New York Songlines: 30th Street

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John D. Carmmerer Westside Yard

Train yards for the LIRR and MTA. Named for a New York state senator who headed the transportation committee.

Plans for a new Jets football stadium envision putting it here, with the train yard remaining underneath.

The High Line

The unreconstructed section of the High Line stretches along the western edge of this block then curves northward toward 34th Street. The hope is that someday this will be the third section of the park, but its fate seems to be tied up with the undetermined future of the rail yards. For now it's interesting to still be able to see what the rail line looked in its abandoned state.

South:

518: Trapeze School New York, a place to work on your circus act

High Line Park

Bridging the street here is a disused elevated railroad that was used to transport freight along the Westside waterfront, replacing the street-level tracks at 10th and 11th avenues that earned those roads the nickname "Death Avenue." Built in 1929 at a cost of $150 million (more than $2 billion in today's dollars), it originally stretched from 35th Street to St. John's Park Terminal, now the Holland Tunnel rotary.

Partially torn down in 1960 and abandoned in 1980, it now stretches from Gansevoort almost to 34th--mostly running mid-block, so built to avoid dominating an avenue with an elevated platform. In its abandonment, the High Line became something of a natural wonder, overgrown with weeds and even trees, accessible only to those who risked trespassing on CSX Railroad property.

In 2009 it was opened to the public as New York City's newest park; it truly transforms its neighborhood and hence the city. The section of the park opened to visitors in 2011 ends here, with an elevator and staircase leading to street level.

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John D. Caemmerer Westside Yard

Under the Jets stadium proposal, this area would have become a park, with the railyards underneath. Its future is still unwritten.

The High Line

The unreconstructed section of the abandoned elevated rail line stretches along the western edge of this block.

Corner: Metal Purchasing Co.

South:

Morgan Processing and Distribution Center

Twenty million pieces of mail for Manhattan and the Bronx are processed at this Postal Service facility every day. During the anthrax attacks of 2001, spores were discovered in barcoding machines here; despite a lawsuit from the postal union, the building was never shut down for cleaning.

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Lincoln Tunnel

These on-ramps and off-ramps connect to the busiest vehicular tunnel in the world, handling 120,000 vehicles a day. Opened in 1937, it was the first major tunnel project to be completed without a single worker fatality.

South:

350 (corner): 9th Avenue Gourmet Deli; Roma Bono Pizza

342: Sefton apartments

330: French Apartments, formerly French Hospital, opened 1928 by the Societe Francaise de Bienfaisance. Baseball legend Babe Ruth was operated on here for cancer in December 1946. Don Corleone was taken here after he was shot in the novel The Godfather.

320: Chelsea Town House, a seven-story red-brick building from the 1940s.

300 (corner): Chelsea Star Florist

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341: Paula House, a four-story 19th Century building of red-brick

327: Herbert Towers, a seven-story white-brick building from the 1940s

307: Was the address of the Lithuanian Society of America.

303 (corner): Manhattan Inn is above the 8th Avenue Gourmet Deli.

South:

260 (corner): Human Resources Administration. Building has lions, sign that says "RF London Paris New York."

242: Stone dogs guard the entrance to a building that houses Versailles Lighting and Apex Air Freight Systems.

240: Fire Patrol No. 1; erected in 1874 by the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, an insurance group, to protect goods from smoke and water damage while the FDNY puts out fires.

236: 30th Street Guitars opened in 1995 across the street.

234: The Modern Drum Shop was opened in 1977 by jazz drummer Joe Cusatis, who played with Chet Baker, among others.

218: Klondike International Furs Ltd.

216A: The Fur Studio Inc.

214: Furs by Paul

212: USA Furs by George--since 1966.

210: Megaris Furs

208: Holistic Studies Institute; trains people to become more aware of their psychic abilities.

200: Ruslan Custom Shoes Boutique (since 1959).

Corner: New Pizza Town II

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265: Sanchez Cigars, handmade Cuban-seed cigars

263: Was America's Hobby Center, selling model planes, boats etc. since 1931--moved to Jersey c. 2006.

259: Urban Stages, a theater troupe that prides itself on its ethnically diverse playwrights, has been around for 20 years but has only had a permanent home here since 2001.

257: Joseph P. Cuomo Building

Recording & Rehearsal Arts Building

251: Downtime, a musicians' hangout here, was turned into the multilevel club Rebel NYC by the folks who run Webster Hall. Also includes The Studio, a rehearsal space, and Waves, one of Manhattan's last radio repair shops.

243: The Brenley Bvilding

241: St. Vincents Chelsea Clinic includes the American Dental Centers, which is known by its anthropomorphic neon tooth.

213: Cool gothic church annex.

211: St. John the Baptist, a beautiful Catholic church designed in 1872 by Napoleon LeBrun. Congregation dates to 1840.

Corner (362 7th Ave): Bagel Maven Cafe is in the building unhelpfully known as 7 Penn Plaza.

South:

154: Furshur International

150: United States Fur Exchange; Sam Levine Fur Trading

140: Julia's Furs

Tenderloin Station House

134-138: This medieval-looking fortress is the HQ of the NYPD's Traffic Control Division; it was built in 1907 as the 23rd Precinct Station House, and is now a designated landmark.

130: S.J.M Building, designed 1927 by Cass Gilbert of Woolworth Tower fame; note Mesopotamian motifs. Yours and Mine Jewelry, since 1950; Dimitrios Furs, since 1937.

124: Nanjing Acupuncture & Herbs; Panorama Camera Center; Galaxy Army & Navy

120: Honda Martial Arts Supply Co.

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151: A to Z Bohemian Glass Inc.; glass beads and stones

145: Pars International Products; globalized grocery

143: Irene of New York; hats

137: Former 23rd Precinct Police Station. When police captain Alexander "Clubber" Williams was transferred to this station in 1876, he remarked on the opportunities for graft provided by its location in the midst of the vice district: "I've been living on chuck steak for a long time, and now I'm going to get a little of the tenderloin"--thus giving The Tenderloin its name. Oscar Wilde came here in 1882 to report being swindled by crooked gamblers out of $1,000.

135: Frathaus and Son, Inc.; Global Mink Corp.

127: Greeley Arcade Building; named for Greeley Square, where Broadway and Sixth Avenue meet. Was G.J. Fuerth, now part of Chase banks.

115: Transportation Alternatives; an important advocacy group working for a less car-dominated New York.

103: Image Anime; Japanese animation collectibles

Corner: Broadway National Bank

South:

Corner (850 6th): Jewelria. I used to think that The Haymarket, the Tenderloin's most famous dance hall, was here, but I now think it was a block to the south.

46: Joia Corp, fashion jewelry

44: Fashion Sox Inc.

42 (corner): Yurim Trading Co., hats. In 1893, Stephen Crane often stayed in this building, where an artist friend had a studio. He worked on The Red Badge of Courage and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets here.

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Corner (856 6th): Novelty Candy Store

59: Argentino Neckties Scarves

51: Manhattan Silver

49: Pro-American Trading

Corner (1231 Broadway): Sandaga Beads, trimming & craft supplies

South:

Corner (1216 Broadway): Perfume America

38: Fair & Lovely Inc., wholesale scarves

28: Global Time, wholesale watches

18: The African Village, imports

Holland House

Gainesborough's Duchess of Devonshire, the most famous stolen painting of its day, spent the night here in 1901 after being recovered after being stolen for 25 years by criminal mastermind Adam Worth.

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Corner (1220 Broadway): Kashmir Perfumes

35: Silver Galore

29: Was Nara Bank, Korean-American

11: Dimple, all-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian. I used to love this place, but I stopped eating here after it was accused of not paying its workers.

Also H.M. Nabavian Oriental Rug Supplies. The building was designed by William I. Hohauser.

7: U & I Fantasia Fina

5: J. Levine Co., Judaica and books since 1890.

Corner (284 Fifth): Shalom Brothers Oriental Rug Gallery is in the Wilbraham Building, 1890 Belle Epoque apartments built for bachelors. Spookily charming. On the second floor is Kyokushin Karate.

South:

Corner (281 5th): Chez Gourmet deli; upstairs is Topalian Trading Co. (oriental rugs).

2: Carpet World Inc.

4: R. Anavian & Sons oriental rugs

6: Was Mecca, 1930s Syrian restaurant.

20: A.R.T. Rugs of Persia; Chatalbash Rug Co. of New York

Corner (112 Madison): Galerie Shabab rugs

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Corner (295 Fifth): Merchants Bank is on this corner of the Textile Building. On this block, at 291 Fifth Avenue, was the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, also known as 291, where Alfred Steiglitz showcased such new artists as Henri Matisse (1908), Henri Rousseau and Paul Cezanne (both 1910), and Pablo Picasso (1911).

7: Romero's Restaurant, Spanish & Italian

11: Ravagh Persian Grill; once was Mrs. Caterina, old-time Italian.

13: Kashee Brothers rugs

15: The Irvington Building houses Mastour Galleries (rugs since 1890), Ali Oriental Rugs; Royalton Rug Gallery; Iraj Fine Oriental Rugs

Corner (118 Madison): Miss K's Deli & Grocery

South:

28 (corner): Bo Concept, Danish designer furniture

ThirtyThirty Hotel

30: Used to be the Martha Washington, which was a residence for women only for almost a hundred years after it opened in 1902. Once the home of author Jacqueline Susann, the hotel was where the opening scenes of the film version of her Valley of the Dolls was shot.

In the early 1980s, the hotel housed Danceteria, a nightclub and concert space where Madonna sometimes worked. She was discovered here when she persuaded the DJ to play one of her tapes. The disco scene in Madonna's film Desperately Seeking Susan was shot at the club.

Singer Sade served drinks at Danceteria, and artist Keith Haring worked in the cloakroom. Years earlier, Veronica Lake was a barmaid at the hotel.

Zana is the hotel's cafe/bar/lounge. There's a florist shop here, Irene Hayes Wadley & Smythe LeMoult; when it was just Irene Hayes, they provided the flowers for Lincoln's funeral cortege.

44: Parkmed Eastern Women's Center

Corner (440 Park Ave S): Design & Comfort furniture

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Corner (121 Madison): Rugs as Art is in a great red brick building.

29: Lasaro's

35: The Nottingham apartments

41: Log-On Cafe

47: Murray Hill Animal Hospital

Corner (444 Park Ave S): Susie's Kitchen, deli

South:

Corner (441 Park Ave S): John's Deli

102: Meridian Medical Institute of East-West Medicine

110: Jewish Braille Institute of America

122: One of several houses on this block that make me think, "Aw... I wish I lived here."

First Moravian Church

Corner (154 Lexington): The Moravians trace their denomination back to Jon Hus, burned at the stake for heresy in 1415. The New York congregation was established in 1748, and claims to have the oldest uninterrupted services (as they met throughout the Revolution). This church was built c. 1845 as the Baptist Church of the Mediator; the Moravians moved here in 1869.

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Corner (443 Park Ave S): Kalaty oriental rugs, "tradition for today."

111: The Pierpont apartments, built 1984

121: Henry George School of Social Science; promotes the economic philosophy of Henry George, who advocated social reform through a single tax on land-owners.

127: Lexington-Parc apartments

139: The Nevada apartments, red brick and stone built c. 1890.

Touro College Lexington Campus

Corner (160 Lexington): Built in 1909 as the New York School of Applied Design for Women; later the Pratt-New York Phoenix School of Design for Women. The AIA Guide calls the building, by Harvey Wiley Corbett, "a great tour de force of neo-Roman design."

South:

Corner (157 Lexington): Penelope Cafe

140: Great brick.

148: A five-story building called Smithsonian

Corner (430 3rd): La Cocina, Mexican

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Corner (161 Lexington): Ramada Inn New York New York, formerly the Rutledge Hotel. Built 1924. A sharp-looking old building--though the ground floor Cafe Vienna looks pretty junky.

143: Murray Hill Inn. "The friendly, multi-lingual staff and semi-private bathrooms are reminiscent of the quaint hotels of Europe."

155: Detective novelist Dashiell Hammett lived here in 1929-30, working on The Glass Key.

159 (corner): Bentley Apartments, built 1986. Sybele fashions on ground floor.

South:

Corner (429 3rd): Was Bagelry, which some say had the best bagels in New York.

208: Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. Has kind of a Le Carre feel.

232: Concorde Medical Group

250 (corner): The Sycamore condominiums.The developer of this $35 million project is a working firefighter, James P. Kennelly.

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Corner (431 3rd): Billy's Bank Cafe; sports bar in a former bank.

201: Megantic apartments are apparently named for a lake in Quebec, though it could mean "mega-gigantic."

207: The 10-story Wilshire apartments were built in 1985 on the site of Columbia Records' 30th Street Studio, where such landmark albums as Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story and Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations were recorded. studio was originally the Adams Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1875; it was adapted for recording in 1949.

223: Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York; here since 1957.

245: The Leonard apartments, built early in the 20th Century

South:

Corner (540 2nd): Waterfront Ale House. It's easy to forget that this is only two blocks from the East River--which is technically a branch of the ocean. An NYU med school hangout. "Great Food, Great Beer."

310: Churchill School and Center; a private school for children with learning disabilities. The main building is on 29th Street.

316: NYU Medical Center; offices of development and public affairs.

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Kips Bay Plaza

335: This 21-story exposed-concrete slab was built in 1960 to an I.M. Pei design. Kind of scary.

One of the addresses it replaced, No. 323, was home to sculptor Louise Nevelson from 1943-59; her garden was an art installation she called "the Farm."