Street is a unique mixture of industrial, residential and commercial. Fancy buildings like 15 Union Square West sit shoulder to shoulder with older towers like the Spingler Building (named after Henry Spingler who was responsible for purchasing much of the land that is now Union Square in the 18th Century).

restaurants offices and stores. The south side, by comparison is a bit bland and desolate with a few rare exceptions. This segment of 15th Street can be easy to miss, especially since 14th and 17th, which are able to go around the park, are so close by, and so much more convenient.

5th Ave Between 18th St and 16th St

    

Equidistant from both the East River and the Hudson and lacking a subway line with which to escape, it's not unusual to feel a bit stranded on 5th Avenue. While there are still plenty of opportunities to shop, this segment of the avenue is not nearly as commercially-decadent as it is in midtown. Washington Square Park vaguely looms in the distance, though it's still a ways off.

For me, the real attraction in this area is the architecture. Harkening back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the buildings are endlessly impressive with their rich detailing and imposing stature. Unfortunately, to see most of these works of art, you have to direct your sights upward. The bases of these buildings are merely the beginning of more sculptural elements to come several stories above.