8 Ave, Garment District

The Time Warner Center at 8th and Columbus Circle is this weird building with a mish mosh of regular stores, a gym, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and some of the most expensive restaurants in the city such as Masa and Per Se. I ate at Per Se last year and I remember thinking that it was such a bizarre location for such a posh restaurant. But, I guess if you want to work out, shop and go to a $500 dinner, then 8th and Columbus is your spot.
There are a ton of bars, restaurants and stores on 8th Avenue in the midtown area, but they're mostly scuzzy or tourist driven, so I tend to stay away from this area if I can at all help it. Every time I get off the A train at Penn Station, I am instantly annoyed because there are so many people and so much trash constantly. It's not pretty around here. And, a lot of the establishments never cease to amaze me at their capability of staying open. The New York Times building is on 8th at 40th, but sadly, that may be no longer soon. The corner of 8th and 34th marks the Hotel New Yorker. It was the biggest hotel in the city when it was built in the 1930's. A lot of big names used to stay here, but as the area declined, so did the hotel. . . . it's now a Ramada.
8th Ave at 33rd marks two New York City big guys: the Post Office and Madison Square Garden. MSG is pretty ugly and they often have very pop artists sell out concerts there, but it is pretty cool to see a show there. And, I'm sure it's the highlight of any recording artist's career. Across the street, the Post Office is more my speed. I don't particularly enjoy Post Offices, in general. But, this one was built in 1913. It's gigantic, gorgeous and has a ton of artifacts from mailing in the times of yore. I'm a history nerd but I think this is the coolest as far as snail mail goes.
As far as cool factor, 8th Avenue doesn't really pick up until Chelsea. There are a lot of great restaurants and things to do (such as the famous improv theatre Upright Citizens Brigade at 27th).
Two of my favorite places are on 8th off of Jane Street in the West Village: Dell' Anima and Tavern on Jane. Dell' Anima has some of the best food in the city and Tavern on Jane is a really homey bar that is pretty much only patronized by locals.
None of the Avenues are fantastic as far as living goes so I would never want to live on an actual Avenue. And, like most of them, 8th changes pretty drastically in atmosphere the further south you go. There's not as much to do as, say, 6th, but it definitely has some things worth checking out.

The West 40's are a curious collection of streets in Manhattan. On the one hand, they're jam-packed with tourists (and the attendant ills - crowds, noise, backed-up streets) staying at any one of the number of midtown business and leisure hotels located in this district. They're far from charming - no pre-war co-ops, Art Deco skyscrapers, or tree-lined brownstone streets here - and yet somehow West 40th Street has a certain charm. Is it the proximity of Broadway, which even in the most "touristy" shows still preserves a degree of energy unseen in most other theatre districts of the world? (Nearby theatres include the New Amsterdam, New Victory, New 42nd Street, and Foxwoods Theatre, among others) Is it the presence of the faded grandeur at some of the most elegant gentlemen's clubs (as in London-style clubs, not strip joints) of yesteryear, like the Algonquin? Is it the collection of dark-wood steakhouses - alongside chain restaurants like Red Lobster unheard of elsewhere in New York? The juxtaposition of the derelict Port Authority with the lively Times Square? Good, bad, or ugly - (and usually all three at th same time), there's something special about this area.

You just might not want to live there.

8th Avenue, located in West Midtown, is a wonderful place to be in New York - especially around Christmas time. My relatives loved to visit and see all the decorations. Sometimes we would even make a visit to Rockefeller by subway (East Midtown). A visit to Koreatown is within walking distance and there is a restaurant, Kum Gang San, that has absolutely delicious food and it looks like falling rocks inside the restaurant. There are many other restaurants that you can choose from - not only Korean food. If you don't mind a short walk, you can visit Central Park West. And don't forget, you can always catch a fight/game at the Garden, which is right outside your front door!

This is actually one of the longest roads in Manhattan. This Street pretty much runs all the way through Manhattan. On this road you Could find places such as Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. This road is extremely busy since it could help you get to alot of attractions. When you take this road into Chelsea, You will hit alot of bars and restaurants

On a visit to an anthropology conference, we stayed in the New Yorker Hotel on 8th Avenue. It cost about $120. a night + tax. The New Yorker was an adventure for four college kids, but I'm sure that the snootier critics would have found something not perfect about it. (We heard someone else complaining that the bathrooms were too small.) My FAVORITE restuarant was the Tick Tock Diner! It was open 24 hours a day, but was really busy. We ate there two meals a day and for coffee. I would recommend the food, but only if you are patient. As my roomates and I were all at one point waitresses, we weren't bothered at all by the wait.

After the conference, we ended up at a place called La Vigna Ristorante Bar & Grill. The food was some of the best I've had in New York, but we somehow ended back up at the Tick Tock Diner later that night for more food. Can't get enough food in Manhattan! We ended up at Macy's on our last day there, which is about 1 block away from the hotel.

The higher up you go on 8th Avenue, the worse it gets. From about 14th Street and into the 20's it's a really great avenue to visit. Between these streets, you're in Chelsea, and you find some really great restaurants and shopping. The prices in this area tend to be reasonable too, so that's a plus. But venture into the 30's and 40's, it tends to get a little tacky and unsafe at times.

You don't need a magic 8 ball to tell you that Eighth Street in NYC is a great place for tourists. There are so many amazing points of interests along this street and close to it. Some of those include the exciting Times Square, perky Central Park, amazing Madison Square Garden. This is completely one of those streets that will get you to all the great places to see in New York. It's somewhere you need to go.

Many current visitors and residents cannot remember the days of dirty and gritty New York City. The Minnesota Strip was designated as the 10 blocks of 8th Ave. North of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It was called the Minnesota Strip because it was belived that girls from the midwest arriving at Port Authority would prostitute themselves along this strip. I was even rumored that if the girls stayed in this corridor thay would be ignored and not arrested. I really don't know if such an arrangement exsist but there sure where many more prostitutes in New York City then there are today.