47th Street (Manhattan)

47th Street is an east-west running street between First Avenue and the West Side Highway in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs one way along the street, from east to west, starting at the United Nations.

Notable locations

The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1963 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Vanderbilt Avenue is a short street that runs from 42nd Street to 47th Street, between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue. The street was built as the result of construction of Grand Central Terminal, and is named for the family of the terminal's original owners. Grand Central Terminal can be accessed via 47th Street through the "Northwest Passage", a convert|1000|ft|m|sing=on-long corridor that runs parallel to the tracks, connecting to the Main Concourse by way of an entrance at the northeast corner of East 47th Street and Madison Avenue.

The portion of 47th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue is known as the Diamond District. The area is one of the five primary centers of the global diamond industry (along with London, Antwerp, Belgium, and Johannesburg, South Africa), as well as the premiere center for jewelry shopping in the city. An estimated 90% of diamonds in the United States enter through New York. There are 2,600 independent businesses located in the district, nearly all of them dealing in diamonds or jewelry, most located in booths at one of the 25 "exchanges" in the district.

The TKTS booth, which offers Broadway theatre tickets at 25-50% off face value, is located on 47th Street at Duffy Square, between Seventh Avenue and Broadway. Due to construction of a more permanent TKTS facility, between spring 2006 and fall 2006, the Duffy Square TKTS booth has been temporarily relocated to the nearby Marriott Marquis hotel.

Broadway theatre is well represented on West 47th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, including the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (at 256 West 47th Street), the Ethel Barrymore Theatre at (243 West 47th Street) and the Biltmore Theater (at 261 West 47th Street).

Recently, the brand-new NHL Store opened on Sixth Avenue between West 46th Street and West 47th Street.

Transportation

The 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center station on the New York City Subway IND Sixth Avenue Line is located on Sixth Avenue, offering service on the NYCS service|B, NYCS service|D, NYCS service|F and NYCS service|V lines. An underground concourse connects the station with the buildings of Rockefeller Center.

The 49th Street station on the BMT Broadway Line offers service on the NYCS service|N, NYCS service|R and NYCS service|W trains, and is accessible via a part-time booth at Seventh Avenue and 47th Street at the south end of the station.

Popular culture

*"West 47th Street", co-produced by Bill Lichtenstein with his wife June Peoples, was the title of a PBS documentary that debuted on "P.O.V." on August 19, 2003. The documentary focused on the mentally ill who inhabit New York City's streets. Filmed over three years at Fountain House, a renowned 50-year-old rehabilitation center in New York located on West 47th Street. [ [http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2003/west47thstreet/about.html "West 47th Street" - About the Film] , accessed December 12, 2006]

*Featured in the closing scene of the Mike Nichols film Closer, starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law.

References

External links

* [http://www.diamonddistrict.org Diamond District BID]