Park Avenue, Major avenue in Manhattan and The Bronx, New York City, US
Park Avenue is a wide north-south corridor in Manhattan and The Bronx, lined with landscaped medians and tall buildings on either side. It connects neighborhoods from Union Square to the Upper East Side, running parallel between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue.
Until the 1860s this corridor was known as Fourth Avenue and featured exposed railroad tracks that were later covered over. The transformation created green spaces that inspired the current name and turned it into a sought-after residential address.
The name emerged after covering railroad tracks with landscaped medians, transforming the corridor into a symbol of urban renewal. Today many New Yorkers associate this address with success and social standing, as wealthy families and corporate headquarters have long made it their home.
The corridor runs from southern Manhattan into The Bronx and is easy to reach via cross streets that form the city grid. Visitors walking the route can use the medians as reference points and will find many subway entrances along the way.
Since 1945 illuminated fir trees are placed along the medians every December to honor American soldiers who died in World War II. This tradition turns the corridor into a place of quiet remembrance during winter months amid the busy metropolis.
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