Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among the most expensive shopping streets in the world. The "most expensive street in the world" moniker changes depending on currency fluctuations and local economic conditions from year to year. For several years starting in the mid-1990s, the shopping district between 49th and 57th Streets was ranked as having the world's most expensive retail spaces on a cost per square foot basis. In 2008, ''Forbes'' magazine ranked Fifth Avenue as being the most expensive street in the world. Some of the most coveted real estate on Fifth Avenue are the penthouses perched atop the buildings.

Fifth Avenue originates at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village and runs northwards through the heart of Midtown, along the eastern side of Central Park, where it forms the boundary of the Upper East Side and through Harlem, where it terminates at the Harlem River at 142nd Street. Traffic crosses the river on the Madison Avenue Bridge. Fifth Avenue serves as the dividing line for house numbering in Manhattan. It separates, for example, East 59th Street from West 59th Street. From this zero point for ''street'' addresses, numbers increase in both directions as one moves away from Fifth Avenue, with 1 West 59th Street on the corner at Fifth Avenue, and 300 West 59th Street located three blocks to the west of it.

History

The lower stretch of Fifth Avenue extended the stylish neighborhood of Washington Square northwards. The high status of Fifth Avenue was confirmed in 1862, when Caroline Schermerhorn Astor settled on the southwest corner of 34th Street, and the beginning of the end of its reign as a residential street was symbolized by the erection, in 1893, of the Astoria Hotel on the site of her house, later linked to its neighbor as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (now the site of the Empire State Building). Fifth Avenue is the central scene in Edith Wharton's 1920 Pulitzer Prize winning novel ''The Age of Innocence''. The novel describes New York's social elite in the 1870s and provides historical context to Fifth Avenue and New York's aristocratic families.

Originally a narrower thoroughfare, much of Fifth Avenue south of Central Park was widened in 1908, sacrificing its wide sidewalks to accommodate the increasing traffic. The midtown blocks, now famously commercial, were largely a residential district until the turn of the 20th century. The first commercial building on Fifth Avenue was erected by Benjamin Altman who bought the corner lot on the northeast corner of 34th Street in 1896, and demolished the "Marble Palace" of his arch-rival, A. T. Stewart. In 1906 his department store, B. Altman and Company, occupied the whole of its block front. The result was the creation of a high-end shopping district that attracted fashionable women and the upscale stores that wished to serve them. Lord & Taylor's flagship store is still located on Fifth Avenue near the Empire State Building and the New York Public Library.

Upper Fifth Avenue

By the turn of the 20th century, the very rich of New York had migrated to the stretch of Fifth Avenue between 59th Street and 96th Street, the stretch where Fifth Avenue faces Central Park. Entries to the park include Inventor's Gate at 72nd Street, which gave access to the park's carriage drives, and Engineers' Gate at 90th Street, used by equestrians.

A milestone for Fifth Avenue came in 1916, when the grand corner mansion at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue that James A. Burden had erected as recently as 1893 was demolished to make way for a grand apartment house, 907 Fifth Avenue, of 12 stories around a central court, with two apartments to a floor; its strong cornice above the fourth floor, just at the eaves height of its neighbors, was intended to soften its presence. This was the first such replacement.

In January 1922, the city reacted to complaints about the ongoing replacement of Fifth Avenue's mansions by apartment buildings by restricting the height of future structures to , about half the height of a ten-story apartment building. Architect J. E. R. Carpenter brought suit, and won a verdict overturning the height restriction in 1923. Carpenter argued that "the avenue would be greatly improved in appearance when deluxe apartments would replace the old-style mansions."

This area contains many highly notable apartment buildings, including 810 Fifth Avenue and the Park Cinq, many of them built in the 1920s by architects such as Rosario Candela and J. E. R. Carpenter. A very few post-World War II structures break the unified limestone frontage, notably the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum between 88th and 89th Streets.

Traffic flow

Fifth Avenue carries one-way traffic downtown (southbound) from 135th Street to Washington Square Park, with the changeover from two-way traffic taking place on January 14, 1966, at which time Madison Avenue was changed to one way uptown (northbound). Two-way traffic on Fifth Avenue is allowed north of 135th Street only. From 124th Street to 120th Street, Fifth Avenue is cut off by Marcus Garvey Park, with southbound traffic diverted around the park via Mount Morris Park West.

Fifth Avenue is one of the few major streets in Manhattan along which streetcars did not run. Instead, Fifth Avenue Coach offered a service more to the taste of fashionable gentlefolk, at twice the fare. On May 23, 2008, ''The New York Times'' reported that the New York City area Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bus division is considering the use of double-decker buses on Fifth Avenue once again, where they were operated by the Fifth Avenue Coach Company until 1953,and again by MTA from 1976 to 1978.

Parade route

Fifth Avenue is the traditional route for many celebratory parades in New York City; thus, it is closed to traffic on numerous Sundays in warm weather. The longest running parade is the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. Parades held are distinct from the ''ticker-tape parades'' held on the ''"Canyon of Heroes"'' on lower Broadway, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held on Broadway from the Upper West Side downtown to Herald Square.

The Latino literary classic by New Yorker Giannina Braschi, entitled "Empire of Dreams," takes place on the Puerto Rican Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.

Bicycling route

Bicycling on Fifth Avenue ranges from safe with a bike lane south of 23rd Street, to scenic along Central Park, to dangerous through Midtown with very heavy traffic during rush hours.

Overturned Midtown Bike Ban

In July 1987, then New York City Mayor Edward Koch proposed banning bicycling on Fifth, Park, and Madison Avenues during weekdays, but many bicyclists protested and had the ban overturned. When the trial was started on Monday, August 24, 1987 for 90 days to ban bicyclists from these three avenues from 31st Street to 59th Street between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, mopeds would not be banned. On Monday, August 31, 1987, a state appeals court judge halted the ban for at least a week pending a ruling after opponents against the ban brought a lawsuit.

Economy

Many airlines established ticketing offices along Fifth Avenue. In the years leading up to 1992, the number of ticketing offices along Fifth Avenue decreased. Pan American World Airways went out of business, while Air France, Finnair, and KLM moved their ticket offices to other areas in Midtown Manhattan.

Shopping

Between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious boutiques and flagship stores and is consistently ranked among the most expensive shopping streets in the world.

Most of the world's luxury boutiques are located on Fifth Avenue, which include Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Adidas, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Armani, Fendi, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Cartier, Omega, Chanel, United Colors of Benetton, BCBG Max Azria, Harry Winston, Salvatore Ferragamo, Nike, Escada, Swarovski, Zara, Bvlgari, Emilio Pucci, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gap, Diesel and many more.

Fifth Avenue is home to luxury department stores Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys, & Bergdorf Goodman.

Fifth Avenue is home to New York's fifth most photographed building, the Apple Store.

Fifth Avenue is home to the largest Build-A-Bear Workshop in the world.

Gallery

See also

Transportation in New York City

List of upscale shopping districts

Madison Avenue

Park Avenue

References

14. http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-man-who-builds-apples-beautiful-retail-stores-2010-3#

External links

Fifth Avenue Photos

Fifth Avenue Directory and Images

Greek Independence Day Parade, Fifth Avenue

New York Songlines: Fifth Avenue

Further reading

Category:Streets in Manhattan Category:Economy of New York City Category:Art gallery districts

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name	Jimmy Choo
birth place	Penang, Malaysia
occupation	Shoe designer
spouse	}}

Jimmy Choo, OBE, born Choo Yeang Keat, () is a Malaysian fashion designer based in London, United Kingdom. He is best known for founding Jimmy Choo Ltd that became known for its handmade women's shoes.

Choo was born in Penang, Malaysia, into a family of shoemakers, who are of Chinese Hakka descent. His family name is Chow but was misspelled on his birth certificate as Choo. He made his first shoe when he was 11 years old. He is perhaps the most notable of students of Cordwainers Technical College in Hackney, England, from which he graduated in 1983. (The college is now part of the London College of Fashion.) Choo has divulged that he worked part time at restaurants and as a cleaner at a shoe factory to help fund his college education.

Jimmy Choo traced his beginnings back to his workshop in Hackney, North London, which he opened in 1986 by renting an old hospital building. His craftsmanship and designs were soon noticed and he came to the verge of international notability when his creations were featured in a record eight pages in a 1988 issue of ''Vogue''. Patronage from Diana, Princess of Wales, from 1990 further boosted his image.

In 1996, he co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd with British ''Vogue'' magazine accessories editor Tamara Mellon.

In April 2001, Choo sold his 50% stake in the company for £10 million. He has since concentrated his work on the exclusive Jimmy Choo Couture line produced under license from Jimmy Choo Ltd. The Jimmy Choo London line, also known as Jimmy Choo Ready-To-Wear or, simply, Jimmy Choo, is under the purview of Mellon. The ready-to-wear line has expanded to include accessories such as handbags.

Choo lives in London and is currently involved in a project to set up a shoemaking institute in Malaysia, where his iconic status is often evoked to inspire budding shoemakers and fashion designers. Jimmy Choo Ltd. produces some of the most expensive high-end shoes.

Awards

2000: Bestowed a state award carrying the title of Dato' by the Sultan of Pahang state in Malaysia for his achievements

2002: Conferred an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in recognition of his services to the shoe and fashion industry in the UK.

2004: Awarded the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of his home state of Penang, which also carries the title Dato'

2011: Winner of “The World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer 2011” Design for Asia Award

2012: Received You Bring Charm to the World – World’s Most Influential Chinese Award

Awarded an honorary doctorate in art in July 2004 by De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K., for his contribution to their unique Single Honours Footwear Design degree

References

External links

jimmychoo.com

Jimmy Choo Bio at FashionVue

Jimmy Choo Bio

How Jimmy Choo 'lost' his name

London College of Fashion Alumni Interview

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Malaysian Hakka people Category:Malaysian expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Malaysian businesspeople Category:Malaysian Chinese people Category:Malaysian socialites Category:Malaysian fashion designers Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Penang Category:Private equity portfolio companies Category:Shoe designers Category:Luxury brands Category:Alumni of the University of the Arts

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