72nd Street is one of the major bi-directional crosstown streets in
New York City'sborough of
Manhattan. The street primarily runs through the
Upper West Side and
Upper East Side neighborhoods. It is one of the few streets to go through
Central Park via Women's Gate, Terrace Drive, and Inventors Gate, though Terrace Drive is often closed to vehicular traffic.
History
The street was designated by the
Commissioners' Plan of 1811 that established the Manhattan
street grid as one of 15 east-west streets that would be 100 feet (30 m) in width (while other streets were designated as 60 feet (18 m) in width).[2]
At Third Avenue, the Tower East apartment block (1960) set a new model for high-rise residences: a slab tower set back from the street front and isolated on a low base.[3]
The mansion that once stood at the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue was the first of the Gilded Age mansions to be replaced by an apartment block,
907 Fifth Avenue.
The Park & Tilford Building, on the southwest corner of West 72nd St and Columbus Avenue, built by the eponymous retailer, was designed by McKim Mead and White. The New York Times observed that the opening in September 1893, "was attended by hundreds, who admired the building and the artistic display of goods." The article added "There is no business building more handsome on the west side" and the New-York Tribune called it "a decided architectural ornament to the neighborhood." The building was converted into residential apartments in 1972.[5]
The
Eleanor Roosevelt Monument at the southern tip of
Riverside Park marks the intersection of 72nd Street and
Riverside Drive. The Chatsworth Apartments (344 West 72nd Street), a designated landmark designed by the architect
John E. Scharsmith, sits at 72nd Street's western end, where it curves into Riverside Boulevard.[6]
The
M72 provides crosstown bus service to Upper East Side – York Avenue (eastbound) or West Side – Freedom Place (westbound) via 72nd Street. The M72 bus crosses Central Park at 65th Street, because Terrace Drive within the park is often closed to vehicular traffic.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from
the original(PDF) on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2011-10-27.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link) Landmarks Preservation Commission: Chatsworth Apartments