Vintage Images of Fifth Avenue in New York

The 5th Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Manhattan. It stretches 10 km north from Washington Square to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It has major attractions, hotels, temples, iconic stores and more.

Fifth Avenue first appeared on the Commissioners' Map of 1811, when it was a country road to Yorkville, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Construction began in November, 1824, from Art Street (now in Washington Square) to 13th Street.

Later in the 19th century, the avenue became a site of mansions, cultural institutions, fashionable life and luxury hotels. The midtown blocks between 34th and 59th streets were mostly a residential area until the turn of the 20th century, when they were developed as commercial areas. The asphalt pavement was laid down in 1898. The section south of Central Park was widened 1908 and after. Many entrances, porticos and sidewalk stairs were removed. Skyscrapers began to be built on the avenue in the early 20th century. The Empire State Building was completed in 1931, on the west side of Fifth Avenue, between West 33rd and 34th streets, replacing the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The famous skyscraper was the world's tallest building until 1970.