Tenth Avenue (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
Tenth Avenue, known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street, is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan
in New York City
. It carries uptown (northbound) traffic as far as West 110th Street
, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. At this point, it continues as a two-way street.
in the West Village
/ Meatpacking District
and it runs uptown (northbound) for 47 blocks until its intersection with West 59th Street
, where it is re-signed (like the other West Side
avenues) as Amsterdam
Avenue but continues without interruption. North of Dyckman Street, it is once again signed as Tenth Avenue.
As Amsterdam Avenue, the thoroughfare stretches 129 blocks north before reaching Highbridge Park
at West 190th Street, where the roadway is briefly renamed Fort George Avenue before it terminates. The street narrows to one lane in each direction as it passes through the campus of Yeshiva University
's Wilf Campus, between 184th and 186th streets. Following the roadway's interruption by Highbridge Park, it resumes in the same line as Tenth Avenue, running for slightly less than a mile, from Dyckman Street to the intersection of West 218th Street and Broadway, near the extreme northern tip of the island of Manhattan and the Broadway Bridge, which crosses the Harlem River
.
The segment south of Highbridge Park, running a total of 177 blocks, is the longest continuous avenue in Manhattan, excluding Broadway, the West Side Highway
and the FDR Drive
(none of which is strictly an avenue).
and Hell's Kitchen
neighborhoods on the west side of the borough, and then as Amsterdam Avenue, through the Upper West Side
, Harlem
and Washington Heights
. Much of these areas were working class or poor for much of the 20th Century. The street has long been noted for its commercial traffic, and had grade-level railroad lines through the early 20th century. In the 19th century, when the West Side Line
ran along the Avenue, a "Tenth Avenue Cowboy" was paid to ride a horse and warn people of an approaching street running
train. The lines were later elevated above street level.
"Amsterdam Avenue" was intended to recall the Dutch roots of Manhattan's earliest colonization in the 17th century. According to Sarah Feirstein's Naming New York:
What is now Amsterdam Avenue was laid out in the 1811 Commissioners' Plan as 10th Avenue and opened from 59th Street to Fort George Avenue in 1816. The name was changed in 1890 in a bid on the part of Upper West Side landowners to confer a measure of old-world cachet to their real estate investments in an area that had yet to catch on. The new avenue name supported the speculators' claim that this section would become "the New City" and a "new, New Amsterdam
."
During the real estate boom of the late 20th century, Amsterdam from 59th Street
to 100th Street became one of New York's most expensive residential districts.
(1936) included the comic dance number "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
," performed by Ray Bolger
and Tamara Geva
. It was later performed on stage, film and television. It has been performed by the New York City Ballet
, and was featured in the film version of On Your Toes, danced by Eddie Albert
and Vera Zorina
. In the biographical musical Words and Music
(1948), a "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" ballet sequence is performed by Gene Kelly
and Vera-Ellen
.
"Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" is also the name of a 1957 crime film
and the debut album of Mick Ronson
in 1974.
In How I Met Your Mother
, Ted Mosby
is said to have lived near the corner of 75th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
In Donald E. Westlake
's "Dortmunder" series of crime novels the fictional O.J. Bar and Grill, the gang's favorite meeting place, is located on Amsterdam Avenue.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It carries uptown (northbound) traffic as far as West 110th Street
110th Street (Manhattan)
110th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is commonly known as the boundary between Harlem and Central Park, along which it is known as Central Park North. In the west, it is also known as Cathedral Parkway....
, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. At this point, it continues as a two-way street.
Geography
Tenth Avenue begins at West 13th Street and the West Side HighwayWest Side Highway
The West Side Highway is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan. It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway, built between 1929 and 1951, which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of...
in the West Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
/ Meatpacking District
Meatpacking District, Manhattan
The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan which runs roughly from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street, although recently it is sometimes considered to have extended north to West 16th Street and east...
and it runs uptown (northbound) for 47 blocks until its intersection with West 59th Street
59th Street (Manhattan)
59th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan runs east-west, from York Avenue to the West Side Highway, with a discontinuity between Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue and Eighth Avenue/Central Park West for the Time Warner Center. Although it is bi-directional for most of its length, the...
, where it is re-signed (like the other West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
avenues) as Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
Avenue but continues without interruption. North of Dyckman Street, it is once again signed as Tenth Avenue.
As Amsterdam Avenue, the thoroughfare stretches 129 blocks north before reaching Highbridge Park
Highbridge Park
Highbridge Park is located in Washington Heights on the banks of the Harlem River near the northernmost tip of the New York City borough of Manhattan, between 155th Street and Dyckman Street...
at West 190th Street, where the roadway is briefly renamed Fort George Avenue before it terminates. The street narrows to one lane in each direction as it passes through the campus of Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
's Wilf Campus, between 184th and 186th streets. Following the roadway's interruption by Highbridge Park, it resumes in the same line as Tenth Avenue, running for slightly less than a mile, from Dyckman Street to the intersection of West 218th Street and Broadway, near the extreme northern tip of the island of Manhattan and the Broadway Bridge, which crosses the Harlem River
Harlem River
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
.
The segment south of Highbridge Park, running a total of 177 blocks, is the longest continuous avenue in Manhattan, excluding Broadway, the West Side Highway
West Side Highway
The West Side Highway is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan. It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway, built between 1929 and 1951, which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of...
and the FDR Drive
Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive
The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive is a freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
(none of which is strictly an avenue).
History
Tenth Avenue runs through the ChelseaChelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
and Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
neighborhoods on the west side of the borough, and then as Amsterdam Avenue, through the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
, Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
and Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
. Much of these areas were working class or poor for much of the 20th Century. The street has long been noted for its commercial traffic, and had grade-level railroad lines through the early 20th century. In the 19th century, when the West Side Line
West Side Line (NYCRR)
The West Side Line, also called the West Side Freight Line, is a railroad line on the west side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Penn Station, from 34th Street, the line is used by Amtrak passenger service heading north via Albany to Toronto, Montreal and Chicago...
ran along the Avenue, a "Tenth Avenue Cowboy" was paid to ride a horse and warn people of an approaching street running
Street running
On-street running or street running is when a railroad track or tramway track runs directly along city streets, without any separation. The rails are embedded in the road....
train. The lines were later elevated above street level.
"Amsterdam Avenue" was intended to recall the Dutch roots of Manhattan's earliest colonization in the 17th century. According to Sarah Feirstein's Naming New York:
What is now Amsterdam Avenue was laid out in the 1811 Commissioners' Plan as 10th Avenue and opened from 59th Street to Fort George Avenue in 1816. The name was changed in 1890 in a bid on the part of Upper West Side landowners to confer a measure of old-world cachet to their real estate investments in an area that had yet to catch on. The new avenue name supported the speculators' claim that this section would become "the New City" and a "new, New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
."
During the real estate boom of the late 20th century, Amsterdam from 59th Street
59th Street (Manhattan)
59th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan runs east-west, from York Avenue to the West Side Highway, with a discontinuity between Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue and Eighth Avenue/Central Park West for the Time Warner Center. Although it is bi-directional for most of its length, the...
to 100th Street became one of New York's most expensive residential districts.
In popular culture
The Rodgers & Hart play On Your ToesOn Your Toes
On Your Toes is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939....
(1936) included the comic dance number "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue is a ballet with music by Richard Rodgers and choreography by George Balanchine. It occurs near the end of Rodgers and Hart's 1936 Broadway musical comedy On Your Toes. Slaughter is the story of a hoofer who falls in love with a dance hall girl who is then shot and killed...
," performed by Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
and Tamara Geva
Tamara Geva
Tamara Geva was a Russian actress, ballet dancer and choreographer. She was the first wife of dancer/choreographer George Balanchine.-Biography:...
. It was later performed on stage, film and television. It has been performed by the New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
, and was featured in the film version of On Your Toes, danced by Eddie Albert
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
and Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina was a Norwegian ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer.-Background:Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz was a German and her mother Billie Hartwig was Norwegian. Both were professional singers...
. In the biographical musical Words and Music
Words and Music (1948 film)
Words and Music is a 1948 movie loosely based on the creative partnership of the composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart. The film starred Mickey Rooney, Tom Drake, Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett, and Ann Sothern, It is best remembered for the final screen pairing between Rooney and Judy...
(1948), a "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" ballet sequence is performed by Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
and Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen was an American actress and dancer, principally celebrated for her filmed dance partnerships with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye and Donald O'Connor.-Early life:...
.
"Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" is also the name of a 1957 crime film
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (film)
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue is a 1957 film directed by Arnold Laven. It stars Richard Egan and Jan Sterling.The film is a story of crime on New York's waterfront. It is based on the book "The Man Who Rocked the Boat," an autobiography by William Keating, played by Egan in the film...
and the debut album of Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
in 1974.
In How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, Ted Mosby
Ted Mosby
Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby is the titular fictional character of the U.S. television sitcom How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Josh Radnor...
is said to have lived near the corner of 75th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
In Donald E. Westlake
Donald E. Westlake
Donald Edwin Westlake was an American writer, with over a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction or other genres...
's "Dortmunder" series of crime novels the fictional O.J. Bar and Grill, the gang's favorite meeting place, is located on Amsterdam Avenue.
Notable sites
- Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
- City College of New YorkCity College of New YorkThe City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
- Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
- John Jay College
- LaGuardia High School
- New York Presbyterian Medical Center
- St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital CenterSt. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital CenterSt. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
- Yeshiva UniversityYeshiva UniversityYeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...