53rd St Between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave

This stretch of 53rd St has an eclectic mix of brownstones, high rises, diners and sex shops. Beginning on the east side of the block is the Madison Restaurant, which depending on your opinions on design, could either be a really cool looking place, or an eyesore. Personally, I dig it...it's got the right vibe for the neighborhood. Across the street you'll find Parnell's Pub, which looks to be a typical after work uptown joint.  Why they picked the SNL-alum to name it after, I'll never know. Down a few doors, however, is something you won't typically expect to see up here, the Come Again "Erotic Emporium". At the very least, one has to love the name.

The rest of the block is ripe with great architectural detailing that ranges from classic to modern. Dotted throughout is a series of businesses, including a Mexican restaurant , cleaners, and beauty salon. Towards the end you'll run into a few more eateries and a KARAOKE bar! The block, of course, would not be complete without two parking garages directly across the street from each other. If you're a history  nut, then  The Timekeeper building at 307 East 53rd may be of interest to you.  According to the sign:

Constructed in 1886 A.D., as a factory for the manufacture of cigars. On the site, and on its adjoining properties, had been clapboard rowhouses, stables, and a foundry.

Some forty-five years later, The Timekeeper became a center for the production of specialized woodworking of custom design.

After its 100th anniversary, painstaking rehabilitation was beguna, and in 1989 the building re-opened for use as a modern office and retail space.

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51st Street Between 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave

Around this area of town it becomes increasingly easier to stumble upon various national embassies for the United Nations.  Sometimes the embassy's size, architectural detailing and distance from the U.N. can prove to be a somewhat interesting commentary on that nation's importance.  In this particular case, I can find no such parallel from which to draw, but the entrance to the Kingdom of Tonga's embassy certainly is interesting enough to note.

The rest of the street is ripe with interesting elements.  While the north side of the street seems to maintain a rather conservative front- holding a bookstore, several residences (at least one of which is under renovation), a synagogue, a public space and a few other commercial entities.  The south side, on the other hand, is anchored on the east side by the Cornerstone bar and has several cafes, a psychic and the always-facinating Pod Hotel following down the line.  I'd be interested to see what sort of crowd frequents this block on Saturday nights...it's character could be completely different.

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77th St Between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave

Back to 77th Street today; this time one block west. This block predictably gains a little bit in the "commercial" category over it's adjacent partner, but still retains much of the "tree-lined" tranquility which makes this area of town such a great place to simply walk around. However, as one ventures more westward towards 2nd Avenue, you'll notice signs of the area's "modernization" and expansion with the presence of two (presumably expensive) high-rises. As of this posting, the construction on the north end of the block currently has the sidewalk both covered and diverted as cranes lift material to the floors above.  

In contrast, the east end of the block features a small collection of local businesses including a Thai restaurant, The Green Kitchen diner, a cleaners and others. There's a synagogue midway in the block, which features a very strange "free-standing" canopy/awning.  

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77th St Between York Ave and 1st Ave

A quiet, residential, tree-lined street, this stretch of 77th features the expected elements one would find up in this area of Manhattan. The eastern corner is home to the Barking Dog Luncheonette - which seems to be a typical diner, though the interior appears to be a bit nicer than what one would normally expect. Outside Barking Dog there's a Dalmatian-themed hydrant which seems to solidify their devotion to canines....somehow.  

The street is filled with many great pre and post-war buildings featuring a plethora of architectural elements to admire. There's your typical "across-the-street-from-each-other" dueling parking garages, one of which features some inexplicable fontage on their sign, the other with a ramp up to nowhere. There's a nondescript church of some sort (the sign featured Cyrillic lettering, so I'm at a loss for what it said.) There's a lot of brick buildings and red doors, which tend to make me happy. There isn't much to do here, but it's a nice enough block to stroll down.

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