The Price Of Vanity

Clyde Haberman had a piece about ‘vanity addresses’ in Manhattan. Landlords pony up so that they can have an address that sounds ritzier than where the building really is.

An example would be 1 Worldwide Plaza, which doesn’t like to advertise the fact that it’s on Eighth Avenue (still a little rough, and when it was built, surrounded by porn theatres). The company I work for, has their New York HQ at “1 Bryant Park” - another made-up address. In fact, the names Park Avenue and Avenue of the Americas started out as attempts at vanity; the former stuck, the latter didn’t. But with those at least, the whole street changed. The sanctity of that marvel of foresight, the Manhattan street grid, is preserved.

That is better than buildings that have misleading addresses. 237 Park Avenue doesn't even touch Park Avenue. Wall Street Plaza, isn't on Wall. Amazingly, 62 West 62nd street, is east of 44 West 62nd.

I used to be a messenger, and you just had to know these exceptions. In fact, I worked as a messenger for a while, at a law firm at One New York Plaza. Ironically, 55 Water Street has always been just known as ‘55 Water’, and most anyone who works downtown is more aware of that building.

However, beyond discomfiting delivery guys like myself, there is also the issue of public safety. Ambulances, police, the fire department - they have to know the game, too. Someone having a heart attack may not appreciate the pretty name.

In fact, the terms “North Tower” and “South Tower”, now commonly used to refer to the World Trade Center towers, were never in common use before 9/11. The buildings were, respectively, 1 WTC, and 2 WTC. However, firemen rushing to the site had no idea which building was which, and so referred to them in reference to their geographic orientation. I can’t imagine that confusion helped anybody.

Comments

[PBK]

Bill,
I hear ya. I have a friend who grew up on Mercer Street, and pretty much the only thing in the area was Fanelli's on the corner. She'd throw her keys down to you, stuffed inside of a mitten.

As for the calling out of names, for a while at 47-50th Street, the conductors were saying "Top of the Rock". I presume the MTA was getting paid. Thankfully, they've stopped that.

[Bill]

NB: As I got off (in Soho where I do live), I heard: "Next Stop: Canal Street Discount district/Chinatown Center"

[Bill]

OH! You wanna hear something really f'd up? (Almost related to this thread): I was on the N train, and it was heading downtown; it passed 14th (the operator announced, "14th st. Union Square"), then passed 8th st. ("Greenwich Village"..ok) but then I heard the following: "Next stop, Prince Street: SoHo Shopping Center!" I heard these girls giggle and get excited- one wondered aloud if it was "near Broadway?". I died a little in that moment. I resented so much the implication that there's nothing in SoHo but shopping, as if nobody works there, nobody lives there- that it's not a neighborhood, but that that subway stop was planned and installed for the sole purpose of depositing tourists so they could go to H&M. What I want to know is, was that one operators improvised flourish, or did the MTA tell him to say that?

[PBK]

I don't really mind the 'honorary' titles, as they don't confuse anyone - and can serve as reminders of history (e.g., West 84th - Edgar Allan Poe).

As for your friend who said meet you at "Fashion Avenue" - they should not be your friend. Even if they gave you a kidney :)

[Bill]

Honorary street subtitles are really the worst. No New Yorker calls that stretch of 7th Avnue, Fashion Avenue- a friend of mine from out of town asked me to meet her at the corner of "Fashion Ave" once and refused to understand why saying that was ridiculous. The same is true of Avenue of The Americas- although, they are all well-deserved (part of 52nd Street is "WC Handy Way", part of East 76th was re-named after Bobby Short), I just will never understand why people wouldn't rather say 6th Avenue than Avenue of the Americas?

[pbk]

Z.,
237 Park is also known as 466 Lexington. It's between 45th and 46th, and is also known as the "Park Avenue Atrium".

Wall Street Plaza's real address is 88 Pine Street, and I think also has an entrance on Water.

[pbk]

J.,
You should always call "Ave. of the Americas", "Sixth Avenue", and for 1BP, just say 'Sixth and forty-second'.

It's funny too, how a stranger to these shores sees things. Even though the Hyatt at is only half-a-mile or so from 42nd street, I don't think most New Yorkers would consider the two proximate. I suppose it's because they are in different sub-neighborhoods.

[zoe]

Where are these places?

"...37 Park Avenue doesn't even touch Park Avenue. One Wall Street Plaza..."

[Jerome Jahnke]

You know I had wondered about that. There are at least 2 Hiltons in NYC one across from the WTC site. And the other is near 1 Bryant Park. Which is on Avenue of the Americas. And when I get into the cab at the airport and ask for the Hilton on the Avenue of the Americas the driver asks me if it is at the corner of two cross streets with numbers and I always say "yes that one." I figure even if there are 3 Hiltons in Manhattan I can find ANOTHER cab driver who can get me to the one I actually want.