Wednesday, August 3, 2016

"Where do you live in New York?" (Part 8)

Where do we live in New York?

At the corner of 59th Street and Third Avenue.  Like every street and avenue in New York, our small corner of the city has a bit of history.

Long before our building was constructed in 2005, Third Avenue and the adjoining streets, like 59th Street, were lined with 4-5 story buildings.  Many buildings had apartments on the upper floors and stores on the street level.  Third Avenue also had a few department stores, such as Bloomingdale's and Alexander's, both located at 59th Street.

Over time, the original buildings gave way to new buildings, such as movie theaters.  At 59th Street, the Coronet and Baronet theaters were a good place for East-Siders to see first run films.  Eventually, the theaters closed and were then demolished to make way for a new building, the building where we live in New York.

Below are some photos that show the recent history of 59th Street and Third Avenue.  Enjoy.    .
 
Third Avenue at 59th Street:  The Coronet and Baronet Theaters in December 1967, showing The Graduate and The Comedians
Third Avenue at 59th Street:  The Coronet and Baronet Theaters in 2001 awaiting demolition (the theaters have a white facade with black vertical striping)

Third Avenue at 59th Street:  The Coronet and Baronet Theaters are demolished but the original building on the northeast corner remains

Third Avenue at 59th Street:  Where the Coronet and Baronet Theaters once stood, 205 East 59th Street now stands (2004-2005)

Third Avenue at 59th Street:  The original corner building has been reconstructed and is now a bank
P.S.  You might remember from an earlier blog post what this location probably looked like before 1609, when European explorers arrived.

Third Avenue at 59th Street:  before 1600


1 comment:

  1. the first photo brings back memories of going to these theaters--Tom Jones, Dr. Strangelove, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the forum, Night of the Generals, La Vie de Chateau are some of the films I saw there as a teen.... and this area was very interesting and a lot of fun to visit.
    Not so anymore. Kind of bland and boring.

    ReplyDelete

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